The Truth
"No prolonged violent civil war ends quietly. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam are squalling like a cat on the losing end of a desperate fight." The armed conflict between the Sinhalese and Tamils in Sri Lanka has troubled Sri Lanka for more than 20 years.

Agilan was a worker in the tea plantation then. In 1948, when Sri Lanka achieved independence from the British, Agilan and many other Indian Tamils became stateless because citizenship were only granted to those born in Sri Lanka and those whose fathers and grandfathers were born there. As Agilan, nor his father or his grandfather were born in Sri Lanka. The Ceylon Citizenship Act was unfair to Agilan. They had lived and contributed significantly to the Sri Lankan economy but were denied basic rights such as voting.

In 1956, the Official Language Act declared Sinhala as the National Language. Tamils in the government service had to learn Sinhala within three years. If they failed to comply, dismissal was imminent. Although Agilan was a worker in the tea plantation, he had plans to find a job with more prospects. The Official Language Act upset Agilan as well as the other Tamil Indians as it was difficult to find jobs or rise up the ladder.
Agilan’s brother, Amalan, was in the government sector. He was furious when Sinhala became the country’s National Language.

“Agilan, it isn’t fair right? We contributed considerably to the Sri Lanka economy and this is how they treat us! Come, come with me, our leader, Chelvanayakam, is leading some of us to do a peaceful demonstration against the Official Language Act in the afternoon,” exclaimed Amalan, fixing his gaze on Agilan.

Agilan did not go with his brother, as he had work in the afternoon. Never did he expect that it was the last time he would have seen his brother.

“Agilan, the peaceful demonstration against the Official Language Act was disrupted by supporters of the Sinhala Language. Over a hundred people were killed, your brother was one of them,” gasped Gunalan, who was Amalan’s colleague.

Agilan was working in the tea plantation when he heard this news. Agilan‘s heart was filled with hatred and anger. He did not resorted to violence, as he did not want to have an ending the same as his brother. In fact, what Agilan could do, was only, to hold grudges against the Sinhalese. Nevertheless, Agilan worked even harder. He wanted to prove to the Sinhalese that no matter how biased they were to the Tamils, it was possible to get a job that held more prospects.

One evening, when Agilan was returning home from work, he saw something on the notice board that shocked him deeply. Agilan was exhausted but the words on the notice board energised him.

It wrote; “With effect from the end of this month, not only the Sinhalese peasants would live in Jaffna and Batticaloa, Buddhist monks and the Sri Lankan Army which comprise mostly of Sinhalese will come to occupy this land.”

Agilan‘s confidence was short-lived. From 1970, there were changes in educational policies. It was compulsory for Tamil students to score higher marks than the Sinhalese to enter the same courses in the universities. Agilan soon gave up hope on entering the university he was eyeing. He felt that no matter how hard he tried, the Sinhalese would get in before him. It was impossible to lead a life that was as carefree as a Sinhalese.

Agilan joined the new political party called the Tamil United Liberation Front. Its aim is to ask for a separate independent state in the north and east of Sri Lanka. Agilan as well as the others believed that only separation from Sri Lanka would ensure their rights. The Sri Lankan government rejected the idea of a separate and independent Tamil state. Agilan as well as some of the others were angry and dissatisfied. They formed a militant group, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

Agilan and the others resorted to violence. Given a choice, they would chose otherwise. Although Agilan did not want to have an ending the same as his brother, if sacrificing meant the welfare of the future descendants, he would.

Violence did not come only from the Tamils. The Sinhalese also showed their hostility towards the Tamils, sometimes through violence. "No prolonged violent civil war ends quietly. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam are squalling like a cat on the losing end of a desperate fight."

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