Minister Douglas and Northern Governor insulted TNA MP at development committee meeting

[ Wednesday, 13 February 2013, 03:04.19 AM GMT +05:30 ]

Officials maintained silence on speaking about resettlement activities during the development committee meeting of Jaffna district.

Minister Douglas Devananda and the governor of the Northern Province acted insulting manner when Tamil National Alliance parliamentarian Appathurai Vinayagamoorthi questioned about establishing high security zone in the Waligamam North area. President Mahinda Rajapaksa chaired the development committee meeting yesterday. During the time of meeting district GA fail to make clear statement on resettlement activities in the peninsula. TNA MP Appathurai Vinayagamoorthi handed over special document to President Mahinda Rajapaksa on demanding to resettle 29 thousand people from 24 Grama Seva divisions in the Waligamam North. However president handed over the report to Jaffna district army commander Maj.Gen.Mahinda Hathurusinghe. Minister Douglas Devananda and the governor continuously interrupt in to the speech delivered by the TNA MP.

Statement: Commonwealth Sharma On Conclusion Of His Official Visit To SL

By Colombo Telegraph -February 13, 2013

“My visit provided an opportunity to be briefed on the preparations for the 2013 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), scheduled to be hosted by Sri Lanka in November, as decided by Commonwealth Heads of Government in 2009 and confirmed in 2011. Preparations for CHOGM 2013 are impressive and on track.” says the Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma.

Issuing a statement he says; “The recent removal of the Chief Justicegenerated widespread national debate and differences of view. In this context, I have emphasised the importance of the Commonwealth’s Latimer House Principles on the separation of powers, the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary. We welcome the recognition of the need for change, to ensure that any such process in future is free of contention and does not call into question Sri Lanka’s commitment to the independence of the judiciary and separation of powers.”

We publish below the statement in full;

Sri Lanka is a founding and committed member of the modern Commonwealth. Today, I conclude what has been a productive visit to the country.

I was received by the President, His Excellency Mahinda Rajapaksa. I held discussions with the Speaker of Parliament, Hon Chamal Rajapaksa; the Leader of the Opposition, Hon Ranil Wickremesinghe; the Hon Minister of External Affairs, Professor G L Peiris; the Monitoring Member of Parliament for the Ministry of External Affairs, Hon Sajin de Vass Gunawardena and the Secretary to the President, Mr Lalith Weeratunga.

Others I met included the Elections Commissioner, Mr Mahinda Deshapriya; the Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, Justice Priyantha R P Perera as well as other members of the Commission. I also met the community of resident High Commissioners in Colombo, and in the limited time available, my delegation and I held discussions with a number of others, including representatives of political, civil society and professional groups.

These meetings were informative and valuable. They afforded the opportunity to explore how the Commonwealth’s rich network of shared resources, experiences and opportunities can be of greater assistance to Sri Lanka.

2013 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting            Read More   

Of that trial balloon

February 11, 2013, 7:58 pm 

The present government’s attitude towards unbridled powers provided for by the JRJ Constitution is similar to that of a hypocritical clergyman towards sex, which he enjoys in private and condemns in public. The self-righteous SLFP politicians never miss an opportunity to bash and demonise JRJ even posthumously and frown on the draconian methods he employed to achieve self-aggrandizement, but there is nary a provision in his Constitution which they themselves have not made use of to retain and abuse power. Nay, they have overtaken JRJ if the controversial 18th Amendment is anything to go by. JRJ toyed with the idea of running for President for a third time but could not abolish the constitutionally prescribed presidential term limit owing to resistance from within rather than from without. President Mahinda Rajapaksa has achieved that feat without much effort.

