Bharat Rakshak

Stan, you are wasting your time. If the fishermen were Hindus, he would be singing different tunes.

The issue here is very simple. The demographic and social structures of Ramnad, Tuticorin, Kanyakumari and Tirunelveli districts have already changed considerably, and christianity has become second largest religion in the state.

If you are unable to see the connections and understand the dynamics currently playing out then it is suggested that you look again after removing the filthy prism of caste which seems to be of such vital importance to you but matters not one whit to others.

Kanyakumari was a part of the Travancore kingdom and made its way to the newly created Madras state in the 1956 reorganization of states as it was majority Tam speakers and because Madras insisted so and because CPI in Kerala was not too keen on a fistfight on this matter. There has always been much of Kerala Catholic/Syriac influence in Kanni than the other 3 districts you talk about. Nagercoil was almost always a symbol of == between Hinduism, Islam and Christianity. Even in MGR/DMK propaganda days, this was like a clarion call for the Tamils to rise above religion which is pretty much the modus operandi these days too. The LTTE were the first Tamil group to piss into the wind of Tamil speaking Muslims and the rift is still widely open. Much had to do with internal SL politics that cant be explained esp to people who are not keen on understanding the politics of Saiva Siddhanta and get too used to the revisionism of the 21st century.

Even still, religious conversion in Kanni as well as Ramanathapuram, Thoothukudi and Tirunelveli have been happening wholesale across caste lines and across clan lines over the last 20-30 years. As Theo pointed elsewhere, conversion to Islam in Ramanathapuram goes under the radar far more than conversion to Christianity. Search for Abhiramipuram incident on ggle if you want. Given that you have your opinions on these matters that are so idiotic, I doubt you will.

India may be a glorified heaven for you, but if you go to the villages of South Tamil Nadu, you will get casteist divides, wholesale. Whether you choose to accept the fact that what happens in the South districts are mostly largely correlated with how/what the lower castes with the politico-economically/ritually emancipated or not is left to you. But dont come across here preaching as if your version of the truth is agmark gold. I still am looking for people who have these strong hypotheses on directly connecting EJ cash/FCRA cash into Madras to conversions in the South districts. I did nt see any direct evidences, but I have seen a buncha claims without proof. I am waiting for all the truth-distributors to provide education, but get propaganda instead.

Yes, I do know that you went, did a CA and documented all the receipts while I keep searching still.

Not to mention Kachativu. Only piece of land India voluntarily handed over to another country. By IG no less. Truly Dilli is far away.

Reopen Kachativu agreement with Sri Lanka reiterates: CPI National Secretary

(ANI): National Secretary of the Communist Party of India (CPI) D Raja on Wednesday reiterates the demand to reopen Kachativu agreement with Sri Lanka.

Raja reiterated the demand while discussing the problems faced by fishermen in seawaters between India and Sri Lanka at a meeting jointly organised by states of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry Fishermen Federation in Chennai today.

The fishermen complained that the number of attacks on them by naval forces of Sri Lanka has been increasing.

D Raja assured the fishermen that he would raise the issue in the Parliament.

"We want to tell the Government, the Kachativu agreement needs to be reopened and renegotiated and it can no more wait and our government will have to address this concern because there is a big grey area. Whether Indian fishermen have the right to go and fish around Kachativu area and that has to be cleared for which we demand the Kachativu agreement of 1974 needs to be reopened and renegotiated with the Sri Lankan government and this is imperative in the given situation," said Raja.

He also alleged that to a large extent the coast guards were also responsible for the harassment of the fishermen.

Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam (DMK) MP Kanimozi was also present along with Raja to interact with the relatives of the missing and deceased fishermen.

"I am from Rameshwaram. My husband was shot dead by the Sri Lankan navy when he went to sea for fishing. I have received Rs 10,0000 as compensation but ever since then nobody has bothered about me. I am struggling every day and there is no body to help me," said Nagavalli, a fishermans wife.

Since 1983, more than 300 Tamil Nadu fishermen have been attacked and killed by the Sri Lanka Navy.

It has been a long-pending demand of Tamil Nadu politicians that India should take the island of Kadchatheevu on perpetual lease so that the lives and livelihood of Indian fishermen are protected.

Since June 28, 1974, when India ceded Kachativu to Sri Lanka, it has been a source of controversy between the two countries.

The sea around Kachativu is rich in prawns, and attracts fishermen from Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu.

From Rameswaram, Talaimannar (Sri Lanka) is just 12 nautical miles away. (ANI)

SL should have been a State of India.

The bench wasn’t convinced. “He’s mentally ill not mentally retarded,” the bench said, when the counsel tried to argue that mentally challenged persons are usually not executed.

