For those couple of bigots making a fuss out of nothing.. One in particular that tends to live in history not in the present.. Read and learn
Not About Tamil Eelam
As DPF leader Mano Ganesan rightly observed the
national anthem in Tamil is only a translation of the Sinhala original. It hails Mother Lanka and is not about Tamil Eelam. True patriots must support and not oppose the NA being sung in Tamil. In Sri Lanka those claiming to be patriots are doing the opposite. Once again the Sinhala hawks are screeching that the national anthem should not be sung in Tamil. One hopes and prays that the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe Govt will have the courage to stand firm and not give in to the protests of pseudo nationalist Sinhala patriots.
The issue of singing the national anthem in Tamil is one that I feel strongly about. I yearn nostalgically for a happy past where this was not an issue at all to me. When I was a student at St. Thomas’ prep school in Kollupitiya during the times of JTR Perinpanayagam as Headmaster we used to sing the national anthem at end of term assemblies and other important events. The students were multi-ethnic – Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim, Burgher, Malay with a sprinkle of cultural minorities like Colombo Chetty, Bharatha, Sindhi, Bohra, Parsi, Chinese, Malayalee and Telugu (a great great grandson of the last King of Kandy was a student too).
We were given “roneo”cyclo-styled sheets with the words in Sinhala and Tamil and the Sinhala version scripted in English. We were free to sing in whichever language but almost all of us being fluent in English preferred to sing the Sinhala words in English script. As a Tamil I don’t think I understood the meaning of the words fully but at that primary school tender age it did not matter.The words had a musical tone and the tune was lively and lilting.
It was after I relocated to Jaffna in my mid –teens that I started hearing the national anthem being sung in Tamil. The students at Jaffna College were almost entirely Tamil with one or two Muslims and Malayalees. By this time one had got “politicised”in terms of ethnicity.We were more aware politically in secondary school. Besides the early seventies of the 20th century was the era of standardization that caused much upheaval amidst Tamil students.”Tamil Eelam”consciousness had not entered our lives then but we did feel strongly about discrimination and racist oppression.
Joi de Vivre
However it was while listening or singing the national anthem in my mother tongue Tamil that I really understood and above all felt what it was all about.Politically I found the content unobjectionable as the words were about mother lanka and the virtues of the country and not about any particular ethnicity. However I must admit that though I understood the national anthem better in Tamil I liked hearing it being sung in Sinhala as the words seemed to resonate mellifluously exuding a mood of joi de vivre.Despite this personal opinion I am not prepared to let go of or be denied the cherished right to sing the Sri Lankan national anthem in my “Thaai Mozhi”(mother tongue)which is Tamil
All things changed utterly as the ethnic conflict escalated and the Sinhala and Tamil communities drew apart. The practice of singing the national anthem in Tamil in the North and east gradually diminshed even as hostilities mounted.Before 1956 almost every major school in Jaffna had Sinhala masters (many of them Buddhist priests)to teach Sinhala to students. After Sinhala was imposed as the sole official language to the exclusion of Tamil this practice ceased.Likewise the singing of the national anthem in Tamil also went out of vogue in the Tamil area schools. This was reflected to some extent in Tamil schools in the South too but several Tamil medium Muslim schools continued with the practice.
This gloomy dark phase in Sri Lanka’s post-Indepenence history is now over and the Country is slowly progressing towards its tryst with destiny. It is against this backdrop that the efforts to resurrect the national anthem must be viewed positively. Obstructing such efforts must be deplored and condemned.This is an issue that I feel strongly about and have written on it earlier.In order to understand this totally unnecessary “ Tamil NA crisis” I shall delve briefly into the history of the national anthem in Tamil and what transpired in the cabinet of Mahinda Rajapaksa on this matter in 2010 relying on some of my past writings.
Sri Lanka’s national anthem was originally written in Sinhala by Ananda Samarakoon who was a well-known painter as well as poet.He had been a student at Rabindanath Tagore’s “Shantiniketan”in Bengal,India.The song was not written originally for the purpose of being a national anthem.
“Namo Namo Matha”
In 1950 the then Finance minister JR Jayewardene presented a cabinet memorandum that the widely popular “Namo Namo Matha” be formally acknowledged as the official anthem. Prime minister DS Senanayake set up a select committee under the Home Affairs and Rural Development minister Sir EAP Wijeratne (Father of Dr.Nissanka Wijeratne) to finalise the issue.The committee headed by Wijeratne considered “Namo Namo Matha” and some other lyrics and decided that Samarakoon’s song should be the national anthem.
