by Lt. Col. A.J.N. Selvadurai
(June 29, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) It may sound ridiculous, but it is true that the climate or environment of the northeast played a significant part in the ethnic problem of Sri Lanka. The arid zone in the north and east of the island is quite dry and has only one monsoon a year, whereas the rest of the island is blessed with two monsoons that water these parts abundantly to make it green and lush.
In the dry zone - where the Tamil minority live - water is scarce and large areas look like a desert. The water is also somewhat brackish because of the high concentration of limestone that makes even a cup of tea uninviting.
Because the northeast is an arid zone, the British government did not bother to develop it. After independence, successive Sinhala dominated governments did the same and completely ignored it, especially as it was a Tamil area with only about 3% of the population being Sinhala.
The Tamils realised that since their land did not sustain them, they had to venture out into greener pastures in order to survive and were therefore forced to go down south into the wet zone, where the Sinhala majority lived.
They also realised that in order to get suitable employment they had to have a basic English education. They were therefore forced to educate themselves or starve. This great motivation for education through the years made the Tamil minority better educated than the Sinhala majority.
The fact that the Tamils were in a more advantageous position due to their better English education, naturally engendered the hostility of the Sinhala Buddhist majority, who had a tendency to resist the learning of English, without realising its future effects and that one day it would be the international language of the "Global Village."
It was this hostility against the Tamils that led to Bandaranaike's 'Sinhala Only' language policy, which instantly divided the country into two ethnic nationalities, by the mere stroke of a pen, which in turn led to the present ethnic war.
Had the northeast been a wet zone, the British would have invested in it and grown tea, rubber and coconut just like in the south. Then, there would have been no motivation for the Tamils to take seriously to education and causing an imbalance.
The Tamils would have been just like the Sinhalese and there would have been parity with no feelings of hostility. This shows how the climate in the northeast has been responsible for all our problems!
I hope the Education and Social Service Departments take up the question of environment and its effects on demography and society and the ethnic problem. Recently, I met a retired Sri Lankan Professor of Demography and Geography and he told me that the question of environment and its effects on the ethnic problem never occurred to him - an obvious lack of lateral thinking.
The governments of Sri Lanka could have remedied the problem of the imbalance in education and employment if they were willing to listen to reason rather than letting emotion get the better of them.
If only they had opened up the Tamil areas and invested in technology, the Tamils would have had no need to venture down to the south in search of employment to support their families in the northeast.
This would have also increased the job availability for the Sinhalese and there would have been no political threat to prevent or discourage the Sinhalese from immigrating to the northeast. The only reason why the Sinhalese did not venture up north is because there was nothing attractive to them there.
Even now, the LTTE is not insisting on separation if the Tamils are given what they want in their areas, and if money is spent by the state on development. The Tamil diaspora will also contribute in a big way and there would be great hopes for a peaceful and prosperous future.
Recently in London the President had met the British Prime Minister and said the new chief minister of the Eastern Province was previously a leading member of the LTTE and had entered the democratic process as a result of the development work done by the government which had been appreciated by the Tamil community. This is what all Tamils want.
So instead of fighting the LTTE in the north, if the military is withdrawn, there would be a great chance for peace and reconciliation. The LTTE says that for the past 25 years great promises had been made by various governments and subsequently broken and that is why they bombed Premadasa and Chandrika and have refused to negotiate - which they say is a waste of time.
The government should make every effort to change this impression.
- Sri Lanka Guardian
In the dry zone - where the Tamil minority live - water is scarce and large areas look like a desert. The water is also somewhat brackish because of the high concentration of limestone that makes even a cup of tea uninviting.
Because the northeast is an arid zone, the British government did not bother to develop it. After independence, successive Sinhala dominated governments did the same and completely ignored it, especially as it was a Tamil area with only about 3% of the population being Sinhala.
The Tamils realised that since their land did not sustain them, they had to venture out into greener pastures in order to survive and were therefore forced to go down south into the wet zone, where the Sinhala majority lived.
They also realised that in order to get suitable employment they had to have a basic English education. They were therefore forced to educate themselves or starve. This great motivation for education through the years made the Tamil minority better educated than the Sinhala majority.
The fact that the Tamils were in a more advantageous position due to their better English education, naturally engendered the hostility of the Sinhala Buddhist majority, who had a tendency to resist the learning of English, without realising its future effects and that one day it would be the international language of the "Global Village."
It was this hostility against the Tamils that led to Bandaranaike's 'Sinhala Only' language policy, which instantly divided the country into two ethnic nationalities, by the mere stroke of a pen, which in turn led to the present ethnic war.
Had the northeast been a wet zone, the British would have invested in it and grown tea, rubber and coconut just like in the south. Then, there would have been no motivation for the Tamils to take seriously to education and causing an imbalance.
The Tamils would have been just like the Sinhalese and there would have been parity with no feelings of hostility. This shows how the climate in the northeast has been responsible for all our problems!
I hope the Education and Social Service Departments take up the question of environment and its effects on demography and society and the ethnic problem. Recently, I met a retired Sri Lankan Professor of Demography and Geography and he told me that the question of environment and its effects on the ethnic problem never occurred to him - an obvious lack of lateral thinking.
The governments of Sri Lanka could have remedied the problem of the imbalance in education and employment if they were willing to listen to reason rather than letting emotion get the better of them.
If only they had opened up the Tamil areas and invested in technology, the Tamils would have had no need to venture down to the south in search of employment to support their families in the northeast.
This would have also increased the job availability for the Sinhalese and there would have been no political threat to prevent or discourage the Sinhalese from immigrating to the northeast. The only reason why the Sinhalese did not venture up north is because there was nothing attractive to them there.
Even now, the LTTE is not insisting on separation if the Tamils are given what they want in their areas, and if money is spent by the state on development. The Tamil diaspora will also contribute in a big way and there would be great hopes for a peaceful and prosperous future.
Recently in London the President had met the British Prime Minister and said the new chief minister of the Eastern Province was previously a leading member of the LTTE and had entered the democratic process as a result of the development work done by the government which had been appreciated by the Tamil community. This is what all Tamils want.
So instead of fighting the LTTE in the north, if the military is withdrawn, there would be a great chance for peace and reconciliation. The LTTE says that for the past 25 years great promises had been made by various governments and subsequently broken and that is why they bombed Premadasa and Chandrika and have refused to negotiate - which they say is a waste of time.
The government should make every effort to change this impression.
- Sri Lanka Guardian
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