Future of Sri Lankan Tamil Hindus – III

Future of Sri Lankan Tamil Hindus – III B R Haran Buddhist-Hindu unity needed to extinguish external forces Apart from western forces, two more outside forces, Pakistan and China, could also spoil Indian attempts to move close to Sri Lanka. The Northern Province also needs a Chief Minister and in the race are Samuel Chelvanayakam Chandrahasan, son of Samuel James Velupillai Chelvanayakam, Federal Party stalwart who fled the country in 1984 and did not return; and Anandasangaree, president of TULF, who consistently fought for the Tamil cause democratically and did not flee despite grave threats to his life. Though both are against the LTTE, Anandasangaree commands more respect and affection from the Tamil community for staying with them and fighting for their rights. He is a Hindu and understands the aspirations of Tamil Hindus, who comprise 85 percent of the community. Yet political analysts feel India may attempt to get Chandrahasan as Chief Minister of the Northern Province as he is a Christian and may be preferred by the ‘Dravidian’ politicians of Tamil Nadu, who do not favour Anandasangaree. It would be better for Sri Lankan Tamil Hindus to choose Anandasangaree as their chief, as he would be a peaceful negotiator with the Sinhalese and would not become a puppet in the hands of the Dravidian-Christian nexus, besides being a senior political expert and sincere guide to Pillaiyan and Karuna (both Hindus). They should be reminded of the Christianisation of Buddhist countries like South Korea. The Buddhist clergy must be enlightened about the importance of Buddhist-Hindu unity, which would in turn help the easy revival of peaceful co-existence between the communities.