Minister Rohitha Abeygunawardena has set the cat among the pigeons by suggesting that a referendum be held in lieu of the next general election due in 2016. The Opposition has promptly condemned it—quite rightly so—as a move being contemplated by the government to retain its ‘unethically mustered’ two-thirds majority in Parliament. A senior UNP parliamentarian has gone on record as saying that Minister Abeygunawardena’s speeches are full of inanities and his utterances are not to be taken seriously. But, we reckon, there is a method in government politicians’ madness. The JVP has called Abeygunawardena’s suggestion a trial balloon. Yes, it has all the trappings of a ballon d’essai. Although the government has not made its position known on the issue it is believed to be dipping its toes.

The 1982 referendum with which President Jayewardene avoided a parliamentary election and retained his five-sixth majority which he abused to the fullest, set in motion a disastrous process which culminated in chaos and bloodletting. That farcical referendum which came to be dubbed the kalagedi–laampu sellama (pot-lamp game) was blatantly rigged. The JRJ government won it hands down, but subsequently, troubled by its aftermath which gave the JVP’s anti-establishment campaign a turbo boost and provided the SLFP-led Opposition a rallying point, chose to proscribe the JVP by wrongly blaming it for engineering the 1983 ethnic violence. The outfit went underground and staged a bloody uprising four years later. JRJ abused his illegitimately retained parliamentary majority even to amend the Constitution according to his whims and fancies. The rest is history.

A referendum is no substitute for an election and the constitutional provision which the JRJ government introduced to circumvent elections poses a grave threat to democracy. The only way to neutralise it is to abolish that provision forthwith. Giving politicians power and money is said to be like giving a teenager whiskey and car keys. There is no guarantee that the current dispensation will not take a leaf out of JRJ’s book in a bid to keep its two-thirds majority intact. In fact, an SLFP-led government extended its term by two years in 1975 arbitrarily; old habits die hard. Now that one of its ministers has called for a referendum, it behoves the government to explain its position without further delay.

Our experience with JRJ’s referendum has been so shocking that we shudder at the thought of having another one. The UNP’s accusations of abuse of power and opposition to the government’s alleged move are hypocritical—it has been as guilty. But, sadly and ironically, in trying to halt the country’s slide into a political abyss people are left with no alternative but to depend on former deerstalkers to tackle errant gamekeepers.

Letting Another War! Let Our Collective Conscience Speak!

By Lukman Harees -February 13, 2013

Lukman Harees

When the War ended in 2009, the people of Sri Lanka irrespective of racial and religious differences heaved a sigh of relief. The reason was obvious. All communities suffered in various degrees when the Tigers wreaked havoc, including their own kind- the Tamils, as the Tigers only tolerated one way traffic. When the Tiger problem was in full swing, Tamils and Muslims equally felt, along with the Sinhalese, a high sense of insecurity over 30 long years, with the country being compartmentalized into Tiger controlled and government controlled areas. Muslims were driven out from their lands in the North and became IDPs,  while hundreds of worshippers were shot in cold blood inside their places of worship in the East. Scores of Buddhist monks were killed and Sri Maha Bodhi too was attacked. Suicide bombers caused disaster after disaster . All communities lost many of their illustrious political leaders too to the Tiger bullet and bombs. People of all races longed for a day where the bombs and suicide bombers will be things of the past. In May 2009, thankfully, they all woke up to a peaceful Sri Lanka brimming with hope and excitement.President MR then emphasized that there will be no further talk of majority and minority communities in the future; there will only  be those who love their country and who do not. A common ‘Sri Lankan identity’ was then seen to be in the making and flowers of peace and harmony were showing signs of blooming! At least, so they seemed! 

