Think as Sri Lankans first

Interview with Dr. Subramanian Swamy - politician, social activist and economist and former Indian Cabinet Minister of Commerce, Law and Justice

By Dhaneshi Yatawara

A close friend of Sri Lanka, Dr. Subramanian Swamy, commending the decision to hold elections in the Northern Province said out that if Tamil people need true reconciliation then they must select the most meritorious candidates and not based on their ethnicity. “Reconciliation cannot come if the Tamil people think only Tamils can represent them,” said Dr. Swamy. In an interview with the Sunday Observer during his recent visit to Sri Lanka to attend the Defence Seminar 2013, Dr. Swamy insisted that there should be an over-riding national identity. He pointed out that it is important to be ready to think as Sri Lankans first and take ethnicity at the second level.

Excerpts of the interview:

Q: In 2012, addressing the second Defence Seminar in Sri Lanka you said that the fundamental long term problem before Sri Lanka was the essential reconciliation – erasing the uncertainty in the minds of Sri Lankans about the country's future. How would you compare your then comment in today's context?

A: I think Sri Lanka has made some substantial progress. The country would have more progress if the TNA had not been so obdurate. After nearly two decades your country is holding elections in the Northern part of the country. It is a free and fair election. The only factor I'm not happy about is that Tamils are still voting for Tamil candidates. That should not be the case. That is wrong. They should also vote for meritorious Sinhala candidates. Reconciliation cannot come if the Tamil people think only Tamils can represent them. I have been elected five times in India from different states. Twice from Bombay, twice from Uttar Pradesh and once from Madurai, which is my home town. So different people have voted for me without thinking about my ethnicity thinking only that this man would go to the parliament and do something progressive for the people. The same way the Tamils should also learn not only to vote for Tamils.

I'm urging the Tamil people that if you want genuine reconciliation show that you can consider yourself as a Sri Lankan first and Tamil afterwards. Which means when you get Tamil and Sinhala candidates during the elections and Tamil voters find that the Sinhala candidate is more meritorious then they should select him. That mentality must go. Such ideas will further aggravate non conducive environment for reconciliation.

Not only TNA I would like to see a single spokesman for the Tamil. I would like to see other spokesman for Tamil also - Politicians like Chandra Hasan and Douglas Devananda. These people also recognised as spokesman for Tamils. It is dangerous when you regard only one organisation as a representative of the Tamils.

Q: There are Tamil politicians other than the TNA who work for the Tamil people. Do you mean to say that other political parties are not doing their job properly?

A: No no its not that. Tamils are fed with a concept that who ever opposes LTTE representatives are enemies of Tamils. Politicians like Chandra Hasan definitely want to work with present Government. But the Tamils feel suspicious and the propaganda goes around that he is already sold out to the Sinhala people. That is all wrong. You all are one people. And my concept can be proven by DNA – Genetics. It is absurd to call you all ethnically different. There are no such things as Tamil nations – they are bogus concepts. In India all Tamils regard themselves as Indians first and then as Tamils. If there is a clash between Indian interest and that of the Tamil what prevails is the Indian interest. Same principle should be in Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan concept comes first and second place is for the ethnicity. If there is a clash between the Sri Lankan interest and the interest of other parties it is the Sri Lankan interest that should prevail.

When Tamils in India say that India can not have good relationship with Sri Lanka because they did this and they did that to Tamils, I say, no we need friendship with Sri Lanka. It is of national interest to India. There is the over-riding national identity. That should be inculcated in Tamil people also. Nobody in India ever going to support any sort of separatism of the Tamils in Sri Lanka.

Q: How would you explain the response from Tamil Nadu to Sri Lanka? So much pressure coming from them?

A: Ah . . . That is not a response. It is just a handful of people, who get the drug money of the LTTE, they make a little noise and do few demonstrations. They bribe some press people. There is no pressure to be concerned. It is only from the two Dravidian parties. In the height of their power, Karunanidhi was the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and he had Ministers in the centre, did we (India) not get our Navy to block the seas when Sri Lanka was with a war with the LTTE to ensure that no terrorist could escape or any outside support would come. How could we have done that. Because the establishments in India go by the national interest. And they did not even inform Karunanidhi.