The judges were also not impressed when Tulsi cited instances of the growing global opinion against death penalty and pointed out that India had hanged only 50 people since Independence while other countries had executed many more convicts.

“They (other countries) did not have Mahavir and Buddha. We did. But we are so benign that thousands die of hunger every day. Fifty-seven farmers commit suicide every single day. What about their human rights?” Justice Singhvi countered.

When Tulsi argued that making death-row convicts wait for years “is cruel”, Justice Singhvi brushed aside the contention saying that such delay also gives them hope that some favourable political dispensation may at some point take a decision in their favour.

Kanson, your question deserves a better and deeper answer than the above rambling, but for the short while, this is what I can do.

I am not sure about your argument yet. LTTE is being defeated. It will be difficult to reorganise them into another group to fight Srilankan govt. Also Tamil Nadu is not a place where they get a lot of support for armed fight as Tamilians in Tamil Nadu are looking at growth in education and in industries and so on. It is purely a rumour to assume that LTTE is present in Tamil Nadu. Even the Naxalites in Tamil Nadu are not that active after Verrapan's fall. LTTE can come into a strong being only if RAW thinks that it is the best way to keep Lanka under control. Jeyalalitha is in no mood to support or nourish LTTE. Smuggling across the sea will continue because Govt of Srilanka has assimilated policy of China to keep Tamils under oppressive control similar to Tibet and also not to give them supplies. Things like Kerosine and other basic needs are often supplied and fishermen may make money by smuggling them across. I have to remind that there was an agreement about Katchatheevu and its use by Tamil Nadu fishermen. By unilaterally annoucing Srilanka cannot break the agreement. If they wish to change some clauses they have to work with Indian govt. Until it is changed agreement has to be followed by both sides. If it is not followed Indian govt has right to take Katchatheevu back to them! Do they not?

The LTTE's spirit may be there among Srilankan Tamils in Europe but in Tamil Nadu LTTE talk among the Srilankan Tamils is gone because they want to assimilate into local Tamilians and enjoy like any other Tamilian in TN state with all freebies. Attacking innocent fishermen by blaming them as if they are smuggling for LTTE is a nonsensical argument. May be attack is needed for the Srilankan govt to keep their local news flared with anti-Tamil sentiments otherwise Sinhalese majority will start thinking and speaking against Rajapakse's govet and its failure locally. If not they are told by the Chinese to do this so that India will be irriated and keep offering everythign for Lanka to move her away from China. Befriending policy will work only when the other respond receiprocally to India'a help and advice.

Saiva Siddhandha has brought out some of the Hindu traditions of devotion (Bhakti) very explicitly and wrote many poetical songs for praising the grace and mercy of Shiva and for emphasising also full devotion and love of the devotee to Shiva. There can be no comparision in any other religious texts. Sri lankan Tamils have contributed particularly in writing or preserving some special poetical Tamil songs that were also good in promoting Shiva Siddhantham. Because of some of their poetical songs many Tamils in Tamil Nadu in time memorial were converted back to Saivism from Buddhism or Jainism which was also dominant religion at one time.


Chetak there are sympathizers or supporters of LTTE in Tamil Nadu politically and Socially. In 80s EPRLF and PLOT had offices in Chennai protecting their own representatives with their own arms. I do not think at is the reality today. If Srilankans want to raise funds they do not need money from TN, they have plenty of money from themselves from overseas. Many of them have become rich in the West by working very hard. But I am not sure whether these guys will send their children to fight while they enjoy an elite life. The local lankans in North and East may consider if there are enough money and arms, but among Lankan Tamils too much of caste distinctions and also too much of suspicion between them that they will not be united again into a fighting group for long time to come. BUT what is going on now in Lanka pushes them towards no other choice but to take up the arms and fight. The govt should seriously think of its policies and consider all people in Lanka as their citizens and give up their arrogant attitude and activities towards Tamils. Srilanka govt has a lot of chance to turn around and treat Tamils fairly and they can also invite Lankan Tamils overseas to invest in their country and thus grow like Singapore.

chetak ji,

I guess the question is whether we see India as a Nation-State or as a Civilizational-State. If we see ourselves as a civilizational state than our sympathies lie with all those people who either identify themselves with people from India, as well as those people outside India whom Indic people consider as their own, in which case, non-interference in the sovereign matters of other states does not apply.

I am of the view that the well-being of the Sri Lankan Tamils is an issue of Indian concern.

chetak ji,

it is natural for people to have their own ideas of nation and fraternity. I wasn't criticizing yours. I was just saying that as far as I am concerned, if a person is of Subcontinental ethnic stock and is a Dharmic, regardless of where he is on the planet or beyond, for me, he shares my fraternity and empathy.

