Sri Lanka Tamil Struggle

Chapter 15: Tamils Demand Communal Representation

by T. Sabaratnam, November 16, 2010
A journalist who reported Sri Lankan ethnic crisis for over 50 years

I concluded the last chapter with a reference to the political leadership the British imposed on the Sinhalese and the Tamils. It was from two families of collaborators and anglophiles. I also pointed out the difference between the Panditharatna family and the Coomaraswamy family. Panditharatna and his successors were Anglican Christians who had adopted a Westernized life style. The Coomaraswamy family was orthodox Saivaites who maintained the Jaffna Tamil way of life.

The Coomaraswamy family’s strict adherence to Saivaism and Tamil culture was traced by Dr. Radhika Coomaraswamy in her lecture ‘Sir Muttu Coomaraswamy: British Shadows and Sri Lankan Dreams’ delivered on July 3, 1991 at Law and Society Trust to Coomaraswamy’s wife Vishalakshmi’s devotion to Saivaism and Tamil culture. She made a padayatra (walking pilgrimage) from Jaffna to Kataragama in the early part of the 19th Century. Her knowledge of Tamil classics and Carnetic music influenced the lives of her son Muttu Coomaraswamy and other members of her family. 

The claim Muttu Coomaraswamy and the Ramanathan family made that they were descendents of Jaffna kings Ariyachakravarthis has been dismissed by researchers. Radhika Coomaraswamy said in her lecture,

… in actual fact their family lineage had little to do with the court of Ariyachakravarthis… their aristocracy came from a vellalar pedigree but also depended on the grace and charity of the British rulers.

According to researchers Coomaraswamy’s father was a migrant from Tamil Nadu who settled in Garudavil near Point Pedro. Coomaraswamy was born there in 1783. Coomaraswamy was an unabashed collaborator and admirer of British rule and his successors were no exception. Their devotion to Saivaism and Tamil culture made them more responsive to the growing Tamil nationalist sentiments. That made them different from the Sinhala political leadership which totally identified itself with British interest.

Coomaraswamy’s successors, particularly his son Sir Muttu Coomaraswamy, Ramanathan and Arunachalam reflected the aspirations of Tamil and Sinhala- Buddhist nationalisms because they were Saivaites and upholders of Tamil culture. They reflected the aspirations of the people in their speeches and activities inside the legislative assembly and outside. But they willingly worked within the framework of the British constitutional structure- the unitary constitution.

They never considered whether the interests of the minority Tamils could be protected within the framework of the unitary constitution. It was that failure that led the Tamil people to the ridiculous situation of demanding communal representation and balanced representation.

In the last chapter I gave a brief sketch of Arumuganathapillai Coomaraswamy. He moved to Colombo to join The Academy (now Royal College) which trained translators to serve the British administration. He completed the course in 1905 and was appointed translator to the Governor. He was appointed Mudaliyar of the Governor’s Gate in 1808 and served the British government faithfully.

Though the Legislative Council established under the Colebrooke constitution was constituted in April 1833 appointments of unofficial members were made only on May 30, 1835. Coomaraswamy who was appointed the first Tamil unofficial member died on November 7, 1836, before the next session of the Legislative Council. Thus he had no chance to make any contribution.

The Tamil seat was kept vacant for nearly two years as the Governor found that there were several competitors. Ultimately Governor James Mackenzie appointed Mudaliyar  Simon Cassie Chetty (1807- 1860), a Roman Catholic from Puttalam, on June 29, 1838. He was a Colombo Chetty and a recent migrant.

Cassie Chetty was a pioneer of the Tamil national movement. He was the author of The History of Jaffna which highlighted the heights to which the Jaffna Kingdom grew. He founded The Ceylon Gazetteer in 1834. He brought to light the greatness of Tamil and Dravidian civilizations in the papers on Tamil history he read at the Royal Asiatic Society of Ceylon.

Cassie Chetty published in 1859, a year before his death, Tamil Plutarch which contained the summary account of the lives of the poets and poetesses of Southern India and Ceylon. In the preface to that pioneering work he wrote:

Of the languages of the Scythian family the Tamil confessedly occupies the most distinguished rank, and it is peculiar to the people of that part of India, which was formerly under the sway of the Chera, Chola and Pandiya kings and of those of the eastern and northern provinces of Ceylon.

