தனித் தமிழ்நாடு?

[NMa]

Why Independence (Freedom) for Tamil Nadu from Indian Rule? - Thanjai Nalankilli

TAMIL TRIBUNE, April 1999 (ID. 1999-04-02)

Minor Update: August 2002

Current issue: http://www.geocities.com/tamiltribune

OUTLINE

1. Introduction

2. The Myth of India and Indian Unity

3. Hindian rule over India

4. Choking the Voices of Freedom

5. False Propaganda

6. Reasons for Freedom for Tamil Nadu

6.1 Hindi Imposition

6.2 Loss of Cultural Identity

6.3 Welfare of Tamils living outside the Indian Union

6.4 Economic Plunder of Tamil Nadu

7. Final Words

Definitions:

Hindians: People whose mother tongue is Hindi; much of Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh, and some surrounding areas in northern India is their homeland. Hindian politicians control and dominate the Indian government because they form the single largest block in the Indian parliament.

Abbreviations:

DMK - Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam

1. Introduction

No one needs to explain to the French why France should be an independent nation (independent country), and not part of Germany or Britain or some other country. No one needs to explain to the Germans why Germany should be an independent nation, and not part of France or Poland or some other country. No one needs to explain to the Cambodians why Cambodia should be an independent nation, and not part of Vietnam or Laos or some other country. But, alas, it has become necessary to write in magazine articles and speak in public meetings explaining why Tamil Nadu should be an independent nation (independent country), and not part of India. This is the result of two centuries of history.

2. The Myth of India and Indian Unity

The British conquered the various kingdoms in the Indian subcontinent one by one. Then, for ease of administering (ruling) the conquered territories, the British set up an administrative unit called India. A country or administrative unit called India (or by any other name), comprising of the current territories of India, never existed in all known history, before the British conquest and consolidation.

During the British colonial rule, people of the Indian subcontinent (including those areas now in Pakistan and Bangladesh) had a common purpose and agenda, namely, freedom from British colonial rule. Such a one-ness of purpose never before existed amongst the various peoples of the Indian subcontinent. It brought them together. Finally, in the middle of the 20th century (in the middle 1940s), the British decided to end their rule over the subcontinent. The one-ness of purpose that evolved during the freedom struggle against the British held, with the one exception that most of the Muslim-majority regions in the north became a separate nation called Pakistan at the insistence of the Muslims. Much of the rest of the subcontinent became a country called "India".

India, as a country, by any name, never existed before the British colonial rule in all history, in spite of the oft-repeated false propaganda of the long history, one-ness and unity of India.

3. Hindian rule Over India

Once the British left in 1947, politicians from the Hindi heartland (Hindian politicians) dominated the Indian Parliament and thus control the Indian Government [Reference 1]. This resulted in not only the imposition of Hindi as the official language on the non-Hindi speaking peoples of the Indian Union but also in the steady draining of economic resources from much of the rest of India into the Hindi heartland by allocating un-proportionately large amounts of central government funds for infrastructure and industrial development in the Hindi heartland. Other indirect means were also used by the Indian Government to benefit the Hindi heartland economically, at the expense of many non-Hindi states [Reference 2].

4. Choking the Voices of Freedom

Though the Indian constitution guarantees freedom of speech, political parties are not allowed to speak about freedom from Indian rule. Any party, group or individual who speak in support of freedom from India is not allowed to contest elections. This law was enacted by the Indian parliament (which is dominated by Hindi politicians) soon after electoral gains made in Tamil Nadu by a political party seeking independence from India. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's (DMK's) dramatic success of winning 50 state legislature seats in the 1962 general election on the platform of independence from India scared Hindi politicians. The then Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru quickly passed a law banning any party or individual voicing "secession from India" (that is, independence from India) from contesting in elections. Immediately, the DMK dropped its independence demand.

In India, political parties are the prime organizations that have the financial and human resources to raise such issues in public forums, and the 1962 law choked that voice of freedom. For example, until 1962, DMK leaders and cadres thundered from city to city, from town to town and from village to village all through Tamil Nadu the need for independence from Indian rule, and garnered considerable support. The 1962 Indian law put an end to that.

5. False Propaganda

While the voices of freedom are thus choked off, the Indian government (controlled and dominated by Hindi politicians irrespective of which party is in power and who the Prime Minister is) uses all its power and resources to tell the people that India is an ancient country with an ancient culture and heritage. Schools books, movies, television, radio and every public forum is used to brainwash the public with this idea. Having thus constantly exposed to the government propaganda, and with the voices of freedom for Tamil Nadu choked off, the majority of Tamil public have bought the Indian government propaganda of "India is an ancient country! We are Indians!" The fact is, as we explained earlier, India was never a country before the British consolidated their conquests in the subcontinent into a single administrative unit called India.