Almost four years after the end of the War, the dream of peace and unity , has still seems  unattainable while we, as a nation feel being badly let down. Sri Lanka, the land like no other ,appear to have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. We are sadly letting a historical opportunity to slip through our fingers. On top of many ills already besetting this nation,-over bloated political establishment , crises haunting the Judiciary in recent times, and an international UNHR ‘Sword of Damocles’ hanging over the country over the non- implementation of LLRC recommendations-, we are about to add another major one : an unwanted war – a religious war. Certain extremist elements  sporting Sinhala Buddhist labels and name-boards , have come out of hibernation after the ‘ethnic’ Tiger war , to set fire to the cherished Sri Lankan dream- a peaceful united nation marching towards progress. These warped minds chose to fully open a Pandora’s box, thereby letting vicious racist, hatred laden extremist elements of various hues to  pop out . Our country ,already reeling under crisis after crisis in the economic/political fronts have now got atop a social volcano as well. Thus, our nation is today facing a double whammy – being gored by the bull, after falling off the tree . Are we on a point of no return? Let’s hope not , for Mother Lanka deserves a good turn , after pitiful three decades of war and destruction.

Extremism in any form is detestable, whichever quarter it springs from whether race or religion. The teachings of all religions stresses on moderation and tolerance giving space to the ‘other’ to freely practice their faith, if only one studies them in earnest. The children of  Mother Lanka belong to all religious traditions, which underlines ‘unity in diversity’. It is therefore no wonder that the extremist line adopted by these extremist elements have already earned the wrath of the people of Sri Lanka, including the Sinhala Buddhist population , as it is  evidently opposed to the tenets of all religions.  Sinhala race ,imbibed with the teachings of Lord Buddha who taught ‘hatred ceases not by hatred but by compassion’ has always been tolerant of  other religions. These ‘rogue’ elements among the Maha Sangha, who are spearheading this hatred campaign in full throttle, should therefore disown their links to Buddhism, which preaches love and compassion. Lord Buddha did not expect his followers to be tolerant to the non- Buddhists only under certain conditions. Political Buddhism espoused by these groups are thus antithetical to Buddhist teachings, emphasizing politics over Buddhist values, and disregarding Sri Lanka’s poly-ethnic heritage and seeking to institutionalize a Buddhist ethos for the whole country.

Accepting the multi ethnic and multi lingual character of Sri Lanka,will be  ‘sine quo non’   for national progress and development, in a vibrant democracy like ours. What all Sri Lankans of all faiths and races should therefore realize is that Sri Lanka is the land for all, irrespective of racial and religious differences. Besides, dignity is a birth-right of all human beings , and denying a human of what is due to him on grounds of race for example  is the perhaps one of the worse insults to our own human identity. In the modern world which we live in, all human beings are therefore guaranteed  basic rights, which includes the right to uphold one’s culture and the right of worship . Both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 1978 SL Constitution , stresses this basic truth. Devious attempts by any group- be it Sinhalese, Tamil ,Muslim , Burgher as a race, or Buddhist, Hindu, Christian or Islamic as a religion , to be insensitive towards the religious susceptibilities of others and impose their  way over others’ , should not be condoned at any cost. We saw the inherent dangers of extremism when the Tigers had their own way, decimating their opponents. We can also take lessons from Singapore regarding the need to nip these tendencies off the bud.

On the other hand , no race or community  can be denied the right to stand up for their rights, as it is a basic tenet of a democratic system of governance. All parties, including race based political parties like the Sihala Urumaya , Muslim Congress and Tamil national Alliance have the right to lobby the government of the day, to fight injustice and oppression, in a peaceful manner. There are many mass movements as well , which protest and lobby for their rights peacefully and in non-violent ways After all,  ‘jaw-jaw’ is much better than ‘war-war’. . Standing up for rights is clearly different to standing up for rights at others’ expense. No group  should be allowed to rock the boat , raising narrow parochial racial and religious slogans, when our nation is trying to build our prosperity based on national concord and peaceful co-existence. The type of racist, hate-filled, conflict craving slogans , which we saw recently  in the streets of Sri Lanka can only destroy that dream which every Sri Lankan of all nationalities are aspiring to, after suffering for more than 3 decades in an ‘ethnic’ war which got precipitated due to the short sighted policies of our political leadership in the past. Repetition of that type of history is the last thing our future generation will ask for. The government bears the responsibility to take timely, iron handed approach to prevent extremist groups taking the law into their own hands. A stitch in time saves nine.