The name Tamil, signifying " sweet," is characteristic of the language. Indeed it is one of the most copious, refined, and polished languages spoken by man,

Cassie Chetty resigned from the Legislative Council in 1845 to join the judiciary and during the seven years he was a member of the Legislative Council he took up several matters that reflected the concerns of the people. He campaigned for the abolishment of corporal punishment in schools, for instance.

Edirmanasingham, (1846-1861) brother-in-law of Coomaraswamy, succeeded Cassie Chetty and held the membership of the Legislative Council for 16 years, the period during which the Saiva revival took place. Edirmanasingham failed to reflect the assertiveness of the resurgent religious and cultural aspirations of the Tamil people.

On Edirmanasingham’s death Muthucoomaraswamy (1833-1879) succeeded him.  He was the first non-Christian or non-Jew to be registered in the rolls of the Inns Court and was called to the English Bar at Lincoln's Inn in Victorian England. He married Elizabeth Beeby, an English lady and they had one son, Ananda Coomaraswamy, who was a director at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and a fine exponent of Indian art, religion and culture.

Muthucoomaraswamy, who was knighted soon thereafter, was an orator and well versed in the culture and traditions of the Tamil and Sinhala people. He took up in the legislature the grievances and concerns of the people. Vythiyalingam, in his "Biography of Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan" says,

As a wise and fearless champion of popular rights and one who brought inexhaustible intellectual resources, a passion for justice and a philosophical outlook to bear on the business of politics and good government, he was without a peer.

As pointed out in Chapter 13 Muthucoomaraswamy was instrumental in getting the appointment of the R.F. Morgan Sub-committee to review the state of education in the country. He was also instrumental in getting the sub-committee to recommend that the government should take over the responsibility of the education in the country; primary education should be in Sinhala and Tamil and that Sinhala and Tamil schools should be started.

In 1878 when the cholera epidemic ravaged the Northern Province Muthucoomaraswamy raised the matter in the Legislative Council and blamed the Government Agent W.C. Twynam under whom the Health Department functioned of negligence and maladministration. In that instance he worked closely with Navalar who armed him with details of the situation.

Radhika Coomaraswamy in an assessment of the life of Sir Muttu Coomaraswamy credits him with promoting Buddhism and Hinduism and Sinhala and Tamil. She says, ”Both were central to his identity.” He translated Dathawamsa written by Dhamma Kirthi in Pali into English. He was also instrumental in getting the Mahawamsa translated.

Despite his pride and consciousness of the national heritage of the Sinhalese and the Tamils and despite his cultural aggressiveness Muthucoomaraswamy failed as a nationalist in that he was reluctant to challenge the authority of the British state. He refrained from supporting the reform movement and refused to join the boycott led by the other unofficial members who protested against the use of revenue from Ceylon for British military affairs. He quietly attended the Legislative Council meeting thus subverting the agitation.

Muthucoomaraswamy died in 1879 at the age of 45 and his reluctance to challenge the foundation of the British rule and the unitary constitution it introduced was followed by his successors. Though Ramanathan who succeeded him supported the reform movement he strictly adhered to the policy of not disturbing the constitutional structure of the state.

Ponnambalam Ramanathan (1851-1930) was Sir Muttu Coomaraswamy’s sister Sellatchi’s son and the grandson of A. Coomaraswamy.  Ramanathan was a devote Saivaite and a sympathizer of the emerging Tamil and Sinhala revival movements. His competitor was Christopher Britto, a Roman Catholic whom the Christians backed. Arumuga Navalar campaigned for the nomination of Ramanathan because he was a Saivaite Hindu. Navalar addressed several meetings in support of Ramanathan and pleaded with the Saivaites to back Ramanathan saying that he was the suitable candidate because he was interested in Saivaism, Tamil language and culture.

