Book review on ezham-and-tamils

Book Review on Ezham and the Thamils- Translation of Arul Selvanayagam's Ezhamum Thamizharum

Traslated by Dr.T. Marx

Foreword 

Thamizhnadu is the prime demographic region for Tamil identity. Next to that, Ezham (the Island as a whole) is the internationally known region for the same. There is a popular belief that all the Thamizh people in Sri Lanka are the settlers from Thamizhnadu. This book of history clearly demonstrates the fact that there are Thamizh people who are the original inhabitants and the aboriginal tribe of this island. It says ‘even from the pre-historic times Tamils had lived in Ezham.’

There are many biases and misinterpretations about Ezham and Thamizh people specifically of their origin, competence and performance geographically, politically, culturally and economically. I am confident that most of the Thamizh speaking and non-Thamizh speaking Indians and foreigners will be disillusioned by this book, the translated version of EZHAMUM THAMIZHARUM written by ARUL SELVANAYAGAM from Mattakkalappu, Sri Lanka. This translation work of Dr. T. Marx, Senior Lecturer, Department of English, University of Pondicherry, Thamizhnadu, will be extremely useful to this process of enlightenment, especially in this post-conflict context in Sri Lanka in which the majority is trying to find a solution to the minority with regard to their political existence in Sri Lanka.         

It is interesting to read that the author has tried to establish the original and aboriginal status of the Thamizh people by undertaking a socio-linguistic as well as historical linguistic analysis of the different names of Ezham. This is how the author narrates about ‘the prosperous Ezham.’: ‘during the First and Second Sangam Age, the whole of Kumari Kandam was the abode of the Tamils. Tamil civilization flourished. Tamil language was prospering.’ His presentation of scholarly references for the attacks of a series of the great oceanic upheavals destroying most of Ezham and Thamizhnadu is impressive: ‘the fury of the seas separated Ezham from Tamizaham and the former had become an island. Still, the long traditions of contact continue.’

‘The greatness of the incomparable Dravidian King Ravana’ and ‘valorous Ellalan committed to justice and honest administration’ and many other Thamizh kings and queens, recorded in this book will definitely question the biased social constructions of the events evolved around these historical images of great personality.   

Another credible evidence provided by this book for the reasoning for ‘the relationship gap’ between the Northeast Thamizh people and  the plantation Indian Thamizh people is the geographical distance: “ As the Indians who came as plantation labourers lived in mountains as separate groups, they could not mix much with Tamils of Ezham. Therefore, the labourers of Ezham continue to live as Indian Tamils.” This issue has been a topic of continuous debate among many scholars of Sri Lankan Thamizh Studies. There has been an accusation that the Northeast Thamizh people have had a condescending approach towards the latter because they are plantation labourers. It must be noted that after every riot against the Thamizh people in the South and the Upcountry, many Indian Thamizh people fled to the Northeast region. Their livelihood, life style and social status have gradually become similar to those of the Northeast Thamizh people. There have been much intermarriage and they have acquired lands and other properties because of their hard work. Of course, caste, religion and class have played a negative role in expediting this integration process but it is applicable within the Northeast Thamizh People and even in Thamizhnadu as well.      

Another topic of archeological research interest is raised by this author: “Once upon a time only the Tamils lived throughout Ezham. Many Tamil Kings had ruled over the island. The vagaries of Time has made the Tamils who were living all over the place, now restricting themselves to North and East parts of Ezham.The British divided Ezham for administrative convenience into nine provinces. The boundaries of these administrative units coincided with the homelands of the present Ezham Tamils.” We encounter an interesting historical discourse of dichotomy that many Sinhala historians and archeologists have tried to prove that it was the Sinhalese and their Kings who had ruled all over the island. Many have come forward with ‘their archeological and historical findings’ to support this counter claim. There is a book written by Dr. P. Pushparatnam, Dept of History, University of Jaffna. It is titled as tholliyal nookil ilankaith Thamizhar panpaadu (Sri Lankan Thamizh culture from an archeological perspective). This book of archeological evidence can be read as a supplement to this book of historical eveidence. Indeed there are many books by many scholars on this issue; for example, K. Indrapala’s research publications are really worthy references. To get a counter exposure to Thamizh people’s claim, it is better to read, The "traditional homelands" of the Tamils: separatist ideology in Sri Lanka : a historical appraisal written by a popular Sinhala historian, K.M. De Silva. (Rev. 2nd ed. Kandy, Sri Lanka : International Centre for Ethnic Studies, 1995.

