The Sri Lankan Census of 2012

And the Tamil doomsday merchants' ominous predictions

by V P Lingajothy, August 12, 2012

The writer DBS Jeyaraj and many other doomsday merchants (like Professor Hoole, et. al.) have been predicting for a long time that sooner or later the Muslim population would overtake the Tamil population of Eastern Sri Lanka.  Hoole in particular has even predicted that the Muslim population of Sri Lanka would overtake that of the Tamils (in Sri Lanka)!  During the time of the armed conflict between the Tamil Tigers (Tamil army / LTTE) and the Singhalese army, these doomsday merchants continued to peddle lies to support the Sri Lankan government's psy-ops activity.

Now that the war is over and the Sri Lankan government has taken a census in the North and East of the country (traditional Tamil homeland) wherein it appears that the Tamils are in the absolute majority even in the east at 40.3%, the Muslims are in 2nd place at 38.1% and the Singhalese are in 3rd place at 21.13%. 

According to DBS Jeyaraj, the Muslims are at an overall majority at 38%, Tamils (2nd at 36%) and the Sinhalese (3rd at 26%), which I believe is not accurate or borne out by the facts. Jeyaraj's article is dated the 21st of July 2012 whereas I believe that in the Sunday Times (Sri Lanka) of the 22nd of  July 2012 the population figures from the latest census were published which confirm my above assertion that Tamils are the absolute Majority in the Eastern province of Sri Lanka.

If North and East were to be linked politically (it is a Geographical fact that they are one land mass), the Tamil population of this one unit (the Tamil Homeland) will be 62%, the Muslim population 23.6%, and that of the Singhalese 13.4%.  If one were to excise the Amparai district from the rest of the East, i.e. if they want to go it alone as a separate Muslim unit, the remainder of the Eastern Province according to the 2012 census, will have 51.3% Tamil population, 35.2 % Muslim population and 12.95% Singhalese population.

In the event of Northern and Eastern province becoming politically re-merged and Amparai district going it alone as a Muslim unit, the greater North East will have 76.40% Tamil population, 16.9% Muslim population and 5.89% Singhalese population.

When journalists like DBS Jeyaraj spread half-truths or rely on data without carefully checking the integrity of their sources, it plays into the hands of the detractors of the Tamil Homeland Cause and supports an international campaign to undermine the viability of the North - Eastern remerger in the post-war scenario.

I urge the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and all the other Tamil parties worth their salt to campaign for the political remerger of the North and East (with or without the Amparai district).

Although 1 million Tamil Eelam Citizens are living in the diaspora as they were forced out by the Singhalese state, they have every right to cast their vote in an internationally supervised referendum on the issue of independence for Tamil Eelam.  Furthermore, we also must bring back to the UN agenda the right of the hill-country Tamils who were expelled from the country (in my opinion illegally and in violation of their Human Rights) under the Srimavo - Shasthri Pact in the 1960's and 1970's to return to Sri Lanka and resettle there as full fledged citizens with their natural progeny who may have been born after their parents expulsion, but who nevertheless have the right by descent to return to Sri Lanka as citizens with right of abode.  I believe their number should be in the region of 1.2 - 1.5 million.

The Trans-National Government of Tamil Eelam and other Tamil diaspora organisations must campaign tirelessly to bring the citizenship rights of almost 2.5 million Tamils who were judicially expelled as a result of the Srimavo - Shasthri Pact and other Tamils more recently (i.e. in the last twenty five years by military action, i.e. who were forcibly evicted from their homelands) to the fore of the U N agenda (like the Palestinian refugees).  This campaign must go hand in hand with the campaign to bring to book the Singhalese war criminals who were responsible for the killing of 100,000 Tamil Civilians during the recently concluded (May 2009) Civil War (including the 60,000 killed during the Mullivaikkal holocaust, during the final days of the war), only then will we able to stem the structural genocide of the Tamils which is continuing unhindered in their homeland (Tamil Eelam).

I will urge Tamils of all creeds from all over the world to unite as one in their endeavours to fight against the structural genocide of their own kith and kin in Tamil Eelam.  Furthermore, I would encourage members of the Tamil diaspora to visit whenever they are able their relatives in Eelam to lend them moral, financial and logistical support.

Tamils also must be ever so vigilant to highlight the damage that could be wrought on their cause by internationally known anti-Tamil activists such as Subramaniam Swami, N. Ram (ex-Hindu editor), and others of the South-Indian Bhramin Establishment, and also representatives from the Indian Intelligence establishment who have been visiting Tamil Eelam from time to time to spread the untruths to the outside world that the Tamils Slaves of Eelam are content with their lives under the rule of their Singhalese masters in Colombo.  

Tamils can only rely on themselves to safeguard their own birthright. The time for relying on others to fight for our cause had long gone.

I sincerely believe that our beloved Tamil nation (both in Eelam and in the diaspora) will heed the sentiments that I have expressed above.

May the Almighty bless us in our hour of need.

Long live the nation of Tamils in Eelam.

Mr. V P Lingajothy

LLB Hons; M.Sc; Diploma in Forensic Medical Sciences
Immigration and Human Rights Lawyer
Medico-legal practitioner
United Kingdom