Saffron support for Lankan Tamil cause

Special to The Sunday Times

With the slo gan "Hindi- Hindu-Hindustan" which equated India or "Hindustan", with the Hindu religion and the Hindi Language, the Jana Sangh and its later incarnation, the Bharatiya Janatha Party (BJP), could not secure the allegiance of most Indians for decades, despite the discipline and dedication of its cadres.

It was only recently, that the BJPers came to terms with reality that not all of the 900 million Indians were Hindus, and that not all of them spoke Hindi. Yes, the Hindus are the overwhelming majority, but they are divided on the basis of caste, language and region, and these divisions have a political content too. And Hindi is only one of the 19 major languages of India.

Once the BJPers realised that these differences could not be steam-rolled to fashion a uniform "Indian identity", and that insistence on uniformity was keeping them away from power at the national level, they went about making friends across the regional caste, ethnic and religious divides with a gusto which surprised political opponents. They formed an alliance with the Akali Dal, a Sikh party in Punjab,even though the Dal was tainted with the brush of separatism. It had gone along with the protagonists of Khalistan, an independent Sikh state.

The BJP has chosen as its mascot in the populous north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, Kalyan Singh, who belonged to a backward caste. This gave lie to the propaganda that the BJP was an upper caste party.

In Tamil Nadu it took on its bandwagon ultra Tamil, pro-LTTE parties like the PMK and MDMK to show that it was not opposed per se to strident Tamil sentiments.

If the BJP has been eminently successful in establishing links across previouly "insurmountable" barriers, it is because of the open mindedness and skills of leaders particularly, Atal Behari Vajpayee. No wonder then, that in the 1998 and 1996 elections, the amiable Vajpayee had been displayed as the BJP's mascot, its "acceptable face"

The fun-loving bachelor, who in his youth loved to see late night shows of Hindi movies and is a gourmet even now at the ripe old age of 72, is the very antithesis of a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker. Members of this Hindu nationalist militant group, the core group of the BJP, are expected to be puritan, dour, and humourless. But Vajpayee always saw the lighter side of things and breaking caste rules had taken to non-vegetarianism with gusto. Politically, unlike most RSS cadres, he was a consensus man, who saw politics as an art of the possible, where the straight jacket might have to be discarded.

Vajpayee's skills as a trouble shooter and negotiator helped the formation of the unified opposition in 1967 and the formation of a unified party, the "Janata Party" in 1977. The 1967 success in forming a broad based alliance and trouncing the Congress was repeated in 1977, when several non-Congress parties, including the Jana Sangh, merged to form the Janatha Party, which was able to smash Indira Gandhi's Congress in the 1977 elections.

In the 1977-79 Janatha government, Vajpayee was Foreign Minister and as such, to the surprise of many, he brought about a detente with Pakistan. This one act made him acceptable to the Muslims, who had shied away from the BJP.

By now, Vajpayee was a clear moderate, and a votary of Gandhian socialism to boot. He broke away from the north Indian, Hindi-Hindu orientation of his party and wanted to carry every community with him. He went to the house of the famous Parsi lawyer, Nani Palkivala, to request him to be India's Ambassador in Washington. Writer Khushwant Singh has said that Vajpayee has no trace of communalism.

Sri Lankan Tamils

To get close to the Tamils of Tamil Nadu, who were then ardent supporters of the Eelam Tamils, Vajpayee attended a conference of the Tamil Eelam Supporters' Organisation (TESO), hosted by the DMK and the Dravida Kazhagam in Madurai in May 1986. He told the lakhs of people gathered there that the BJP supported the Tamils' struggle for a life of dignity in Sri Lanka. "We are the same people," he said, and urged the grant of financial help to the struggle. "If there is no peace there how can we have peace here?" he asked, and appealed to the Central and State governments (then under Rajiv Gandhi and MGR respectively) to take up the cause of the Sri Lankan Tamils. To the then Sri Lankan President, J.R. Jayewardene, he said that the clamour in Madurai should serve as a warning.

The participation of a quintessentially north Indian party in the TESO conference was a morale booster for the Sri Lankan Tamils, who thought that support for them was restricted to Tamil Nadu. The Sri Lankan Tamils continue to believe that the BJP in general, and Vajpayee in particular, will be more receptive to their pleas than the other parties and leaders.

