SENT To Me by Dr Yassus de Silva of Richmond College now in UK
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The frenzied online actions of thousands of Sri Lankans responding to the Canadian actress, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, calling herself an Eelam Tamil and opting not to identify herself with Sri Lanka has gone viral. Many of these were ‘Sinhalas’ from the country and the diaspora. An equal number of people spoke in support of the actress too, most being diasporic and local Tamils. Much of the latter was driven by a sense of online-Eelam nationalism. The liberal-woke types from Lanka claimed the Canadian actress as our own despite Ramakrishnan having made it very clear she does not want to be identified as such. The first two of these expressions are clear examples of ways in which nationalism should not manifest, usually as a divisive and exclusionary force. The liberal third expression is simply silly, irrelevant and sad. This said, I have never considered nationalism as useless or dangerous if it can be intelligently and inclusively fashioned to serve the nation. This is very different from my friends in the Sri Lankan Left, who have generally rejected all forms of nationalism.