A portrait of Gazulu Lakshminarasu

That was the first time Tamil people in the north and east showed interest in the political affairs of the country. The Sinhalese too by this year- 1879 - had become politically activated. Among the Tamils the contest was between the Christians and the Saivaites. Tamils were interested, as a continuation of the Saiva revival, in electing a Saivaite to represent them in the Legislative Council. Among the Sinhalese the contest was between two groups of Christians. For them the caste factor- Govigama (Tamil equivalent vellalar)  versus Karava (karayar) - had emerged. The Karava community which had amassed wealth through trade, graphite mining, liquor shop renting and coconut plantations started challenging the Govigama dominance.

Ramanathan was nominated as a member of the Legislative Council in 1879 and he was conscious that the role of a member nominated by the Governor was to faithfully follow the Governor’s wishes. But as the only non- Christian representative the role of championing the causes of Sinhala Buddhists and Tamil Hindus fell on him.    

Ramanathan was aware of these conflicting roles and he used to recall the reply he gave the Colonial Treasurer George Vane who called him a member of the opposition while congratulating him on his nomination to illustrate his plight. Ramanathan had recalled,

I remember in 1879 when I became the member of the Legislative Council, Mr George Vane, the Treasurer of Ceylon, congratulated me upon my position as one of Her Majesty's opposition. I was quite young then, and I replied: 'No, Mr Vane, you are mistaking my position. If you think I am going to constitute myself as one of the opposition. No, I am part of the government, and I have come to help them with my criticism, to cooperate with them as much as possible.

That was the role Ramanathan played during the 13 years (1879-1892) he functioned as the unofficial member. Though he took up the Sinhala and Tamil causes during this period he strictly performed the role he had undertaken to play, being part of the government while serving the interests of the people. He played that role well and emerged as the leader of the Sri Lankan people, Sinhalese and the Tamils.

In 1885 he campaigned in the Legislative Council for the declaration of Vesak day a public holiday. He did that at the instance of Olcott with whom he had developed a close friendship. The proposal which won the support of the Legislative Council including that of the Governor was opposed only by the Sinhala unofficial member H.L. Alwis who voted against the motion.

Ramanathan was largely responsible for the enactment of the Buddhist Temporalities Ordinance and the establishment of the Post Office Savings Bank which continues to this day as the National Savings Bank. He backed several other national causes. He fought for the abolition of the grains tax though the Sinhalese representative James Alwis supported its retention.  

Ramanathan resigned in 1892 when the Governor decided to limit the period of office of unofficial members to five years and took up the post of Solicitor General. Ramanathan  functioned as the Solicitor General for two years, 1892-1894 and as Acting Attorney General for another two years, 1894-1896. Then he reverted to the post of Solicitor General and retired in 1897 because his junior, a British, was appointed Attorney General. During these years he did not play any part in the political process.

Indian Influence

The 13 years Ramanathan functioned as an unofficial member of the Legislative Council (1879- 1892) was an important period in the history of Sinhala- Tamil relationship and the constitutional development of Sri Lanka. Three political processes were in action during that period: the consolidation of the Sinhala- Buddhist and Tamil- Saivaite nationalisms and the emergence of Sri Lankan nationalism which was the outcome of the events leading to the formation of Indian National Congress.

Ramanathan, his elder brother Coomaraswamy and younger brother Arunachalam were deeply influenced by all three processes. Their family was orthodox Saivaites and Ramanathan had come into close contact with Navalar during the vigorous campaign he conducted in support of his candidacy for nomination as the unofficial member to the Legislative Council in 1879. During the campaign Ramanathan gave a strong commitment to the Saivaites that he would uphold their interests. Even before that he was personally sympathetic to Saiva revival.

Ramanathan, Coomaraswamy and Arunachalam were born in Colombo and had their early education at Royal College and they belonged to the new class of Sri Lankan elites. Their attitude and interests were common to the growing new elitist group. In their young days they visited Jaffna during Hindu festivals and holidays and stayed with their orthodox Saivaite grandmother Vishalakshmi.

Ramanathan and Coomaraswamy studied at Presidency College, Chennai during late 1860s and were immensely influenced by the political awareness that swept across Tamil Nadu and India.

