Sri Lankan Tamil nationalism

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Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism is the belief of the Sri Lankan Tamil people that they have the right to constitute an independent or autonomous political community. This belief, however, was not always extant. The British rule of Ceylon saw the development of Tamil National awareness as a result of Hindu revivalists trying to counter the Missionary activities of Protestant missionaries.^[1]. Tamil National awareness morphed into Tamil National consciousness—a less passive state—as political developments took place in Ceylon which saw the formation of Tamil Political party called All Ceylon Tamil Congress. Tamil Nationalistic consciousness heightened after the arrival of the Donoughmore Commission in the late 1920 which introduced communal representation and got the Tamil people to think in terms of communal representation. After Independence a series of policies adapted by successive Sinhalese Governments and the 1956 success of the Sinhala Nationalist government under S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike made the ITAK the main player and voice of Tamil politics ^[2]. The increased racial tensions led to the merger of all Tamil Political parties into the Tamil United Liberation Front and the emergence of a militant, armed form of Tamil Nationalism ^[3]

Contents 1 Before Independence 1.1 Early beginning 1.2 Communal Consciousness 1.3 Development 1.4 Ponnambalam's political program 2 After Independence 2.1 All Ceylon Tamil Congress 2.2 Federal Party 2.3 TULF 2.4 Tamil Militants 3 Notes 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Before Independence

[edit] Early beginning

See also: Politics of Sri Lanka

Percentage of Sri Lankan Tamils per district based on 2001 or 1981 (cursive) census.

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Primary contributor to the development of political awareness amongst Tamils was the intrusion of Protestant missionaries on a large scale from 1814.^[4] Missionary activities by missionaries of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, Methodists and Anglican churches led to a revival amongst Hindu Tamils. The Hindu(sivite) Tamil revivalist and reformist movement was lead by Arumuga Navalar.^[4] It was formed as a defensive response to the threat of indigenous order by the British colonial and missionary presence and their activities. Arumugam Navalar adapted literary endeavours to boost the Tamil Language and used this to spread Hindu sivite principles. Navalar’s earlier efforts to revive Hinduism influenced Tamils who built their own schools, temples, societies and published literature to counter the missionary activities. Thus by 1925 nearly 50 schools, including the Vaddukkoddei Seminary were fully functioning ^{[5] [6]}. Furthermore, this revival moment set the stage for modern Tamil pros^[7]

The success of this effort led the Tamils to think confidently of themselves as a community and prepared the way for self consciousness as a cultural, religious and linguisitic community in the mid nineteenth century.^[4][8].^[9] For his efforts Arumugam Navalar was described, by Kailasapathy, as the person who gave his community a distinct identity ^[10]

[edit] Communal Consciousness

Great Britain, that had come to control the whole of the island in 1815, administratively unified the island ^[11]with a legislative council in 1833 with three Europeans and one each for Sinhalese, Sri Lankan Tamils and Burghers. This council's primary requirement was to play an advisory role to the Governor. The legislative council was lead by Ponnambalam Arunachalam, a Tamil, who was appointed representative of the Sinhalese as well the Tamils in the national legislative council called the Ceylon National Congress ^[12] . Things started to change with the arrival of the British Governor William Manning in 1919. William Manning actively encouraged the concept of "communal representation" and created the reformed legislative council in 1921. The first election of the reformed legislative council (1921) had returned 13 sinhalese and three Tamils, as opposed to equality in the eariler council based on direct appointment by the governor.^[13][14]. As a result of this the Tamil people started to develop communal consciousness and began to think of themselves as a minority community. In the role as a minority community Tamils began to think in terms of communal representation in the council rather than National representation. As a result of this type of thinking the Tamil people believed that they should be represented by leadership of their community. ^[15][13]. The increased communal thinking of the community took the Tamil Nationalism to a different direction. From the mid-1920’s and onwards the Tamil national awareness transformed into Tamil national consciousness. Tamil national consciousness gave the people a heightened sensitivity to protect the interest of the Ceylon Tamil community where the Tamil national awareness was a more passive state. ^[16] This modern Tamil national consciousness was heavily based on political history and, perhaps more importantly, Colombo-centered developments. The focus on the Colombo-centred developments made way for the development of Tamil political organization called the All Ceylon Tamil Congress headed by G. G. Ponnambalam ^[17][18].

