dbsjeyaraj.com

By D.B.S. Jeyaraj

Sri Lanka celebrates sixty-one years of Independence from Britain today. The country known then as Ceylon, obtained full freedom on February 4th 1948.

For any people free of colonial bondage this would be a day of joy and happiness.

But that is not so for the Tamils of Sri Lanka right now.

Even as I sit penning my thoughts, two lines from an old Tamil film song keep throbbing. They are from the song “Unnaikkandu Naan Vaada” sung by AM Rajah in “Kalyanapparisu”.

“Oorengum Nadakkum, Aanantham Namakku, Kaanaatha Thooramada, Kaanaatha Thooramadaa”. (the festive joy in the village is at an unseeing distance, for us an unseeing distance)

[Sri Lankan army tanks roll along the sea-front promenade during the island nation's 61st Independence Day celebrations in Colombo-pic via Yahoo! News -AFP/Ishara S. Kodikara]

The continuing war in the Northern mainland known as Wanni has brought in its wake immense destruction of life, limb and property not to mention displacement and chaos.

Innocent civilians for no fault of their own have been victimised in the most horrible and cruel manner.

As someone who anticipated such a humanitarian catastrophe unfolding long time ago before many even thought about it and as one who wrote about it in newspapers many, many months ago urging those concerned to take steps and prevent such a calamity the present situation causes me immense sorrow and grief.