Sir EAP Wijeratne then presented a cabinet paper in August 1951 recommending “Namo Namo Matha” as the national anthem.It was unanimously approved by cabinet and formally adopted on November 22nd 1951.There were two Tamil ministers in the DS Senanayake cabinet then. They were GG Ponnambalam and C. Sittambalam.It is said that even before they could make a request Premier DS Senanayake had stated that a suitable Tamil translation be formally adopted.
The select committee headed by Sir EAP Wijeratne had accepted in principle that there be a Tamil version of the national anthem.
The Tamil scholar Pundit M. Nallathamby was entrusted this task and a neat Transliteration was done. The Tamil version came into use and was extensively used in official functions in the pre-dominantly Tamil speaking Northern and Eastern provinces.
The remarkable attribute of Sri Lanka’s national anthem is that it sings paeans of patriotic praise to the country alone and not to any race, religion, caste,creed or community. It is not parochial or partisan and appeals to the patriotic sentiments of all children of the Lankan mother.
Hence, the Tamil people found no reason to reject or protest against the national anthem. Once the meaning of the Sinhala words was known few Tamils found it objectionable. With an appropriate transliteration available the Tamils of Sri Lanka found themselves singing the national anthem with emotion and fervour in their mother tongue.
National Anthem
Four years after Freedom on February 4th 1952 , “Namo Namo Matha” was sung at Independence day ceremonies as the official national anthem.The Tamil version “Namo Namo Thaye” was sung in related independence day functions at the Jaffna, Vavuniya, Mannar, Trincomalee and Batticaloa Kachcheries.When Sir John Kotelawela visited Jaffna in 1954 the Tamil version of the national anthem was sung at functions felicitating the Prime minister.
On March 12th 1952 the Government published huge advertisements in Sinhala,Tamil and English newspapers announcing that “Namo Namo Matha” was the national anthem. While words in Sinhala and Tamil were published in the Sinhala and Tamil newspapers respectively the English newspapers had Sinhala words written in English.
While Namo Namo Matha was now being sung as the official anthem there was no uniformity in the melody or manner of singing. Different choirs and singers were rendering it in different ways.This was causing much confusion.So the Government decided to appoint a committee to ensure that uniformity was ensured in rendering the national anthem.An eleven member committee was appointed in 1953. Among its members were Ananda Samarakoon himself, Devar Suryasena and JDA Perera.
This committee set out guidelines as to how the anthem should be sung and also defined the exact tune for it.The melody was a refined version of the original tune composed by Samarakoon .
The reputed firm Cargills then agents for HMV records was given the order to make records of the national anthem.
A disc was also cut for the Tamil version of the national anthem.While the melody and music was the same as that of the Sinhala version by Ananda Samarakoon the Tamil words written by Pundit Nallathamby were sung by two women Sangari and Meena. The Tamil version was first broadcast officially on “Radio Ceylon” on February 4th 1955.
Sir John Kotelawela
On June 24th 1954 the cabinet of Sir John Kotelawela formally endorsed the tune and singing of the National Anthem. The copyright ownership of “Namo Namo Matha” was formally acquired by the Government after payment of Rupees 2500 on that day. The money however did not go to Ananda Samarakoon as he had already transferred copyright to Siriwardena the printing press owner who had first published the song in a book of poems.
In February 1961 the SLFP Govt of Sirima Bandaranaike changed the wording of the national anthem from “Namo ,namo Matha” to “Sri Lanka Matha’. Similiar change was made to the Tamil version also.
Pride of Place
Both the Sinhala and Tamil versions were in use for decades. There set in over the years a certain form of usage in relation to the national anthem. The original Sinhala song got pride of place in most state or official ceremonies and events. In some instances the Tamil version was also sung.It was however the practice for the Tamil version to be used in most events or functions in the Tamil speaking areas of the Northern and Eastern provinces. Most Tamil medium schools also sang the national anthem in Tamil at school events. This applied to many Tamil medium schools outside the North – East too.
It was indeed noteworthy that the Tamil version continued to be in use even after Sinhala was made the sole official language in 1956. Both the Sinhala and Taml versions were sung in the sixties of the last century when the then Prime minister Dudley Senanayake visited Jaffna.When Mrs. Sirima Bandaranaike came to Jaffna as premier in 1974 to open the newly set up Jaffna campus of the University of Sri Lanka both versions were sung.
It was common in those days for selected school bands and choirs to render the national anthem in Sinhala and Tamil. What is remarkable is that though the Tamil language held no official status then the more enlightened governments of the day had no qualms about the national anthem being sung in the Tamil language in Tamil medium schools or official functions in the predominantly Tamil speaking regions.
