Sudath Gunasekara 1.8.2016
Dear patriots,
Please see the following news item in the HINDU today.
Last year
For Estate Tamils, South Indian indentured labour brought by the British to work on their plantations on native lands taken by force
1 A separate Ministry for Hill country Village and Infrastructure Development and a 10 year special development Project with UNDP funds, obtained as loans
2 10 perches given for every family (this will be 10 perches for every Tamil very soon)
3 Three separate Ministries for estate sector Tamils
4 Now another Hill Country New Villages Development Authority, with strong institutional mechanism” to carry out the functions of planning and coordination.
A few days ago, the Cabinet gave its nod for getting a bill
Now look at how this Government has treated the Kandyan peasants who fought and died against the invaders to protect their motherland for posterity
1 Not an inch of over 600 000 of their land robbed by the invader British was returned to the up to date
2 No Ministry, no Minister or a programme of development or even a C grade Department for 6 million Kandyan Peasants living in 16 Districts. Even the toothless department that was there for 4 decades was closed down
3 Kandyan areas Development Authority proposed in 1951 to rehabilitate the natives who lost their ancestral land and all what they had lost was never established up to date.
4 The toothless Kandyan Peasantry Commissioners Department that was crawling on its four for 40 years without any notable rehabilitation or development of these areas was also finally closed down on Jan 1 2015
5 All those people who lost their lands for Kotmale and Victoria Projects numbering thousands were chased out to the downstream Mahaweli area like system C and not a single family was given an inch of land from the hill country tea lands while all those Tamil labourers who were victims of landslide etc were given lands on the tea lands
6 Almost all natives who lost their land during the colonial times to the invaders and who are still living in secluded valley bottoms in abject poverty, san roads, drinking water, water for their paddy fields, schools, health facilities, employment and minimum facilities to sell their paltry produce are completely forgotten
7 Why is that not a single Sinhala politician who are supposed to represent them either in Parliament, Provincial Councils or Pradesiya Sabhas speak a single word on the plight of these hapless human beings
8 Is there a single country in the whole world where politicians betray their own country, their own people and their own heritage like this?
9 Do they know that their names will go down in history as shameless traitors who betrayed their own country their own people and their millennia old heritage for a vote, to get power and remain in power?
I send a letter under registered cover to the President on 20th of Dec 2015 on behalf of eight organizations requesting him to stay the above mentioned programs on the estates until justice is first done to the sons of the soil, as proposed by the Kandyan Peasantry Commission1951. I also requested an appointment from him to discuss this all important national issue that directly affects the lives of Sinhala peasants in three Provinces. I note with much concern and sadness to say that I haven’t got even an acknowledge ment up to date. (this article was published in Rivira 31st (yesterday).
This also clearly shows the duplicity of this Yahapalanaya Government and the open discrimination it displays against the Kandyan peasants, Sinhala people living in three Provinces.
The HINDU
COLOMBO, July 30, 2016
Updated: July 30, 2016 20:43 IST
New body for hill country Tamils
It will be on the lines of the Southern Development Authority, which had a visible presence during the previous regime led by Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Borrowing from the concept of the Southern Development Authority, which had a visible presence during the previous regime led by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the present government has decided to establish a similar body for the welfare of over one-million plantation community, which essentially comprises hill-country Tamils.
To be called the Hill Country New Villages Development Authority, the proposed organisation will have a strong institutional mechanism.” It will carry out the functions of planning and coordination. A few days ago, the Cabinet gave its nod for getting a bill drafted in this regard.
Indirect jobs to 1.5 million people
As per an official estimate, nearly one million people are residing in the estates and the plantation sector, as a whole, provides direct and indirect employment to 1.5 million people. Around 40 per cent of the residents of the estates belong to the category of non workers. The plantation sector — tea and rubber — contributes around 20 per cent of export earnings of Sri Lanka with $ 1,366 million in 2015.
At present, the Plantation Human Development Trust (PHDT), a body comprising representatives of the Sri Lanka government, regional plantation companies (RPC) and trade unions, is in place. Set up in 1992, the PHDT’s mandate is to implement social development programmes for the community.
Several handicaps
However, it suffers from several handicaps such as limited scope and coverage, reliance on contributions of the RPCs and the absence of the role of coordination with other Ministries, departments and agencies. Its social security net is not applicable to workers’ family members, who do not form part of the workforce in the estates. Also, the Trust’s functions do not cover small private estates and those coming under the control of Janatha Estate Development Board and State Plantation Companies.
Early this year, the government adopted a five-year action plan of $690 million for the economic, social and educational development of the community and this has been called ambitious in certain quarters. As part of the action plan, the idea is to build 56,500 houses at an approximate investment of $575 million. The proposed Authority has been conceived to ensure effective implementation of the action plan also, an official says.
‘No duplication of functions’
- Muthulingam, a Kandy-based prominent face of the community and who was involved in the formulation of the proposal for the body, says there will be no duplication of functions between the PHDT and the new set up. The latter will enjoy greater powers.
- Chandramathie, who runs Social Welfare Mandram, an organisation based in Hatton for the benefit of women in the plantation areas, emphasises that the Authority should address seriously issues and problems being faced by the women, an area which does not get much attention while designing and implementing schemes for the plantation areas. Women representatives of the community should also be given senior positions in the new set-up, she adds.
Keywords: Hill country tamils, authority, Southern Development Authority