On the Journey to Self-Determination
Ruben Nagesparan Chandrakumar, BS
We have become forgetful and complacent in our demand for justice and equal rights. We have not studied our own history, nor have we understood our place in it. In our pursuit of survival, we unknowingly left behind the importance of learning our history. Now that survival is not a concern for the diaspora, there is a necessity to resurrect the lost heritage. Our culture must be learned. There is no other nation on Earth that can claim it. It is unique to us. It is the story of who we are and how we came to be. If we lose this, we lose all footing and direction that has taken innumerable sacrifices across countless generations to create.
We must never forget our heritage while also remembering that it is more a source of humility for us than a source of pride. We must also never let our patriotism blind us from the truth, as Malcolm X brilliantly stated. We must be a people who are dedicated to truth, no matter who disagrees. I think it is first worthwhile to shed light on the current situation in which we find ourselves internationally. We Tamils from Eelam have an impossible position in being labeled an ethnic minority of Sri Lanka while simultaneously meeting all of the qualifications of a nation and being recognized as worthy of internal self-determination—a right dedicated to nations alone—by both Sri Lanka itself and Norway during the Peace Talks. Why does the labeling of us as a minority in comparison to a nation matter? It matters for one reason primarily: sovereignty.
If the Tamils can be reduced in their label to a minority of Sri Lanka, then all ethnic issues within Sri Lanka are rationalized as domestic issues, in which the intervention of any foreign body would be considered a violation of Sri Lanka’s sovereignty. However, if the Tamils are recognized as a nation, we are automatically protected within international laws from any violation of our sovereignty. Thus, the civil war and genocide become international issues of justice, as opposed to the current situation where Sri Lanka has been given full reign to restore “justice” after the genocide they committed. By being recognized as a nation, we gain the right to self-determination, which declares that a nation has the power to choose its own form of governance and that no other government can be imposed on them. Under the precedent of self-determination, Eelam has a sure claim to independence due to the historical nature of the decolonization process and the unthinkable oppression faced under Sri Lanka.
I will first break down the decolonization aspect. The primary reason why over 25% of the countries today were given the right to independence was because of the United Nations Charter formed after World War II. WWII showed the world that the danger of racial supremacy can destroy the world and cause grave violations of peoples. Because of this, the world began to undergo dramatic changes in terms of power relations. As a culmination of a long philosophical trend, the world began to shift in a direction which respected, and sought to balance, globalism and nationalism. This mixed movement is a rejection of past empires and exploitation in favor of a new world order where people are not subject to outside force so long as they do not use outside force on anyone else. This idea is arguably the closest that a world philosophy has gotten to a practical, sustainable framework for a relative peace in the world.
Where does Sri Lanka fit within this context? Sri Lanka is obviously home to a tremendous amount of history which extends into ancient times; however, I am going to start this inquiry with the era just preceding colonization. Prior to European colonization, the Tamils of Eelam and the Sinhalese of Sri Lanka lived in two different kingdoms, which were separated geographically, culturally, linguistically, and genetically. Now, to paint any nation as being a homogenous unit entirely is a terrible sin. The two kingdoms had a tremendous amount of diversity within them—in cultures, religions, languages, and genetics—which also meant that there was considerable overlap between the two kingdoms in those areas. However, there are clear differences which existed in the Tamil and Sinhala populations since before colonization started. Colonization first occurred under the Portuguese, then the Dutch, and finally the British.
The British were the first to ever unify the island under one governance system. This fact clearly shows that, prior to colonization, there was never one state. The only reason why the unified territory of Ceylon ever started was because it benefited the British Colonial Empire. Had the British not unified Ceylon for its colonial empire, the question of whether the Tamils of Eelam constitute a nation would constitute nothing more than a joke. The disastrous consequences of British imperialism created a unique and novel geo-political situation. In this colony where all ethnicities were subjected under the rule of the British, despite there also being injustice and inequalities among the non-British populations as well, the independence from Britain was won as a collaborative effort by the Tamils, the Sinhalese, and the other colonized peoples of Ceylon.
This effort was done with the implicit assumption that the Sinhalese would not use their overwhelming population majority to oppress the Tamils nor anyone else—as Chelvanayakam described. However, immediately after gaining independence from Britain, the Sinhalese politicians—encouraged and beloved by the Sinhala people—spread a vicious Sinhala-Buddhist supremacy and ultranationalism. This gave justification for every disgusting violation of morality that occurred: it elevated the Sinhalese Buddhists to be a “chosen people” of a divine race while the Tamils were easily cast aside as lesser and inferior. This dehumanization process is a common theme in the lead up to genocide. Once a people have been stripped of their humanity, it is simple for another people to violate them time and time again. Additionally, the perpetrator revels in the fact that they have complete power, complete control, no accountability, and absolute impunity. The wicked scoundrels who feel no guilt on their conscience for the evils they joyfully committed must be held accountable. Preventing and persecuting genocide remains one of the most urgent responsibilities of humanity—as the failure to do so normalizes the event. No matter who is committing it, genocide cannot be permitted.
How have we, as humans, still not acquired the decency in our hearts to stop the most atrocious acts from spiraling into mass murder? How are we so ignorant? Why can we still not stop the slaughter of innocent humans from happening? Why are their lives held with such little regard while others born—arbitrarily—into a safe, developed country rarely, if ever, have to think about the atrocities that others go through? Why do we not do more? How can we defeat the sentiment of passivity? These questions are ones that we must seek to answer as we face the current circumstances that beset us. We are bestowed with a journey toward true justice and peace—one that will require a deep psychological and cultural evolution. This evolution requires a mixture of revivalism and adaptation—blending the heritage of the country with the present state.