2 weeks Ago By Thilina Walpola
by B. Nimal Veerasingham The presidential election would be soon over with new President being elected. He would be the president for the entire country irrespective of the ideological or religious/ethnic/educational/class differences of the populace.
Though the frontrunners are clearly identified many joined the bandwagon for reasons known and unknown. But there is one unusual twist, in particular to the placement of what is known as the common ‘Tamil’ candidate. There is another segment who wants to make a protest against the whole process by boycotting it.
Who said you can’t continue to complain without voting? The emerging idea on the notion is to express solidarity with the unsolved grievances of the Tamils and to make it a demand or request to the newly elected President, somewhat like a collective petition. The word diaspora, denoting the ‘Tamil diaspora’ is very much quoted in conversions, social/mass media or by commentary by the politicians and political pundits with just one purpose. That is to paint and perceive those who are designated with anti Sri Lankan sentiment and consider those against the interests of the country at large, notably to damage the reputation of the country.
There is a lot of inaccuracy to that description by continuing to bundle all Tamils who left the country to settle in another. Of course, technically they could be described as Diaspora, but not necessarily as a negative force at its entirety in the current context! I am not sure those who continue to use the word ‘diaspora’ knowingly understand or just consider it a status quo as in the case for the last 40 years plus. Some weeks ago, in Toronto, Canada, one group of Tamils interrupted and created mayhem in order to sabotage an annual street festival organized by another Tamil group.
Though skirmishes of this nature did happen on and off in the past, this culminated in an attempt to disrupt a well attended and well-known festival. The event is one of the main highlights of Tamil identity and celebration for three days participated by thousands of people, the venue being a stretch of busy roadway, a connecting artery to many cities and highways, but closed to accommodate the festival. One of the key reasons propagated by the group which interrupted, is the sponsorship and participation of the other group in the ‘Himalayan accord’ process, meaning the idea of collaboration, reconciliation and participation towards common prosperity or shared governance is nowhere in their alphabet.
It is difficult as some analysts suggest that the war time leniency towards fascist ideology has a long-term impact on this segment of followers, still living in the past. It is well known that centralized autocracy, militarism, subordination of individual interests and forcible suppression of opposition are some characteristics of fascism, cloaked as political ideology leveraging on mass discontent. They point out that the group is still grappling to come out of that strain in accepting new realities in a changing world and common aspirations, without losing one’s identity.
This is in clear conflict of what an average Tamil traditionally known for; educational upliftment, enterprising entrepreneurship and commercial farming whose fundamentals includes individual freedom, choice, clean governance and ownership of property. As per political analysts, after the end of war there was lot of soul searching among the diaspora members, not so much as to what happened but how best the future path be paved to the best interest of people in the East and North. The average household abroad as per unofficial data, allocates 3-5% of their income towards the immediate and long-term welfare of common good including their kith and kin back home.
Many aspiring investors and industrialists have already ploughed sizable funds in going beyond the individual households in establishing commercial enterprises including tourist, industrial and agrarian developments. It’s a coincident that even some of the mega investors have roared into entertainment business producing mass cinema productions that was not tried before in size and magnitude. The Toronto incident is a clear reflection of forces at the opposite ends at power play, one steeped in the past and one forging ahead.
As the diaspora is a microcosm for homeland comparison, its evident that the same forces are at play on home soil too. The side with a common Tamil candidate in place or the one for complete boycott, merely hangs on simply showcasing its historical and current plights, harbingering the continuation of ‘protest politics’. Sometimes its propagated as an expressed referendum to international agencies, where solution as everyone knows could mean only on paper alone! On the other hand, supporting a potential winning candidate from the majority could bring in measurable benefits, both on short and long term, argue the Progressives.
Though many in the current political spectrum both centered in Colombo and North/East do not openly admit or elaborate, is about the economic giant next door. Time-to-time the subject is being touched though it doesn’t get enough traction among political pundits, academics and economic planners. Tamil Nadu which is just 40+ miles North, is an economic powerhouse in the whole of India with an expected Trillion-dollar economy.
It ranks # 1 in industries and skilled industrial force, leading in automobiles, auto components, textiles, chemicals, engineering, electronics and MedTech industries. Just for comparison ask any informed Canadian diaspora about Canada’s prosperity in relation to its economic giant US next door. Its nearly 70% of exports annually valued $ 500 Billion each way is with US, which has 10 times the population and economy.
This is in comparison with only 5% with China. In the current Presidential election in Sri Lanka, though there are clear roadmaps for abundant hope for greater prosperity for the nation in the horizon, there are too many distractions, distortions and most importantly to weigh in the right candidate. As for the Tamils, especially in the East and North, they have to rely on their sixth sense to battle their demons despite historical grievances and destructions of the past, to propel a better future for their children.
As in the words of Tamil leaders of the past, ‘Fatherly’ Mr. S.J.
V, Chelvanayagam and ‘Upright’ Mr. K.A.
W. Ariyanayagam, ‘Let the Good Lord grant wisdom and protection to the Tamils’..
