CHASING CHIMERAS The Dangerous Mime of Tamil Separatist Rhetoric

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WHILE POST-EELAM LANKAN TAMILS BECOME FEDERAL NATIONALISTS, AT INDIA NATIONALISTS TURN TO SEPERATIST RHETORIC

CHASING CHIMERAS- MYTHICAL VOTE CATCH OF LANKAN ISSUES

For a long time the Hindu Nationalist movement had to struggle to

gain traction with the Dravidian ideology infested Tamil Nadu political landscape. Traditional Nationalist voter base hovers around 15% to 30% and went with Indian National Congress- while the two Dravidian ideological entities split the rest of the cake between themselves.

Challengers to this three way division such as PMK and DDMK resort to alternate contenders of Clean Governance but could not improve scores to unsettle the equation. Minor chunks were earlier possible to be cut off the pie only through Casteist politics- such as that of Vanniar Caste Hindu PMk and Dalit VCK.

Even that faded in time and they have lost their former hold on respective Caste constituency. The Congress losing its Nehru scion of Rajiv Gandhi has come in full circle and demonstrates the mindless mouthing of LTTE porpoganda as Lankan Tamils issues.

It had earlier joined the assembly vote for a Resolution for Tamil Eelam, a demand on behalf of those who have never given them any representation rights to speak for them. Now P Chidambaram Indian Cabinet Minister is lamenting to his Prime Minister for attending the Commonwealth event. In the right scheme of things for them, India must ostracise Lanka and boycott it. Instead of working closer and rebuilding the Tamils' future for good. Kandy Member of Parliament Dilum Amunagama explains"That is why we invite our critics to visit the area and see for themselves the work we have done to help revive life there. Massive investments had been channelled to develop roads, railway, supply electricity, drinking water and to put other economic and social infrastructure needs in place. Roads of all types, rural, provincial and national, have been reconstructed. Many people who had visited the country immediately after the war witnessed the extent of damage caused by the terrorists to the two main highways - A9 and A32. We have rehabilitated these major highways linking the North and South.

"Amidst all this, there is a lot of negative activity that is taking place, to deface the image of the country. The negative publicity is stirred up by the LTTE diaspora and LTTE operatives. Some of the Western countries are distant from the happenings in Sri Lanka and are easily misled. Therefore, all who would come here realize that Sri Lanka is a country where all communities live harmoniously and that would be a message with high impact to dispel the anti Lankan propaganda abroad," he said. "CHOGM is the premier event bringing together Heads of Government, Ministers, officials and top business leaders from around the world and will be attended by over a thousand delegates. They could see for themselves what Sri Lanka is all about. They will see at firsthand, the freedom the people enjoy while having the opportunity to visit wherever they want and make their own assessments as to what is taking place in the country. "This becomes all the more important vis a vis, the development taking place after the reintegration of affected people into mainstream society. This is one area which needs specific exposure. "This is also seen as a great opportunity for Sri Lanka to enlighten the world about the investment potentials in the island," Amunugama said. In fact it is exactly this Investment opportunity that India misses and a closer constructive bonding with the Tamils in a mutually beneficial interaction. This normalisation of their devastated lives and economic development of Tamils at Lanka is greatly feared by the Tamil Separatists for they fear their raison deter for Eelam will be rendered superfluous.

For them the fixation with Past historical mistakes must remain afresh and the clock be turned backwards to another round of conflict politics. But the clock never gets stuck in the past nor ticks backwards like some minds do? THE METHOD IN THE MADNESS- IT IS TAMIL NADU THEY ARE TARGET TING But there is a method in all their seeming madness.

Each time for a political expedient Lankan issue will be passed around the table- unfailingly a new ' scoop' about some alleged War Crime from Channel 4 will be the starter.

With almost all the top LTTE leadership's wives and family attesting to humane treatments they received such as Second in command to Prabakaran and Sea tigers head Col. Susai and Tamilselvan. Col Susais wife expresses gratitude for way the Lankan regime handled them, the rank of former fighters and cadres fully rehabilitated in new productive lives weaned from destructive pursuits, with marriages arranged for them and new occupations, Channel 4 does have limited stock in demonising material. If it was Prabakaran's son Balachandran last time around, it is Tamil Selvi the newsreader back now as the new emotional pivot. This despite fact that this story has been debunked already since years-- that she was a fighter in the list and held a rank and was not a civilian casualty.

The LTTE since it used to surprise Lankan soldiers with human bombs concealed in their bodies, they were stripped and checked by women soldiers- these clips were naturally presented as proof of rapes- but this explanation was accepted by Independent and UN agencies.