In this case, Sinhalese too, I consider, to be of my fraternity.

Indian Coast Guard says fishermen 'sensationalizing' attacks by Sri Lankan Navy
Thu, Nov 17, 2011,

Nov 16, Madurai: While suggesting to establish a 'no fishing zone' along the Indo-Sri Lanka International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) to prevent skirmishes with Sri Lankan Navy, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has said that the fishermen had sensationalized alleged incidents, instead of seeking help from ICG or the Indian Navy.

In a counter-affidavit in the Madurai bench of Madras High Court Inspector General of ICG (Deputy Director General, Operations and Coastal Security) V.S.R. Murthy has suggested the 'no fishing zone' along the IMBL similar to the zone established by the state of Gujarat along five nautical miles on the Indo-Pakistan IMBL.

The official has suggested strict punitive measures for violators of the 'no fishing zone' to avoid illegal cross border fishing, PTI reported.

The ICG official has said that during enhanced patrolling by ICG, Sri Lankan Navy had reported numerous instances of a large number of Indian fishermen operating in Sri Lanka's waters and submitted statistics to show the intrusions.

He has said the ICG is investigating the alleged attacks on the Indian fishermen reported to ICG by the Tamil Nadu authorities. He alleged that fishermen had sensationalized alleged incidents, instead of seeking help from ICG or navy.

He has told the court that Sri Lankan newspapers had carried news of Indian fishermen destroying their fishing nets, resulting in retaliatory attacks by Lankan fishermen.

He has said that no Sri Lankan naval vessel had intruded into Indian territory as it would amount to contravene the legal treaties of years 1974 and 1976.

The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jeyalalithaa has written again to the Indian Prime Minister, for the fifth time, to take action to control the 'rogue elements' of the Sri Lankan Navy who attack the Indian fishermen.

The ICG official has also warned that Indian fishermen crossing the IMBL may be potential target for non-state actors towards anti-national activities as they could use Indian fishing vessels to carry out serial blasts, as in Mumbai.

The court has directed the Coast Guard to provide security to fishermen to fish in Indian territory without prejudice to the Kachchatheevu agreement.

"....non-state actors towards anti-national activities as they could use Indian fishing vessels to carry out serial blasts, as in Mumbai. "

Gnetlemen,trust me when I say that the LTTE is very active right now and as always BR is ahead of the curve.The IB has just said (tv channels) that the LTTE has teamed up with the LET to carry out attacks in Mumbai! Did I not predict this happening? I also said that the ISI ,which is very active in Lanka is using that country to destabilise India.The massive gold seizure carried out by the family,part of the LTTE team that carried out Rajiv's assassination smuggled the gold via the Palk Straits.

As for the attacks on fishermen,here's what our Coast Guard has to say on the matter,report in Indian papers,also carried by Lankan press.



PS:What does this mean? Exactly what I've beens aying all along that there are other entities using the issue of fishing attacks who want to derail Indo-Lankan relations.Those who think that the LTTE is finished are quite right.Fuhrer Prabhakaran and co. are hiustory,but a new insidious attempt is being made using quislings and rent-boys on our side of the Straits,while the tie-up between the ISI and the Eelamists goes on.

Towards Tamil Eelam: Via Wall Street

Sandhya Jain
25 Oct 2011

Two events over the last fortnight have uncovered the role of the Catholic Church in fostering Tamil separatism in Sri Lanka, with the aim of carving a separate Christian country out of India’s Tamil Nadu and the Tamil areas of the island-nation. The first was India’s deporting the Sri Lankan Tamil Catholic priest, Fr. S.J. Emmanuel, back to Dubai, when he arrived at Chennai hoping to meet chief minister Jayalalithaa, and to attend some events at Chennai University and later, at Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi.

Fr. Emmanuel is president of the UK-based Global Tamil Forum (GTF), a leading LTTE front and umbrella organisation for Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora groups. The Sunday Observer from Canada reported that Emmanuel had recently visited Canada and Europe to raise funds and mobilise pro-LTTE groups to stoke anti-Colombo propaganda in the West. But now, moderate sections of the diaspora are questioning Emmanuel’s role in radicalising Tamil youth while not utilising the millions of dollars collected through donations to help resettle and rehabilitate former LTTE cadres.

The second incident relates to the Oct 13, 2011 sentencing of Sri Lankan hedge fund billionaire Raj Rajarathnam to eleven years imprisonment for insider trading on Wall Street, by the US Federal district court, Manhattan.

