The Importance of Working With
Image courtesy Colombo Telegraph
Mahesan Niranjan-17 Jul, 2013
“Machan, I hope a couple of UPFA guys get elected, too!” said my drinking partner, the Sri Lankan Tamil fellow Sivapuranam Thevaram. It is a warm and beautifully sunny day in Bridgetown, UK, and from our favourite water hole we were discussing the decision by the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) to name former Supreme Court Judge, Mr Wigneswaran, as their lead candidate in the forthcoming election to the Northern Provincial Council. Should the election take place (low probability), the TNA will win (high probability) and Wigneswaran will be sworn in as Chief Minister of the said Council.
I was as shocked as you are as to why a Tamil man would think it desirable for UPFA candidates to get elected. After all, the UPFA is the current ruling coalition and, since the war ended, has gone out of the way to make the Tamil people of our country feel that they don’t belong here. The callousness shown during times of war and the barbed wire fences of Menik Farm top the list for some, but Thevaram and I have at least agreed on three issues as symptomatic: (a) the idea the national anthem may be sung only in Sinhala; (b) the abrupt stopping of the dual nationality scheme as an ingenious way of crowd control at Nallur temple; and (c) the Eighteenth Amendment. (If I may let you in on a little secret, Thevaram has reacted to the first of the above by teaching himself to whistle our anthem in Sinhala! Please try, it is beautiful!) Continue reading »