Vajpayee's council of ministers, includes Dalit Ezhilmalai, a member of the pro-LTTE, PMK. Like his other ally, George Fernandes of the Samata Party, Ezhilmalai too had recently organised a meeting to collect funds for the defence of 26 LTTE sympathisers who a trial court in Madras had sentenced to death for plotting the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi. But Vajpayee is committed to safeguarding the integrity and sovereignty of Sri Lanka and to fighting terrorism. He had made this clear to Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar, prior to the elections. He is expected to put his foot down if his pro-LTTE allies were to make any radical demands. At any rate as BJP General Secretary Govindacharya said, these regional parties would soon learn to look at issues from a national, all India perspective. This has happened before, and is likely to happen this time round too.

But given his temperament and an inborn spirit of accommodation Vajpayee would take a sympathetic view of the Tamil question and, if an active role was called for, he might discuss the matter with Colombo within the parameters of diplomacy.

The BJP has toned down its radicalism considerably. This is evident in its national agenda, formulated jointly with its coalition partners. The agenda makes no mention of controversial issuses like the construction of the Rama temple in place of the demolished mosque in Ayodhya, and the abolition of the special constitutional status for Kashmir. Clearly, the BJP likes to see itself as a national party or an umbrella organisation of diverse interests. Circumstances have made it a moderate party.

How Bangladesh struck peace in the Hill Tracts

By Prof. Bertram Bastiampillai

The Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), so called since 1860, sprawl over South East Bangladesh. They were under the control of a superintendent during British Rule. The Tracts became home to tribals between the 10th to the mid 19th century, and comprise 5089 square miles; a large, if not the largest district. From Myanmar and Tripura moved in the Kukis but among 13 Sino-Indian tribes the Chakmas became the dominant majority. (About 498, 595 people are tribals from 13 tribes. Most numerous are the Chakma Marmal and Tripura).

When the British partitioned the sub-continent in 1947 independent Pakistan adopted certain measures that affected the Hill Tracts. A section of the tribal inhabitants regarded these as detrimental to their interests and protested. Bangladesh inherited this unenviable legacy and the turbulence caused by tribal revolts in the Tracts raged relentlessly and unsettled till an accord was signed on December 2, 1997.

The tribes use various dialects while the largest Chakma tribal community speak a dialect much influenced by the Chittagong dialect of Bengali. The British colonial rulers in 1860 had separated the District of the CHT from Chittagong. As the area suffered seriously from inter-tribal conflict, administration was strengthened in the Tracts by the British through their "Chittagong Hill Tracts Regulation 1900".

Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, in her pursuit of peace and stability in the continually disturbed Hill Tracts, wanted to effect an honourable peaceful settlement to end the protracted turmoil that had for long harried the Tracts. In the 1996 Election manifesto of the Bangladesh Awami League (BAL) a political solution to the problems of the Tracts was promised. It was affirmed inter alia that the religious rights and a free cultural development of the hill people would be ensured.

Since 1985 talks were held five times with the Parbattya Chattagram Janasanghati Samity during the government of H. M. Ershad, and on 13 occasions when Begum Khalida Zia was Prime Minister. But nothing durable or substantial ensued.

The present regime nevertheless established a National Committee to address the Tribals' problem in the CHT on October 14, 1996. Chief Whip Abul Hasanat Abdullah along with 11 members picked out from the ruling Awami Leaque, the Opposition National Party's and Ershad's Jatiya Party's members of Parliament composed the Committee. Later its membership was increased to twelve.

An agreement was signed after the last meeting in Dhaka on 2 December 1997 by Chief Whip Abul Hasanat Abdullah, Convenor, National Committee on Chittagong Hill Tracts, and Jyotirindra Bodhipriya Larma alias Shanthu Larma of the Prabattya Chattagram Janachangati Samity. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and several Cabinet Ministers were present. The accord encompassed 68 points.

It was a historic peace treaty signifying the end of an over two decade old insurgency. The agreement was "well within the constitutional framework keeping full and firm allegiance to Bangladesh's territorial integrity and sovereignty".

Both parties acknowledged the need to preserve the "characteristics" peculiar to the region which was to be developed treating the Chittagong Hill Tracts 'as a tribal dominated area'. The temporary Army Camps in remote areas were to be closed but three cantonments and three garrisons however were to remain. Also in the event of any deterioration of law and order, occurrence of natural calamities and similar national problems, the army could be re-deployed but under authority of the civil administration as it could be so done in any other part of Bangladesh. Resident tribal and non-tribal people agreed to live together peacefully in the Hill Tracts.

A Tribal Affairs Ministry was to be set up headed by a tribal person enjoying the status of a Minister. A twenty two member Chittagong Hill Tracts' Regional Council (CHTRC) was to be constituted chaired by a tribal person commanding the position of a State Minister. A third of the membership of the Council would comprise non-tribals. Members of the Hill District Council elect the CHTRC Chairman and its members. Tribal participation and influence in affairs relating to the Tracts were assured.

