Lankan Tamil question no more an emotive election issue in TN

Relegated to the margins, the ethnic question in Sri Lanka which once dominated the political discourse in Tamil Nadu is no more an emotive issue or a poll plank. In the past parties and netas vied with each other to project themselves as the saviours of the hapless Lankan Tamils. In the aftermath of the decimation of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which waged a war for a separate Tamil homeland, in 2009, the DMK and Congress which were accused of betraying the Tamils. Now, the coming assembly election is a break from the past as it has no resonance of the ethnic problem across the Palk Strait.

Chennai:In a break from the past, Tamil Nadu netas swear no more for the Lankan Tamils in their campaign for the upcoming assembly election. The Dravidian parties, in particular, have given it up, realising that it is no longer a rallying point.

Significantly, this is the first election, be it for the Lok Sabha or the state legislature, that is completely divorced from the Sri Lankan conundrum.

Ever since the 1983 anti-Tamil program described as 'Black July', the ethnic problem of the island nation continued to have an echo in the politics of Tamil Nadu. Subsequently, the emergence of the militant groups, particularly the LTTE, kept it on the mainstream political conversation. Then, every party was on the same page with every leader projecting himself as the saviour of the Tamils.

And, it reached its crescendo in 2009 when the Tamil Tigers were decimated in the civil war. It was also a reason for the electoral setback of the DMK-Congress alliance as both the parties faced the charge of betraying the Lankan Tamils at their hour of need.

Though the war had left deep scars in the Tamil psyche, things have changed with the passing of time and the Lankan Tamil question has faded out of political currency, though it continues to be alive in the minds of the common public as late Chief Minister Jayalalithaa had once said.

It is an irony that the war and the wiping of militant Tamil resistance had prompted Jayalalithaa to don the pro-Tamil mantle. Her government had passed a resolution in the Assembly calling for sanctions against Colombo and pro-Tamil outfits which used to be with the DMK shifted their allegiance to the AIADMK.

As such, the complete absence of the Eelam Tamil issue in the election campaign this time is indeed a blessing in disguise for both the DMK and Congress. Now, they are spared from being defensive as the political focus has shifted to domestic issues, giving much relief to both the parties. Earlier, it remained a convenient handle to beat them with.

In the island nation too, separatism has petered out as issues of livelihood has taken precedence over anything in the war-torn region. What crops up every now and then is the demand for accountability for war crimes through an international mechanism.

On the fading out of the Lankan Tamil question in the campaign, analysts explain that the issue has lost immediacy with the rout of the LTTE in 2009. According to a senior journalist, Babu Jayakumar politicians in Tamil Nadu have washed their hands off it.

“No doubt, the plight of the Lankan Tamils troubles the Tamils here. It is the politicians who have failed. For, even now the release of the seven convicts in the Rajiv assassination case has public support. But, political leaders see no political capital in latching on to the ethnic issue which still defies any resolution on the other side of the Palk-Strait,” he explains adding that once it gains momentum in the island nation, Tamil Nadu can't be oblivious to it.