Daya Master the media head of LTTe had exposed the origin of the 'shocking' visuals Channel 4 has circulated-as to how the LTTE used Lankan army fatigues and executed both rival rebel outfit's fighters as well as Tamil and Sinhalese civilians and how these pictures were deployed to infuse fear and horror towards the Lankan army and Sinhalese as a people.

Meanwhile, the political need of the Tamil Nadu politics to exploit the Lankan Tamils' issue has little objectivity to consider both sides of the story, and resorts to the Lanka-Phobia with some little help from well timed Channel 4 myths, handful of Student crowd gatherers with no idea of the dimensions of the problem, and plenty of LTTE money.

The same set of actors play out different acts- it was American Resolution against Lanka and UN enquiry, and now the Common wealth Game and Meet.

The same LTTE propagandists at media, the same old Loyola College and its Jesuit student activism, same Channel 4 where the 4 is the insignia of Greek Cross.

C V Wigneswaran Chief minister Tamil National Alliance- India must participate at Commonwealth summit and echoes the consensus Tamil Nadu politicians must refrain from dictating our destiny.

The Lankan Tamils would have none of this and have clearly told the Tamil nadu politicos to stop meddling with their lives and dictating their destiny to the given script of LTTE separatism and resumption of conflict.

Still, the rebuffed Tamil Nadu politicos pretend as though they have some cause at hand.

Since Lankan Tamils do not want to go back to the barbarous age of the LTTE, all this can have only intended target-

Tamil nadu and its gullible masses and callous political parties, who were earlier able to reject Dravida Naadu to be persuaded in stages to take to a Insurrection and Tamil Separatist movement.

WHILE POST-EELAM LANKAN TAMILS BECOME FEDERAL NATIONALISTS, AT INDIA NATIONALISTS TURN TO SEPERATISM

As former LTTE arms procurer and overseas head K Pathmanathan jibed, Vai Gopalsamy aka Vaiko sought to inherit DMK's leadership but foiled by their choice of Stalin and got evicted.

Since he was not a tamil but a telugu Naidu, Pathmanathan points out why he resorted to obsess with the Lankan Tamils issue in order to gain credentials as a Tamil leader.

Other such contenders to Tamil Lankan Issue as a vote catching device, such as VCK and PMK only proved in repeated defeats in elections that the Lankan Tamils' issue had never any appeal or paid any dividends.

However the issue was kept simmering as an emotional mobilization drive of cadres and youth from time to time, such as DMK's sudden passion for Eelam to justify a disgraceful exit from UPA alliance over its corruption scandals.

This is where the fishing in troubled waters begins-

After the decimation of LTTE at the close of Lankan Civil war at Vanni, the remnants of LTTE still in possession of hoarded gold and funds began its quest for regrouping.

The Lankan war was replete with human rights violations and collateral damages, but by both the sides. Demonising terms such as Genocide are freely used with no regard to actual figures of the Civilian population at conflict zone. There were quite handful of independent census figures of Tamil population locked in the battle zone. The Red Cross and UN Food relief agencies for instance put the figure of total Tamil population at Vanni at best below 400,000 around between 3,75000 to 3,90,000 only. The Lankan government census figures should be suspect but ironically that gives the highest of these figures at 400,000 odd. The Tamils accounted for at Relief Camps and Detention was going by even UN figures at around 3,82,000. Given the numbers of listed LTTE fighters at 25,000 the figures simply dont match the Genocide claims. Even very high Civilian casualty figures are plainly difficult to comprehend given the numbers. Still, for the Tamil Nadus politicians including the Nationalist BJP, the Genocide is a given.

The decision of LTTE to hold on to civilians as human shields till they forced through their fighters' encirclement at Nandikadal beach is something never mentioned by the champions of Eelam at Tamil Nadu.

The Rehabilitation after the war was appreciated by United Nation's visiting observers and even the critics of Lankan regime.

During all this the nationalist BJP failed to obtain its own clear view of the issue and started after the mythical Lankan issue vote bank.

It started to mime the LTTE propagandists and join blindly the Death chant to Rajapakse.

Ironically, the Tamil National Alliance was forced to deal with the different ground reality at Lanka's Tamil areas.

If we bear in mind fact that TNA was the only official political wing of the LTTE, their change of course should if anything serves as an eye opener.

The Tamils who lived through incessant conflict of over three decades of Tamil Separatist domination over their lives had little appetite left for any resumption of Separatist ideas that could resume conflict with Lankans.

