புதன், 20 மார்ச், 2013

Conscious inequity: The Hindu’s “Mindless solidarity”

Conscious inequity: The Hindu’s “Mindless solidarity”

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 20 March 2013, 01:28 GMT]
As the peoples’ mobilisation in Tamil Nadu is surging up to question the junta of the Establishments that was ultimately responsible for the genocide and on-going genocide of Eezham Tamils, The Hindu that played a leading part in the media game seems to be ‘missing’ the LTTE. “With the terrorist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam no longer in the picture, large sections of the people in Tamil Nadu have begun to openly sympathise with the plight of Tamils in Sri Lanka,” said the editorial of The Hindu titled “Mindless solidarity” on Tuesday. The Hindu, perhaps because of its base in Chennai and perhaps because it represents the interests of a particular class (not exactly caste) suffers from the defect of cat’s eye view when it comes to the question of Eezham Tamils, writes TamilNet political commentator in Colombo.

TamilNet political commentator continues:

“India’s approach toward Sri Lanka cannot hinge entirely or even primarily on domestic politics in Tamil Nadu,” said The Hindu editorial, detracting the very foundation of the geopolitical assertiveness of the people of Tamil Nadu in facing an international injustice hitherto unseen by Tamils in the history of their civilisation.

Whether The Hindu argues that India’s approach should primarily or entirely hinge on the interests of the corporates run by a particular echelon in India that is in the fray in the island joining hands with the genocidal State, is the question.

The Hindu’s interests in this regard in the ‘unity’ of the island is yet to be fully comprehended and brought to discussion even by the Sinhalese, if not by the Tamils in Tamil Nadu.

“Those in Tamil Nadu talking of a separate Tamil Eelam as a solution seem to have no clue about the human costs that would be involved in partitioning a country and a people,” The Hindu was shedding crocodile tears.

For adamantly keeping the unity of the genocidal State, India has abetted the killing of over 200,000 Tamils in the last three decades.

In what way it is justifiable for The Hindu that the nation of Eezham Tamils could be left to face the genocide, just because they are Tamils, and the ‘human cost’ could be one-sided forever, not only physically and materially but also psychologically for generations to come, just because of the interest of a section in which The Hindu is a part, in seeing the congenitally genocidal State united?

“India must look beyond Tamil Nadu while bringing to bear diplomatic pressure on Sri Lanka and working in coordination with other countries to ensure full and equal rights for Tamils as citizens of a united Sri Lanka,” The Hindu editorial concluded in unrealistically detracting the geopolitical importance of the extreme south of India where it is based.

* * *

The Hindu editorial on Tuesday has come out with a long preamble, shedding tears for “extremist outfits” in Tamil Nadu carrying out violent attacks on Mihin Lanka airlines offices and student monks from Sri Lanka, to set stage before pricking the support for Tamil Eelam with the fang of venom.

Mihin Lanka’s connections with Mahinda Rajapaksa’s name and family are well known.

The attack on the Sinhala-Buddhist monk, who was part of a student group coming from an institution in Poona, Maharashtra, deserves condemnation without any reservations, even though the monk had the audacity to visit Tamil Nadu at this time.

Unconfirmed reports say that the monk was earlier placed as curator of archaeology in Jaffna immediately after the genocidal war, but he was seen as a JVP sympathiser and a critic of the SL military, especially of the way the SL military had conducted the war against Tamils. He was also seen as against the Rajapaksa regime and reportedly because of his differences with the SL government he went for higher studies in archaeology, finding a placement in India. Whatever the case may be, the attack on the monk was unfortunate.

However, The Hindu that is writing an editorial on the student-monk issue cannot be silent on the plight of thousands of Eezham Tamil boys and girls selected to the universities in the island getting harassed, beaten up and even robbed by their fellow Sinhala students, when they are forced to go for the obligatory in-camp orientation programmes conducted by the Sinhala military that has military to military relationship with India. These unfortunate students have nobody to write editorials.

Talking of ‘mindless solidarity’, when the genocide on Eezham Tamils was conducted, the Establishments followed a policy of ‘do it now, let's deal with the consequences later’, and The Hindu never opposed it.

* * *

Tamil culture in its long history has a particular way of extracting justice from those who have committed injustice. The best-known case has become an epic in the name of Chilappathikaaram.

Thirumalai Naayakkar, who executed Madurai Veeran coming from an oppressed class, was forced to construct a shrine for him inside the Madurai temple and propitiate him as a deity.

The Saiva saint Thirunaa’laip-poavaar (Nanthanaar), who was refused entry into Chithamparam temple by Brahminism and was perhaps burnt alive, has found a place inside every major Saiva temple as part of the 63-saints, whom the Brahmin priests of today have to propitiate 6 times a day.

The Hindu is not extra-terrestrial to escape from realising the realities of the land where it is based in.

Chronology:


Related Articles:
09.09.12   Outlook attacks The Hindu’s Sri Lanka deception


External Links:
The Hindu: Mindless solidarity

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