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Is Tamil Blood Cheap in the Eyes of Indian Government?

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Is Tamil Blood Cheap in the Eyes of Indian Government?

TAMIL TRIBUNE, April 2007 (ID. 2007-04-u1-a-x)

(This is an update to Reference 1 that discussed the killings of Tamil Nadu fishermen by Sri Lankan Navy and Indian Government's refusal to take any effective action to stop it or even register a diplomatic protest with the Sri Lankan Government.)

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Pakistan Maritime Security Agency shot and killed a fisherman from northern India, twenty-one year old Shantilal Mangal, off the coast of Gujarat on Monday February 13, 2006. Indian External Affairs Ministry called Pakistan's Deputy High Commissioner Mr. Munawwar Bhatty to the ministry and registered a protest on Thursday February 16, 2006. Readers may say, "That is what India should do. After all one of its citizens is killed by Pakistani forces." I agree. But my question is, "How come the same Indian Foreign Ministry had not acted the same way even after over 150 Tamilnadu fishermen had been shot and killed by Sri Lankan Navy?"

As far as I know, this is the first shooting-killing of a north-Indian fisherman by Pakistani security forces in a decade (I searched news archives and Internet). Indian government's reaction was swift. Shooting occurs on Monday and by Thursday protest was lodged. Yet, when Tamil Nadu fishermen were shot and killed by Sri Lankan Navy, Indian government does nothing comparable. What happens when a Tamil fisherman is killed is, typically the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister writes to the Indian Prime Minister pleading with him to get Sri Lanka stop the killing of Tamil Nadu fishermen. The Chief Minister would get an assurance from the Prime Minister that no such shootings would take place again. That assurance is not worth the paper it was written on. Shootings continue, killings continue, with no protest from Indian Government. At best, Indian government would express its concern to Sri Lanka. There is a huge different in diplomatic terms between Indian government expressing its concern and Indian Foreign Ministry calling the "offending" country's diplomat to its office and registering a protest. Even after over 150 killings of Tamil fishermen, the latter never happened with Sri Lanka while within four days after the very first killing of a northern fisherman Pakistani diplomat was called to the ministry and protest registered. Does it mean southern blood is cheaper than northern blood in Indian Government eyes?

NOTE: We know that Pakistan had arrested many north Indian fishermen and confiscated their boats; Sri Lanka had done the same to Tamilnadu fishermen. There is no news report of Pakistan killing an Indian fisherman in the past decade until February 2006. Sri Lanka had killed over 150 fishermen in that period. Yet it was Pakistan that got harsh diplomatic treatment, as it should, but never Sri Lanka.

Usha Ramanathan

March 9, 2007

Reference: http://www.geocities.com/tamiltribune/200704.html#three3

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