From: sundar@bagpipe.cis.ohio-state.edu (N Sundar)
Subject: Similarities b/w SL Tamils and TN
Organization: The Ohio State University Dept. of Computer and Info. Science
Distribution: usa
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1992 00:45:55 GMT


In article <MOHAN.92Sep7105138@tnds09.newshost>, mohan@tnds09.newshost 
(Lavanya-Mohan)writes:

> In article <lakp2kINNmrl@bathtub.cs.utexas.edu> raman@cs.utexas.edu (Raman Ra
> jagopalan) writes:

>   > [some parts deleted...]
  
>   > Think Sri Lanka.  The Tamils were in good shape.  They were better
>   > educated and held better jobs.  The MAJORITY sinhalese looked at
>   > this and said to themselves, why are we letting the minority have
>   > a better standard of living?  They did not care about the fact
>   > the tamils worked hard to achieve what they did.

>   > The sinhalese imposed laws to take opportunity away from the Tamils.
>   > The tamils objected, to the point of demanding a separate homeland.
>   > They formed a liberation army (several at one point), and have
>   > been fighting a civil war for years.

>   > WHAT, may I ask, if the difference in the sinhalese treatment
>   > of sri lankan tamils and the current treatment of the Tamil
>   > Nadu upper castes?  We upper caste worked hard to achieve what
>   > we did.  No one has forcably kept other tamils from studying for
>   > years and years.  Why are you advocating a form of treatment for
>   > upper caste tamilians when you *violently* are opposed the same
>   > treatment from the hands of the sinhalese?

>   > - raman rajagopalan


> The sufferings of SL Tamils are far beyond any comparison.

Any comparison? Including the Holocaust?! I agree that Sri Lankan Tamils
have suffered a lot. But, honestly, are you not exaggerating here?

> I point out some of the sufferings of SL Tamils that are not experienced
> by any particular cast in TN:

> - SL Tamils are discriminated because of their language, whereas in TN all
>   speak the same language. 

I think the point of the original nettor was that what language is to
Sri Lankan tamils, caste is to 'upper caste' people in Tamilnadu. BTW, have
you not seen all those movies where the `Brahmin dialect' is made fun of?
Of course, I am not claiming that the discrimination against `upper castes'
is *based* on language.

> They were even denied of any promotion if they didn't pass some
> examination on Sinhala language even if they worked in a Tamil area. 

Promotions are being denied to `upper caste' people in TN.

> At the same time, local Tamils had problems in communicating with Sinhalese
> employees (eg. policemen) in their own majority areas, as these employees
> were not at all required to learn Tamil to work in a Tamil area. I am
> not sure about the current sitation after the 1987 amendment, but I would
> not be surprised, if there is no change practically.

> - SL Tamils suffered periodical riots against them, while the government
>   machinery was just watching, or even being behind it. The worst was in
>   July 1983 (so far).

> - SL Tamils suffer planned settlements of Sinhalese people by the government
>   directly and indirectly in their majority areas (sinhala clonization),
>   with the intention of gradually making them a minority in any part of SL.
>   This is going on and on for a long time... For example, check the ethnic-
>   wise population statistics of places of the North and East of SL over the
>   decades, particularly in the East.

> I have list only the major aspects....

Some of your points are thought-provoking. But there are some similarities.

> // Mohan

None of this is meant to play down the suffering of our compatriots in Sri
Lanka. 

Sundar.