A budding Tamil lawmaker on the fast lane of politics

As a politician, he must develop respect and love for the country and form his thoughts from a perspective of well-being

Lawmakers like Rasamanickam cannot keep quiet when the Chinese are given access to land reclaimed from the sea

The Tamil community would love to see a young politician like Rasamanickam in Parliament

TNA MP Shanakiyan Rasamanickam’s voice is heard loud and clear. He is batting for the marginalised Tamil community. TNA MPs like Sumanthiran might not like the ‘fighter’ they see in Rasamanickam. This is because Rasamanickam is showing signs that he could outshine lawmakers like Sumanthiran. 

Recently he spoke fluent Sinhala in parliament and aired his views like a seasoned politician without bowing down to the loud voices that wanted to shout him down. 

Rasamanickam was an 18-year old youth when the government security forces wiped out the tail of the tiger rebels in 2009 and declared that the civil war mission was successfully completed. We can assume that Rasamanickam was doing his A Level Examination at Trinity College Kandy or was just out of school at that time. Others of his age in the north and the east would have seen their education being disrupted. Rasamanickam was lucky. But Tamil youth like him cannot leave their futures in the hands of luck. They have to fight for their rights once stepping out into the competitive world. 

Tiran Kumara Bangamarachchi who wrote for the Sunday Ravaya newspaper once compared him with TNA’s slain politician Nadaraja Raviraj. The areas of comparison were that both had the skill to pull at the heartstrings of listeners and the ability to speak both Tamil and Sinhala fluently. Jeyaraj Fernandopulle could also speak Sinhala,Tamil and English fluently, but Rasamanickam has to come through the mill before he can be compared to a lawmaker of the calibre of Fernandopulle. 

Rasamanickam began his career in politics contesting the parliamentary Elections (Batticaloa constituency) under the SLFP ticket. He lost. Then he teamed up with Pilayan and supported Mahinda Rajapaksa; again in the Batticaloa constituency. He broke away from that partnership and like a young bird finding its way home by instinct teamed up with the TNA. He entered parliament through the TNA national list. 

Rasamanickam is a young man of about 30 years. He has seen enough corruption taking place in government circles and the luxury life enjoyed by lawmakers; especially if they join the Rajapaksas. Actually he worked for the Rajapaksas for a short time in politics before leaving them. May be that leaving was fuelled by Tamil nationalistic views. He is still in his youth and can rebel if he wishes to. The Tamil community would love to see young politicians like him carry the fight of this battered community into the parliament. 

He must realise that the ambitious high caste Tamil would not get his pants dirty by taking to politics and would wish to educate himself and go abroad instead. He also has to deal with the Tamil caste system which has now resurfaced after the war concluded. The Tamil community is already divided because of this age old caste system

He will soon encounter a tricky ten years ahead which would decide whether he’ll remain in politics, reach his political goals and realise the aspirations of the Tamil community and importantly stay without being snared by any seasoned selfish lawmaker. 

The Rajapaksas need a Tamil ally to bring them votes from the north and the east. Douglas Devananda cannot do that alone and in all constituencies where there is a heavy Tamil presence. Arumugam Thondaman’s son Jeevan is already with the Rajapaksas and working hard to garner votes of the estate community for the Pohottuwa Party.

The Thondamans have known who to back in working to better the lives of estate Tamils. When you work for the Rajapaksas the word ‘Diaspora’ is a taboo word. But Rasamanickam said in a recent interview with the Daily Mirror that the Tamil Diaspora is not LTTE and it’s a Sri Lankan community living outside the island. May be Rasamanickam can tap that community or already had their support. But if this young Tamil lawmaker thinks wisely he should see himself riding to a high position in politics if he joins the Rajapaksas. 

He will soon encounter a tricky ten years ahead which would decide whether he’ll remain in politics, reach his political goals and realise the aspirations of the Tamil community and importantly stay without being snared by any seasoned selfish lawmaker. The Rajapaksas need a Tamil ally to bring them votes from the north and the east. Douglas Devananda cannot do that alone and in all constituencies where there is a heavy Tamil presence

He wants the Southern politician to respect the views of everybody and allow politicians from minority communities to have a sense of ownership in the country’s political structure. He must realise that the ambitious high caste Tamil would not get his pants dirty by taking to politics and would wish to educate himself and go abroad instead. He also has to deal with the Tamil caste system which has now resurfaced after the war concluded. The Tamil community is already divided because of this age old caste system. 

Speaking the language of the majority fluently would only be an added qualification. The real qualification is to back the winning horse in politics and get help for your community through that channel. At the moment its the Phottuwa Party. He must see that the TNA and the JVP are spent forces. 

Rasamanickam needs to be backed by moderate Tamils. He has said that (In the recent interview) he doesn’t think that the Sri Lanka Army would be able to fight the Chinese Army. He also airs concerns over the Chinese taking over the country. As a politician he must develop respect and love for the country and form his thoughts from a perspective of well-being. Internally Sri Lankans may be divided, but lawmakers who represent them must fight as a team in the international political scene. 

There is a community born after the war who haven’t seen the conflict. For them there can’t exist two things such as the Sinhala Army (From a Tamil perspective) and our Army (from a Southern perspective). This, our Army returned as heroes to the south after defeating the terrorists. The Sinhala Army travelled to the north in search of terrorists. This is how the elderly Tamil community thought and this thinking must be done away with. But before than thinking is erased property of Tamils that was damaged during the conflict must be rebuilt. This should be done along with releasing land held by the government security, as claimed by Sri Lankan Tamils. 

Rasamanickam quite rightly asks in the interview whether it’s apt to call May 19 ‘Victory Day’ when so many people died? This government must stop antagonising the Tamil people with such ‘wasteful shows’. 

Lawmakers like Rasamanickam cannot keep quiet when the Chinese are given access to land reclaimed from the sea. Very soon we’ll see Sri Lankans having to please the Chinese to have their documentation approved to step in to this business facility. Rasamanickam has warned of China taking over this country. He maintains that the Chinese were given territory in Sri Lanka and not the Tamils. 

Seasoned politicians from the south have a habit of keeping an eye on individuals who are good organisers and would lure them into politics. He is already in politics and has been noticed pretty soon. He might be given a better ‘ticket’ to shine by a Sinhala politician and not by a seasoned Tamil lawmaker who himself has nothing much to showcase. 

Rasamanickam must use commonsense not tainted by prejudice. The north and the east would never blossom under separate ‘kingdoms’ cut away from the Central Government. Devolution of power through provincial councils is good. Rasamanickam too supports this idea on provincial councils. It will also keep big brother India happy who in turn would support the wellbeing of northern and estate Sri Lankan Tamils.