In Tamil Nadu, The Madras Native Association that was established in July, 1852 with Gazulu Lakshminarasu as president and P. Somasundaram Chetty as secretary had brought about a widespread political awakening among the Telugu and Tamil people, the inhabitants of the Madras Presidency. Both were educated rich merchants who promoted Indian nationalism.

That was time of the beginning of the awakening of the Indian people of their rights and they formed native associations in Calcutta and Bombay to petition the British parliament about the injustices committed by the British rulers. An association called the The British Indian Association formed in 1851 provided the impetus and Laksminarasu originally wanted to open its branch in Madras. Ultimately he formed the Madras Native Association to serve as a platform for educated Indians to protest against injustice. It was the first Indian political organization in the Madras Presidency.

Lakshminarasu also founded the first Indian owned English newspaper Crescent which conducted a crusade against Christian missionaries. Lakshminarasu who died in poverty in 1868 was one of those who influenced the thinking and life of Ramanathan.

Ramanathan was also influenced by the political awareness that swept across the Indian continent following the 1857 Indian Rebellion popularly known as Sepoy Rebellion and the reforms the British effected in India. He followed closely the activities of Dadabhai Naroji and the East India Association he formed in 1867. Naroji, a Parsee, promoted the reform movement. His patient approach impressed Ramanathan more than the radical activities of leaders like Balagangadhera Tilak who adopted ‘Swaraj’ (freedom) as their goal.

Ramanathan was also influenced by his uncle Sir Muttu Coomaraswamy’s work on reforms to the Legislative Council. Sir Muttu spent much of his time and energy to make the role of the unofficial members effective. He obtained for them clerks, the right to gather information from government departments and the right to discuss the ordinances before they were adopted by the governor. Ramanathan extended the role of the unofficial members further by making them the bridge between the British administration and the people.

Ramanathan was also deeply influenced by the formation of Madras Mahajana Sabhai in 1884 and the founding of Indian National Congress in 1885. Both these events took place when he was a member of the Legislative Council.

The Madras Mahajana Sabhai, considered a predecessor of the Indian National Congress, was formed in May 1884 by S. Ramaswami Mudaliyar and P. Anandacharlu.  P. Rangaiah Naidu was the president and R. Balaji Rao the secretary. It was formed to agitate for the rights of the Indians. In its first conference held on December 29, 1884 it adopted a moderate policy of following the reform approach. Its members participated in the founding of the Indian National Congress the next year and decided to work with it. In later years Madras Mahajana Sabhai limited its focus to matters concerning the inhabitants of Madras Presidency and Dravidian interests.

The inaugural session of Indian National Congress, Bombay, 28-31, December, 1885

The birth of the Madras Mahajana Sabhai and the Indian National Congress influenced Ramanathan and the Sinhala and Tamil elite.

Ramanathan was instrumental in converting the Ceylon Agricultural Association which was formed at the instance of C.H. de Soysa the wealthiest Sri Lankan of that time and the most influential person of the Karawa caste.

Karawa caste (fisher caste, karayar in Tamil) was the second most influential caste in Sri Lankan society. Govigama caste (agriculturists) was highest in the caste ladder. As I pointed out earlier the Karawa caste had emerged a powerful factor by 1880 and had begun to urge the British rulers to increase the number of unofficial members to enable it to get representation. The Karawa community threw its first challenge to the dominance of the Govigama Panditharatne family in 1881 when James D. Alwis died. A Karawa scholar and lawyer William Goonetileke staked his claim for nomination but J.C. Obeysekera, a member of the Panditharatne family was nominated.

From then the Karawa community started organizing itself. Karawa entrepreneurs formed the Ceylon Agricultural Association in 1882 to protect their business interests. It was formed on the line of the Planters Association of Ceylon which looked after the interests of the European planters and businessmen. Four of the biggest tea plantation owners during 1880s were from the Karawa caste. The association soon launched an agitation for the increase in the number of unofficial members of the Legislative Council with the intention of getting one of their caste members into it. The agitation was backed by memoranda, petition and prayers. Govigama elites and the British administration resisted it.