[edit] Development

The reformed legislative council was scrapped in 1931 and , subsequently, the Donoughmore Commission was introduced in 1931. The Donoughmore Commission strongly rejected communal representation, and brought in universal franchise in 1931. The universal franchise was strongly opposed by the Tamil political leadership, who realized that they would be reduced to a minority in parliament, according to the proportion of the population they make up. Many Sinhalese also opposed the universal franchise for caste reasons. G. G. Ponnambalam, a leader of the Tamil community, opposed the Donoughmore Commission and proposed to the Soulbury Commission that roughly equal numbers of seats be assigned to Tamils and Sinhalese in the proposed independent Ceylon - a proposal that was rejected. From the introduction of advisory council to the Donoughmore Commission in 1931 until the Soulbury Commission in 1947 the main dispute between the elite of Sinhalese and Tamils was over the question of representation not on the structure of the government. The issue of power sharing was used by the nationalists of both communities to create an escalating inter ethnic rivalry which has continually gained momentum ever since.^[19]

[edit] Ponnambalam's political program

The Second World War served as an interregnum where the adroit politics of D. S. Senanayake successfully balanced the extremist tendencies of the Sinhala as well as Tamil nationalists. Senanayake, together with Arunachalam Mahadeva had espoused the "Ceylonese" concept, which was closer to the spirit of the Ceylon National Congress. Senanayake formed the first government with both the Tamil congress of Ponnambalam, and the Sinhala Maha Sabha of Bandaranaike, as participants, within his United National Party.

Ponnambalam's Tamil nationalistic views was paralleled by a similar Sinhala nationalist program led by S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike. This lead to tensions between the two parties and attacks of words being exchanged and Ponnampalam calling himself "proud Dravidian"^[20]. This tensions lead to the first Sinhala-Tamil riot which occurred in 1939 ^[21]. The Second World War served as an interregnum where the adroit politics of D. S. Senanayake successfully balancing the extremist tendencies of the Sinhala as well as Tamil nationalists.

[edit] After Independence

[edit] All Ceylon Tamil Congress

The All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC), lead by G. G. Ponnambalam, was popular among Tamils because it wanted to preserve Tamil identity ^[22]. The All Ceylon Tamil Congress first pushed for a "fifty-fifty" policy which would give half the parliamentarian seat to the minority community. According to the All Ceylon Tamil Congress this policy was a defensive mechanism against the possibility of the Sinhalese adapting a dominant posture. Ponnambalam, the leader of Tamil Congress, presented the policy in front of the Soulbury Commission in 1947, and suggested as a solution, the concept of "balanced representation", where 50% of the seats in the legislature be reserved for Tamils and other minorities, with the remaining 50% for the Sinhalese. This policy was opposed by Muslim minority and sections of Tamil community^[23]. D. S. Senanayake, the leader of the Sinhalese political groups, allowed Ponnambalam full sway over the Soulbury presentations, prevented Sinhalese nationalists like Bandaranaike from taking the stage, and avoided getting into acrimonious arguments. ^[24]. The Soulbury commission rejected the charges of discrimination against the Tamils, and also rejected the 50-50 formula as subverting democracy ^[25].

The ACTC later decided to adapt a new policy which was "responsive cooperation" with "progressive-minded Sinhalese".^[22][26] Later Ponnampalam decided to merge the ACTC with the ruling United National Party (UNP) in 1948, even though Ponnampalam earlier claimed that UNP was not progressive-minded. The merge wasn't supported by a section of the party, and it ended up splitting the ACTC in half, with one faction merging with D. S. Senanayake’s UNP and the other, lead by S.J.V. Chelvanayakam, deciding to leave the party altogether. In 1948, Ponnampalam voted in favour of one of several bills that later became know as the Ceylon citizenship act which disenfranchised Up-country Tamils^[27][28]. Though Ponnampalam did not vote for all the bills of Ceylon citizenship act his silence in parliament made the Tamil public believe that he was not interested in Indian Tamil rights.^[29] . The ACTC remained the major Tamil political party until 1956 - the year when the Federal Party took over the position^[30]. After 1956 the Tamil Congress still held parliamentary positions in the years to come and continued to be a force in Tamil politics during the times. In 1976, the ACTC was merged with the other Tamil parties to form a new party called Tamil United Liberation Front. According to A. J Wilson, Ponnampalam’s legacy is that he raised the consciousness of Tamil people to the point where they began to think of themselves as having a separate national identity rather than an all-island polity^[31].

[edit] Federal Party

In 1949 a new Tamil party called the ‘Ilankai Thamil Arasu Kadchi’ (Federal Party) by the people who broke away from ACTC and was lead by Chelvanayakam. It gained much popularity amongst the Tamil people because it was advocated rights for Tamil people. Its popularity was also due to the parties opposition of the Ceylon citizenship act and the Sinhala Only Act ^[27][32].As a result of their popularity the Federal party became the most dominant party in the Tamil districts after the 1956 elections. However, Federal Party never asked for a separate state or even for self-determination.^[30]

