Studying Sinhala By Tamils, An Ill-Timed & Inappropriate Plea By Wigneswaran
By Eelaventhan Manickavasakar –June 14, 2016
Eelaventhan Manickavasakar
Northern Provincial Chief Minister Justice C. V. Wigneswaran in a recent speech has exhorted the Tamil students to study Sinhalese. The reasons he mentioned were:
- Lack of knowledge in Sinhalese is the root cause of misunderstanding, suspicion, mistrust and lack of confidence.
- If you know Sinhalese, you can effectively reply a Sinhalese, more particularly Sinhalese politicians.
- Tamils in Norway and France are learning Norwegian and French language
- All Sinhalese students are compulsorily learning Tamil
- Learn Sinhalese keeping politics away out
- To ensure proper understanding, Sinhala knowledge is essential
- Those who don’t possess knowledge in Sinhala will face discrimination in future and Tamil speaking Sinhalese official will benefit Tamils.
The above reasons sound plausible, but only partially true, and politically unacceptable.
Firstly, the root cause of all problems originated when Sinhala language was taken up and exploited as a political weapon to launch the discrimination and marginalisation of Tamils in all public sectors, not to mention the ugly riots and mayhems unleashed against the innocent Tamils while jailing Tamil political leaders. In Sri Lanka, language and politics are intertwined and inseparable. The 1956 Sinhala only language act is the root and trunk of all present and past problems of Sri Lanka. As such there is justifiable reason for the Tamils to oppose the thrusting of Sinhalese language like the political opposition for thrusting Hindi in Tamil Nadu and other states by the ruling state governments.
The cause of mistrust, suspicion etc is not due to lack of knowledge of Sinhala language, but due mistrust and suspicion of Sinhalese of all Tamils and Tamil Nadu with fears of separation. This is very much embedded in the psyche of Sinhalese and extremist politicians, by speaking and easily communicating with Sinhalese may be good enough to explain but not enough to change the minds of Sinhala politicians whose power base is communal politics.
