Prabhakaran’s death - the End or the Beginning?

Sri Lanka will go down in history as the first country in the post 9/11 era to militarily subdue a terrorist outfit of the scale and magnitude of the LTTE. It's no mean feat and needs to be acknowledged as such.

The military offensive has been brutal and we may never know the number of civilians who were caught in the cross-fire, or blown up being hostages to the Tigers. Throughout the two-year military offensive, India has taken a dual position -- diplomatically pushing for a political settlement with the Tamils while quietly aiding the Sri Lankan military offensive with training, radars, intelligence and an informal naval blockade to prevent the Tigers from coming over to India.

In India, the Sri Lankan military offensive and the domestic imperatives of the elections showed up an important reality. One, the government continued to maintain its distinction between the LTTE and the civilian Tamil population. That was important. Second, it refused to bow to the Tamil frenzy during the elections by demanding some outrageous stuff from the Lankans like a ceasefire, which would never have been agreed to, but would have damaged India's relations with Colombo.

Interestingly, by staring down the domestic popular debate, the Indian government actually cured the Tamil bogey in Tamil Nadu. The worst of the fighting in the Vanni jungles came after the last day of campaigning in Tamil Nadu. The first weeks of May saw the worst of the fighting but there was, by and large, silence from Tamil Nadu. And the best part was that the pro-Tamil (LTTE) parties like MDMK and PMK all lost comprehensively at the hustings.

Karunanidhi had visited the PM and had pushed a political agenda for Colombo to adopt. But he was measured and there was a much more realistic approach this time.

Now that Tamil Tiger chief Velupillai Prabhakaran is dead, there seems to be a move within some parts -- and parties -- of India to treat him like a hero, almost mourning his death and hailing him as a martyr. As an Indian, I'm not so sure that's the right reaction.

If you disagree with me, please answer the five questions below:

1) Was a former Prime Minister of India blown to pieces by an LTTE suicide bomber on May 21, 1991 while campaigning in elections that were subsequently won by his party?

2) Was the LTTE officially banned as a terrorist organisation by the government of India?

3) Was LTTE chief V Prabhakaran on the Indian government's 'most wanted' list for ordering the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi?

4) When India tried to ensure peace in Sri Lanka, did the Indian Peacekeeping Force not get sucked into a bloody war, losing several lives, after the LTTE violated the peace accord?

5) If the answer to all these questions is 'yes', then can anyone, who thinks of himself as first and foremost an Indian, truly mourn the end of the LTTE?

I think there are two elements that we need to consider: 1) Was Prabhakaran's cause justified? 2) Were his methods right?

To answer Question 1, the Tamils of Sri Lanka may well feel discriminated against. It is well known that the Tamilians in SriLanka were treated as sons of step-mothers.

But the harsh fact is, post-9/11, there is simply no international sympathy left for separatist movements anywhere in the world, especially those that resort to terror and killing innocent non-combatants. The best outcome any such movement can hope to achieve is autonomy within the existing national set-up, and hence the demand for a separate Tamil Nation.

India, especially, cannot afford to support any separatist movement in another country because it has faced far too many of its own. It can hardly say that such movements are OK when it comes to other countries, but a problem when it comes to India. Nor can Russia, because that will promptly invite questions about Chechnya. Nor can China, which has the Tibet issue on its hands. The UK achieved peace in Ireland only after many years of violence and bloodshed. And the US is still scarred by 9/11. In other words, the big global players aren't about to back any violent redrawing of national boundaries. And so, despite what some political leaders and others might have said during the election campaigns in Tamil Nadu, there is simply no way by which the Tamil Eelam can be an independent country.

At best, peaceful protests by Tamilians could lead to a measure of autonomy within Lanka. Now that Rajapakse has achieved such a comprehensive victory, he may not be in any mood to be magnanimous. That would be short-sighted. Because the best way to achieve long-lasting peace in Lanka would be to heal the wounds of the entire populace, and that includes the Tamilians.

