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Katka Kasadara
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1 week 2 hours ago
Last week, we explored the oppression faced by the Tamils at the hands of the Sri Lankan state in regards to the Tamil Planation Workers and state aided colonisation. Today, we will consider further events that exuberated the need for an independent Tamil state. Soon after the aforementioned events, state oppression started to penetrate into the daily aspects of Tamil lives. The Sri Lankan state's aim was to disrupt and erase the Tamil identity and target the following aspect that will bring a ripple effect that is still seen today.
LANGUAGE
‘The Sinhala Only Act’
In 1956, Mr Bandaranayke, the then newly elected President, introduced 'Sinhala Only Act', which abolished English as the official language and made Sinhala as the ONLY official language of Sri Lanka. The ‘Tamil’ language which enjoyed official and equal status prior to this Act was demoted to be insignificant. This had a huge impact on the Tamil Community as the majority of them held jobs in the civil service and the Act demanded proficiency in Sinhala as a prerequisite to now work in the Civil Service. Tamils were now forced to learn Sinhala to survive and make ends meet or to leave the employment. Employment opportunities in the public service were deliberately being directed away from Tamils and given only to Sinhala speaking citizens.
EDUCATION
When it came to state employment and university education, Tamils were always in a better position than the Sinhalese. During the Parliamentary elections in 1956, Sinhalese openly started to show their discontent claiming that they were being discriminated in their own country by the Tamils in the fields of higher education and government employment sector.
To appease the Sinhalese population and to further deprive Tamil’s access to higher education and employment, the Sri Lankan government in 1970 introduced a policy to University Admission, the so called ‘Policy of Standardisation’. This policy granted Sinhala students with lower grades admission to University while Tamils Students had to score significantly higher than average to be given admission. This discriminatory device dramatically reduced the number of admissions of Tamil Students to universities and seriously undermined their prospects of Higher Education.
Credits
Artist: Thivyan (@thivyanp)
Instrumentalist: Vishnija Nithiyanantha (@Vishnija_n)
Concept by: Girthi Jeya
Song: Urimaiyudan Uyirinil Eluthiya Vetham
Original Song by Puratchi sound1 week 1 day ago
'All peoples remember, honour and mourn their war dead. The 11th of November is Remembrance Day for the countries of the British Commonwealth such as Great Britain, Canada, Australia and South Africa as well as for some European countries such as France and Belgium. The Cenotaph (meaning Empty Tomb) in London carries the simple inscription "The Glorious Dead" and it is here that a Remembrance service is held each year at 11 am on the Sunday nearest 11 November.
For the people of Tamil Eelam and for Tamils living in many lands and across distant seas, the 27th of November is the day on which they remember, honour and mourn those who have given their lives in the struggle for Tamil Eelam. It is the day marked by the death of Shankar in 1982 - the first death of a cadre of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Since then many have given their lives so that their brothers and sisters may live with self respect and in freedom - in Tamil we say thanmaanam - தன்மானம்.
The Tamil people do not seek to glorify war because they know too well the pain and suffering that war brings in its trail. Neither do they seek to glorify their war heroes. To glorify is to boast and magnify. And the Tamil people seek neither to boast nor to magnify. But the Tamil people do seek to remember, honour and mourn their war dead - remember with gratitude, honour with humility and mourn from deep within their hearts. At the same time, they seek to re dedicate themselves to the cause of justice and freedom for which their brothers and sisters, their udanpirapukal - உடன் பிறப்புகள், gave their lives. Those who have died shall not have died in vain.
The people of the United States honour their war heroes with burial in the Arlington National Cemetry. The people of Tamil Eelam have honoured their war heroes with burial, in துயிலும் இல்லம் - Thuyilum Illam.Though many are now desecrated by the occupying powers. They are the resting places, the homes of those who will not die in our hearts - our அணையாத தீபங்கள்....'
1 week 23 hours ago