Most Tamils know that they are culturally dominated by Hindians through television and radio. Virtually all Tamils resent and hate Hindi imposition. Some Tamils (not too many) know that Tamil Nadu is economically discriminated in favor of the Hindi heartland. Yet many Tamils do not yet think in terms of an independent Tamil Nadu because the constant Indian government propaganda has embedded in their minds that India is an ancient country; a totally false notion!

Had the fore-mentioned 1962 law been not passed and had the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) continued to use its vast resources and skills in its campaign for freedom for Tamilnadu from India, today most Tamils would be clamoring for an independent Tamil Nadu free from Indian rule.

6. Reasons for Freedom for Tamil Nadu

We only list the reasons for independence in this article. Elaborating on each of them would require a small book, at the least. Each of these reasons has been discussed with facts and figures in several of my Tamil articles published in print magazines during the past several years. I hope to publish English articles on Internet on each of the points enumerated below in the coming years.

6.1 Hindi Imposition

As long as Tamil Nadu is a state in the Indian Union, Hindi imposition on the people of Tamil Nadu will continue irrespective of who is in power in the state or center. Hindi imposition is not just domination in the linguistic arena; it also affects the future welfare of Tamils seeking employment in the Indian central government and Indian central government undertakings (insurance, airlines, oil-gas exploration, etc.) as well as in many private companies inside Tamil Nadu. Figures already show the negative impact on the earnings and promotions of Tamils graduated during the past three decades and sought employment in these sectors.

6.2 Loss of Cultural Identity

What the Indian government wants is not just an united India but an uniform India, that is a Hindianized India. The Hindi politicians want all the nationalities in the Indian Union not only to learn their language but also to adopt their culture. Destruction of all other languages as useful languages of business and education [Reference 4], and the destruction of all other cultures of their individuality and uniqueness is the aim of many Hindi elite and it is carried out through the Indian government by virtue of the domination of the Indian parliament by Hindi politicians. Television is a powerful media. Indian Government uses its control of broadcast television to propagate Hindi, Sanskrit and allied cultures and history, and almost totally blacks out other cultures. (NOTE: Private television is not broadcast but is distributed via cables or satellites. While broadcast television is free, cable and satellite television carry hefty monthly fees. Also cable and satellite television are available only in urban areas. So the majority of people are exposed only to broadcast television and its Hindi-centered programs.)

6.3 Welfare of Tamils living outside the Indian Union

Tamils live in virtually every country in the world. Their migration to Europe and North America is more recent but they have been living in some Asian, African and Caribbean countries for centuries. These include Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa, Reunion, Seychelles, Fiji, Surinam, Jamaica, Trinidad and Mauritius. (Sri Lanka is a special case. Tamils live there for millennia. Their concerns and aspirations are different from the others.)

The Tamil communities in these countries, though separated from Tamil Nadu for centuries, still keep their Tamil identity to a greater or lesser degree. Indian government, which says that Tamil Nadu is an integral part of India, has a responsibility to provide cultural support to these communities in the form of Tamil cultural exchanges and Tamil cultural missions through the Indian embassies. Indian Government does not do that. Instead, whatever cultural exchanges Indian embassies organize are for the propagation and glorification of Sanskrit and Hindi. Not only that, we have instances in which the Indian government directly and indirectly tried to destroy the Tamil identity of these communities and establish a pan-Indian (that is, Hindian) identity [Reference 4].

6.4 Economic Plunder of Tamil Nadu

Of equal importance, if not of more importance, to the three preceding reasons is the economic plunder of Tamil Nadu (as well as many other non-Hindi states) by the Hindi heartland. Billions of rupees are transferred annually from Tamil Nadu to the Hindi heartland through many means. The primary mechanism is the central government taxation. Taxes collected from all the states are pooled as central government revenues and then given back to the states in the form of central government industrial and infrastructure projects, grants and loans. If there is no discrimination and everything is fair, then the ratio of the money taken out of a state in the form of central government taxes to the money given back to it in the form of projects, grants and loans would be approximately the same for all the states with some year-to-year fluctuations. This is not the case here. The ratio is considerably and substantially higher for Tamil Nadu compared to the Hindi states (this discrimination is true for of the other non-Hindi states too). Other indirect means were also used by the Indian Government to benefit the Hindi heartland economically, at the expense of many non-Hindi states [Reference 4].

