Modern South Asia and the World, Prof. G.

Balachandran DESS en tudes asiatiques University of Geneva, Switzerland

Unity and Conflict: Language

Tamil and Bengali: A case study
Muriel Bowie [muriel.bowie@gmail.com]

Language and Identity

Language as an element of ethnicity Ethnicity (social not physical): shared territory common descent common language community of customs community of beliefs and religion self-awareness name shared myth of common origin

Unity and Conflict: Language

Tamil: Language and Ethnicity

Speakers of Tamil language: not a single homogenous ethnicity: -> Sri Lankan Tamils, Moors, Indian Tamils in Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu Tamils. Sri Lankan Tamils believe that they preserve ancient Tamil values and customs better than Tamils elsewhere: -> fear of extinction and loss of civil rights. Sri Lankan Tamils: not seriously interested in unification with India.

Unity and Conflict: Language

Unity and Conflict: Language

Sinhalese Nationalism
Instrumentalisation of ethnicity for group mobilisation: Ethnicity as a flexible construct that can be manipulated by communities and their leaders. 1956: Sinhala Only Bill under S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike (SLFP) -> Sinhalese nationalism (Sinhalese = Sinhala and Buddhism): Violently opposed by the Tamil-speaking minority 1958: Tamil Language (Special Provisions) Act: did not satisfyTamils and extremist Sinhalese. 1972: New constitution (Republic of Sri Lanka):
Sinhala official language, Buddhism favoured
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Tamil Conflicts in Sri Lanka

Indian Tamils: After SL independence: fear that Indian Tamils might support left-wing parties -> disenfranchisement Sri Lankan Tamils and Moors: 1990 the LTTE expelled all Muslims living under their control in the northern districts of the island. Sri Lankan Tamils: Separatist movements (LTTE, PFLT, TULF, EROS, PLOT, EPRLF, TELO, ENLF): A conflict which has killed over 60000 people so far 1993: President Ranasinghe Premadasa killed in Colombo 1996: Central Bank bombing in Colombo 2001: Ceasefire agreement signed 2004: Tsunami 2005: Tamils partly boycott elections (Mahinda Rajapaksa emerges as president)
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Government LTTE Conflict

Image Source: Wikipedia

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Tamil Conflict: Sri Lanka and India

India fears that Sri Lankan Tamil separatist will reignite the Tamil separatist issue in Tamil Nadu 1982: Velupillai Prabhakaran and Uma Maheswaran supported by important Tamil Nadu politicians India provides support for training the militant armies 1987: accord between India and Sri Lanka offering Tamils an an autonomous integrated province in the northeast within a united Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan government, the LTTE, and the IPKF (Indian Peace-keeping Force) disagreed over implementation of the accord. The LTTE used Tamil Nadu (Madras and Madurai) as a sanctuary for many years, but was outlawed by India for assassinating former Prime Minster Rajiv Gandhi in 1991
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Tamil Nadu
1965: resulted in mass agitation led by Tamil nationalists when Delhi wanted to impose Hindi as national language (DMK) 1968: Madras State was renamed Tamil Nadu (to resist the imposition of Hindi as a national language by the Central Government) -> linguistic state Today: Tamils in India were able to maintain their identity within India -> interests in creating a separate state declined.

Unity and Conflict: Language

Bangladesh
Great ethnic unity: mainly Bengalis (98%), in fact not homogenous This identity consists in three distinctive attributes: a land, a language, and a religion. Identity question complex because: Geographic location, historic experience, demographic trends.

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Pakistan and Bangladesh

Pakistan: Urdu as the main language of administration. In 1950 Pakistan proposed to use Arabic script for Bengali. 1952: Language Movement: recognition of Bengali / Bangla as state language Some 10 million Bengalis (mainly Hindus) fled over the frontier into India. 1971: Indian army invades East Pakistan 1972: Mujib assumes leadership of the new Bangladesh government -> Islamic identity: how to justify the struggle for independence?
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Bangladesh: Identity Problem

During the independence war: strong consensus Polarization in politics has gone so deep that it has divided the country into two: -> political parties: BAL (Bangladesh Awami League) and BNP (Bangladesh Nationalist Party) Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and General Ziaur Rahman claim credit as the leader of the independence movement: -> no consensus on the role of these two leaders in the liberation war. National dilemma: to go along with other Islamic states like Saudi Arabia and Pakistan or to reinforce its nationalist credentials as a secular Bengali speaking democratic Muslim nation (similar to Turkey) Bengali identity: confusion with West Bengal

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Bangladesh and India

Religious (historically), linguistic and cultural affiliations Indian soldiers fought the liberation war -> love-hate relationship between India and Bangladesh Bangladeshi minority conflicts: India fears that they might have an influence on India -> migration Bangladeshs feeling of insecurity borne out of its identity conflict and suspicion of Indian hegemony and domination Bangladesh is a product of Bengali nationalism and Islamic identity. Bangladesh is neither wholly Islamic nor totally secular
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Conclusion
Common incident: Governments refuse to accept the native language (Sri Lanka: Tamil, Pakistan: Bengali) of minority groups Language and Identity: Tamil language != Tamil identity (several Tamil identities) Bengali / Bangla language as identity component of different groups (West Bengal, Bangladesh) Bangladeshi identity = Bengali + Muslim? Identity creation by political leaders / nations: Tamil: Preservance of Tamil values in Tamil Eelam (homeland). Bangladesh: no leader has been able to create a strong Bangladeshi national identity so far.
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References (1)
Sridhar K. Khatri and Gert W. Kueck (eds), Terrorism in South Asia, Shipra Publications, Delhi, 2003 John Richardson, Paradise Poisoned: Learning about Conflict, Terrorism and Development from Sri Lankas Civil Wars, International Centre for Ethnic Studies, Kandi, 2005. Ranabir Samaddar and Helmut Reifeld (eds), Peace as Process: Reconciliation and Conflict Resolution in South Asia, Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Delhi, 2001. M. R. Narayan Swami, Inside an Elusive Mind: Prabhakaran, Vijitha Yapa Publications, Colombo, 2003 Yuri V. Gankovsky, The Social Structure of Society in the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh, In: Asian Survey, Vol. 13, No. 3, March 1974, pp. 220-230.
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References (2)
Zillur R. Khan, Islam and Bengali Nationalism, In: Asian Survey, Vol. 25, No. 8, August 1985, pp. 834-851. Bryan Pfaffenberger, The Cultural Dimension of Tamil Separatism in Sri Lanka, In: Asian Survey, Vol. 21, No. 11, November 1981, pp. 1145-1157. Robert N. Kerney, Language and the Rise of Tamil Separatism in Sri Lanka, In: Asian Survey, Vol. 18, No. 5, May 1978, pp. 521-534. Sri Lankan Muslims, Refugees International, http://www.refugeesinternational.org/content/article/detail/765/, last visited on January 10, 2005 Encyclopedia Britannica Online articles about Bangladesh and Sri Lanka
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References (3)
http://www.lankapage.com: Sri Lankan News Website http://www.ltteps.org , Peace Secretariat of LTTE http://www.eelam.com, LTTE homepage

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Thank you for your attention.

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