Tamil racism and 13 A – III
by Izeth Hussain-April 8, 2016, 7:15 pm
I must add a couple of details to show the extent to which I was pro-Tamil. I not only advocated that a mausoleum be built to honor the war dead on both sides but I also went to the extent of saying that it should bear the inscription "May you be born among us in your next birth", which the ancient Chinese used to honor the bravery of their fallen enemies. Another detail worth mentioning is that after 2009 I was consistently and outspokenly critical of the Rajapakse Government for its prevarication and downright dishonesty over the implementation of 13 A, arguing that no amount of devolution would lead to separation. I want the reader to bear in mind that I was adopting all those pro-Tamil positions even during times when the then Government was dangerously intolerant of dissent and white vans were merrily in operation. I could have been branded as a traitor just for that suggestion about the inscription on the proposed mausoleum, and indeed I was attacked as a traitor some weeks ago in a lengthy three-part article by a well-known ultra-nationalist Sinhalese. Against the background set out here, it is surely mind-boggling that the Tamil racists have insisted, and have kept on insisting, that I have always been a rabid anti-Tamil racist.
The attacks against me that began suddenly in the CT subsided for a brief while, resumed again and continued, altogether for a period of several months, after which they stopped completely. I wrote two articles based on the material provided by the attacks against what I called Tamil anti-Muslim lunatic fringe racism. Surprisingly there were no responses, none whatever, from the Tamils who had been attacking me. It is not difficult to reconstruct at least part of what had been happening. Evidently the attacks were concerted ones, perhaps concerted by the LTTE, perhaps – according to speculation in CT columns – by foreign groups such as the Zionists, Norwegian and other Islamophobic groups, Neocons, who were using Tamil Islamophobic racists to promote a foreign agenda. It is reasonable to surmise that there were influential Tamils who were appalled that one of the most pro-Tamil of all non-Tamils was being subjected for months on end to attacks that frequently showed hysterical hatred and mad dog rage. Obviously common sense – so obvious that the commonsensical reasons need not be spelt out – required that the Tamils get closer to the Muslims, not alienate them. It is understandable therefore that the concerted attacks stopped and there were no responses when I went on the offensive against the Tamil racists in a couple of articles.
If the concerted attacks have stopped, why am I kicking up a row about it all just now? The concerted attacks by seven to ten Tamils on every article of mine stopped long ago, but since then practically every article of mine has drawn attacks by one, two, or three Tamils, showing sometimes the same hysterical hatred and mad dog rage. A highly significant fact is that my articles draw Tamil fire even when they have nothing to do with Tamils, not even remotely. For instance I recently wrote a two-part article on the Kishani Jayasinghe contretemps on the last National Day. Discussions were proceeding smoothly in the CT columns at a sophisticated intellectual level, and most of the contributions were interesting. Suddenly a Tamil opened fire against me, unabashedly declaring that what he had to say had nothing to do with my article: he declared that I had been proved to be a boastful liar. Immediately another Tamil seconded him. I was stunned. The second part of the article quickly elicited an outrageously racist attack by Saraswathi, which again had absolutely nothing to do with my article. It provoked a brilliant rejoinder by a Sinhalese who was supported by other Sinhalese, not by Tamils. It was apparent that Tamil racists found it unbearable that I, a Soni – a Tamil term of contempt for Muslims - could write on matters cultural and be taken seriously. It cannot be controverted that Tamil Islamophobic racism badly needs in-depth analysis.