Ramanathan who had by this time emerged as a national leader and who had become deeply committed to fostering the growth of Ceylonese nationalism on the line of Indian nationalism advised the leaders of the Ceylon Agricultural Association to alter its name and structure. The change occurred in September 1888 despite the opposition of C.H. de Soysa who charged that Tamils were taking over the organization.

Ramanathan had also encountered opposition from sections of the Sinhala elites in 1886 when he tried to work for the establishment of a Hindu- Buddhist College in Colombo to serve Hindu and Buddhist communities. The project was dropped following disagreement about the composition of the board of management. The opponents insisted that the proposed institution should be under the control of the Buddhists who form the majority population in the country. Ramanathan, a stubborn man, wanted equal share for the two communities.

Ramanathan failed to learn from the failure of the Hindu- Buddhist project and the opposition to his becoming the president of the Ceylon National Association. He proceeded with his project to build Ceylonese nationalism. The Ceylon National Association, formed on the lines of the Indian National Congress opened its membership to all citizens and it attracted members from all communities and castes. Govigama mudaliyars did not join it. Ramanathan was elected its first president. Governor Arthur Gordon sneered calling it a “grotesque clique.” Others welcomed it as a “bold step towards making it a more political organization”.

The Ceylon National Association which showed interest in constitutional reforms launched immediately an agitation for making the Legislative Council more effective and representative. It sent a memorial signed by its president Ramanathan requesting for reforms. Through his statements to the press he said the number of unofficial members should be increased to accommodate more Sinhalese and Tamils.

Muslims and Kandyans had by this time begun an agitation for representation in the Legislative Council. Their leaders had earned the trust of the British administration for their loyalty. Muslims who had amassed wealth through trade had emerged as an influential community. Kandyan leaders too had won the trust of the British by strictly keeping away from the Buddhist revival movement.

The Muslim demand for separate representation resulted in the first major political error Ramanathan committed and which antagonized the Muslim community. Ramanathan opposed the Muslim campaign headed by Siddi Lebbe seeking separate representation in the Legislative Council.  He argued that Muslims were not a separate community as they were Tamil speaking people and as they were Tamil converts to Islam. That led to the famous Ramanathan- Azeez debate.

Ramanathan read a paper at the Royal Asiatic Society meeting on the subject "Ethnology of the Moors of Ceylon" and argued his position that Muslims were of Tamil origin. He submitted three arguments to substantiate his stand. They were: cultural similarities of the two people; the use of the Tamil language and the physical resemblance among the two people.

Abdul Azeez who was then the editor of the journal “Muslim Friend” replied Ramanathan’s arguments with the booklet, "A criticism of Mr. Ramanathan’s Ethnology of the Ceylon Moors". In that he accepted the South Indian Tamil influence on the Muslims but insisted that they were a separate race descended from Arab travellers who settled in Ceylon. He used the term Moors to describe the Muslims.

Ramanathan’s effort to deny the Muslims, another minority group, representation in the Legislative Council failed. The British responded favourably to the Ceylon National Association’s agitation for the increase in the number of unofficial members in 1889 by adding two more unofficial members. To blunt the Karava agitation the British allocated the additional seats to the Kandyan Sinhalese and the Muslims. The British also introduced the principle of a 5-year period office for nomination mainly to end Ramanathan’s membership on the Legislative Council. Till then the nomination was for life.

Ponnanbalam Ramanathan in 1906 with his future wife, Ms. Harrison (right)

The British strategy was to weaken the Karawa agitation by broadening the basis of representation: one each for the Low Country Sinhalese, Kandyan Sinhalese, Tamils and the Muslims. The strategy behind limiting the term of office was to make the nominees more dependent on the Governor and to make them to toe with his policies if they aspired for re-nomination.

The allocation of a seat for the Kandyan Sinhalese upset Ramanathan and the Tamil elite. They found that the representation for the Sinhalese had been increased to two as against one for the Tamils. The equal representation Tamils enjoyed since 1833 had been suddenly changed. Ramanathan and the Tamil elites protested. Ramanathan argued that the Sinhalese and the Tamils were the “founding forces” of Sri Lanka and hence the Tamils were entitled to equal representation.

