Topic started by E.T. Agnosticus (@ user108.216.19.141.dsli.com) on Sat May 26 16:43:21 .
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The election to power of Ms. Jayalalitha Jeyaram, has once again high-lighted the murky politics in Tamil Nadu (TN) and why many SL Tamils have always mistrusted many of the Tamil politicians and their fickle supporters in TN.
I have observed TN Politics and its manifestations in Eelam since the early 1970s. The Federal Party under S.J.V. Chelvanayagam had largely been more supportive of M. Karunanidhi (MK) than M.G.Ramachandran (MGR). In those days, the middle class intellectuals in Jaffna had more interest in ‘serious’ contribution to Tamil, through literature and oratory, and contempt for ‘frivolous’ pursuits of glamour and entertainment, such as movies. Karunanidhi’s oratory and contributions to Tamil naturally made him more estimable in the SL Tamil mind than the ‘mere’ acting and screen presence of MGR. Of course, there were always some people who were taken with MGR’s movie stardom, and there were a few fan clubs of MGR. But the dominant political and intellectual view was contemptuous of TN’s movie ‘mania’ and by extension, MGR. Politically, though both were considered supportive of the Tamil cause, MK was considered the more vocal and ardent. Even though we were skeptical-- even furious-- of Karunanidhi’s so-called “tactical somersaults” in contesting elections, he continued to enjoy our support, even after SJV’s death and the Federal Party joined with the Tamil Congress to form the TULF; but it would all change after Tamil youth took up an armed struggle, and with the help of an Indian Govt. looking out for its own interests in SL, made TN their ‘rear base.’
As scores of militant groups operated in TN, MGR and MK cultivated different groups. MGR became a staunch supporter of Vellupillai Prabaharan’s LTTE, while Karunanidhi tended to support the TELO, the group most cultivated by New Delhi. Refer to Sachi Sri Kantha’s writings in Tamilnation.org, http://www.tamilnation.org/forum/goliard/pirabakaran3.htm, to see how Prabhaharan wisely cultivated MGR. See also Sri Kantha’s writing, http://www.tamilnation.org/hundredtamils/mgr.htm , for a different perspective on MGR by Eelam Tamils. From then on, until MGR’s death, he was considered the stronger backer of the Eelam Tamil cause. It helped that MGR was in power, and was thus able to provide more financial backing. By then, the LTTE had evolved into the undisputed champion of the Eelam Tamil cause. They decimated the TELO in the process, about which there was considerable agonizing among SL Tamils at that time, but subsequent events have shown some justification for such actions. Though he was wary of Prabhaharan for suppressing his beloved TELO, Karunanidhi had no choice but to show some lukewarm backing to the LTTE if he wanted to show his electorate that he cared about SL Tamils. As for Jayalalitha Jeyaram (JJ), SL Tamils had their natural contempt for movie stars, and it was thought her only qualification to politics was that of MGR’s ‘concubine.’ If the IPKF’s atrocities after the signing of Indo-Lanka Accord in 1987 made SL Tamils aware of the limitations of support from TN Tamils, the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi estranged many TN Tamils from the SL Tamil cause entirely. For Eelam Tamils, however, the assassination was just punishment for the Commander-in-Chief of an army that had committed widespread atrocities and war crimes; he couldn’t be allowed to go scot-free. All other avenues of justice were closed to them. For such views, many Indians ignorant of the history of the conflict in Sri Lanka and the IPKF’s atrocities consider SL Tamils as ‘ingrates.’ There is hardly any justification for such a label. Indians should perhaps spend more effort in understanding the conflict in Sri Lanka, and the Indian role in it, even at this late stage.
Even though his support for the LTTE was lukewarm to non-existent, Karunanidhi had to show he had no contacts with the LTTE, to protect himself from false accusations from the corrupt JJ and the inconsequential, schizophrenic Subramaniam Swamy. Recently, he had to show his credentials by deporting a harmless Eelaventhan to Sri Lanka on the grounds that he was a vocal supporter of the Eelam Tamil cause. MK has thus become totally untrustworthy as far as the Eelam Tamil conflict is concerned. Meanwhile, the Indian Government continues the posturing that India has a hands-off policy in Sri Lanka. Having played an active role in Sri Lankan affairs, and been a party to the travails of SL Tamils, an aspiring regional power like India cannot adopt such a policy—it is ludicrous, to say the least. Even as the Indian Govt. provides military and financial support to Sri Lanka, SL Navy continues to arrest, detain and kill fishermen from TN in international waters.
Today, Eelam Tamils’ contempt for the Indian media and most Indian journalists is well-entrenched. Indian journalists’ reporting on a war waged by their own “peace-keeping” army, showed their true stripes and utter dishonesty; they had become complicit in their Government’s Goebbelsian methods of spinning lies and half-truths. Later, they continue, by failing to investigate the truths of atrocities of SL armed forces, as accomplices in the Sri Lankan Government’s murders of innocent Tamil civilians. Many of us wondered if these journalists were able to brazenly distort the truth mainly because of the political ignorance and gullibility of Indian masses. Some believed it was the fault of the Brahmin owned media; it was considered in the context of historical caste animosities in TN. But I have always thought the problem is far-reaching. It is true that many Indian journalists who happen to be Brahmins generally tend to be more malevolent toward the Eelam Tamil cause. But my observations of the Indian media over the years and my conversations with many Indian middle class people in North America, lead me to think that most Indians are utterly naïve about principled politics in general, and the history of Sri Lankan Tamil conflict in particular.
How could TN people elect to power a party led by such a corrupt and despicable leader like JJ? How could Mr. Ramdoss of PMK and the likes be vocally supportive of the Eelam Tamil cause and then align themselves with this corrupt, anti-Eelam concubine, JJ? Could it be, that even as India makes giant strides in Science and Technology, vast segments of Indian society remain ‘politically illiterate’ and mired in a movie culture, religious mythology and superstitions? Various so-called ‘rationalist’ movements could have built up a politically ‘aware’ community, and produced honest leaders; instead we see a bunch of utterly unprincipled, irrational and corrupt leaders, who make a mockery of politics and democracy. Such mockery is prevalent in most countries today, but is obviously more glaring from a Tamil context in India and among the Sri Lankan politicians. The solution lies in recognizing that a truly moral society is one where ‘agnosticism’ is acknowledged as the right way to life, while insisting on a rigorous personal morality through ‘culture.’ Such a society will be able to bring innate skepticism to every issue, and challenge politicians to become more honest and cleaner. But this is not alone; for this to work, societies need to become more prosperous, and I see no alternative to serious hard work. Such a society is ‘truly’ rational, as opposed to the kind of caste-based ‘EVR rationalists’ in various ‘Dravidian’ parties, who are partly responsible for the present situation in TN. Such a society would naturally avoid the ‘movie mania’ prevalent in many parts of India and some segments of SL Tamils. Being rational or agnostic does not mean abandoning the moral strictures of Tamil culture, such as the values of fidelity, conservative sexual mores, discipline, respect for elders, etc.
Indeed, blindly following Western culture and morals has given rise, in India, to the largest number of AIDS cases in the world ( as Siddharth Dube recently wrote in the Washington Post), which could eventually lead to the implosion of India—a far bigger threat to India than any nuclear bomb attack from Pakistan!
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