What happened in 1983 should be a lesson for all of us. Of course the Sinhala People were unfairly tarred with the racist brush. It was  only a minority group of goons and racist elements , mouthing ‘Jathi-aalaya slogans which instigated and did the damage not only in terms of material and human costs, but also in tarnishing our international reputation. It was a fact that although the government of the day was virtually seen to connive with these elements because of their indifference and failure to nip the riots in the bud, Sinhala people as a whole totally condemned this tragedy and even gave refuge to thousands who were affected. However, due to the actions of a few, the whole community had to bear the brunt of international outcry and shame. It is therefore foolhardy and extreme stupidity to allow another set of goons to wreak havoc on this nation and tarnish its’ international image , this time along religious lines. The country certainly wish to avoid ‘few drops of  cow-dung polluting the glass of milk’ for the second time. The world will not forgive a repetition  at any cost, in line with the adage: ‘getting pregnant for the second time through ignorance is not acceptable’ . 

The vile attempts made by these elements to claim that only Sinhala Buddhists are the true ‘sons of the soil’ and the rights of other communities are only subservient to theirs, virtually makes others look alien in their own country,and disjointed from being equal partners of progress. This distorted view about the subservient position of other communities in the body public has been amplified by some prominent political and religious personages in recent times such as references to ‘the tree and the vines which can get entangled in it and grow’ made by Late Mr. D.B. Wijetunge and ‘ Crows may fly over our heads, but they cannot be allowed tomake their nests on them’ quipped by Ven Inamaluwe Sumangala .This fanatical views are unrealistic and virtually rules out religious diversity and multi ethnicity.

In recent times, the people have been watching aghast, when radical groups like BBS and Sihala Raavaya have been virtually taking the law into their own hands, by launching  hate filled campaigns against other non- Buddhist religious communities in organized form with threatening overtones against the non-Buddhist communities, specially the Muslims. Several hatred laden messages used in their campaigns were observed to be borrowed from the global ‘Islamaphobia’ media. Several other splinter groups have since emerged, outwitting the rest with greater degrees of hatred and animosity. They appear to portray the defeat of the Tigers in the hands of the SL army , as the victory of the Sinhala nation’ over the Tamils , and the campaign against the Muslims , in their view, is the next logical step to  ensure the super-ordination of the Sinhalese, as the rightful owners of the country. This distorted view is unfair by the other communities which sacrificed in various forms to ensure the ultimate defeat of the Tiger struggle. Even when the UN resolution was taken up last year, we saw the entire nation standing together, to defend its’ image.

The worst catastrophe was that two communities which traditionally lived side by side for centuries as good neighbours unexpectedly found themselves in a predicament . Muslims were suddenly made to feel like strangers in the land of their birth by the short sighted actions of these forces. The bond of brotherhood and friendship prevalent between the Sinhala and Muslim communities for centuries thankfully, still acts as a strong barrier for these extremist elements in achieving  their unrealistic dream of creating a monolithic society. Besides ,Muslims as a race, historically has never had any intentions of invasion and being traditionally a trading community have opted always for peaceful co-existence. Muslims have been diplomats , ambassadors to Sinhala Kings and in their armies as well.  During the State Council debate on the Dominion bill, the patriotic stand taken by the Muslim leaders of that time such as T.B. Jayah, Sir Razik Fareed, and Dr Kaleel were deeply appreciated by fellow Sinhala politicians. Even during the Tiger War, the patriotic stand taken up by the Muslims is widely known. In this context, the conspiracy theory of misinterpreting census statistics and random incidents to show that Muslims as a community has devious intentions of causing harm to this country of their birth or plotting against it are accusations which are unfair and untenable, to say the least and should be viewed as merely ruses to cause undue concern . If there are concerns about the activities of some Muslims, it should be taken to the relevant forums, without stereotyping or tarring the whole community with the same brush.

