Politics of Tamil-Muslim relations

Although the main attention is on Sinhalese-Tamil reconciliation, there is also a need for Tamil-Muslim reconciliation

The introduction of multi-member constituencies in the Eastern Province is a living testimony to Tamil-Muslim political mistrust. That mistrust reached its climax when the LTTE emerged on the scene. Although during its initial stages LTTE was prepared to accommodate the Muslims as Islamic Tamils in their failed Tamil Eelam, thus echoing Ramanathan of 1880s, Tamil-Muslim mistrust continued to bedevil any accommodation and finally led to the expulsion of the entire Muslim community from Jaffna and its suburbs. That was the political climate which eventually produced the ill-conceived SLMC as a party to represent Muslims only

Politics of Sri Lankan Tamil-Muslim relations has a chequered history of more than a century dating back to 1880s. Although these two communities are linguistically one linked by their mother tongue Tamil, there is a simmering feeling of mistrust between the two communities which separates them not only politically but had even led to intermittent inter-communal violence. Social contact between the two communities at present remains very superficial and business like in comparison to a happier past. 

F.X.C. Nadaraja’s ‘Mattakkalappu Maanmiyam’ written in Tamil and S.O. Kanagaratnam’s ‘The Monograph of Batticaloa District’ are two valuable works to understand how cordial and friendly Tamil-Muslim relations in the Eastern Province had been in the past until politics intervened to disrupt that cordiality and friendliness. For instance, in several of the Hindu temples along the southern coast of Batticaloa District there used to be a special thanksgiving ‘pooja’ for Pattani Muslims who supposed to have assisted the Mukkuvars in their fight against Thimilars. Until very recently, there was a statue inside the Kurukkalmadam temple featuring Pattani Muslims and which this columnist had seen. (It is not there anymore). 

Why was this friendly past allowed to disappear?

Likewise, Muslim chieftains or ‘maraikayars’ of Kattankudy used to carry salt to honour the Hindu festival in Thanthonrichcaram temple in Kokkaddichcholai and in return the administrators of that temple used to attend the annual mawlood ceremony at Meerapalli mosque in Kattankudy. According to Kanagaratnam the Kudi system in Kattankudy is linked to the caste stratification of Mukkuvars. Why was this peaceful and friendly past allowed to disappear and get riddled with inter-communal mistrust and rivalry?   

The political mistrust started when the British colonial regimen was considering the appointment of a Muslim representative to the Ceylon Legislative Council in the 1880s. When consultations between the Government and Muslims were about to bear fruit a then sitting Tamil member of the council, Ponnambalam Ramanathan, while addressing its members propounded a thesis that Muslims were by ethnicity Tamils who happened to follow the religion of Islam. He substantiated his argument with a bundle of customs and traditions that were common to both Tamils and Muslims some of which are true even today. Later, he published his thesis in a paper he wrote to the Journal of Royal Asiatic Society. It was a speech deliberately intended to sabotage a Muslim representation.

Although Ramanathan failed in his attempt leaders of the Muslim community notably I.L.M. Abdul Azeez and M.C. Siddi Lebbe began a campaign to deny Ramanathan’s thesis and argued that Muslims were not Tamils but “Moors” – a historically disparaging epithet bestowed by the Portuguese upon all Muslim communities wherever they came across. In fact, according to one source even Columbus was said to have undertaken his voyage to the West Indies to confront a Moor king whom he heard was ruling there. However, the Muslim leaders’ preference for this name was in a sense an act of desperation, because historically the Muslim community is a composite product of Arab, Persian, Dravidian, Sinhalese and Malay bloods. This was why in the 1950s for example when Razik Fareed established his Moors Cultural Home and started championing the cause of Moors, T.B. Jaya the Malay leader argued in favour of adopting the name Muslim instead which, although religious in origin yet was a unifying epithet that covers the diversity of the community’s ethnic origins. But the upshot of Ramanathan’s mischief was that it sowed the seeds of mistrust among Muslims of Tamil political leadership. 

Role of a kingmaker 

When parliamentary democracy was introduced in the wake of independence, the commerce-oriented Muslim community instead of creating a Muslim political party wisely decided to play the role of a kingmaker among competing national parties. This was why neither of the two Tamil parties, G.G. Ponnambalam’s Congress Party nor S.J.V. Chelvanayakam’s Federal Party could garner any support from Muslims. Even when three Muslim candidates from Eastern Province contested and won their seats on FP ticket in 1960s, it was purely an opportunistic choice. After winning they all quit the FP and joined the Government. 

The introduction of multi-member constituencies in the Eastern Province is a living testimony to Tamil-Muslim political mistrust. That mistrust reached its climax when the LTTE emerged on the scene. Although during its initial stages LTTE was prepared to accommodate the Muslims as Islamic Tamils in their failed Tamil Eelam, thus echoing Ramanathan of 1880s, Tamil-Muslim mistrust continued to bedevil any accommodation and finally led to the expulsion of the entire Muslim community from Jaffna and its suburbs. That was the political climate which eventually produced the ill-conceived SLMC as a party to represent Muslims only. 

Inter-communal animosity was set to intensity and to add fuel to the fire came the 2006 Supreme Court Chief Judge Sarath N. Silva’s verdict against the proposed North-East merger. After delivering his verdict Silva was reported to have said that had he judged otherwise the Sinhalese community would have crucified him. That means he wanted to keep Muslims and Tamils continue fighting so that Sinhalese could profit. That was communal Sri Lanka.  

Absence of social relations

However, a fundamental issue that vexes Tamil-Muslim politics is the absence of social relations between the two communities. Unlike between the Sinhalese and Muslims, Tamil-Muslim relationship is predominantly based on satisfying each other’s specific needs. For example, if Arunachalam a Tamil from Arayampathy in Batticaloa District wanted to celebrate the Hindu New Year he would invariably visit the textile shop of Cassim Hajiar, a Muslim from neighbouring Kattankudy, to buy dress for his family. Similarly, if Cassim Hajiar’s wife fell sick he would take her to Dr. Veluppillai’s medical centre in Batticaloa. The relationship or contact between Arunachalam and Cassim Hajiar and that between Cassim Hajiar and Veluppillai was strictly businesslike and no more. Neither would Arunachalam invite the Muslim textile dealer to participate in the festivities at his home, nor would the textile dealer invite his doctor for a meal at his house. Their social relationship is governed purely by the specific needs of each. One may say that it is strictly businesslike. Intercommunal social gatherings are rare between Tamils and Muslims. Unfortunately, Muslim religious purifiers and Hindutva hardliners have made intercommunal reproachment difficult. 

Yet, after three-quarter century of communal politics there is a crying need for ethnic reconciliation in post-Aragalaya Sri Lanka. Although the main attention is on Sinhalese-Tamil reconciliation, there is also a need for Tamil-Muslim reconciliation and that cannot be achieved through politics and politicians. It requires not a top-down but bottom-up approach. It must evolve through change of hearts. Social activists and secular intellectuals from both communities need to explore jointly the different avenues available through which this could be accomplished. If there is a will there is a way.

(The writer is a retired economist, W. Australia.)