Daily Archives: February 29, 2012

Another Angry Tamil: Thanga sees Pirapaharan as an indelible “part of the Tamil psyche”

Thanga, 24 February 2011 in http://colombotelegraph.com/2012/02/21/victor-rajakulendrans-tirade-at-the-exposure-of-pirapaharans-admiration-for-hitler/ ***

I must confess that I am ignorant about the self-styled “historian and a historian of ideology including all forms of nationalism and extremism, including Burgher, Tamil, Sinhala, German etc….” Dr.Michael Roberts.

If in fact he is a renowned historian, how come he is ignorant of whoVisvanathan Rudrakumaran is? How come he mis- identifies “The faction under Rudrakumaran of USA emerged as the principal flag-bearer and has institutionalized itself as Thamililam in exile under the rubric “Global Tamil Forum.” This slip is not ignorance, but stark ignorance. Rudrakumaran is the Prime Minister of the democratically elected Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam(TGTE). The Global Tamil Forum is a different kettle of fish based mainly in Britain. Yes, there are factions among Diaspora, but all of them are committed to the goal of Thamil Eelam!

Pic by Shyam Tekwani, mid-1980s

Again what is this song and dance about LTTE leader “had with him a copy of Mein Kampf” and derived “the idea of eliminating the other” from Hitler (Rāgavan in Kadirgamar 2009 and Roberts 2012)…..” This is the first time I am hearing that the LTTE leader had with him a copy Mein Kampf. This notwithstanding, what is the logic behind the argument that Prabhakaran was another Hitler or he was an admirer of Hitler? Prabhakaran was a voracious reader. He himself has said that he was inspired by reading Hindu epics like Mahabharata and Ramayana and its

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Filed under communal relations, cultural transmission, Eelam, historical interpretation, Hitler, life stories, LTTE, politIcal discourse, prabhakaran, propaganda, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, violence of language

A Search for Identity: Tomorrow’s Sri Lankan!

Kamaya Jayatissa, courtesy of The Island, 29 February 2012**

“If you wake up at a different time, in a different place, could you wake up as a different person?” – Chuck Palahniuk

Few are those who believe in the existence of what I would like to call a post-war Sri Lankan identity. Indeed, most of us will identify themselves according to their ethnicity, some according to their religion, beliefs and aspirations and some according to their country of birth. Yet, the fact is that we do not belong to just one category or another. We are different from each other and at the same time we carry diversity within ourselves. Each of us is a unique combination of various identifications that are not equally significant to us. So how does one define the schizophrenic notion of identity? Continue reading

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Filed under cultural transmission, historical interpretation, life stories, patriotism, politIcal discourse, reconciliation, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, Tamil civilians, unusual people, world events & processes