The concept Ramanathan instilled into the minds of the Tamil people that Sinhalese and the Tamils were “majority communities” and thus entitled to share power equally through equal representation in the Legislative Council led to the artificial demands like communal representation and  balanced representation on which Tamils wasted their time and energy for several years.

Ramanathan’s failure to realize that Tamils were a minority community was unpardonable since he had tasted the aggressiveness of the emerging Sinhala- Buddhist elite in 1886 and 1888 when the Sinhalese opposed him. Ramanathan never realized the artificial nature of the unity of the English educated elite and worked on the basis of that unity.  

The mirage of Ceylonese nationalism Ramanathan created in the minds of the Tamil people and the impact of the Indian nationalism prevented the growing politically active sector of the Tamil people from thinking about a constitutional structure that could safeguard the Tamil people. A study of the newspapers published in Jaffna  during the closing years of the 19th century reveal that influential Tamil people were conscious of their separate identity based on language and culture.

They had begun to agitate for the development of the northern and eastern provinces which they had begun to realize as the areas of their habitation. The agitation for the introduction of local government administration, the prolonged campaign for the opening of the train service to the north, their desire to develop Vanni for the use of the Tamil people and their worry about the colonization of Vanni by the Sinhalese were indicators of the growing desire of the Tamil people to preserve their separate identity of Sri Lankan Tamils.

This trend, it must be noted, was not the product of Ramanathan or any member of his family. Ramanathan’s and Indian influences actually stood in the way of a formulation of an alternative constitutional structure that would have helped the realization of the evolving aspiration. Ramanathan’s influence limited the thinking of the Tamil people to the reform of the legislature and its representative character. Indian influence misdirected the people to think of Ceylonese nationalism. Tamil people talked only about Tamil nationalism being one of the pillars of Ceylonese nationalism. The other pillar, according to them, was Sinhala- Buddhist nationalism.

The stress of the Jaffna press during the last quarter of the 19th Century was on reforming the Legislative Council (Ramanathan influence) and on building Ceylonese nationalism (Indian influence). The following is an extract from an editorial Indus Sathanam wrote in 1889 under the title Thesabiman meaning patriotism:

A person born and bred in a particular country and subject to the influences of that country should necessarily display patriotic feelings to that country. When patriotism is absent, the country becomes defenceless  and ruined. Just as our home gets dilapidated when we fail to maintain it daily and repair it whenever he need arises, the country will be destroyed if necessary reforms are not introduced at the right time for its protection.

The editorial that concluded by calling upon all to unite and work for the improvement of the country was a reply to the debate that was on during that time (1889) and it reflected the Ramanathan and Indian influences.

 I will show in the next chapters how Ramanathan’s and Indian influences led the Tamil people to the present plight. By the time Thanthai Chelva placed the federal alternatve Sinhala- Buddhist hold in the country had become entrenched.

Note: We have been used to sing praise of Ramanathan. Should we reappraise his role? I think the need has arisen. I expect the views I have expressed above to lead to an informed discussion. Readers are free to analyse my view critically, free to support it or oppose it.

Please remember that all what I wrote upto now and what I propose to write in the next few chapters would form the background to the actual reporting I have done about the Sri Lankan Struggle since January 1877 when I joined Lake House.

Next: The Arunachalam Factor   

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Index

Introduction

Chapter 1: The Context

Chapter 2: Origins of Racial Conflict

Chapter 3: Emergence of Racial Consciousness

Chapter 4: Birth of the Tamil State

Chapter 5: Tamils Lose Sovereignty

Chapter 6: Birth of a Unitary State

Chapter 7: Emergence of Nationalisms

Chapter 8: Growth of Nationalisms

Chapter 9: Religious Revival

Chapter 10: Parallel Growth of Nationalisms

Chapter 11: Consolidation of Nationalisms

Chapter 12: Consolidation of Nationalisms (Part 2)

Chapter 13: Clash of Nationalisms

Chapter 14: Clash between Nationalism Intensifies

Chapter 15: Tamils Demand Communal Representation

Chapter 16: The Arunachalam Factor