Rajarathnam was actually investigated for his links with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. According to an ex-Tamil Tiger turned FBI informant, codenamed Rudra, Raj’s father, Jesuthasan Rajarathnam, himself a wealthy financial manager, was a lavish donor. The father-son duo set up the Rajarathnam Family Foundation to support charitable causes in Sri Lanka and elsewhere; it was also a front to channel funds to the Tamil Tigers.

Vanity Fair reports that in November 2002 (the US State Department listed LTTE as a terrorist organisation in 1997), a Tamil cultural organisation, Ilankai Tamil Sangam, hosted a 25th anniversary celebration at Doubletree Hotel in Somerset, New Jersey. LTTE flags and videos were displayed throughout the hall. It may be recalled that LTTE had assassinated former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in May 1991 and Sri Lanka President Ranasinghe Premadasa in 1993, besides wreaking mayhem in the island nation with suicide attacks on buses, temples, shopping malls, and village massacres.

At Doubletree Hotel, Raj Rajaratnam (secretly taped by the FBI) said, ‘Everyone must support the Tigers’ cause.’ He had, in 2000, given $1 million after the victory over the Sri Lankan army at Elephant Pass, gateway to the northern peninsula.

Rudra infiltrated the LTTE network abroad by meeting Tiger operatives at such events. Rumours were spread that Rudra had contacts with top Mafia figures in prison and could access corrupt American officials and ‘get things done’ for the Tigers – such as smuggling Tamils without proper visas into the United States. FBI built his credibility by helping smuggle nine persons at Newark airport in 2001. In April 2004, Rudra saved Fr. Gaspar Raj, a Catholic priest and key Tamil Tiger member, from being deported by federal agents at Newark.

Prabhakaran ran the Tamil Tigers abroad on classic, cellular lines, with each group unaware of the others. But Rudra soon emerged as a trusted go-between for many cells trying to raise money and procure weapons, including surface-to-air missiles. In August 2003, Rudra travelled with LTTE’s top international financier, Vijayshanthar Patpanathan (Chandru), to the Tigers’ Vanni fortress. It had underground bunkers for advanced computers and communications equipment and two fully equipped subterranean hospitals. He met most of the senior LTTE leadership here, and recorded their conversations.

By 2005, Rudra had helped the FBI get a comprehensive picture of LTTE’s fund-raising capability. Raj Rajaratnam’s name cropped up often; LTTE gave Raj huge money to invest in his Galleon Group fund. The Tigers raised $1 million every time they held a function, and extorted thousands of dollars from diaspora professionals for ‘the next wave of operations’.

In 2001, when FBI wiretaps detected an executive from Intel Corporation giving Raj insider tips, the link between terrorism and insider trading was exposed. And just as the legendary gangster Al Capone was actually convicted for tax evasion, so Rajarathnam was investigated for terrorist funding, and convicted for insider trading!

FBI uncovered LTTE’s main “front” charities in America and Britain, which were shut down. This impacted LTTE’s capacity to fight. The Tigers’ last stand came in April 2009, when the Sri Lankan army overran Vanni, killing Prabhakaran.

One important front group, the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO), was active in 17 countries before the US Treasury froze its assets in November 2007. Rajaratnam played a key role in transferring money from TRO to the LTTE. An April 2007 affidavit by an FBI special agent regarding Rajarathnam’s banking records showed that he wrote three checks totalling $1,000,000 between July and September 2000, which made its way to a TRO account in London (paradise of the arms merchants). Most of the money was later withdrawn in cash.

TRO received maximum donations from America, where the Rajarathnam family was the largest private donor. The US Treasury said the TRO had “facilitated LTTE procurement operations, including purchase of munitions, equipment, communication devices, and other technology.” Through 2003, Raj gave $5.05 million to his family foundation, which passed on $5 million to the TRO. In June 2004, he gave $1 million directly to the TRO. After the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, Rajaratnam set up Tsunami Relief, Inc., which was administered by staff at the Galleon Group headquarters in New York. It collected over $7 million and gave nearly half the money to the TRO in America and in Sri Lanka.

These huge monies have prompted victims of LTTE violence to file for damages in New Jersey, for crimes financed by Rajaratnam. His lawyers assert that there is “no connection” between Rajaratnam’s donations to the TRO and the harm suffered by the claimants, as there is no evidence that he ever sponsored acts of violence.

Yet, in US law, one need not prove that money a person gave to an entity that funded terrorism was actually spent on armaments; it’s enough to show that the recipient body used some of its funds for terrorist purposes. The New Jersey federal court has already accepted jurisdiction and upheld the suit as a claim for crimes against humanity.

As India debates clemency for the murderers of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, the New Jersey verdict will be interesting.

References:

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/10/13/ ... -years/?hp

http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/feat ... al_retweet

http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2011/10/16/sec01.asp