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What do the Tamils really want ?

By Charles.S.Perera

Mr.N.Pullenayagam writing to Sri Lanka Guardian on he 30 March,2008 on " What do the Tamils really want ?", says, that all Tamils in Sri Lanka wants an Eelam is only an assumption. But the Tamils object to being second class citizens, and want to be regarded as equal citizens in every way with the Sinhalaese. Not having this equal status with the Sinhala, the Tamil leadership in desperation asked for Eelam in 1976. Even then "… many Tamils did not sincerely want Eelam. They preferred equality of status in an undivided Sri Lanka, for they realised the disadvantages that Eelam would bring to both Tamils and Sinhalese."

This then is the core issue, that has driven Sri Lanka to an ethnic problem. The Tamils want to enjoy equal rights with Sinhala. The Tamils of course, cannot be Sinhala, nor the Sinhala Tamils. Each has to be satisfied with what one is. On the other hand the Sinhala want nothing else, other than to live in peace with the Tamils. As far as the Sinhala are concerned they do not go round telling every one that they are of the majority community. Those are matters for statistics and more importantly in elections. The Tamils wanting to be equal in every respect to a Sinhala is a psychological problem. It also points to an inferiority complex, the Sinhala do not want to impose themselves on the Tamils as the majority community.

The Tamils seeking a separate Eelam, in not being able to be equal to Sinhala, is a wrong way to settle the problem. There are minority communities living in other countries in the world who have the same problem. The black American Community is a good example. They have been fighting for equality with the white Americans for ages. But in doing so they did not ask for a separate State for the Black Americans. But they sought to achieve it differently, not through displaying their blackness, but using their blackness to be identified also as American.

The Black Americans infiltrated into the white American political system as Americans. They did not organise a separate Political Party for the Black Americans, but joined the political parties of the White Americans. The situation is clear in what is going on today in America for the next Presidential election. A Black American is seeking nomination by the Democratic Party for the American Presidential election. And it is very likely that the next American President may be a Black American.

Does'nt that open the eyes of the Tamils in Sri Lanka, who do not want to be second class citizens, but in every way be equal to Sinhala ? Who has created the difference ? Is it not the Tamils themselves who have identified themselves as Tamils, and not equal to Sinhala ?

By organising separate political parties exclusively for the Tamils, the Tamils themselves have separated them-selves from the Sinhala. Would n't it have been different if there were the political parties not of the Sinhala or the Tamils, but just the political parties of the people of Sri Lanka ?

UNP, SLFP, JVP, MEP, LSSP, CP , and even JHU are not Political Parties with a racial identity. Why cannot the Tamils join one of these parties, and work together with the Sinhala ? If they do that there would be no feeling of separateness between the Sinhala and Tamils.

Mr. Pullenayagam says, " ……
It may be urged by some Sinhalese that there is, in fact, no discrimination against the Tamils. This may appear to be so in theory, but if the Sinhalese were to make private enquiries from their Tamil friends they will soon realise that, rightly or wrongly, the Tamils and other minorities, feel a sense of discrimination. It is this feeling of discrimination that must be set right."

This feeling of a sense of discrimination comes from the fact that the Tamils are seeking a separate identity from the Sinhala. But if the Tamils were to be like the Black Americans, and were to work politically together with the Sinhala in the same political parties, wouldn't it be easy to be equal in every way to Sinhala, and one day have a Tamil President in Sri Lanka ?

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