She has become the undisputed icon for the Tamil cause, seizing the initiative from her foes. From being a virulent critic of the LTTE, Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa’s transformation as a champion of Lankan Tamils’ quest for self determination has taken diehard Eelam apologists by surprise.
She has come down heavily on the UPA again for being “mute” on the issue of Tamil fishermen captured and detained by the Sri Lankan Army, thereby investing a sensitive local issue with larger significance as a Tamil vs Sri Lanka problem. Little wonder, she has taken the wind out of the DMK’s sails in Palk Straits as well as putting Congress in the dock, thereby emerging as the state’s unquestioned backer for the Tamil diaspora as well as the pro-Tamil lobby back home.
Jayalalithaa’s change of heart with regard to the Sri Lankan ethnic strife came during the Eelam War IV in 2009, when Lok Sabha elections were held. The farcical Breakfast to Lunch fast by DMK chief M Karunanidhi in May only helped her to lap up the pro-Tamil mantle. From then on, there was no looking back. And on winning the 2011 Assembly poll, she got the House to pass a resolution seeking economic sanctions on Sri Lanka, accusing the Rajapaksa regime of genocide. Not only that, she went to the extent of demanding New Delhi to strive for a UN-Sponsored Referendum to establish Eelam, a separate homeland for ethnic Tamils for which the LTTE waged a war till the end.
She continues to mount pressure on the Centre to act against Colombo, terming it as a ‘un-friendly’ neighbour.
However, Sri Lankan Tamils are not much amused at the extreme positions adopted by the netas across the Strait. Be it Jayalalithaa or anyone, they find it not in consonance with reality. “Our people are more concerned with bread and butter as well as security and livelihood. Eelam continues to remain an upper-middle class discourse,” says A Muthulingam, author and Tamil activist from Kandy. “In this the diaspora and the Tamils back home are not in sync,” he argues. While the DMK is seen as having betrayed the Tamils at their hour of need, the AIADMK has not raised hopes in the war-torn nation.
The DMK, despite reviving the Tamil Eelam Supporters Organisation, more than a quarter century later, has failed to redeem its credibility. It continues to hold statewide demonstrations and protests for the fishermen issues and for the Lankan Tamils. Yet, it is widely perceived as a bargaining chip and the public perception is that as long as the 2G cloud remains, the party might find it hard to reclaim the Tamil political space. And for her part, a shrewd Jayalalithaa could not be expected to allow that to happen in the near future.