The existing Hill District Local Government Council was to be re-formed and re-named the Hill District Council. It would recruit local police upto a Sub-Inspector's level. The Chittagong Hill Tracts Regional Council (CHTRC) was to co-ordinate general administration, law and order management, and the running of the three Hill Districts. It alone could issue licenses for establishing heavy industries.

Government announced a general amnesty to the Shanti Bahini members but it still could institute legal action against those who remained recalcitrant and did not return to normal life. The Parbattya Chatagram Janasangha Samity (PCJSS) was required to submit a list of armed members of the Shanti Bahini along with an inventory of their arms and ammunitions within 45 days. The army and the garrisons of Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) were to remain in temporary camps in the hills till the insurgents surrendered weapons and reverted to normal law abiding living. It is then that such army outposts were to close down. The surrender of arms and ammunition was a pre-requisite.

Those of the Shanti Bahini who returned to normal life were to receive 50,000 Takas for rehabilitation, (46 takas = 1 US dollar).

A supreme Land Commission, chaired by a Retired Judge, was to be created. This Commission was to resolve, speedily and finally, land disputes, especially those relating to returnee tribal refugees. Other than some Government lands no other land of the hill region could be transferred to any others or sold without prior permission of the Hill District Councils. Non-tribal people who had been allocated land for rubber growing or other projects were to lose such allotments if they had failed to have commenced projects during the past ten years or had not utilized lands properly.

The principal provisions in the agreement affirmed that the integrity of Bangladesh and its sovereignty remained unimpaired. Yet at the same time the essential character of the CHT as a tribal dominated area was respected and ensured.

Politically a tribal person would manage the Tribal Affairs Ministry.

Financial assistance to the value of 1086 US Dollars to rehabilitate a surrendering insurgent was offered. It was an incentive and helpful aid to those returning to civil life.

Concerns and rights of Tribals in the lands in the Hill Tracts were guaranteed. Consequently the interests of the government and of the Tribals were both secured by the treaty. It was recognized that peace and tranquillity would be restored through the treaty in the Hill Districts. Nearly 20,000 had died in the conflict of over two decades. Moreover sustainable development in backward areas, and maintenance of the resources of the Hill Tracts using local initiative was now possible following the treaty. Briefly the agreement helps uphold the political, economic, educational and socio-cultural interests of all permanent residents of the region within the Constitution.

The agreement was signed following an understanding reached on a plan and programme to solve the intractable problem caused by the insurgents. The accord was welcomed by so many, locally and abroad. The Bangladesh Buddhist Association considered that the accord would strengthen a brotherhood and communal understanding in Bangladesh and hasten the development of the country. Some of the tribals are Buddhists.

The accord provided for establishing an administrative structure that could meet the desire of the tribal people for enhanced autonomy. The decision to sign an accord of amity and settlement was hailed as a gesture "demonstrating courage to stand up to enormous opposition pressure" and to invite rebel leaders for talks, hammer out an agreement and finally put the seal to it". Jyotindra Bodhipriya Larma who signed the accord on behalf of the rebels, the PCJSS, had led the armed struggle since 1975.

Initial laying down of arms took place at a ceremony at Khagrachchari on February 10, 1998. About 600 members of the PCJS deposited their arms and ammunition renouncing violent insurgency and accepting normal civil life. Sheikh Hasina regarded the problem in the Hill District as political and hence solved it through discussion and not force.

But the National Committee on Chittagong Hill Tracts eventually concluded the final agreement with the Parbattya Chatagram Janashangati Samity. Thus ended conflict, and distrust between rebels and the government.

Those who left the Hill Tracts as refugees to neighbouring India were confident of their security and proper rehabilitation, and about 37,996 members of 7,267 families returned back. Repatriated refugees received incentives.

Advance and socio-economic progress of the tribals were to be fostered through the effort of private entrepreneurs.

When 739 members of the tribal guerillas belonging to the Shanti Bahini said farewell to arms and surrendered them at Khagrachchari on February 10, 1998 the first meaningful step to end a 24-year-old insurgency in the Chittagong Hill Tracts was taken. The arms surrender was completed in three stages and the implementation of the peace accord began. Now that on behalf of the People's Republic of Bangladesh and on behalf of the inhabitants of Chittagong Tracts peace has been made. it is believed that in the "fascinating hills and jungles, lush green valleys" and across the "numerous rivers and streams" of the Tracts development and progress will proceed uninterrupted.

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