Sri Lanka Born Indians

by Amor Patriae

(July 10, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) S.Thambyrajah in a letter on “India Duty Bound to Intervene” quotes a letter drafted by Jawarharlal Nehru during his visit to Ceylon in 1939 that had included two clauses to achieve ‘Puma Swaraj’ for India and Ceylon. Nehru also had included a clause to safe guard the interests of the Indians in Ceylon.

He also quotes a letter in his possession written to Prime Minister Nehru on May 20th 1959 by V. Arunachala Thevar and A. Pudukottai suggesting to the Prime Minister that some lands in Travancore, Ooty and Mysore be allocated for tea planting and to employ Indian repatriates from Ceylon and he confirms that a favourable response had been received from the Prime Minister.

Currently it is observed that in the absence of gainful employment opportunities in up country tea plantation areas, many young Sri Lanka born Indian youth are employed in Colombo and its suburbs as domestic servants, shop assistants in small grocery shops, tea boutiques, wayside shops, timber deports and in many other small business enterprises.

Thus India without interfering in the internal affairs of Sri Lanka could similar to the tea planting proposal consider allocating land in India to employ Sri Lanka born Indians after providing Indian citizenship and training in new Industrial Estates to manufacture varied products mindful of the huge Indian market.

Some Indians in Sri Lanka including Thambyrajah. are requesting India to intervene in prevailing LTTE terrorism while being aware that it was India that trained the terrorists and provided arms to the LTTE. Thus India has no moral right to intervene while India is also facing Islamic fundamentalism and communal uprisings in Kerala, Gujarat, Jammu and in many other places.

India expresses its right to intervene on a small country bee of its superior weapon power and the human power that out numbers Sri Lankans in many millions of times.

The Sri Lankan majority community does not in any manner ill treat, offend or insult the minority communities and if Indians or any other nationals consider themselves Sri Lankan nationals, they should not request India or any other country to intervene in our affairs.

But if they are not satisfied they should get back to their country of origin. Nehru in a letter to Chief Ministers dated 03t February 1949 had written” Indians abroad have first of all to decide whether they wish to adopt the nationality of the country they are in or to retain their Indian nationality.

They cannot have both ways.” Thus the Sri Lankan Indians should integrate politically, economically and linguistically with the local residents, and thus when in Rome do as the Romans do is an object lesson than requesting powerful nations to interfere in our internal affairs.
- Sri Lanka Guardian