Background
Sri Lankan Tamils have organized themselves as a cohesive unit in opposition to the majoritarian Sinhala dominated governments. At the time of the independence and during the days of the State Council Tamils remained an integral part of the nation state. In fact they agitated together with the other communities to free the country from domination by the British. But they also entertained fears of the possibility of discriminatory treatment by the majority community when the British moved out which they conveyed to the British and the British in turn provided as a protective tool , article 29 of the constitution to secure the Tamils from possible inequitable treatment by the majority community. This however proved insufficient to give security to the minorities as was proved by events that followed. For example when the Sinhala Only language act was passed in parliament the minorities realized their vulnerability. Tamils took proactive action by discontinuing the teaching of Sinhalese in Tamil schools which was previously introduced voluntarily to the school system. Racial riots ensued which was subsequently put down unilaterally by the authorities .Calm was restored temporarily although hostile feelings remained the norm to date.

With the passage of time and the introduction of standardization to the admission procedure to the university the ‘fraternity ties’ between the two races were ruptured and thereafter the battle lines were drawn.

Post elections – the status of the Tamil parties.

The status of the Tamil parties as at present after the elections in August 5 has changed drastically. The ITAK leader Maavai , an elected parliamentarian for over three decades lost his election this time round. Mr. R. Sampanthan just made it with a much reduced vote which raised questions as to his continued eligibility for his role as leader of the Tamils. Who will be strong enough to speak up for the Tamils in the future?

At this juncture It is necessary to note that the LTTE took over the role of being the main representative of the Tamil people. The LTTE became the unquestioned eloquent voice of the Tamils as they had the potential to agitate effectively with their competence to resort to armed struggle. Their strategies of protest kept those who disagreed with their thinking to cower with the fear of remaining at the receiving end of their violent reprisals. With the end of the thirty year war and the annihilation of a large number of LTTERs the overt aggressive aspects of the LTTE movement became extinct. The leadership of the Tamil community too passed to others with different focus on the ethnic issue, PLOTE and TELO being two such voices.

Since the elections a unique situation has emerged. The war ravaged north , with its traditional dislike of the majority community and still smarting
under the defeat of the LTTE has nevertheless voted as its representative a candidate belonging to the SLFP , a party that was to date anathema to them. The conclusion to be drawn from this is that there has been a sea change among at least a section of the people. Their expectation from the government and the majority community has undergone a revolutionary change. This perhaps bodes well for the reconciliation process . There is now a possibility that some steps towards a united society can be built together with the main stream party . This is in contrast to the thinking during the earlier period when it looked as if nothing positive can come from any intervention other than from the community itself. Basil Rajapakse adds to the voicesof the moment by saying that the TNA is no longer the voice of the Tamils.
To give this statement further weight the success of others at the polls with established links to the Sinhala government can be cited. This situation is further complicated when Maavai Senathiraja , parliamentarian of several decades was defeated in the the current elections. , Mr.Sampanthan too, though returned to parliament was returned with a much reduced vote base of 21,000 and Vigneswaran the Chief Minister of the Northern provincial council polled a low 21000 in contrast to his high 132,000in the PC poll of 2013. In contrast those who worked with the Rajapakse government had done significantly better. Douglas Devananda who is a fellow travell er of the government polled a high 32,000. Karuna one time minister in the Rajapakse government polled a respectable high vote. The only response to this is that a radical change has taken place in people’s thinking even if it may not be permanently but perhaps in an experimental sense. While the Tamil politicians kept demanding increase in power through greater devolution, change in the constitution and a merger of the North and Eastern provincial councils. There is no need to give the annexation of the North and East in a constitutional arrangement. It should be possible to merge with any two or more districts functionally in the short run which would not spell accusation of separatist underhand means but one which means development of common interests for the people’s welfare. Pillaiyan, the former Eastern provincial chief minister’s resounding victory at the polls despite being incarcerated in prison on a charge of murder means that while in position of authority he had his focus on good governance which had stayed in people’s memory.

The oft raised cry is that there is no working paper for the development of the Tamil areas that will put food for the people, give them jobs, good education for the children, and better health and improved environmental facility for the people. This will be the short and long term concern of the people. At a moment when politicians are beginning to be concerned with people’s well-being aspect as their main concern we should cheer the President and his ‘crew’ who seem to be in a similar mode. For the first time there is a glimmer of hope that the President and his government will focus on this as his main concern.