I remember going to a refugee camp at Gummidipoondi, about an hour from Madras, as it was called back in 1990. The tales the refugees toldwere spine-chilling--of death and destruction and people fleeing virtually with the clothes on their backs. They yearned to get back to their homeland to get on with their lives. But, to this day, that seems illusory.
The assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on May 21, 1991, by a woman LTTE suicide bomber changed many people's perspective. No one deserved to die like that and least of all Rajiv Gandhi who had captured many hearts with his charm and his promise tolead India into the 21st century. And, suddenly, most people were wary about wearing their sympathies for the Tamil cause on their sleeve.
As the Special Investigation Team led by D R Karthikeyan unraveled the conspiracy behind the killing of a well-loved leader, it became less and lessfashionable (and safer) to get back to life and let the island Tamils fend for themselves. Says Geetha V of Tara Publications:"People will not go on the street because the Eelam cause has been discredited." But she says that the identification with a fellow Tamil remains. "Socially and culturally there is solidarity with Tamils. There is also a general sense of dismay because Tamilchelvan died a martyr." The average Tamil sees the killing of the LTTE leader also as a setback to peace on the island. "It might not be sharp but the Tamil cause is pertinent to people here," she says.
But the reactions from political parties is what makes people cynical. Weeks after he set off a debate--and gave the BJP a new lease of life--after questioning the very existence of Lord Ram as the Sethusamudram controversy took centrestage, DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi ruffled Congress feathers by penning an elegy for Tamilchelvan. But the Congress which has been propped up by DMK at the center found its hands tied when it came to condemning Karunanidhi. When AIADMK supremo J Jayalalitha sought his dismissal, the Kalaignarsimply said his poem was a spontaneous response to the killing of a Tamil.
Back in 1991, Rajiv Gandhi had firmed up an alliance with the AIADMK weeks before he was killed, so the Congress then went hammer and tongs at the DMK. Now, while at least the local unit of the Congress made statements criticizing the DMK and even demanded a ban on the LTTE, the AICC resolution at its recent session waswishy-washy as usual. EVKS Elangovan, former TNCC president and minister of state for textiles in the UPA governmenthad thundered, "There are people who sing an elegy, take out rallies and put up posters for the death of a leader of a banned outfit that killed our beloved leader Rajiv Gandhi. How can this be justified?" The AICC, on the other hand, passed a resolution tamely saying,"The LTTE categorized internationally as a terrorist outfit deliberately assassinated our beloved leader in a brutal manner. The sentiments of all Congressman and women are bound to get hurt if the LTTE is eulogized in any manner."
On the other hand, DMK ally Pattali Makkal Katchi's S. Ramados tried to score brownie points by implying that the DMK was not doing enough for the Tamil cause. He asked Karunanidhi to press the center to bring about peace in Sri Lanka as otherwise "the entire Tamil race will be obliterated."
But most interesting was that Jayalalithaa was red-faced when she found her ally,MDMK (Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) leader Vaiko courting arrest along with 200 others including P Nedumaran. Not that Vaiko's response should surprise anyone because he has built a political career (including his arrest byJayalalithaa, the then CM, under Pota) on his pro-LTTE leanings.