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Citizenship,
repatriation in historical context Thus it is
both a welcome relief and a revival of a great tradition to have
veteran public servant W.T. Jayasinghe publish his record of how
the fate of a hapless group of indentured labourers, who came from
South India in British colonial times, and the demography of a nation
was determined by the post colonial Government of independent Sri
Lanka through negotiations with her giant neighbour India. Jayasinghe
is uniquely qualified to write on the subject having been Controller
of Immigration and Emigration from 1960-72 and Secretary of the
Ministry of Defence and External Affairs and later the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs from 1972-89. In these capacities he was closely
involved in policy formulation and implementation and in the negotiations
with the Government of India. Tracing the
historical roots of the issue, Jayasinghe unravels the complex skeins
of developments placing them in the context of Sri Lanka's evolving
process of nation-building and our relations with India. His style
is unadorned and factual although he does comment frequently and
perceptively on the unfolding narrative. The phenomenon
of foreign immigrant labour and its impact on societies is a topical
issue today as the European Union, Australia and other countries
try to cope with illicit immigration from developing countries amidst
a rising tide of right-wing xenophobia. Foreigners are seldom welcome
when competition for jobs and land is involved. The situation in
Sri Lanka in the early 19th century had important differences. It
was a colonial situation and a foreign power was responsible for
bringing in labour from a neighbouring colony, through official
channels, to benefit its commercial interests imposing large numbers
in a particular region of the country where the land was expropriated
from its traditional owners. The influx, amounting to one-tenth
of the country's population came from one country and was to influence
the demography and politics of the country irreversibly. The reaction
of Sri Lankan leaders of the time and their efforts - first to regulate
and restrict the flow and later to disenfranchise and repatriate
those that failed to qualify as Sri Lankan citizens - has to be
viewed in its historical context. The principles governing the concept
of Sri Lankan citizenship were based not on birth in the country
ius soli but on ius generis - birth to parents who were Sri Lankans.
India which had first taken up the cause of the immigrant labour
later excluded them from her definition of citizenship thus creating
a 'stateless' category. That the people involved had contributed
invaluably to the economy of the island is not in question. Jayasinghe
rejects the charge of racism or even injustice in Sri Lanka's treatment
of Indian immigrant labour. W.T. Jayasinghe's
book provides both the average reader and the researcher with numerous
insights as he walks us through the official correspondence exchanged
on this issue and the official talks held. It is in this area that
Jayasinghe's book makes a major contribution tracing the policy
of India in support of Indian immigrant labour from the period of
the British colonial Raj to the unilateral decision in 1982 to end
the implementation of the 1964 Sirimavo-Shastri pact and the 1995
Sirimavo-Indira agreement. Sri Lanka's own failure to incorporate
the working class in the plantations in its national trade union
movement; the inability to establish an early political liaison
with the redoubtable Thondaman and the many missed opportunities
to safeguard the human rights of both the immigrant community and
the indigenous population in an equitable manner emerge from the
book. The structure
of the book is in three parts. Part I deals with Immigration and
Ceylonisation upto Sri Lanka's Independence: Part II is devoted
to Franchise and Citizenship and Part III - the core and the strongest
part of the book - is on Citizenship and Repatriation. His closeness
to the subject probably makes the author exaggerate its importance
when he writes that "No other event in the island's recent
history has had such an impact on the polity of Sri Lanka"
(P 3). Nevertheless the story of how a colonial government sought
to ensure its commercial advantage by the artificial grafting of
an entire people in the middle of a neighbouring country with far-reaching
political, social and economic repercussion is ultimately a human
saga on the road to national integration. Jayasinghe sees objectively
that the Indian labour, especially in the matter of their education,
have been "a disadvantaged community" while recording
the enormous injustice visited on the indigenous Sri Lankans of
the hill country area. He also sees the realpolitik of the Indian
labour as a vote bank with their leaders pledging allegiance to
Sri Lanka's political parties in order to extract concessions. The strength
of Jayasinghe's book lies in his analysis of the role Indian immigrant
labour played in Indo-Sri Lanka relations. Inheriting the Indian
labour diaspora as a colonial legacy, India was not going to accept
repatriation as a policy. But that was precisely what her closest
neighbour demanded persistently in an otherwise trouble-free relationship.
India's clear policy of not accepting repatriation and yet espousing
the cause of its expatriate population and their interests emerged
before Independence. While still a colony Sri Lanka grappled with
the task of restricting the flow of immigrant labour and the problem
of unemployment especially in the wake of the Great Depression in
1929. Jayasinghe points out that there were other categories of
Indian workers outside the plantations as well as those in trade
and business whose rights were of concern to India. Nehru's visit
in 1939 over the dismissal of 800 Indian employees led to talks
on the issues of franchise and permanent residence of Indian labour
in general. Nehru remained inflexible and it was only his successor
Lal Bahadur Shastri and his daughter Indira Gandhi who agreed on
a compromise formula to resolve the issue. The role of Indian officials
- the formidable "babuocracy" - is also excellently portrayed
by Jayasinghe with descriptions of the key role that C.C. Desai,
C.S. Jha and others played in the pursuit of India's national interest
culminating in what Jayasinghe calls the 1982 "Coup de grace"
to the two Agreements. There will
be many who will take issue with Jayasinghe for not being more forthright
in assessing India's attitude and the damage done to Sri Lanka's
national interest - some of it self-inflicted. The author's admiration
for Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike is undisguised and unabashed and
indeed the 1964 and 1975 agreements were undisputed diplomatic triumphs.