One of the more positive aspects amongst these developments , has been the reiteration of the resolve of the majority Sinhala people in opposing the tactics of these minority elements to drive wedges within the Sri Lankan nation, along parochial narrow religious and racist lines. It shows the admirable maturity of the Sinhala Buddhist people who have shown friendship , magnanimity and goodwill to other communities living besides them for centuries . By and large, the lay and religious leaders among the Sinhala Buddhist and Muslim communities have been sending positive signals to their people regarding the need to avoid being provoked by these extremist elements, which once again is a progressive  development . Restraint has still been the norm rather than the exception .  However, the situation can change if the society at large continue to be bystanders and do not actively intervene. Historical examples  abound.

However, two worrying developments have been the involvement of some sections of the Maha Sangha in leading these extremist groups in violation of Buddhist ‘Vinaya’ precepts principles  and also the co-opting the younger sections of the  society in their vicious hate campaigns. Firstly ,the unfortunate involvement of these elements among the Maha Sangha , may give the distorted impression, that breeding hatred and animosity among people in this manner is condoned in Buddhism, although the reality is otherwise. Most members of the Maha Sangha stood up and resisted the racist agenda of these unruly elements among them. In fact, Ven. Sanghanayakes of the most Nikayes and other leading personages like Ven. Vajira . Ven. Amila, Ven Baddegama Samitha, Ven Maduluwawe Sobitha, among many others have been vociferous in stressing national unity as an imperative need to achieve national progress and to create a common Sri Lankan identity in a post war Sri Lanka.

Secondly, our young and our children are our future. If  these short sighted ‘rogue’ elements of the Maha Sangha uses them for these evil purposes using the good name of Buddhism and portraying Muslims as their enemy, then this menace of racism and hatred is bound to be carried forward to the next generation as well. This does not augur well for Sri Lanka, when our younger generation of all communities are looking forward to build their future  on the basis of a united Sri Lanka offering opportunities without any racial and religious discrimination. When the psyche of our young minds are corrupted by these poisonous warped minds, what fate lies for Sri Lanka  in the years ahead? ‘When the fence and the bund are eating the crops, to whom shall we complain?’.

Every community has their share of grievances ,and will have reasonable grouses against others . Sinhala people will have theirs too. After the disastrous War ,we have the duty to heal the wound of war and get on board all sections of our society . Tamils should not be made to feel lost after the War ,while the Muslims should not be made a forgotten community after the war.  The majority Sinhalese , as the older brother in the family, has the main responsibility to take the lead in these efforts. The worse way to resolve the issues will be take the explosive path of extremism and hate mongering and drive out some children of Mother Lanka out of the family. It is suicidal to condone a policy of ‘All are Equal ;but some are more equal’  as described in the ‘Animal Farm’, an allegorical novella by George Orwell. In a civilized society, more effective mechanisms are there to resolve these issues , rather than fighting it out in the streets and transforming good neighbourhoods into potential battlegrounds. Races are there to identify each other and religions are there to show the way to ‘live and let live’ . They should not be areas to humiliate each other.  As Mahatma Gandhi said : ‘It has always been a mystery to me how men can feel themselves honoured by the humiliation of their fellow beings’.  After the war, apart from many common challenges to surmount such as poverty, inequality, social evils and  corruption, the scourge of racism is also on the priority list.

How do we, as a nation, act in these challenging times , when the ramifications of the actions of a minority are felt even beyond our shores? It is imperative that intellectuals among all communities stand up and show the ‘red card’ to these extremist elements and send out a clear message to all Sri Lankans ,that arousing racist and religious emotions and whipping up hatred among the populace is not acceptable. This irresponsible course of action, if left to fester, will only take  Sri Lanka towards oblivion and a point of no return. Our collective indifference will only be suicidal in the medium to long term.