Q: Do you think India has properly evaluated the Sri Lankan situation, particularly considering it as an independent country?

A: Indian patriots regard Sri Lanka as an independent state - the decisions Sri Lankan people make on whom to treat as friends and whom to treat as enemies. And we want to have good relationship with Sri Lanka. That's the way the Indian establishment or the Indian majority think. India is of 35 states and Tamil Nadu is only one of them. So they can not decide national policy.

Q: When you consider relationships between countries the state of understanding among the two Governments matters , harmony between the two countries holds equal importance. Yet, today there is a fear psychosis among Sri Lankans who travel to many parts of Tamil Nadu. Isn't this a negative factor?

A: That will be rectified soon. I understand that fear because these Sri Lankans have no protection. But it may not last. I, faced protests because I support Sri Lanka. When I came last February, the 22nd session of the Human Rights Council was discussing Sri Lanka's human rights issues. When I went back there were numerous demonstrations.

It never mattered . Organising demonstrations in India is easy. Jayalalitha is regarded as a non-dravidian in political circles,. She is a Brahmin. The Dravidian concept is bogus. This is planted by Colonialists. Dravidian means South India but the British converted it into a race. They said anyone who is not a Brahmin is a Dravidian. When Jayalalitha is heading a Dravidian party, Karunanidhi says that she is not a Dravidian and is not one of us. Now to disprove this claim, Jayalalitha goes overboard. But she rectifies it to a certain extent. In the recent event, she arrested the sleeper cells of the LTTE. She is basically a patriotndia.

Q: You have been in politics for nearly four decades. All these years you have immense experience with the common people. What do Indians think about Sri Lankans? Because what they think about us matters.

A: Indians love Sri Lanka. Talk to Tamil Naduites, they have demonstrated their feelings many times. In 1991, when I was the Minister of Commerce, Law and Justice, I came to know from intelligence agencies ,that Karunanidhi as the Chief Minister was passing secrets to the LTTE. I persuaded the Prime Minister then that we must dismiss the Government. In 1991, I was in charge and went to Tamil Nadu to organise the dismissal. People told me that the Tamil sentiment will be upset and that there will be riots resulting in a river of blood. Nothing happened. And the elections were held as it was needed immediately.

In this election, Karunanidhi's party got only two seats out of 234. Vaiko, if he stands alone has never been able to even save his deposit. Nedumaran, Vaiko and all these politicians can win only on a coalition. In the coalition they will pay lip service.

If you want to know what the Indian people think, they never liked the LTTE. After the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi they hated the LTTE. There are only a handful of people in politics who are sympathetic towards them.

Q: Coming back to the Indian situation, the merger of your Janatha Party with the Bharatiya Janatha Party (BJP) was an important step ahead of the 2014 elections. Could we see a significant change in Indian politics?

A: The Government will be with the BJP, without doubt. We all have come in to a general consensus that we will bring the Gujarat Chief Minister as the Prime Ministerial candidate. The current Chief Minister of Gujarat is Narendra Modi. He is the one who proposed to make Colombo – Kandy – Ahmadabad sister cities. Well Sri Lanka is still considering it. That has not been accepted yet. It should be accepted I would say because Gujarat is a very flourishing area and Sri Lankans will we welcome there.

But during the elections I can not predict what will happen. That's the nature of Indian politics. Nothing can be predicted beyond one week.

Q: You are an Economist. Could you give your assessment of the Sri Lankan economy?

A: As I see Sri Lankan economy is very well poised to become the hub like Singapore and Hongkong. Those countries have small islands but Sri Lanka is a large island and there is space for manufacturing. Sri Lanka has the highest human development index, quality of life index, highly educated population and in this age of innovation and knowledge economy these are positive factors. I think Sri Lanka should try to become a hub for India, China and the whole of Asia.

Q: Another key issue raised during the Defence Seminar 2013, at which you participated, was the concern over transnational crimes. But we do not see much regional cooperation to face this. Should not the leaders of countries get together to face this?

A: Piracy in the Malacca Straights is a problem. And we can cooperate with the Americans and the Chinese in the region.

There is a no regional cooperation as yet. Why? Well, from the beginning we were too much European oriented in this context. But now we must look in to Asia. But India has set-up a good Naval fleet to face this threat.