7. Final Words

We have listed the primary reasons for seeking independence for Tamil Nadu from Indian rule. There is no doubt that the standard of living of the people of Tamil Nadu will increase significantly in a free Tamil Nadu compared to being a state in India. This is because of the discriminatory economic policies of the Indian government. This is known to our political leaders especially those who have held ministerial posts in the state or central government. But they cannot speak of independence for Tamil Nadu because they will no longer be able to contest elections (per the 1962 law enacted by Indian parliament when Jawaharlal Nehru was the Prime Minister). Because of this silence the people of Tamil Nadu are not fully aware of the economic plunder. If they know it, there would be problems for the Indian rule over Tamil Nadu. This is why the Indian government, dominated and controlled by Hindi politicians, tries its best to choke off voices of freedom and uses all its power and propaganda machinery to spread the lie of one-ness of India that never existed before the British conquest, consolidation and colonial rule.

All we want is for the people of Tamil Nadu to have the opportunity to hear both the benefits and drawbacks of independence for Tamil Nadu from Indian rule (liberation of Tamil Nadu from Indian rule). Then give the people of Tamil Nadu the choice whether they want Tamil Nadu to be a state in India or an independent country. Conduct a plebiscite. Let the people's wishes be known.

That is all we ask!

REFERENCES

1. Who Rules India? (Part I) (by Thanjai Nalankilli), TAMIL TRIBUNE, November 2000: http://www.geocities.com/tamiltribune/00/1101.html

2. Economic discrimination of Tamil Nadu: http://www.geocities.com/tamiltribune/economy.html

3. Indian Government Blocks Tamil Development into the Twenty First Century (by Thanjai Nalankilli), TAMIL TRIBUNE, September 1999: http://www.geocities.com/tamiltribune/99/0903.html

4. How the Indian Government Stabbed Burmese Tamils in the Back (by Thanjai Nalankilli), TAMIL TRIBUNE, July 2002): http://www.geocities.com/tamiltribune/02/0702.html

மூலம்: TamilTribune (http://www.geocities.com/tamiltribune/99/0402.html)

[பொன்னையா]

இது எங்களுக்கு அவசியமற்ற ஒன்று. அவர்களுக்குத் துன்பம் நேரும்போது, ஒதுக்கப்படும்போது கைகொடுப்பதில் தவறு இருக்காது, ஆனால்தமிழக மக்கள் சுயகௌரவத்தோடு வாழ்வதற்கு இந்திய அரசு ஏற்படுத்திக் கொடுத்திருக்கின்றது. எனவே இது தேவைப்படாது என்றே நினைக்கின்றேன்.

தவிரவும், இப்படி ஒரு சந்தேகம் கொண்டிருப்பதால் தான் தமிழீழப் போராட்டம் வெற்றி பெறுவதைத் தடுக்க இந்தியா முனை;பபுக் காட்டுவதாக நம்பப்படுகின்றது. அப்படியான சூழ்நிலையில் இது எமக்குத் தேவையா?

சுண்டலி தான் நடக்கமாட்டுதாம். தும்புக்கட்டையை வேறு காவணுமா?

[malarr]

>> தமிழக மக்கள் சுயகௌரவத்தோடு வாழ்வதற்கு இந்திய அரசு ஏற்படுத்திக் கொடுத்திருக்கின்றது.

நான் தமிழ் நாட்டிலிருந்து. தமிழக மக்கள் சுயகௌரவத்தோடு வாழ்கிறார்களா? புத்ய செய்தியாயிருக்கிறதே!

>> தவிரவும், இப்படி ஒரு சந்தேகம் கொண்டிருப்பதால் தான் தமிழீழப் போராட்டம் வெற்றி பெறுவதைத் தடுக்க இந்தியா முனை;பபுக் காட்டுவதாக நம்பப்படுகின்றது. அப்படியான சூழ்நிலையில் இது எமக்குத் தேவையா?

உந்களைப் போன்றவர்கள் "இந்தி"யனின் காலில் விழுந்து கும்பிடுவதனால் தான் "இந்தி"யன் தமிழனைக் கையாலாகாதவன் என்று நினைத்து கொல்லுகிறான்.

"நாயும் வேண்டா அடிமை வாழ்வு

நாலு கோடித் தமிழரா வேண்டுவர்?" - பாவெந்தர்.

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