Countering The Eelam Project 1 & 2; Is The Indian Model The Answer?
By Rajeewa Jayaweera –October 23, 2016
Rajeewa Jayaweera
The two-part article by retired diplomat and former Ambassador Izeth Hussain (IH) published recently in the Colombo Telegraph makes very interesting reading and is thought provoking. (Read part one and two).There is much merit in his analysis and proposals. IH is spot on when he states “even though the LTTE is militarily no more, Eelam project is still on”. It’s propagation by some segments of the Tamil community, especially amongst Tamil diaspora groups overseas, its network of overseas offices utilizing front organizations and financial reserves is becoming exceedingly visible. Social media used by nameless and faceless contributors is one avenue to gauge aspirations / dreams of Eelamists and Eelam supporters. As stated by IH, it is not in the interest of the LTTE rump to permit a political solution short of a separate Eelam state or a de facto Eelam in the form of a confederal arrangement. The moderates in the TNA walk a tight rope. They need to retain the upper hand against Tamil extremists within the community while negotiating a meaningful and equitable deal for themselves, not an easy task in view of Sinhala extremists.
IH is also spot on in his assertion, Tamils after the military defeat of LTTE by government forces amounts to a defeated minority community, but for the external dimension of India. Besides the many occasions since early 1980s, events since 09 January 2015 is clear proof of IH’s theory. Prime Minister Nadendra Modi’s lecture on ‘cooperative federalism’ during his speech in the Sri Lankan Parliament, visiting Jaffna and addressing a public rally and meetings with TNA leaders are some such instances. A meeting was even held with a delegation of Upcountry Tamils from Democratic People’s Front and an invitation extended for a delegation to visit Delhi. Suffice to state, India would never permit the Prime Minister of Pakistan to visit India on a state visit, proceed to Kashmir and address a public gathering or permit meetings with Kashmiri leaders on its soil. Even the mention of Hurriyat Conference leaders meeting the Pakistan High Commissioner in Delhi results in India calling off scheduled bi-lateral discussions with Pakistan stating ‘talk to them or talk to us’.
On the issue of an Indian intervention in Sri Lanka, IH is indeed correct in stating it could result from acts by GoSL having serious security implications to India or else, an incident similar to 1983 pogroms which could result in a backlash in Tamil Nadu (even though India will never accept a similar involvement by Pakistan in Kashmir on behalf of their Muslim brethren). However, India would indeed think deep and hard in implementing such an arrangement perhaps similar to the arrangement in Cyprus, divided into Cyprus aligned to Greece and Turkish Cyprus loyal to Turkey. Ramifications of such a project are many, the most critical being, it could eventually transform into a project for a greater Eelam nation, encompassing Sri Lanka’s Northern and part of Eastern Provinces and Tamil Nadu.
In the concluding paragraph, IH opines “in India, over a hundred and seventy-five million Muslims have been living for the most part in peace, amity and cooperation with the Hindus since 1947 without any devolution for the Muslims”, attributing it mainly to India’s fully functioning democracy. He therefore recommends Sri Lanka emulate the model proven successful in India since 1947.
To begin with, the only state with a Muslim majority is Jammu & Kashmir which has been in turmoil since independence. It is the 20th largest state in India. It has a population of 12.5 million, roughly four times the size of the Tamil population in Sri Lanka. 68% are Muslims and 28% Hindus. Kashmiri is the most widely spoken language besides Dogri and Hindi. With half a million Indian security forces based in Jammu & Kashmir and laws much more restrictive than Sri Lanka’s Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) in force, if J&K would qualify as a part of a fully functioning democracy is debatable. Lakshadweep, an archipelago of thirty-six islands and a population less than 75,000 inhabitants has a Muslim majority. It is a Union Territory administered directly from Delhi and the language spoken is exclusively Malayalam.
India consists of a landmass of 3.2 million sq.kms with a population of 1.2 billion persons. It comprises of 30 states and 6 Union Territories. Indian states are divided on linguistic lines. As a result, each state recognizes the most commonly used national language (that of the majority community) in the state to conduct its business. For example, Tamil is the predominant language in Tamil Nadu. Tamils, non-Tamils, Hindus, Muslims and all others living in Tamil Nadu have to accept the Tamil language for state business, in courts, in schools etc. (English is used in superior courts and universities). For example, Telugu and Kannadi (majority languages in border states) as well as Urdu speaking Muslims living in Tamil Nadu have to adopt Tamil language. Their children will attend schools with Tamil language as the medium of instruction or private schools. They may use their mother tongue at home. In Tamil Nadu, the mother tongue of Sunni Muslims in Tamil and of Shia Muslims is Urdu. The mother tongue of Muslims in West Bengal is Bengali and in Jammu & Kashmir, it is Kashmiri. They may also have a knowledge of Urdu in view of religious scripts. On the other hand, a Tamil living outside Tamil Nadu even in border states such as Kerala has to adopt the language of the majority of that state (Malayalam).
Language wise, Hindi in 10 states, Bengali in 7 states and Gujarati in 3 states are the major languages. However, the 19 other national languages are state and secondary languages in different states depending on geographical locations.
Hinduism is the religion of 79.8% of India’s 1.2 billion population. Hindus are most numerous in 27 states/Union Territories. Religious minorities are spread across India as per below chart (refer chart 1). Figures indicated are percentages in terms of each state’s population.
India has been devoid of massive concentrations of a particular religious minority group in any one state or part of the country with the exception of Muslims in Jammu & Kashmir.