Arul Selvanayaham is moderate and impartial in maintaining his attitudinal position with regard to the ethno nationalist tendencies ingrained in Sri Lanka: “As the British held sway over Ezham, the Singhalese and the Tamils who had lost their freedom came together to get back their independence. Finally a freedom without bloodshed also came. In Ezham the Tamils and Singhalese lived together and also at separate places. As for thousands of years the two races had lived together, Buddhism merged with Hinduism. In Singhalese temples images of Saiva gods could be seen. There were also offerings to Saiva gods. Tamil language mixed with Singhalese language. As the Tamils lived in Singhalese places Tamil names were given to them. The culture and civilisation of the Tamils merged with Singhalese culture and civilisation. Tamil and Singhalese arts also merged. Ezham got its freedom. This freedom was together had by the Tamils and the Singhalese. The two should live in amity and preserve this freedom.” However, this post-conflict scenario witnesses, as many innocent Thamizh people perceive and fear,  a strengthening of Sinhala Buddhist ideological tendencies when the extremism of Thamizh nationalists has been militarily neutralized within the country. The Sinhala extremists are trying to establish or historicize their ideological identity both religious and linguistic, even in the Northeast. 

In this historical account, the author is so proud about the enrichment of Thamizh language by the Ezham Thamizh people: “After 49 political states  (kingdoms) were destroyed by the sea erosion, only Ezham has survived. Of the vast territories ruled by Ravana, only Lanka Island remains. Accordingly Ezham has the distinction of having had Tamil as a language even in those days. Ezham has nurtured Tamil language as much as the kingdoms in Tamil Nadu. Therefore, the Tamils of Ezham had never lagged behind in enriching Tamil. Among the Old tribes of the Tamils of Ezham, Nagas were also there. They were much advanced in culture and scholarship in Tamil. Many old Tamil works refer to poets of Naga origin.” It must be noted that he is so cautious and conscious about the contribution of Thamizhnadu, the prime land of the Thamizh language and its development. However, his account comprehensively reveals the contribution of Ezham to the beautification and enrichment of the language. In the process of reviving the Thamizh identity to buttress the politico-military struggle, the Thamizh militants initiated and pioneered so many projects of Thamizh language use and development which could be seen as a model for adoption to other Thamizh people dwelling lands including Thamilnadu where a critical decline of the use or distortion of Thamizh is visible. One appreciable approach to language use, practiced by the Ezham Thamizh people have been that though they learn and use both English and Thamizh, they have minimized code-mixing and code-switching to a manageable level; they use these two languages for two different purposes. The Thamizh language is preserved as classically intact and innovatively flexible and accommodating. Another historical reference given in this book is really an apt example for social cohesion and harmony: “Singhala rulers were well versed in Tamil language! The history of this land shows that the Singhalese rulers had always respected and cherished the Tamil language. A king by name Varodaya Singhai established an association, Sanga, solely for the purpose of promoting Tamil.”

Indian History consists of many accounts of Thamizh people becoming Buddhists and the consequent events. It was a socio-cultural liberation for many subaltern Hindu Thamizh people when they preferred conversion to Buddhism. But later, it became a tragedy of colossal proportion when they were neutralized by the Aryan induced massacres. However, in Ezham, Buddhism played strangely different roles in different historical phases. This book illustrates the relationship of Thamizh people of the Northern Ezham to Buddhism from a different perspective: “Lord Buddha had visited Lanka thrice. When he came for the second time, he visited Nagatheevu, reconciled two warring chieftains over the kingship and preached the Doctrine of Five peace elements. Mahavamsam reports that the Naga kings got converted themselves to Buddhism and eighty crores of Naga people also embraced Buddhism. There are references to Naga Kings in Manimekalai as well.” The conversion was not for that socio-cultural liberation intended in India. Ironically, during the post-colonial period, the Sinhalese’ attempt to impose Buddhist identity among the Thamizh people and Thamizh places was looked as the opposite of socio-cultural liberation.  