Some of the actions we could take includes : banning of hatred websites, formation of a joint Peace Council with representatives from all religions both clergy and laity which will intervene in these matters ,undertaking a constructive program to raise awareness in schools and universities  regarding the need to ‘live and let live’ and respect each others’ cultures and religions, forming grass root level neighbourhood peace committees under the auspices of local government bodies to build confidence and a sense of security among communities and also the need for the intellectuals lead the way for people’s attention to be  focussed on common issues which affect the entire society as a whole .The law enforcement authorities should also take a sterner and impartial stand when dealing with the offenders. There is also a duty cast particularly on the intellectuals of all communities by the future generations, to act  together . Divisive approaches will only spell disaster, as German Theologian Martin Niemoller during Hitler’s time, said in a poem which he wrote while being in the prison.

First they came for the Jews

And I did not speak out because I was not a Jew

Then they came for the Communists

And I did not speak out because I was not a communist.

Then they came for the trade unionists

And I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist.

They came for me

And there was no one left to speak out for me

Tight security provided to the opening ceremony of berth port of Nainatheevu

[ Wednesday, 13 February 2013, 02:29.32 AM GMT +05:30 ]

Tight security has been provided to the opening ceremony of berth port of Nainatheevu. People were forced to wait for 3 hours, last evening

Event organizers ordered people to raise national flag during the arrival of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Journalists from the Jaffna peninsula are not permitted to enter the Nagavihara site. Journalist from state media and Colombo were permitted to enter the site, sources said.

WikiLeaks: US Invites Fifteen Other Governments To Address Tiger Financing And Weapons Procurement

By Colombo Telegraph -February 13, 2013 ,

“The Ambassador told Palihakkara that the US is inviting fifteen other governments to form overlapping contact groups to address Tiger financing and weapons procurement. Palihakkara agreed to reinforce Sri Lanka’s interest in working with the international community to bring an end to the conflict by reaching out to these nations’ foreign offices after the US has made initial proposals, but to ‘be economical’ in discussing the initiative until the USG wishes to make it known.”  the US Embassy Colombo informed Washington.

LTTE Leader

A Leaked ‘Confidential’ US diplomatic cable, dated June 13, 2006, updated the Secretary of State regarding and a meeting Ambassador Jeffrey J. Lunstead had with Foreign Secretary H. M. G. S. Palihakkara. The Colombo Telegraph found the related leaked cable from the WikiLeaks database. The cable is signed by the US Ambassador to Colombo Jeffrey J. Lunstead.

The ambassador wrote; “Ambassador impressed upon Palihakkara the importance and uniqueness of this initiative, since the LTTE does not pose a world-wide threat or a terrorist threat to the US. As the move represents a big step outside of the vital national interests of the US, the GSL must do everything in its power, the Ambassador stressed, to make sure that the GSL’s human rights record is clean. Palihakkara said he understood and would use the Ambassador’s message to influence others in the GSL.”

“Palihakkara was visibly pleased with the US’s contact group initiative, saying ‘We value your commitment to do peacemaking in a practical way.’ The Ambassador stressed the need not to announce or leak this initiative, and Palihakkara said he would keep the news in close-hold.” he further wrote.

Related posts to this cable;

WikiLeaks: LTTE’s Motives For Playing A ‘Surprise Card’ In Oslo Were Two Fold – GoSL To US

Read the relevant part of the cable below for further details;

The Kingdom Of Kandy In Sri Lanka: Challenging Narratives Of British Colonialism

By Sujit Sivasundaram -February 11, 2013

Dr Sujit Sivasundaram

European early modern empires in South Asia are sometimes described as water-borne parasites: they command the sea, but only take up small stretches of territory and factories along the coasts. In such a picture, the British win out against their European rivals at sea, and then start forming alliances with South Asian states; they work closely with land-based Indian financiers and merchants and protect the rights of landowners. It is from this ground of mutual interest that British conquest takes shape. By picking up the context of Sri Lanka – placed in the middle of the Indian Ocean and at the subcontinent’s extreme tip – my research aims to challenge this narrative. It takes issue with a series of opposites that are fundamental to the way we think about the British invasion of the subcontinent. Amongst these opposites are: the pre-colonial kingdom versus the colonial state, the indigenous versus the foreign, the maritime versus the landed, and the highland versus the coastal.