As Prime Minister who held the portfolios of Defence and External
Affairs she remains undoubtedly the best Foreign Minister Sri Lanka
has had. The book needs
some careful editing to remove some inaccuracies especially in the
rendering of names and to relocate some paragraphs in order to ensure
a smooth flow of narrative. If a reprint is done, a glossary and
an index would be useful additions. The detailed recapitulation
of events as independent Sri Lanka defined its concept of citizenship
while failing to forge national integration and a national identity
is the book's theme. That alone is a service to the present and
future generations to derive the right lessons from history as we
continue our nation-building tasks. Jayasinghe, himself a western
classics scholar, refers to S.W.R.D. Bandara-naike quoting Virgil
in the Parliamentary debate over the Indian and Pakistani Residents
(citizenship) Bill - "Sunt lacrimae rerum et mentem mortalia
tangunt" (Every page of this history is touched with the tears
of things). Too many pages of Sri Lanka's recent history have been both tear-stained and blood-stained. We are at a unique moment when we have the opportunity of opening a fresh page offering justice, peace and prosperity to all the citizens of Sri Lanka regardless of ethnicity, creed or class. Books like this should encourage us to grasp this historic opportunity. Clearing
the way Zones travelled
to the tea estates of Nuwara Eliya to meet and stay with Tamil workers
in their line houses. Coordinated
by the Women's Centre of Ekala and the Kandy Alternative Development
Centre, the exchange programme in September last year, was hailed
a success by all those who took part in it. It was an essential
measure in breaking down suspicions and mistrust between the two
groups. "I joined
this trip with reservations and doubts. I had no sympathy towards
Tamil people. My brother who was in the army died due to an LTTE
attack. Therefore we were harbouring a grudge against Tamils. However,
I realised that innocent Tamil people are not to be blamed." These thoughts
from one of the garment workers who attended the programme, were
echoed by all who took part. Padmini Weerasuriya,
of the Women's Centre, said they organised the programme because
women in the FTZs and Tamil women in the tea estates are subjected
to the same pressures and exploitation. "Our intention
was to get them to meet and exchange views as working women, to
have a mutual understanding as women of two races and identify similarities
and differences," she said. The FTZ workers
met Tamil women and found out about their working conditions. This
experience presented many questions for both groups. "I asked
myself, 'are they enjoying the rights that we are enjoying - at
least to some extent?'," Anoma (from the Biyagama FTZ) said.
"They lead very difficult lives, they cannot think of going
out of this estate to look for another job. Because of my attitude
towards Tamil people, I was afraid of them. However, I felt happy
as never before, by sharing the same packet of rice with the sisters
from the plantations, as if we have known each other for years." Tamil women
said they appreciated the opportunity to meet Sinhalese women workers
and to share experiences. The estate's
only doctor presented more information to the FTZ group. A visit
to the tea factory, a symbolic shramadana campaign and a cultural
evening of song, drama and dance were included in the programme. The garment
workers learnt the most however, by staying overnight with Tamil
families in their line houses. "We had
to walk for about 4km up a hill to reach the line rooms. We returned
the next morning exhausted after this journey," Sriya Ahegamage,
of the Women's Centre, said. "Our Tamil sisters wanted us to
experience it as they walk this distance to pluck tea every day." There are plans
for a return programme, with tea estate workers visiting the FTZs. It was a challenge
to coordinate. Making the
journey to Colombo is complicated for Tamil women without identity
cards. However, there is optimism it may be possible under the current
ceasefire. The experience
proved to be an emotional one for all concerned. Ms Weerasuriya
said at the end of the programme all the women joined together in
song, with more than one or two shedding a few tears. The women's
feedback suggests it would be greatly beneficial for a return programme
to take place. "Through
this workshop we were able to clear our misunderstanding about ordinary
Tamil people completely," Thushari, of the Biyagama FTZ said.
"Due to the north-east war, our brothers get killed, and this
makes us bear a grudge against Tamil people. Are ordinary Tamil
people responsible for this? No. Should we fight with ordinary Tamil
citizens? Not at all." Many garment
workers previously had not had any association with Tamil people,
even those living in Tamil areas, like Priyanthi, whose hometown
is Trincomalee. "People
of all three communities live in my village, but neither my parents
nor myself have had any connection with a Tamil family," she
said. "My brother
who was in the army was killed by the LTTE. Thereafter we became
very communal minded. However, I am determined to explain to my
parents the experience I gained today by staying overnight in a
Tamil home on an estate, and of the friendship I have developed.
I am now interested in developing friendships with the Tamil families
in my hometown." The success
of this programme provides hope. If the benefits of breaking down
barriers can be effective before a ceasefire, surely it can provide
encouragement for those currently working towards a permanent solution
to Sri Lanka's ongoing war? Can reconciliation
not be spread further? The self-labelled ordinary people believe it can. |
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Copyright © 2001 Wijeya Newspapers
Ltd. All rights reserved. |