In describing the Thamizh people of the Northern Ezham, it seems the author is trying to background the pace of caste suppression during the immediate pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial periods. There were many incidents of caste discrimination and suppression recorded in the history.  For instance, though Arumuga Navalar was a great contributor to the enrichment of Thamizh and Saivaism, he was accused as a strong caste Thamizh man. The Book gives an account about the issue of caste like this: “During the rule of Yazhppanam kings, there was prosperity in the territory. As a result there were caste differences among the people as well. There was no fight against the caste discrimination during the rule of the kings. But today there is a call against that practice. It is a curse that the Tamils had a sect treated as untouchables. We should also change according to the needs of the time. People who were considered as untouchables are now enjoying all the rights as the rest of the people.” The last reference about enjoying all the rights has become possible mainly due to the social reforms, as an offshoot of the politico-military struggle of the Thamizh militants; the caste difference and women suppression were almost completely discarded and even severely punished; there was no any incident of historical significance to quote in support of caste and women discrimination during the forty years of armed struggle. However, in this post-conflict context, there is a possibility of re-emergence of these two issues but due to the Ezham Thamizh people’ exposure to the western countries, the intensity can not be expected to be the same as happened in the past well before the armed struggle.    

The author is quite competent in quoting Mahavamsa for establishing the existence and settlement of the Thamizh people in the Eastern Ezham at the very early period of Vijeyan for it is generally commented as partial and ethnocentric in its account written by the Sinhala Buddhist historians, mostly the monks: “Mahavamsa states that Visayan settled many Tamils from the Pandya territory in the eastern Lankan areas of Kathiramalai. When Ellalan captured Anuradhapuram, he also invaded and captured East Lanka, as stated in Mahavamsa. As a result of war in East Lanka, people from Chola areas also began to settle there. Even before the Christian era, East Lanka distinguished itself as the land of the Tamils, land of Saivism.” His account of the natural resources in their plenty and beauty is literary in presentation but true in existence.

Many people are ignorant about the origin of Thamizh speaking Muslims in both Thamizhnadu and Ezham. The author has traced their origin in a simple language in a compact manner: “During the 8^th century A.D., the tyranny of Caliph Abdul-bin-marvan resulted in many Arabs losing their properties: still they decided to escape with their life by fleeing to different lands. Some such people settled in India: also in Ezham. The Muslims who came with trade intent and the Muslims who came escaping the tyranny, mixed with the Muslims who were living in the coastal states off Tamil Nadu, thus creating the community of Muslims in Ezham.” Further many still wonder how Muslims acquired Thamizh as their first language but why they did not inherit the Thamizh culture (proper)and religion even though they had intermarriages with the Thamizh community: ‘The Muslims who settled in Ezham and India married Tamil girls; learnt Tamil language, followed the culture of the Tamils, became like Tamils. Still in religious beliefs they retained Islamic tenets. In that manner the Muslims in Ezham were able to retain their separate identity.” In Sri Lanka, the social cohesion and harmony between the Thamizh people and Thamizh speaking Muslims is more important than the Thamizh people and the Sinhalese, practically speaking. Unfortunately, the identity crisis between these two minority communities has been a boon for the Sinhala majority community to give substantial excuses for any ‘viable geographically based solution’ for the minorities in the Northeast. Surprisingly at the same time, the majority community also has its identity crisis with both the Thamizh people and the Muslims throughout the history and many incidents of conflicts and violence of triangular nature among these three communities have been recorded    