On to the second question, were Prabhakaran's methods right? Well, he spearheaded a conflict that left more than 70,000 dead from pitched battles, suicide attacks, bomb strikes and assassinations. He began his career by murdering Alfred Duraiappah, then mayor of Jaffna. He decimated rival groups TELO and EPRLF and hunted down their founders, like TELO's Sri Sabaratnam.

His gunmen assassinated TULF leader A Amirthalingam in Colombo in 1989. PLOTE leader Uma Maheswaran was shot dead by an LTTE hit squad. Another squad killed EPRLF leader K Padmanabha and 13 others in a Chennai apartment complex in 1990.

Prabhakaran frequently had chances to make peace, including the India-Lanka peace accord of 1987. Instead, he turned on India and fought the Indian peace-keeping force. This culminated in the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi in 1991. In 1993, Lankan president Ranasinghe Premadasa was killed by an LTTE suicide bombing. In 1999, another Lankan President, Chandrika Kumaratunga, lost vision in her right eye after an attempt on her life by the LTTE.

Now, for those who would like to brand me anti-Tamil, I am not. My issue is only with the way LTTE followed. LTTE had ordered many suicide bombings. They had killed many-a-rivals, who were fellow Tamils during the rise to power. Under Prabhakaran’s leadership, LTTE carried out the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi. This I believe was one of the reasons why the Govt. of India did not actively participate to try and stop the Lankan Army's drive which finally led to the collapse of LTTE.

What remains to be seen and what needs to be ensured by the big global players and India is that equal rights are granted to Tamilians in SriLanka. War and Violence is not the answer.

The Innocent Man

A word of caution : If you believe that in America you are innocent until proven guilty, this book will shock you. If you believe in the death penalty, this book will disturb you. If you believe that the justice system is fair, this book will infuriate you. I didn't even know this was non-fiction when I bought it. It disturbed me to an extent that I thought of not finishing the book - something that I never do.

Eleven years after their arrest for the rape/murder of Debbie Carter, Ron Williamson and Dennis Fritz were exonerated using DNA testing. Not only did the testing prove that Williamson and Fritz were not involved, but that the one "eyewitness" was the actual killer. Their entire conviction hinged on the testimony of the actual killer and snitches looking for a deal to get less time in prison.

Ron Williamson spent 11 years on death row and never once change his story of innocence. He nearly went out of his mind in jail, having already had severe mental disorders prior to his arrest. During his trial not one person - not the prosecution, the judge, nor Williamson's own lawyer - raised the questions of his competency to stand trial despite a 10-year history of psychological problems ranging from manic depression to schizophrenia.

In The Innocent Man, John Grisham tells Williamson's story in a way that's understandable by the common man. He brings up a number of questions the detectives, judge, prosecutor and jurors should have been asking before convicting Williamson and Fritz. In addition, he gives a detailed account of two other men arrested by the same detectives and tried in the same court. Both were also found guilty and are innocent, but they are still behind bars (www.wardandfontenot.com).

Grisham, with his famous name and storytelling abilities, is bringing awareness to an issue that few acknowledge - the justice system isn't always just. Their story is one that most of us would like to believe never happens anywhere. Unfortunately, as Grisham proves in The Innocent Man, it probably happens much more often than we know. And in India, it happens a lot. We see it in movies all the time. All it takes is the right combination of incompetent policemen, investigators, expert witnesses, prosecutors and judges to make it possible. Ron Williamson and Dennis Fritz had years stolen from them and their lives were largely ruined by the very people charged with protecting the public welfare.

Unexpectedly, this book gave me reason to question the death penalty. I have to wonder how many innocent men are put to death each year all over the world. At the same time I have to believe that the science used today to convict killers is more accurate than in previous decades. It really made me appreciate what a huge discovery DNA has been. Unfortunately though, DNA testing can often be expensive. 