The recruitment of child soldiers had completely turned the Tamils in LTTE controlled areas against any suggestion of revival of LTTE or its politics of terror and intimidation.

This change of Tamil mass psyche against Separatism and choice for Nationalism and Democratic Pluralist Federalism went completely unnoticed by the Hindu Nationalists.

Instead of welcoming that wiser choice towards peaceful reconciliation and Federal resolution of issues democratically, the BJP at Tamil Nadu let itself be carried away by the myth makers' shows.

If Lankan Tamil issues ever had any broad support base at Tamil Nadu, Vaiko must have been the chief minister but he arrived at such a pathetic marginalisation that he and his Party stopped contending elections.

Impressed by the LTTE propagandists' monopolisation of media space, BJP began courting him eagerly and started brandishing his lavish praise as an endorsement to cherish.

But the Nationalist voter base had meantime swung to BJP from Congress like elsewhere outside Tamil Nadu.

Narender Modi's image as a Development achiever and the acceptance of Hindutva as a positive lead to vibrant receptions especially from the youth disenchanted with the communal demonetisation and corruption.

At Tamil Nadu BIP, the clueless courting of Tamil Separatists keeps up the myth of Tamil Separatist pet issues that fetch nothing but lost deposits for the likes of Vaiko.

HINDUTVA MISSES A HISTORIC OPPURTUNITY TO DISCREDIT DRAVIDIAN IDEOLOGY AS DESTRUCTIVE TO TAMIL SOCIETY AND WEAN THEM FROM LINGO-ETHNIC SEPERATISM TO CULTUTRAL NATIONALISM

What was missed conspicuously was a crucial chance and historic opportunity to debunk the Dravidian ideology as promote of Racist civil wars and harbinger of doom to Tamil society by showcasing the horrors of LTTE.

After all the entire Lankan civil war and fight for a separate Eelam was a logical extension of Dravida Naadu demand of Dravidian parties, that was rejected by Tamils here.

Its sponsors were arch enemies of Hindu Nationalism- the Liberation theology of LTTE were same derivatives of Jesuit Dravidian

ideologues like Bishop Caldwell as were the Justice Party and the Dravidar Kayagam.

By chasing a mythical Lankan Tamils issue as a vote catcher, the Hindu Nationalists of BJP Tamil Nadu missed the opportunity of course correcting history of Tamil politics.

Instead of ideologically exposing the toxicity of Dravidian separatism, in the context of its deadly fall outs at Lanka where it wrecked the Tamil society there and ruined their lives, it persists on miming the Dravidian Tamil ethnic separatist rhetoric.

By towing the line of Lingo-Ethnic Separatist logic, at a time when it must vigorously expose its lethal aftermaths, Hindu Nationalists at Tamil Nadu are digging the grave of nationalism and themselves.

While TNA chief minister at Lanka appeals to Indian participation at Commonwealth summit, the nationalists demand a boycott.

By rejecting both the democratic will of Lankan Tamils and the Federal choice of Nationalism by TNA, they have allowed the Tamil polity at India to be decoupled from the reality on the ground at Lankan Tamil Diaspora.

What in effect the Tamil politicians are doing is not championing any rebuilding of the Tamils lives at Lanka- for that requires actually closer cooperation and Indian investments.

What this dangerous mime of Tamil separatism is up to is to prepare afresh the Tamil land to sow a Nagalnd like separatist movement and an insurrection.

It goes without saying then that though BJP will do overall well outside of Tamil Nadu, thanks to upbeat Nationalism by arrival of Modi, at Tamil Nadu it will dampen the nationalist wave.

It may in theory enable Separatists like Vaiko to hijack the Wave or infiltrate the Nationalist government with LTTE revivalist script.

More probable is both the Hindu Nationalist BJP and its strange bedfellow of Tamil separatists, will beat the trend defy Hindu Nationalist wave in its favour all over India. Both sit by the heap way sidelined as Vaiko is accustomed to- with lost deposits.

Nevertheless, in the interest of Nationalism and future integrity of India, at Tamil Nadu this dangerous mimic of Tamil separatist rhetoric is queried by the Nationalists and especially the Hindu Nationalist Sangh.

The Hindu Nationalists be told to evolve their own Nationalist perspective of Lankan Tamil issue, giving the due respects to the sentiments of Lankan Tamils there and their democratic choice of Federalist Unitarian Nationalism. Already the Tamil Separatist fringe groups have attacked National installations such as the Post offices, Government buildings, Military barracks and Army convoys, as they perceive them as National symbols. This dangerous mime of Tamil Separatism must be put to an end before it is too late and Tamil Nadu drift towards another Nagaland.