I saw the following articles on a commentry here on rediff and was shocked with how sri lankans feel about us. ungrateful morons. who helped them during tsunami. who saved 30000 soldiers when LTTE was going to attack Jaffna in late 90s. If littoral countries don't listen to our concerns, we need to make our power be known. Congress has failed us in our foreign policy.
RE:SL and India
by on Jun 02, 2007 07:40 PM Permalink
India should take care of its own shit and help million of powerless people live in utter misery all over india. If you had a chance to visit sri lanka you will see the difference in the quality of life of people in india and sri lanka. I don't believe India ever came to sri lankas help in the 90's in Jaffana. It was a few other countried who bailed the soldiers out. India certainly is big in quantity but at the expense of quality sometimes. I live in north america and this is eveident in so many ways (lack of discipline of workers, qality of worksmanship, and even sports..). India has a longway to go before it can claim to be big power. Leave sri lankan alone and they can take of their business like they have done for thousands of years. You don't want to be just big and ugly.
RE:SL and India
by on Jun 02, 2007 10:42 PM Permalink
I don't think your shows your background. SL people work for my own company. We have to teach them from Number Zero. I don't you have any rich and educated friend. I US President or Bill Gates of Microsoft compare SL versus India. You will find out. I demand an apology from your sorry ass.
RE:RE:SL and India
by Jayasuriya on Jun 03, 2007 05:45 AM Permalink
Kumar had a valid point but your is not even worth commenting, Go to school first and then u can have ur own company and boast about it
RE:SL and India
by Edwin Navaratnam on Jun 03, 2007 11:30 AM Permalink
Hi Jayasuriya what about the Singhal colinisation of historical Tamil Districts. If you look at he a sri lankan map th elate forties fities all the names in tthe eastern provnce were Tamil. Now lots of these names have been changed to Sinhala and lots ancioent Tamil Hindu village names hav ebben also changed to Sadam Hussein Vilage . Husseen Nagaram etc by the Tamil Muslims ( withhte encouragement of Sri Lankan Govt. ) when Tamil come to Colombo ( the are alomst 40%) they dont change Singhalsed name or the history they buy property homes business etc with theior own funds. A citizen in countey has a right to live any where . A sinhalse in Jaffna a Tamil in Matara. But govenment deliberatley sending colonist to change to etcnic make up of the region and then change the names history etc is called genocide and etnic ecleansing . So the SriLankan govenmet does not wnat this to happen in Palestine but this if fine for Sri lnkan Tamils. And Mr . Jayasuriya ar eyou aware that the Kandyan rdala are largely descended from tamil Nayakas. And the Singhalese casted of Karawe Salagama Durawae Hune Berawaiya etc are of pure south Indian Tamil Originand only migrated tosri Lanka froem the 15 century onwards. These are the backbone th eextremist ultra nationalist parties like JVP and Jhu, and do not want Tmai lright to be granted . What a joke.The last Tamil/Singhalses King of Kandy signed the Kandyan convention with the British in Tamil and most of the so called Singhalese Kandyan chief
RE:RE:SL and India
by Jayasuriya on Jun 03, 2007 04:54 PM Permalink
Colombo, was predominantly sinhalese until very recently, By your own account you say that now tamils make-up about 40%. At the same time, you charge that the govt deliberately, try to change the ethnic make-up. Why would the govt or sinhalese allow tamils to increase in numbers, significantly, in the heart of the country, if there us organized or state sponsored racism? I am not saying that there haven't been social injustices in the past to tamil communities or for that matter sinhalese poor in the south. I live in the US now and it's amazing how the whites here had discriminated against the black minority just a few decades ago. Blacks were not even allowed to dine in the same restaurent or take a leak in the same restroom. But the good thing is things have changed, significantly, through means of non-violence. It's not a perfect society but heading in the right direction. Sri lanka has moved a long way in that respect and sinhalses have always been a tolerant and easy going community, probably influenced by buddhism. May be in India things were fine and dandy for all the layesr of the society.
RE:SL and India
by Edwin Navaratnam on Jun 03, 2007 11:57 AM Permalink
to continue sighned this in Tamil ( including the ancestor of Mrs Bandaranaike and President Kumaratunge and Jayawardene). The Singhalese king of Kandy needed interpretors in Tamil to deal with the British. There is the incident of a brother of a famous Kandyan Sinhgalese political family heard speking fluent Tamil. and a foiend questioned him regarding this and he jokingly replied. Yes of course I speak fluent Tamil as Iam a Kandyan Radala ( arstrocrat), the higher you go in the Kandayan society the more Tamil you become by blood. This sort of acknowlegement even jokingly will not be admitted during the current political climate,
Also please read this: http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=b79b0c17-c7fe-42a1-92ab-86902d54bf1f&&Headline=Lan ka bid to bridge yawning language gap
I quote this from the newspaper article
"The one million strong Sri Lankan bureaucracy has a major flaw. Civil servants knowing Tamil, the country's second official language, constitute only 8.31% of the total staff, though Tamil is the mother tongue of about 20% of the country's population of 20 million."
