Indian Rulers and the Sri Lankan Ethnic Conflict
Thanjai Nalankilli
[First Published: February 2004]
This writer has always held the view that the Indian Government would be against the Tamil minority of Sri Lanka obtaining their full legitimate rights within a truly federal Sri Lanka or in an independent country. Indian Government has done everything diplomatically, financially and militarily to thwart the Tamil minority win a military victory and establish an independent country or the Tamil minority get meaningful devolution through peace talks with the Sri Lankan Government. Some of Indian Government's anti-Tamil activities are discussed in other chapters.
Reasons for Indian Government's active opposition to the Tamil minority of Sri Lanka obtaining their full legitimate rights has nothing to do with India's security or national integrity. Chapters 3 and 4 systematically demolished these arguments. These articles clearly showed that even the formation of an independent country in northeastern Sri Lanka is in no way a threat to India's security or integrity. So the question of a truly federal Sri Lanka (with the northeastern Tamil region getting maximum possible devolution) being a threat to India's security or integrity does not arise at all. However India seems to be out to covertly sabotage such a peaceful settlement through talks.
What is the real reason for Indian Government's hostility to a peaceful or military solution that would allow the Tamil minority to live as first class citizens in a federal Sri Lanka or an independent country? To understand the real reason, one should understand who the real rulers of India are. Real power in India is in the hands of Hindi politicians from the "Hindi belt" of northern India. Prime Ministers come and go, political parties win and lose, but the real power always rests with the Hindi politicians who directly or indirectly hold the reigns of the major all-India parties such as the Congress Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Reference 1 provides some insight into how Hindi politicians control the Indian Government.
The reason for Hindi politicians dislike (may be even enmity or hatred) for Tamil Nadu in southern India, and now by extension to Tamils of Sri Lanka is discussed in another article. Suffice is to say here that Indian government is not against an independent Tamil Eelam or a truly federal Sri Lanka has nothing to do with India's national interests, as discussed in Chapters 1-3 but with Indian rulers' (Hindi politicians) biases against Tamils.
Indian rulers are not only opposed to the creation of an independent country "Tamil Eelam" in the northeastern regions of the island, they are opposed to any meaningful devolution of power to the minority community in the northeast. While the India-Sri Lanka Peace Accord, that India pushed through in 1987, mentioned devolution, it pointedly left out what powers should devolved. Thus the accord is an empty document as for as devolution is concerned. It was to be negotiated between the Sri Lankan Government and the Tamil minority after the Tamil militant groups totally disarm. Only leverage Tamil minority had was the military power Tamil militants wielded. Once the militants disarm, as required by the India-Sri Lanka Peace Accord of 1987, Tamil people would be at the mercy of Sinhala politicians similar to what is was before the rise of Tamil militants (pre-1983).
India is interfering even in the current peace process that started in 2002. Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is so afraid that the the Indian Government would interfere if a peace settlement not to India's liking is reached, that after each session of peace talk he or one of his ministers rush to India to brief Indian rulers and get their view. No wonder Sinhala hardliners including the militant Buddhist monks want to remove Norway and place India as the facilitator of the peace talks. Given Indian rulers' anti-Tamil bias, Indian facilitation could never achieve what Norway could.
In order for the peace process to succeed, India should have no say on any agreement reached between the Sri Lankan Government and the Tamil minority. Lasting peace can be achieved only if the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are willing to accept something less than an independent country and the Sri Lankan Government is willing to accept maximum possible devolution to the Northeastern Province. Any Indian interference in the peace process would sabotage the peace process. Norway, America, Canada, Japan, European Union and other countries that want to see a just and long lasting peace in Sri Lanka should influence Indian rulers not to interfere in the peace process.
Give peace a chance!
Reference (updated in August 2019)
1. Who Rules India?, "Hindi Imposition Papers: Volume 1 (Chapter 10)," edited by Thanjai Nalankilli, Free e-book available where you downloaded this book.
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