upi.com,  Mon Mar 13 20:37:15 EST 2006

    WASHINGTON, March 13 (UPI) -- Development efforts in Sri Lanka continue to suffer from a litany of complications, chiefly due to civil war between ethnic groups. Systemic corruption, failed social programs, a militarized youth population, and a polarized political climate contribute to hopelessness that in turn fuels more conflict.

Sri Lanka, a small island state just southeast of the Indian subcontinent, received independence from England in 1948, created democratic rule, and experienced years of progress before spiraling downward.

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- The Academic

Inappropriate posting.

What a sad pathetic situation for such a beautiful country. Its the citizens themselves that have destroyed the very land that they live on with complete disregard. I'm not sure if they realise that their offspring are the ones that are going to bear the full brunt of this destruction. Ultimately, its the greed of all them politicians (the near past and present) that are at the center of this destruction and that they should take full responsibility for all their actions.

The Academic wrote:

Sri Lanka, a small island state just southeast of the Indian subcontinent, received independence from England in 1948, created democratic rule, and experienced years of progress before spiraling downward.

This gives the impression SL spiraling downward after independence. The civil war that was thrust on the rest of the island was brewing since 1927 in the form of a struggle against "untouchables". Tamil high castes used armed violence to suppress Dalits. Its ironic the rights they claim that were taken away by the Sinhalese do not even come close to the injustices dished out against low caste Tamils. The following are some of rights that were taken away by the high castes.

- Children were forbidden from learning
- Children were forbidden from dining with other children
- Took away voting rights  
- Prevented women from wearing jewels,
- Prevented women from using an umbrella,  
- Prevented Dalits using the caste thread in marriage
- Prevented children from bearing the names used by dominant castes
- Did not allow cremate but only to bury the dead bodies
- Cannot use footwear
- Cannot get water from public wells
- Should not sit in buses
- Send their children to schools.

Those who celebrate the greatness of the Tamil armed struggle are of course careful to avoid mention of when Jaffna's earliest episodes of armed violence took place and against whom these were directed. Violence began to inform the Tamil landscape as early as 1944 when some caste Hindus gunned down a Dalit as he tried to cremate the body of an old woman of his community at the Villoonri cremation ground in Jaffna. This anti-Dalit violence was to continue sporadically over the years. Thus, it can be said that the culture of armed struggle began in Sri Lanka in the form of attacks on untouchables. However, Eelam's panegyrics to itself and its armed revolution cannot accommodate such uncomfortable facts.

http://www.tamilnation.org/caste/circle.htm

Hi systemx

What you mention about "Dalits" and Tamilians in Sri Lanka can be applied to the Rodi caste and Sinhalas also.

Inter-caste problems within the Tamilian community, unjust as they may be, cannot be compared to the issues Tamilians face as a people in Sri Lanka.

If you argument was to be accepted as valid, then you must accept that a Tamilian could say that the injustices heaped upon lower-caste Sinhalas by the "high-caste" Sinhalas is an indication of the injustices perpetrated upon the Tamilians and the culture of violence against Tamilians was began as such.

Hi Proximus

proximus wrote:

What you mention about "Dalits" and Tamilians in Sri Lanka can be applied to the Rodi caste and Sinhalas also.

Inter-caste problems within the Tamilian community, unjust as they may be, cannot be compared to the issues Tamilians face as a people in Sri Lanka.

If you argument was to be accepted as valid, then you must accept that a Tamilian could say that the injustices heaped upon lower-caste Sinhalas by the "high-caste" Sinhalas is an indication of the injustices perpetrated upon the Tamilians and the culture of violence against Tamilians was began as such.

I'm afraid that I cannot agree with you.  You simply cannot compare casteism as practiced by the Sinhalese with that found both in Jaffna and many parts of rural India.  The Sinhala Rodiyas although occupying the lowest strata in Sinhalese society never faced the same sort of oppression as the Dalits of India and Jaffna.  The two major differences are 1) lack of caste violence and 2) lack of untouchability as practiced by the Sinhalese, although there has been discrimination.  There has never been an ugly episode among the Sinhalese like the Maviddapuram incident in 1968, as temple entry has never been an issue in Buddhism as it has been in Hinduism, unfortunately.

The combined forces of Sinhala Nationalism and modernization have further undermined casteism among the Sinhalese, at a rate outpacing their Jaffna Tamil and Indian counterparts.  The Rodiyas as a caste are disappearing through assimilation with "mainstream" society.

Most people don't know this, but anti-casteism was one of the major issues facing the Jaffna Tamils along with the struggle against Sinhala chauvinism.  It was only in the late 1970s/early 1980s that the ethnic question eclipsed the caste question, and ultimately swallowed it as the LTTE's propaganda claims that the Iyakkam is actively opposing casteism (in truth, the LTTE is sweeping casteism under the rug just as the Fascists and Nazis swept class struggle under their rugs).  Before this, issues such as standardization which have been splashed all over the Eelam websites really meant little to the untouchable Jaffna Tamils who never had any access to education or higher employment to begin with.  The higher-caste Vellalas however were very disturbed that some Buddhist monks were going after these untouchables and helping them.  This help included Sinhalese education which was perceived as efforts to "Sinhalize" these Tamils (a process which has actually occurred for millennia).  Therefore one of the goals of these high-caste Tamils was to use nationalism to dim the caste issue (although not resolve it).

Thus today the same Jaffna Vellala expatriate doctor in the US or elsewhere who praises the LTTE's "social equality" will vomit at the thought of his daughter who can't speak a lick of Tamil marrying another Tamil of a "lower" background.  Even after all the death and destruction, casteism is still alive in Jaffna itself today as well.


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If the only tool you have is a hammer, you will see every problem as a nail.- Abraham Maslow

You have got to be kidding me ! You mean in the middle of this Tamilian/Sinhala/LTTE/Eelam/Unitary State issue, the Tamilians are going to have an "internal" problem to deal with as well ?

Maybe we can explore the fate of these folk in the current day... see how they are faring in the New State under the Great Leader. Or is it that no one really gives a damn anyway ?

systemx, I withdraw my response.

Hi Proximus

proximus wrote:

You have got to be kidding me ! You mean in the middle of this Tamilian/Sinhala/LTTE/Eelam/Unitary State issue, the Tamilians are going to have an "internal" problem to deal with as well ?

Well, to a certain degree it depends on the Sinhalese and their leadership.  Sinhala racism and violence has a wonderful effect in unifying the Tamils, regardless of region or caste.  For a while, these differences all temporarily disappeared after 1983.  The differences would resurface every now and then, but would again fade with the heightening of aerial bombings and counterinsurgency warfare.  A constant state of war is the LTTE's way of maintaining Tamil cohesion.  

Of course, the .. in the Sinhala community who have stridently opposed any kind of ceasefire and foolishly believe that the LTTE can be worn down through constant war play into our National Leader's hands, as usual.


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If the only tool you have is a hammer, you will see every problem as a nail.- Abraham Maslow

Taraki wrote:

A constant state of war is the LTTE's way of maintaining Tamil cohesion.

You nailed it. The Jaffna high caste Tamil always needed a distraction to maintain their “superior” status in the society. The Dalits were the punching bag for sometime until the “Chauvinistic Sinhalese Buddhists” came along. Although LTTE claim they struggle against castesim, the reality far from the truth. The murder of principal Rajadurai who was a Dalit is one case in point. The real issues can only be solved through open and fair discussion. This of course aint going to happen until LTTE remains in control.