THIS IS DISCRIMINATION. Even you cannot deny this. Raja Collure is a Sinhala and he has stated all this.
RE:SL and India
by Jayasuriya on Jun 03, 2007 04:30 PM Permalink
Rani, You mentioned that "sinhalese" killed tamils in 83. No, it was an organized mob and a political instigation that killed innocent tamils. When LTTE kill civilians, have you ever heard sinhalese people say that tamils kill sinhalese? It's the LTTE, that kill sinhalese not the tamils. Some of the comments you start by saying that "I was told..". Don't just go with what you are told or what you hear from people. People will always have their own spin (I am no exception). But if you try to analyse the facts, like for example "Sinhalese killing tamils" and "LTTE killing sinhalese", you can get an impartial insight into the issues. It will also help if you don't look at the problem with your tamil binaculars but as an independant observer. Sinhalese or tamils they are just human beings trying to just live thier lives...
RE:SL and India
by Rani on Jun 03, 2007 09:43 PM Permalink
Jayasurya, I am not Tamil. u assume I am Tamil just because I say Tamils are discriminated. I can however speak Tamil but i am north indian. You obviously been brainwashed by the SL govt owned newspapers of Lanka. Lankapage often does state Tamils killing Sinhala and not LTTE killing Sinhala.
You obviously kept quiet about the language problem after I gave proof of a language commission but being SLankan, you didn't know this. This shows your lack of knowledge of your local politics. I was in a position to analyze Lankan politics for a paper I did for a class. 83 was an organized mob u say. An organized mob by the govt. Why didn't Jeyawardana call the army for four days (or maybe longer), while Tamils were being killed.
Why is it that materials are provided immediately for Sinhalas who are displaced but not for Tamils who are displaced. Your govt is even willing to build expensive bunkers for Sinhalas. These are facts from Lankapage and dailynews (which is govt run). I am not saying all Sinhala are bad but ur govt has discriminated the Tamils from 1940s to now. If it wasn't for some ordinary Sinhalas, more Tamils would have died. But Tamils cannot live as citizens of that country hoping there will be a Sinhala citizen around everytime to save them from a mob. Please stop looking at this problem as a Sinhala but as a human. Look at the human cost of what your govt does (and the human cost of what LTTE does). You need peace. Give equal rights. Its the right thing to do.
RE:RE:SL and India
by The Lion on Jun 05, 2007 05:29 PM Permalink
Rani, you are great!
Here comes the staistics. 4 out of 10 indians have Hindi has there first language and another 2 have hindi has second language. We Indians enjoy more than a freedom irrespective of wat we speak. Sinhala rulers are nothing less of HYNAS.
RE:RE:SL and India
by Rani on Jun 03, 2007 09:46 PM Permalink
To the person who said in India, an ethnic group with 17% of population will have to learn majority language in India. What bull***t. In India, Tamil, Telulu, Marathi, etc about 5 to 7% and one can live in India (and many people do) without knowing Hindi because there are many official languages in India. In fact, 17% is Tamils but 27% is Tamil speaking in SL because it should include the muslims.
Please don't insult India. We believe in equal rights. We have tried hard and still trying to make sure every ethnic group in India feels part and parcel of India. This is what makes India great.
RE:SL and India
by on Jun 03, 2007 07:06 PM Permalink
Can someone tell me what the % of Indians whose native language is NOT Hindi? And also the % of all Indians who speak Hindi. In sri Lanka, about 17% speak Tamil (including Muslims). If Sri Lanka were India the minority 17% will have to learn and speak the majority language Sinhala.
RE:RE:SL and India
by Rani on Jun 03, 2007 09:50 PM Permalink
To the person who said in India, a language group of 17% have to learn Hindi. This is the stupidest statement I have ever heard. Telugu, Tamil, Marathi all are around 5 to 7% of Indian population and all are official languages. There are many people in India who only know their ethnic language. There are also many Hindi people in India who have learnt other smaller language groups. This is the greatness of India. We have found equality for all in India. I am not saying India is perfect but no ethnic group have lead violent insurgency based on language discrimination.
RE:SL and India
by Rani on Jun 02, 2007 07:51 PM Permalink
ultimately, we need to look after our own interest before everyone has setup their backyard pointing missiles at us. Should we wait for Lanka to have pakistan use it to do mischeiveous stuff in india or should we nip it in the bud. I refuse to accept what you say about quality and quantity. its not so black and white.
