Time to fight is over

There has been a big hue and cry over the current impasse in Sri Lanka. The tamils in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu feel for the tamils in Sri Lanka and their struggle for equal rights.

Its after all a worthy cause since the Tamils in India themselves enjoy lot of freedom and contribute immensely to the Indian nation. Alas! the Tamils in Sri Lanka have been treated as second class citizens first by the majority Sinhalese, post independence from Britain and then as pawns in the violent power struggle by the militant LTTE.

I have been having back and forth conversations with a friend who is a die hard supporter of the tamil cause and is annoyed with the current Lankan crack down on the LTTE.

And every time I tell him this. Do not confuse the tamil cause with that of the LTTE. The LTTE is part of the tamil movement in Sri Lanka and not the other way round. The LTTE has tactfully made it look like that, but local Lankan tamil parties do not see it that way.


There was a time in the past when the utility of an armed struggle was very much in relevance. A kick in the back side of the ruling establishment was very much the need of the hour and they got it.

However, the utility of an armed struggle has passed and the law of diminishing returns has kicked in long ago.

Now, the fight is not only hurting the government but also the very people the struggle had sworn to protect.

After all, we all must remember the prime objective of all this. The prime objective is to get equal rights for the Sri Lankan Tamils in Sri Lanka. While a separate Tamil Eelam is one way to get that, its not the only way.

The Tamil Eelam is a classic example of the means hijacking the end goal.

If the tamil cause can be achieved through a negotiated settlement today without further violence, it should be explored.

The armed tamil groups should give up violence and join the political mainstream, as equals. The Sri Lankan government must push through political reform and devolve powers to the states. An Indian governing model is the best bet for Sri Lanka.

So what should the tamil parties in India do? To start with they should stop using this cause like a political football game. If they really were so interested in the tamil cause, they would not have waited until the LTTE got cornered by the Lankan forces.

Its shameful that they sleep for years and then wake up when the Lankan army makes advances. Were not the tamils in Lanka suffering all this while? What stopped the tamil parties from asking the LTTE not to violate the earlier ceasefire agreements? Why did they not condemn the LTTE when they killed other tamil party cadres.

The tamil parties in India have long confused the welfare of the Sri Lankan tamils with that of the LTTE.

Its about time they stepped up and addressed the actual cause.