by S Nadarajah, June 14, 2004
Even though the incidents that happened in the highest body of legislature in Sri Lanka on 8 June 2004 (manhandling of the Buddhist monk MPs by the government MPs) should be vehemently condemned by concerned citizens and by those who still hope to see democratic practices upheld in this nation, these incidents, in a way, made me realise that there is much truth in the Tamil proverb ‘Arasan andru kollum, Theivam nindru kollum,‘ (Kings kill the same day, God kills after waiting for some time).
I recollect my memories of the 1956 Satyagraha held on the Galle Face Green by veteran Federal Party leaders, who were the elected representatives of a particular community living in this country from time immemorial, which came under attack of a mob belonging to the other community. The Federal Party leaders were holding a sit-in protest, without doing any harm to anyone, but simply expressing their dissent to the Sinhala Only Bill that was to be introduced in Parliament on 5 June 1956. The only the wrong-doings of the Federal Party leaders that provoked the Sinhala people was the mere holding of a satyagraha to demand the protection of their democratic rights.
In his book ‘Satyagraha and the Freedom Movement of the Tamils‘ the participant lawyer S Ponniah describes the situation that prevailed at the time of the satyagraha. Prime Minister SWRD Bandaranaike was on his way to the Parliament, passing the Galle Face Green. (The current Presidential Secretariat situated opposite the Galle Face was the then Parliament). A police officer who had reached the Prime Minister told him that mobs were set to attack the Tamil legislators and asked whether he should take any action to control the mob. The answer given by the Prime Minister was negative with the sarcastic statement “Let them have a taste of it.”
The Tamil MPs were severely beaten up by the mob and with bandages on their heads they entered Parliament to record their protest against the Language Bill. The Prime Minister, adding salt to the excellent ‘buriyani’ cooked up by the Sinhalese mobs earlier in the day, welcomed the Federal Party MPs by saying: ‘Welcome my friends, with honourable wounds of war.’
All these things, which are part of our history, are simply forgotten by many people or simply covered up by the present day ‘half baked’ journalists and columnists, whom I doubt have ever heard of a Tarzie Vittachi or his Emergency 58. Their main focus is that ‘Why these terrorists are being given equal status?’ ‘How we can rely on these terrorists?’, etc.
If they could spend a few days on re-reading the history of Sri Lankan post-independent politics, they could clearly understand who pushed the Tamils to the wall and made the satyagrahees take up arms. At least I hope their self-conscience would thereafter demand that they stop writing lengthy front-page Editorials and columns criticising the legitimate demands of the Tamil people.
That is not what I actually wanted to point out in this piece, but something else.
That is: to say in simple terms, the then Prime Minister, inspired by the Buddhist monks and extreme Sinhala elements, took chauvinism as a means to come to power. He also wanted the Tamils to have a ‘taste of violence.’ Now, we have seen in the electronic media how the Sinhalese MPs, including the Buddhist monks, are having ‘the taste of it.’ The Tamil MP Maheswaran had to join the rescue operation to safely escort Ven Dayaratana Thera out of the melee.
Let us wait and see whether the President also wants the whole country to continue to have a ‘taste of it’ as her father wanted or whether she will come forward to genuinely commit herself to the peace process and work together with all parties that are ready to accept the long-standing quest of the Tamil-speaking people for self-rule in their homeland. Let her work together with such progressive forces and kick the extremist and chauvinist elements out, instead of allowing her MPs to kick Ven Hamaduruvos. They may be extremists who should be alienated, but kicking on their backs is not good for Buddhist tradition and the respect should be given to them as religious leaders.
It has taken 48 years for me to see the wheel turn full circle! However, then it was the Federal Party Tamil MPs who were kicked and manhandled outside Parliament. Should we understand that God has waited for some time and taught a lesson to those who were instrumental in bringing the Sinhala Only Act and staging the racial riots which left me homeless and made the then government decide that I would be safe only in my homeland, the northeast, and packed me up from the Colombo Royal College refugee camp to be sent to Jaffna by ship?
S Nadarajah
KKS Road
Tellipallai
Jaffna
Sri Lanka