Grisham tells the Fritz and Williamson story in a very straightforward way. There is no attempt to “novelize” what happened through the use of extensively recreated dialogue or by speaking from the points-of-view of its main characters. That does make for some rather dry reading at times but the details resulting from Grisham’s research makes his straight reporting of the facts a fascinating one.

I highly recommend this book to anyone concerned about the legal system. It gives some great tips on what to do when being wrongly accused of something. Be warned - if you are someone who believe in fair justice, then the injustice of it may stay with you forever. In the author's notes, Grisham says, "Not in my most creative moment could I conjure up a story as rich and layered as Ron's." Nor as unbelievable. But here it is, a true story of injustice and the problems with the justice system, not just in the United States of America, but around the world.

Really a class analogy..

Received this as a forwarded e-mail. Thought of publishing this as it holds a message for all of us.

An Old Story:

The Ant works hard in the withering heat all summer building its house and laying up supplies for the winter. The Grasshopper thinks the Ant is a fool and laughs & dances & plays the summer away. Come winter, the Ant is warm and well fed. The Grasshopper has no food or shelter so he dies out in the cold.

Indian Version:

The Ant works hard in the withering heat all summer building its house and laying up supplies for the winter. The Grasshopper thinks the Ant's a fool and laughs & dances & plays the summer away. Come winter, the shivering Grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the Ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others are cold and starving.

NDTV, BBC, CNN show up to provide pictures of the shivering Grasshopper next to a video of the Ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food.

The World is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be that this poor Grasshopper is allowed to suffer so? Arundhati Roy stages a demonstration in front of the Ant's house. Medha Patkar goes on a fast along with other Grasshoppers demanding that Grasshoppers be relocated to warmer climates during winter. Mayawati states this as `injustice' done on Minorities. Amnesty International and Ban Ki-moon criticize the Indian Government for not upholding the fundamental rights of the Grasshopper. The Internet is flooded with online petitions seeking support to the Grasshopper (many promising Heaven and Everlasting Peace for prompt support as against the wrath of God for non-compliance, some saying The Nazis are reborn).

Opposition MPs stage a walkout. Left parties call for ' Bandh' in West Bengal and Kerala demanding a Judicial Enquiry. CPM in Kerala immediately passes a law preventing Ants from working hard in the heat so as to bring about equality of poverty among Ants and Grasshoppers. Lalu Prasad allocates one free coach to Grasshoppers on all Indian Railway  Trains, aptly named as the 'Grasshopper Rath'. Karunanidhi calls for a General Strike in Tamil Nadu, starts fasting and demands that all ant homes should be given to the Grasshoppers.

Finally, the Judicial Committee drafts the ' Prevention of Terrorism Against Grasshoppers Act' [POTAGA], with effect from the beginning of the winter. Arjun Singh makes 'Special Reservation ' for Grasshoppers in Educational Institutions & in Government Services. The Ant is fined for failing to comply with POTAGA and having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, it's home is confiscated by the Government and handed over to the Grasshopper in a ceremony covered by NDTV.

Arundhati Roy calls it ' A Triumph of Justice'.

Lalu calls it 'Socialistic Justice '. 

CPM calls it the ' Revolutionary Resurgence of the Downtrodden '.

Karunanidhi announces from his bed that he wants to be a Grasshoper and be a victim to the Ant.

Ban Ki-moon invites the Grasshopper to address the UN General Assembly.

Many years later....

The Ant has since migrated to the US and set up a multi-billion dollar company in Silicon Valley, 100s of Grasshoppers still die of starvation despite reservation somewhere in India , .......AND As a result of loosing lot of hard working Ants and feeding the grasshoppers, India is still a developing country…!!!

I also found some interesting facts about the Grasshoppers & ants !! A grasshopper can leap over obstacles 500 times its own height. In relation to its size, it has the greatest jumping ability. And an Ant to my surprise can lift 50 times its own weight, which is equivalent to a human being pulling a 10-ton trailer.