The origins of these dichotomies lie in the colonial period. In the interior highlands of the island stood the kingdom of Kandy, which only fell to the British in 1815. In the words of a mid-nineteenth century historian of Ceylon, the Kandyan kingdom was protected by a ‘species of natural circular fortification’, which allowed the Kandyans to defy European modes of warfare for three centuries. Writing in 1841, Lieutenant De Butts noted that the ‘physiognomy of mountaineers is influenced by the bold scenery amid which they reside, and which is supposed to impart somewhat of hardiesse to their manners and aspect.’ This physiognomic difference was said to map on to a divergence in character, evident in the ‘servility’ and ‘effeminate’ nature of the lowlanders, which contrasted with the elevated manliness of the highlanders. In a popular commentary, Robert Percival wrote of how Europeans who were brought into contact with the climate of Kandy fell ill with debilitating ‘hill or jungle fever.’ Added to this was the trope of the oriental despot, which was quickly attached to the last king of Kandy, Sri Vickrama Rajasimha, by the British. One tale that the British publicised was how the king allegedly slaughtered the family of a fleeing minister, Ahalepola, by ordering the heads of Ahalepola’s children to be put into a mortar and pounded with a pestle by their mother.

How should these notions of opposition – weighted with a colonial politics – be displaced at long last? In my new book “Islanded: Britain, Sri Lanka and the Bounds of an Indian Ocean Colony”, I argue that there was an evocative similarity between the kingdom of Kandy and the colonial state. Unlike any of the European powers who preceded them, the British could be seen to stand in the lineage of Buddhist kings because they took into captivity the last king of Kandy and into possession the Tooth Relic of the Buddha, as the sacred signifier of their right to rule. Another way in which extant traditions of rule and colonial ones were entangled was around the notion of the island as a unit of governance. The Kandyan kings believed that the island was a territory specially sanctified by the Buddha, who had appeared magically three times on the island after his enlightenment. There was a way of referring to the entire island—as Tri Simhala. When the British took over Kandy their convention announced: ‘The religion of Boodhoo, professed by the chiefs and inhabitants of these provinces is declared inviolable, and its rights, ministers, and places of worship are to be maintained and protected.’

Yet this is not an argument for simple continuities: for the indigenous and the foreign were mutating in definitional terms as the British took over. The British recycled and redefined the laws, religious customs, languages and ethnic affiliations of the island. Unlike India, Ceylon was a Crown colony, and initially, a garrison state under military Governors. This is important, because the rivalry between the Company in India and Crown in Ceylon meant that in governmental terms, the island was cast off from the mainland by the 1830s. It became a separable island colony, and there was a concerted attempt to dredge a channel between the island and the mainland to prevent Company vessels from needing to go around the island in travelling between Bombay and Calcutta.

The apparatus through which Ceylon was unified under a centralised regime of what was expressly declared as ‘colonialism’ amongst Indian observers, set in sway a discursive and intellectual way of thinking and writing of this space as a romanticised and sexualised island, a lost Eden, and a place which was very different to the barren and Hindu mainland. The island’s Buddhism was seen to hold a key to the mainland’s past, but this religious system was seen to have lessened the force of some of the norms of society in India, such as caste or gender oppression.

What emerges to view then is the dynamism of the advent of colonialism – not as a movement from the timeless to the newly rigid, nor as a story of borrowed inheritances or radical ruptures – but as a process with a great deal of energy. Colonialism’s long-term consequences come out of its ability to both accommodate itself to and shape the difference between localities whilst connecting the uneven past to the newly present.