In the account of Rajakaryam, the author recounts that many a time forced labour was imposed on the citizens for both economic and military purposes mainly benefiting the King and the government. Later this could have been the reason for planned or forced colonization and occupation and confiscation of the properties of other communities. This traditional practice might have ideologically influenced the government to undertake the planned colonization schemes in the Thamizh areas. Finally the author says: “Generally to sum up, Rajakaryam served the purpose of administration. For the administrations of the past, this was appropriate. But for modern administration Rajakaryam would not be suitable. That is why, the Britishers who ruled over Lanka later on wanted to bring about changes in the administration sent Colbrooke to effect the same. Colbrook travelled to all parts of Lanka and analysed the administration of Rajakaryam. He found out that Rajakaryam was inconsistent with the principle of individual freedom and recommended its abolition. Accordingly in 1832 Rajakaryam in Lanka was legally abolished.”

The influence of trade activities of both the people of Ezham and the traders from Arabs, India, China, Rome, Greece, the west determined the thinking and acting of the Thamizh people in many dimensions. The author acknowledges the above mentioned trade activities in detail. According to the author, “the Arabs, who began to trade with Ezham from the 7^th century onwards, also began to settle in Ezham. This is the reason for such Muslims living in Ezham today.”  There are sufficient events to support that “thus the people who came to trade became the masters of the land,” for example, the colonialists. The Thamizh people were able to widen their physical, social and psychological horizons globally. This sea faring venturous approach gave them the comparative advantage to spread their presence throughout the globe; later the conflict also expedited the process. At the same time, this trend has made them deprived of their collective strength to accumulate and stabilize politically, culturally and economically in a particular land of dwelling unlike the other major ethnic communities in the world.   

The history has had many reasons to state “Ezham in those days exported food articles to Tamil Nadu and earned money. Today Ezham for its own food requirements is obliged to import.” It was the foreign rule and the consequent majoritarian governments which caused economic crisis and disparity ultimately leading to the internal political conflict: “the Portuguese, the Dutch and the British exploited Ezham for their commercial interests. They accumulated wealth through commerce and made their countries prosperous. But by their commercial activities they impoverished Ezham people who were responsible for their getting rich”. Another interesting fact not very well fore-grounded in the historical writings of the Sinhala historians is the contribution of the Indian labourers to the prosperity of Ezham working in plantations during the colonial and post-colonial periods: “they became part of mountain territories. The number of Indian labourers, the opening of the Suez Canal and the refurbishing of Colombo Port all stabilised economy of Ezham to some extent.” Unfortunately they were left out in the development as well as political process due to the ethnocentric ideological agenda of the majoritarian governments. It is notable that the rift between the Thamizh parties and the Sinhala dominated major parties originated when the former raised the issue of disenfranchisement of the Indian Thamizh people and the consequent repatriation to India. Later other racial discriminatory activities in the Northeast were added to the burning issue of the ethnic problem.   

The author extensively discusses the failures of the constitutional reforms in restructuring the Legislative Council and Executive Council made by the colonialists and the consequent establishment of the House of Representatives and Senate by the majoritarian governments to address the issues of the minorities for political accommodation within the country. Constitutional reforms were made not with the intention of constructing constitutional nationalism but with cultural nationalism. This has been the root cause of the ethnic crisis in this country.        

                                   

Finally the author has added a chapter on Thamizh people and Folklore to give a homely touch on the rural life style of the Thamizh people especially during the post-colonial period. This literary supplement can be a boost for creating emotional empathy with the Thamizh people.

This book should be a motivating force for researching the future historical trend of the Thamizh people of Ezham, especially in choosing a secure political and socio-cultural environment for them to stabilize and sustain their identity in this mother land of all the communities, Ezham. India, instead of thinking Ezham as a ‘tear drop’ of India, should play its decisive constructive role in the historical process of finding political security for both Thamizh and Sinhala people equally. This translation work of Dr. T. Marx will awaken many ‘sleeping’ policy makers in both India and other countries to see the place of Thamizh people in Ezham clearly. I extend my sincere appreciation to the author and the translator for having made this historical exercise a success.