In a letter to the Prime Minister, he said the developments in Sri Lanka, particularly the continued and systematic efforts to deny any political power and self-governance to the Tamil people, are fundamentally contrary to the values India has consistently championed across the world.
File Photo: IANS
With the Sri Lankan government of Anura Kumara Dissanayake attempting to change the Constitution of the island nation into a unitary state, Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) president and former Union Minister Anbumani on Friday appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to restrain Colombo, as this would deprive the ethnic minority Tamils of self-governance and meaningful autonomy.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, he said the developments in Sri Lanka, particularly the continued and systematic efforts to deny any political power and self-governance to the Tamil people, are fundamentally contrary to the values India has consistently championed across the world.
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“The root cause of Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict lies in the systematic denial of political power to the Tamil national community, who once played a decisive role in the governance of the island, and were compelled to resist when subjected to domination and marginalisation. The present attempt by the Sinhala majoritarian forces appears to be driven by the mistaken belief that the defeat of the LTTE has eliminated the Tamil aspiration for self-rule. While the LTTE may not exist, the cause that gave rise to the Tamil freedom struggle remains unresolved,” said the letter.
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“Any constitutional restructuring that permanently forecloses the possibility of autonomy will rekindle suppressed grievances and awaken dormant sentiments among Eelam Tamils. Such a development would be deeply destabilising and detrimental to Sri Lanka’s future. India cannot remain a passive spectator to this unfolding situation,” he said.
Tamils have faced sustained discrimination on ethnic and linguistic lines since the island nation attained Independence in 1948, and 30 per cent of officials were Tamils, he pointed out, which had drastically changed after the Sinhala only Act in 1956, marking the institutionalised discrimination, reducing Tamils as second class citizens. While the 1987 Indo-Lanka Accord provided provincial autonomy, which has been undone by the 13th Amendment.
Anbumani requested the PM to advise Colombo to undertake Constitutional reforms that guarantee a federal system that grants self-rule to the Tamils.
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