Dr Sujit Sivasundaram is a lecturer in World and Imperial History Since 1500 at the University of Cambridge. He recently won the Philip Leverhulme Prize for History, awarded to academics for contributions to research. He was previously a lecturer at LSE’s Department of International History. This article is first appeared in Blog India at LSE

*Tamil Kolaveri HD (Jaffna Version)

Web: http://www.yarlmusic.com
Last king of Kandy remembered in Tamil Nadu

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 01 February 2012, 01:48 GMT]
Sri Wikrama Rajasinghe alias Ka’n’nuch-chaami, the last king of Kandy, from whom the British captured the sovereignty of the last remaining kingdom in the island then called Ceylon, was remembered by his heirs and relatives in Tamil Nadu at his memorial in Ve

aloor (Vellore) in Tamil Nadu on his 181st death anniversary on Monday. Those who claim and

uphold ‘uni

t remaining in the island, just because he was belonging to the Mathurai Naayakka dynasty of Tamil-Telugu origin. This is a small, but revealing example on the attitude of the sovereignty claim of the Sinhala state of Sri Lanka, showing why the sovereignty of genocide-affected Eezham Tamils in the island should never be vested into the hands of this state, commented an academic in Jaffna. tary’ sovereignty over the entire island today never care for the king, who fought against colonialism for native sovereignty las

The paintings of the King and Queen made by a British Army officer before they were take

n to Vellore

In 1815, the invading British captured Sri Wikrama Rajasinghe and his queen after a brutal war. Later, the chieftains of Kandy signed a treaty with the invaders, agreeing for the transfer of sovereignty to the British

Crown.

The Royal family was then taken to India and was imprisoned at the Fort of Vealoor (Vellore) in Tamil Nadu. The Vellore fort was also once belonging to the dynasty of Wikrama Rajasinghe, originating from the Vijayanagara Empire.

The king died on 30 January 1832, at Vellore and was buried at the bed of the river Paalaa’ru, nearby. His queen Saaviththiri Devi and children were also buried at the same place after their death later.

The crown, throne and other royal regalia taken by the British to London were later returned to Ceylon and they are now in the display of Colombo Museum. The personal items used by the imprisoned king, such as his dice-game set etc., could be found in the Tamil Nadu State museum at Vellore.

The birth name of the king was Ka’n’nuch-chaami. Another contender for the throne of Kandy from the same family, by the name Muththuch-chaami, was patronized by the British who kept him in Va’n’naar-pa’n’nai in Jaffna in the locality where the Kilner Building stands now. The British who wanted to appease Wikrama Rajasinghe after their defeat in an earlier war, presented him the head of Muththuch-chaami on a platter.

The story of Wikrama Rajasinghe became folklore in Tamil in the 19th century itself. Early plays by the name of Ka’ndi Raajan Kathai, and in the form of Kooththu theatre, were composed and performed at Mathurai in Tamil Nadu as early as in the late 19th century.

However, in Sinhala historiography, the English version that Wikrama Rajasinghe was a tyrant became easily accepted and the highlight was the king brutally torturing and killing the family of a Sinhala chieftain for treason.

The English historiography found it convenient to justify the transfer of sovereignty, citing tyranny of the Naayakka king on the Kandyans.

But in our times today, the powers of new imperialism contesting for the island and the international system such as the UN, find it convenient to cite at ‘Sri Lankan sovereignty’ in allowing even genocide of a nation.

Mahinda Rajapaksa, who never hesitated to commit genocide of Eezham Tamils, justifies all his actions in the name of ‘Sri Lankan sovereignty’ and he is the hero of the ‘Mahavamsa’ he is composing.

The international polity of the New World Order seems to have ‘matured’ enough in making no pretensions over proclaiming shamelessly that ‘sovereignty’ is not a people’s right to protect their nation, the academic in Jaffna commented.