RE:SL and India
by Jayasuriya on Jun 02, 2007 08:33 PM Permalink
I don't understand why china or pak have to come all the way to sri lanka to pose a security threat to india. They both share long borders with india and with today's militory technology they are both already security threats. Especially China is far more advanced in that aspect. Regading the quality, I was just referring to HDI (Human Dev Index). Ofcourse there have been and will always be great Indians of great quality and wisdom. They are more sensible and don't certainly have bigheads and big brother bulleying attitudes. Unfortunately, they are rare. See the following website for Human Dev Index and I think India should focus on improving different aspects of quality of its own people. Then the rest of the world will start respecting and other things will take care of themselves, including wanting to be a true big power. Also, like many other Indian politicians Narayan was just trying to appeal to the popular sentiments of indians to distract them from real core issues of day to day life. I think Indian people shouls know better and not let those guys take you for rides. peoplewhohttp://globalis.gvu.unu.edu/indicator_detail.cfm?country=LK&indicatorid=15 I agree I shouldn't have g
RE:RE:SL and India
by The Lion on Jun 05, 2007 05:13 PM Permalink
Hi innocent Jayasuriya, we very well know the ground realities by those murdered 1000s of tamils and by another laks of driven out tamils from their home land. We even have feedback how indians especially south indians are treated in sri lanka and coloumbo during their visits. you sinhalese have fine characterisitcs of HYNA. Your Jayawardenes deal with our Rajiv and raja-pakse misforutne visits very well tell that. Leave the Tamils to live their life in their homeland first.
RE:SL and India
by kumar on Jun 02, 2007 11:25 PM Permalink
jayasurya, perhaps you can answer this for me. why is it that when Sinhalas are affected by the war, there is relief immediately from the govt, but this is not true when tamils are affected.
For example, the govt built bunkers for sinhalas but when ltte attacks tamil villages, the govt doesnt provide the tamils with bunkers.
Why are they also insisting on not giving federal setup to the tamils. Do you guys really want the island to be sinhala and buddist in nature only, not sri lankan of all creed and race?
RE:SL and India
by Jayasuriya on Jun 03, 2007 05:42 AM Permalink
Kumar, I don't think the media coverage u r exposed to show the real ground realties. And I don't blame u for that. General mass of sinhalese treat tamils, muslims and other minorites equal. You don't have to go to a border village to see how these communities live peacefully and how much LTTE wants to disrupt that for their own political propaganda. There are a good percentage of tamils who live in colombo and suburbs. Unfortunately, there life is not easy becuase there are LTTE infiltrators among them and security forces are hunting them. Just like LTTE wanted inncocent tamils get arrested and mistakenly detained. Imagine, what would happen in India if another minority, like tamils or sheiks demand thier own languages to be a national langugae. Majority in north india will go crazy instigating communal riots. In sri lanka tamils make about 12% of the population and tamil is already a national language. Sinhala majority doesn't seemt o have an issue with that. I agree we must find a federal system, and several proposals have been put forward. But unfortunately, Prbhakaran wants more than that, a kingdom of his own, to rule with an iron arm, even suppressing its own people. I think, LTTE needs to be weakened first and then address grievences of tamils. If you put on an independant hat you will see that actually the core issue is the economic disparity in society faced by both poor tamil and poor sinhala communities. There are affluent sinhalese and affluent tamils enjoying
RE:SL and India
by Rani on Jun 03, 2007 05:59 AM Permalink
i disagree with you. I have spoken to many sinhalas and tamils and also read newspapers owned by sinhalas and it seems like Tamil is official language only by name. Remember, in India, all languages have equal status, since all these ethnic groups in india bumiputras. In SL, tamils are bhumiputras and hence should have parity. Besides being national language, the language board of SL always complains that Tamil is never implemented.
Imagine, how it would be if we had to go to a village in TN or Kerala or anywhere in india and all the official letters from police etc are in hindi, people would go beserk. I was told by liberal sinhalas that this is the case in Tamil areas where tamils are often cheated out by Sinhala policemen by issuing statement/letters in sinhala.
you seemed to have also forgotten that Sinhalease killed thousands of tamils in 1983/84 riots and your govt stood by doing nothing for four days. surely the least you can do is to give guarantee to tamils that this will not happen and no laws have been passed to guarantee that.
Finally, i was told that tamils live in colombo not because they want to live there but because the govt will bomb the north and east, so they are only safe from the govt by living in colombo. They always fear that 83/84 riots can happen again in colombo. U say SL Govt intersted in federalism but SLFP and all the parties have put forward proposals that has no federal structure in nature and in fact tightens the noose on tamils.
RE:RE:SL and India
by Manny on Jun 02, 2007 07:11 PM Permalink
If Srilanka collued with China or pakistan, India should reat the sinhala govt as an agent of pakistan/China on its door step
RE:SL and India
by Rani on Jun 02, 2007 07:28 PM Permalink
the unfortunate thing is that Lanka has already become an agent of Pakistan long time ago. Why do you think the LTTE tried to kill Pakistan's high commissioner to Colombo. The problem with Sri Lanka is that they are always ok with india as long as india listens to them and they disregard india's concerns such as equal rights.