Instead they lobbied for a unitary state which gave Tamil and Sinhalese equal footing as the official language and considerable autonomy for the Tamil areas.^[33][30]. It was against this backdrop that Bandaranaike-Chelvanayakam pact was signed on July 1957. However, pressure from opposition and other extreme sides made Bandaranaike abolish the pact. After the assassination of Bandaranaike, another pact was signed between Chelvanayakam and Dudley Senenayake on 1965 called Dudey-Chelvanayakam pact. The Dudly-Chelvanayakam pact, like the Bandaranaike-Chelvanayakam pact, was not implemented ^[34]. In 1970 election the UNP was defeated and was replaced by the United Front (UF) lead by Sirimavo Bandaranaike. The new Government in power adapted two new policies that were discriminatory to the Tamil people.^[35]First the government introduced two system of standardisation of marks for admission to Universities. This system required the Tamil students to achieve more marks than the Sinhalese students to get into university^[36][11]. Same sort of policy was adapted for employment in the public sector in which less than 10 percent of Tamil speakers were employed as public servants^[37][38]. The Federal Party opposed these policies and as a result Chelvanayakam resigned his parliamentary seat on October 1972. Shortly, on 1973, the Federal Party decide to demand for a separate state. To further the Tamil Nationalism they merged with the other Tamil political parties to become the Tamil United Liberation Front(TULF) in 1975. On 1976, after the first National convention of the Tamil United Liberation Front, the Ceylon Tamils moved towards a morphed nationalism which meant that they were now unwilling to live within a confined single island entity^[39] . Chelvanayakam and the Federal Party had always campaigned for a unitary country and thought that partitioning of the country would be “suicidal” up until 1973. However policies by the various governments that was considered to be discriminatory by Tamil leadership^[40] modified the stand to Tamil Nationalism. It was during this same period that Tamil Nationalism was brought to a heightened stand and eventually led to the formation of Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) ^[41]

[edit] TULF

The Tamil United Liberation Front was formed as Tamil parties merged together on 1976 and adapted the Vaddukoddai Resolution. In the 1977 election it became the first Tamil Nationalistic party to run on a separatist platform. It won a majority of votes in the north and east, winning 18 seats and became the largest opposition in parliament.^[42]. The Vaddukoddai Resolution was a concept that had serious implication on Tamil politics – parliamentary politics was soon to be replaced by guns. TULF, however, tried to refashion itself as the political wing and decided to negotiate an agreement with the executive president at that time, J.R Jayewardene. The outcome was the District Development Councils’ scheme passed 1980. The TULF decided to abandon this scheme because J.R Jayewardene did not agree to let the TULF have the five District Ministership in five Tamil districts where TULF received the most votes ^[43]. On 1983 the Sixth Amendment was passed and required Tamil members of parliament and Tamil in public office to take the oath of alliance to the unitary state of Sri Lanka. The Sixth Amendment forbade advocating a separate state by peaceful means. Consequently, the TULF was expelled from the parliament for refusing to take the oath.^[44]

[edit] Tamil Militants

Main articles: Sri Lankan Tamil militant groups and List of Sri Lankan Tamil militant groups

After the expulsion of the TULF from the parliament the Tamil political movement was headed by Tamil militants. As a result,the seventies saw the emergence of more than 30 Tamil militant groups. Anton Balasingham, the LTTE theoretician, states that the reason for the militarization of the Tamil youth was because of unemployment, lack of possibility for higher education and the imposition of an alien language. He further alleges these problems were imposed by the majority Sinhalese Government and adds that the only alternative left for the Tamil youths was a "revolutionary armed struggle for the independence of their nation." ^[45][46]. Only five of the groups, namely PLOTE, TELO, EPRLF, EROS and LTTE, remained a potent political force. The rest of the groups did not have a properly formulated ideology and could not be considered as ideologically Tamil Nationalistic. Out of the five most dominant groups, the LTTE is the most solidly nationalistic of the Tamil resistance organization. Furthermore, the LTTE has the support and sympathy of major sections of the Tamil community because of its policies and constructive Tamil Nationalistic ideology which it advances through its plea for national self-determination. ^[47]. It has established a de facto state, in the areas under its control, called Tamil Eelam and runs a Government in these areas. In addition, it also performs state functions such as Courts, Police Force, Human Rights organization, humanitarian assistant board^[48], health board and education board^[49]. It also runs a Bank (Bank of Tamil Eelam), a radio station (Voice of Tigers) and a Television station (National Television of Tamil Eelam)^[50].

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• Wilson, A. J. (2000). Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism: Its Origins and Development in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. Sydney: C. Hurst & Co. Publishers. ISBN 1-85065-338-0. 

• Gunasingham, M. (1999). Sri Lankan Tamil nationalism: A study of its origins. MV Publications. ISBN 0-646-38106-7. 

• Tambiah, S. J. (1986). Sri Lanka: Ethnic Fratricide and the Dismantling of Democracy. IB Tauris & Co Ltd. ISBN 978-0-226-78952-1. 

• Goldman, R. B.; Wilson, A. J. (1984). From Independence to Statehood. London: Frances Pinter. 

• Wilson, A. J. (1988). The Break-up of Sri Lanka: The Sinhalese-Tamil Conflict. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers. ISBN 1850650330. 

[edit] External links

• Sinhala-Tamil Nationalism and Sri Lanka’s East Coast Veddas
• The future of (Sri Lankan)Tamil nationalism

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