By Veeragathy Thanabalasingham

Colombo, December 20 -The call given by some Tamil politicians to the upcountry Tamil people,  especially the plantation workers, to settle down in the Northern and Eastern Provinces in the wake of the recent calamity caused by the nature’s fury  has stirred an intense debate the political arena.

Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) leader and Member of Parliament Mano Ganesan, who visited the families of plantation workers in a landslide-affected area in Kandy district recently, spoke of the need to relocate them in safer places.

Ganesan said that he would talk to the government about the possibility of settling those people in the upcountry areas where there is no risk of landslide and questioned them whether they would come forward to settle in the northern and eastern provinces if enough land could not be found in upcountry.  Most of those who were present  there responded that they were ready for it.

It is quite natural that those people who have been badly affected by the natural disaster and who have lost their homes would say so immediately. But on the basis of the response of that one group of people, it cannot be assumed that upcountry Tamils will be ready to abandon their traditional means of livelihood  and way of life in order to  migrate to the north and east in large numbers.

With the media, mainly social media, attached great importance to Mano Ganesan’s meeting with the affected people, former Member of Parliament and General Secretary of the Ilankai Thamizharasu Katchi (ITAK) M.A.sumanthiran announced that the upcoubtry Tamils were welcome and help could be given if they wanted to settle in the north and east on their own.

He was followed by Batticaloa district MP Chanakyan Rasamanickam, who called upon Tamils living in insecure areas in the hills to settle in the east. Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) General Secretary Suresh K.  Premachandran also stressed the need to provide support and assistance to the upcountry Tamils to settle in the Tamil areas.

This is not the first time that upcountry Tamils,  particularly the plantation workers have been hit by a natural disaster. Plantation workers have long suffered from natural disasters such as landslides and floods.  But the governments have never come up with effective  plans to ensure a safe life for them.

It is certainly to be welcomed that these Tamil politicians have expressed solidarity with upcountry Tamil community and invited them to the North and East.

Sumanthiran said that when the people of the upcountry say that there is no place to live safely in the painful situation created after the sudden natural disaster, it is their duty of the North-East Tamils to welcome them.

He pointed out that he was continuing to work with Mano Ganesan on the next steps to be taken, and that there was a need to talk to the government about such plans adding that many members of the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora  had expressed their willingness to  offer their lands in the north and east to the upcountry Tamils.

In any case, programmes to ensure that those Tamils, especially the plantation workers, are not again affected by natural disasters should be carried out primarily in the regions where they have traditionally lived as a people with separate identity.  There is no problem in sending them to the North and East on a voluntary basis under a broad programme of gradual resettlement to safer areas. Only the government can implement such a scheme.

On this occasion, it is pertinent to recall the position taken by the National People’s Power (NPP) before the two national elections last year on the land and housing problems of the Tamils living in the plantations.

On the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the repatriation of the  Tamil community from South India to the Sri Lankan hill country, the NPP issued policy statement called ‘Hatton  Declaration’ on their rights on 15 October 2023.

The paragraphs that deal with the land and housing problems faced by the Tamil  plantation workers are as follows ;

” The main problem facing the Malaiyaga Tamil people is the housing problem. According to the 2012/1013 Population and Statistics, 67.8  percent of them still live in line rooms A National People’ s Power administration will initiate a programme to provide livable housing to Malaiyaga Tamils through housing schemes that will help them develop into a prosperous community.”

“Attempts are made evict some workers from their homes when they leave plantation work. A rule by NPP will prevent such actions. Although many families spent money and labour to build their houses, there is still no recognized land registration deed for the land.”

” The problem of lack of title deeds is a problem faced not only by this community but also by colonists on other parts of the country. The NPP seeks to find a fair solution to this problem and ensure the land rights of the Malaiyaga Tamil people so that they can continue to settle in their homes without hindrance. Uncultivated areas and abandoned land in the plantation areas will be used to improve the livelihood of the unemployed youth of the the Malaiyaga Tamil community.”

The NPP also promised in the 2024 presidential election manifesto that steps would be taken to recognize the identity and rights of the upcountry Tamils and improve their land, housing, education and health facilities, as stated in the Hatton Declaration.

At this juncture, an important question arises as to what extent the NPP Government has focused on the fulfilment of this promise in the last more than one year after coming to power.

With the land issue of the upcountry Tamils back in focus following the recent natural disaster, the Tamil parties should urge the Government to keep its promise. The Tamil parties in the North and East should join hands with the parties that represent the upcountry Tamils and the trade unions in a  protest movement to put pressure on the Government in this regard.

When Mano Ganesan brought to the attention of the president Dissanayake the issues related  the  relocation of the upcountry Tamils to safer places, he promptly  asked, ‘Where is the land? Is it that without knowing where the land is, the president promised to solve the land and housing problem in his manifesto? “

The upcountry Tamils are already settled in the north, especially in the Vanni region. After ethnic violence  unleashed against Tamils during the United National Party (UNP) government in the last century, a considerable  number of upcountry people  migrated to the north in search of safety. Their number is estimated to be more than one lakh now.

Now when invitation is given to the upcountry Tamils to  come to the north and east,  a  proper assessment of how the people who have already settled there live is necessary. The first thing to consider is whether those people are equal in terms of access to livelihood and other facilities without discrimination among their northern brethren

While Sumanthiran says many of the Tamils in the diaspora are willing to give their land to the hill people, he should also take a serious note of the fact  that  the people of the upcountry also have the experience that some of the diaspora Tamils  who came  back to Sri Lanka after the end of the civil war in 2009 asked for the return of their lands.

At the same time, it is also important to note how the present-day upcountry Tamil youth think about the future of their community. They don’t want to be called Tamils of Indian origin anymore. Their demand is that the separate ethnic identity of Malaiyaga Tamils should officially  be recognised. There are those who talk about the  concept of ‘ Malauyaga Thamizh Thesium.’

Indeed, the upcountry Tamils   have unique problems, livelihoods, way of life   and culture in contrast to the other Tamil speaking communities in the country.  If they start migrating to other parts of Sri Lanka, as the north and east Tamils do in large numbers abroad today, there is a danger that they will lose their identity as a separate community unable to claim their unique rights.

They should not be seen as a nomadic group that can settle in any part of the country. Plantation workers are a major segment of the working class in Sri Lanka. These people have been working for generations for the economic development of the country.

Even if they are to be relocated away from the disaster-prone areas, it is still appropriate to carry out the programmes  primarily in the regions  where they have traditionally have been living and working.

It is noteworthy that in a memorandum sent to the British Government in 1936 on the need to establish a federal system of government in Sri Lanka, Leonard  Woolf, an Englishman who had served as Assistant  Government Agent in  Hambantota in the south  during the British period, proposed federal  units for the Northern and Eastern Provinces, Kandian Sinhalease  and the coastal Sinhalese and  stated  that the areas of the upcountry inhabited by Tamil plantation workers could be merged to form a separate  unit.

It may be recalled that a White colonial official had said 90 years ago that the plantations  Tamils had unique rights like any other community.

However, the first post-independence Sri Lankan government stripped the hill-country Tamils of their citizenship and made them stateless. Who knows how long those people who won citizenship and voting rights back after half a century of struggle will have to fight for the ownership of land, house and other facilities for a decent life.?

END