Eelam Tamils have a long way to go before they can rebuild, protect, and advance their culture. There is Eelam within Sri Lanka, and there are Tamils living there. The country will only truly be at peace when the rulers' mindset is felt there.
The term "Sri Lanka" was not substituted for "Ceylon." The Tamils termed it 'Eelam' and 'Ilankai'. referred to in Sinhala as "Lanka" or "Sri Lanka." The word "Lanka" comes from the vernacular.
'Ceylon' is how the British called it. In addition, the country was known as Serendib by the Arabs, Tabrabene by the Greeks, and Lanka later on. The honorific Sri was added subsequently to set the country apart.
Subsequently, the name "Lanka" was outlawed since it was derogatory to the nation. 'Sri Lanka', the Sinhala name for the state, was proposed in place of the English term Ceylon. (Comparable to the inability to translate a person's name into another language) Even when the name was changed to "Sri Lanka," several departments continued to use the Ceylon name.
Ceylon Transport Board (CTB), Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), and so on. Consequently, the English term Ceylon was outlawed by the Sri Lankan government. Not only were the names Lanka and Ceylon forbidden by the monarchs. The pure Tamil name Eelam was also outlawed. As a result, although the word Eelam was used to refer to Sri Lanka as a whole, it was claimed that it only referred to the Tamil portion. The LTTE organization was obviously involved in this case. The LTTE used the terms Sri Lanka (Eelam) to refer to the entire nation, Tamil Eelam to refer to the homeland of Tamil people, and South Lanka to refer to the homeland of Sinhalese people.
The Tamil community constantly believes that there is Eelam in Sri Lanka, despite the fact that the country's name has undergone numerous changes. Nobody is able to alter this. "A bomb is weaker than culture." Black philosopher Amilca Gabriel once claimed that you have to ruin a race's culture before you can conquer them. It is the tenet and method of any prevailing authority.
It is clear that there is currently a plot underway in Sri Lanka, the Elamites' native country, to eradicate the culture in this manner. Not only is the armed eradication of an ethnic group human genocide, but it also destroys their culture. A race's destruction is a culture's destruction as well. On the other hand, if that race's culture is absorbed by another, it is cultural ruin. Thus, it is evident that planned communities are being established on territories that the Tamil people have forcefully destroyed, and that Buddhistization is occurring under the pretense of archeological study.
All eight of the north and east's districts have some kind of occupation going on now that May 18, 2009, has passed, following their successful manipulation of the military's establishment and occupation. When efforts are undertaken to suppress Tamil culture by erasing Tamil heritage and imposing Buddhist hegemony, no one can properly be held accountable for the struggles of the affected Tamils to preserve their culture.
The northeastern and eastern Tamil people's elected leaders, particularly the government's Tamil ministers and state ministers, are too obstinate to oppose these proposed land seizures. Only a small number of lawmakers from other Tamil National Parties are participating in public demonstrations against this kind of assault. It's also evident that certain people have blind attitudes about some things.
On the final day of Maha Shivratri, it was noted that thirteen members of the Tamil National Parliament representing the North and East failed to voice their opposition to the police brutality at the Vedukunari Malai Adi Sivan temple.
It is true, though, that on the day of Shivratri, the adavadi at Vedukunari hill was denounced by all Tamil National Parties. It is acknowledged that the eight individuals who were detained and arrested were released as a consequence of this protest's success.
Similar to this, the majority ethnic group in the Batticaloa area has damaged the woods and appropriated the Mayilattamadu and Madhavana pastures, all while maintaining Sinhala communities. For 200 days in a row, chithandi farmers have been waging nonstop protests.
As a part of that protest, the case filed by the Edavur police against 37 people, including former members of parliament, Chithandi farmers, two journalists and representatives of public organizations, who staged a vigil in Kommaturai on 08/01/2024, was taken up in the fourth term of the court last week (20/03/2024) and the case can be continued. As the fifth installment will be resumed on 15/05/2024. This has proven that President Ranil's government continues to suppress protests by suing them in court if there is a protest. But why did not the Eastern Governor, the Batticaloa District Development Committee Chairman or the State Ministers, even the President, take action to immediately prevent the expropriation of Mayilattamu pasture land. On the other hand, the Batticaloa State Ministers, who often travel to Batticaloa and Calcutta-Basiguda in person and travel with him in the Ulangu Vanurdi (helicopter), were unable to stop the seizure of the Batticaloa Mylathamdu pastures. Any candidate who is hoping to contest for the presidential election dreaming of how to win the upcoming presidential election has not opened his mouth about the occupation of Vedukunari Hill or the occupation of Mylathamadu pastures. Those who made election promises like the Tamil issue, the 13th Amendment, the Sri Lankan India Agreement, etc., have the power to stop it in relation to Vedukunari Hill and Mylathamadu grazing land, but when the election comes to vote in the North and East, there is no other way than to answer with the ballot paper. It can be observed that this is the position of the Tamils.
As the representatives of the people, political parties in a race have an obligation to defend that people's culture against ethnic discrimination, as well as that leader and public institutions. Many leaders are currently advancing the success of the struggles carried out by these two leaders diplomatically. Father Selva carried out the same nonviolently, while LTTE commander Prabhakaran carried out the same with firearms. There are too many people vying for leadership, so reaching a consensus is impossible.
The politics of Elam have drawn attention from around the world in addition to Sri Lanka. As both armed and nonviolent warfare have demonstrated, this is Eelam within Sri Lanka.
This can be seen as the Eelam Tamil people's 74-year struggle's triumph. That is to say, no remedy has been discovered, yet there is no denying that Tamils worldwide have paved the way for potential solutions. Why are there Buddha statues and Buddhist temples in areas without a Buddhist population? It appears that religious activities are being conducted to keep us busy. In other words, their goal is to alter the drinking patterns of the various territories.
It is evident that when racism exists not only for Sinhala political leaders but also for Sinhala Buddhist monks, reconciliation is utterly impossible. Racial harmony is not possible while the Tamil people are not viewed as a separate nation and co-owners of this island in Sri Lanka. As a result, the majority ethnic group has not advanced in the process of resolving the ethnic conflict by any means. An ethnic group's existence is based on the question of culture.
Eelam Tamils, through land seizures and other administrative actions, as well as Sinhalaization in the context of military presence, are ruthlessly destroying the cultural fabric of Tamilness, which is founded on thousands of years of rich indigenous culture.
Culture is the result of a very long historical process. History is not a mental game about past occurrences. Rather, the past serves as a launching pad for the future. People who are interested in narrating history frequently don't seem to have taken history teachings to heart.
Undoubtedly, the Elamites place a higher value on their great cultural traits than on life itself. But, in the absence of our knowledge, they are being annihilated by both the aggressive techniques that are readily apparent to the naked eye and the external environment, which is dominating and destroying them.
One facet of the superiority of human civilization on Earth is nationality and national culture. An essential component of Tamil rights is the preservation of Tamil culture as well as the defense and advancement of Tamil nationhood. It implies that "whoever destroys culture becomes an aggressive victim or collaborator."