Note on Jaffna: Other side of the Quarrel

by Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

( July 22, 2016, Melbourne, Sri Lanka Guardian) If even one citizen who is sovereign seeks a solution – the solution is already there for the problem that manifested through the University of Jaffna. As per the Island:

‘Northern Province Governor Reginald Cooray yesterday invited undergraduates who had been forced to return to Colombo following last Saturday’s violent incident in the University of Jaffna to return to Jaffna and resume their studies.’

Is it the role of the Governor to extend such an invitation? The incident is a strong indicator of the true situation in Jaffna. If the Government continues to keep Sinhalese Armed Forces in North – then the Government’s Truth is that Jaffna is ‘unsafe’ for Sinhalese or it seeks to proactively prevent the rebirth of Tigers by using the threat of Arms. Jaffna is not safe yet for anyone activating Sinhala first theories. The young and the restless have the potential to become Tigers if they are not kept occupied in their official positions.

It is not uncommon these days to hear in Jaffna – the saying that ‘it would not have happened if the ‘boys’ were here’. This is true because ‘the boys’ controlled by arms those who could not manage themselves intellectually. But Jaffna has its own civilization led by the Caste system which is still indirectly practiced. If the caste system had prevailed as per its core purpose – that being largely for employment purposes – Jaffna would easily restructure to suit the current system of Democracy by devolving itself as per its own specialties – one of which is higher education. Sinhalese coming to Jaffna despite the risks – confirms this relative value in Sri Lankan structure.

Now that we know that law and order is at low levels – we need to use our own Truth. Instead of focusing on the past – through Reconciliation rhetoric – we ought to train those going from North to South and v.v. – to arrange their mind order to suit their new environments. In Thunaivi – Northern Sri Lanka – I learnt that those going to Middle East have to first go through basic training to adjust to their new employers/masters. Most do not go through any technical training – as they are already above average in those skills. But when it comes to social order – these folks lack the higher mind order. Many come back because they cannot take orders from their new masters. They like the ‘freedom’ back at home. In Thunaivi – I do not use the order I use in Vaddukkodai or Jaffna. If I did use one rule – I would be erring and my mind would become disorderly.

In Mahabharatham there is a good example in regards to the eligibility to inherit the throne.   The two competing princes – Thuriyothanan of majority side and Dharmar of minority side – were asked to deliver judgment in regards to four guys killing a man. Thuriyothanan – like President Joko Widodo of Indonesia – said words to the effect ‘simple – the death penalty to all four’. Dharmar said that each one of the offenders was of different caste and hence there could not be one general punishment to all. The Shudran (manual laborer/process worker) was given 4 years rigorous imprisonment; the Vaishyan (farmer / businessman) was given 8 years; the Kshatriyan (Administrator / Military Ruler / Judiciary/ Governor) was sentenced to 16 years and the Brahmin (priest caste who were also Gurus)  who was delegated to be punished by the Royal Guru – undertook to immolate himself.

Using the highly civilized pathway – University students who volunteered to come to Jaffna – need to seek guidance from their gurus or decide for themselves as to how to punish or reward themselves. If the Government did not influence them to come to Jaffna – the Government has no responsibility to protect them above any other member of civil society in that area. Likewise Tamil students have to decide whether they want their parents to suffer more losses of their investments in higher education through their children becoming fighters when they have to learn and leave their parents to die without anyone who would carry forward their contribution to  Jaffna heritage.

The LTTE used mostly Shudras in their armed forces but today the heaviest punishment is being suffered by them. The restructure of elevating a manual worker to become decision maker for the whole – is in breach of the fundamentals of the Thesawalamai principles – according to which one cannot be punished above one’s position in social order. One who takes ‘authority’ beyond this order – does so at her/his own risk. This applies also to Southerners coming to Jaffna before we have in place an appropriate Common system.

The original article and other articles of the author can be viewed at her blog– Edts.