The Constitution of 1978 ushered in by the UNP regime led by Junius Richard Jayewardene provided national language status to the Tamil language. It also granted Constitutional status to the national anthem. Clause 7 of the Constitution says – “The National Anthem of the Republic of Sri Lanka shall be “Sri Lanka Matha,” the words and music of which are set out in the Third Schedule”.
Both the Sinhala original and Tamil translation were acknowledged. This was done mainly because of former Kalkudah MP KW Devanayagam who was at that time the only Sri Lankan Tamil minister in the UNP government. This act evoked praise worthy mention as an indicator of inclusiveness and tolerance. It could be seen therefore that this Island nation displayed a sense of accommodation towards the usage of Tamil language in the sphere of “officially” singing the national anthem for many many years.
Cabinet Memorandum
This state of affairs was upset in 2010 by the Mahinda Rajapaksa Govt. It was felt by some ministers that no proper procedures were being practised at official functions where the national flag was raised or national anthem sung. President Rajapaksa herefore instructed his Public Administration and Home affairs minister W.D.J. (John)Senevirathne to prepare a cabinet memorandum outlining the appropriate protocols to be adopted in relation to the national flag and national anthem.
A cabinet paper incorporating basic guidelines was duly prepared and submitted for discussion and approval on November 3rd 2010.After preliminary discussion in November the cabinet paper was taken up for detailed discussion again on December 8th 2010.
The officials who drafted the memorandum had relied greatly on a Singaporean piece of legislation as a model. The use of the national anthem is governed by Part IV of the Singapore Arms and Flag and National Anthem Rules made under the Singapore Arms and Flag and National Anthem Act. This act amended in 2007 was used as a model by Sri Lankan officials.
Apparently there is a provision in the Singaporean act which stipulates that anyone singing the national anthem must sing the official lyric and not any translation of the lyric. The duplication of that provision in the Sri Lankan cabinet memorandum led to the unwanted controversy.The cabinet paper recommended the singing of the national anthem in Sinhala only and suggested that the Tamil translation in use for decades be summarily abolished. It was also proposed that those who were not proficient in the Sinhala language could write down the Sinhala words in Tamil or English and sing them.
Sri Lanka flag at Rockefeller Center, NYC
“Onwards Singapore”
The Sri Lankan officials in emulating the letter of the Singaporean guidelines had missed the spirit of the Lion City state anthem. Although the majority community in Singapore are the Chinese (75.2%) the national anthem is in the Malay language spoken by 13.6% of the people. The national anthem written by Zubir Said is titled “Majulah Singapura” or “Onwards Singapore”. English, Chinese (Mandarin), Malay and Tamil are recognized as official languages in Singapore but Malay is regarded as the National language. Thus it is considered appropriate that the national anthem be in Malay. Translations are available in English, Mandarin and Tamil but only Malay could be used to sing the national anthem in official functions.
Thus in Singapore where the national anthem is in a “minority” language there was an imperative need to debar translations and insist upon Malay alone being used officially to sing the national anthem. If translations were allowed the Mandarin or English version could swamp the Malay version. But this is not the case in Sri Lanka where Sinhala is firmly entrenched as the language of the majority and primary official language. It is the Tamil language that requires special measures and guarantees in the present situation.
It was in this context that the cabinet paper dated November 3rd 2010 was taken up for detailed discussion by the cabinet on December 8th 2010.
National Freedom Front (NFF)leader and former Construction, Engineering , Services Housing and Common Amenities Minister Wimal Werawansa at the outset welcomed the proposal to abolish the Tamil translation and sing the national anthem in Sinhala alone.
Weerawansa informed his cabinet colleagues that the Tamils wanted to sing the anthem in Sinhala and said that when he was in Jaffna recently the national anthem had been sung in Sinhala only at an official function. The Jaffna Tamil gathering had sung enthusiastically , Weerawansa said. Pontificating further the former Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)stalwart observed that it was a joke for a national anthem to be sung in two languages. He also “enlightened” his co – ministers that in India where so many languages were spoken including Tamil the national anthem was in Hindi only.
Wimal Weerawansa
Unfortunately Wimal Weerawansa as is typical was not well-informed on the topic he was waxing eloquent. There are several countries like Canada, Philipines , Belgium, Switzerland and South Africa where the national anthem is sung in two or more languages in full or in parts. At the same time many more countries allow limited use of translations.
courtesy of: sannasa.net
More importantly Weerawansa was incorrect in his reference to the Indian national anthem. The song “Jana Gana Mana” was written in Bengali by the illustrious Rabindranath Tagore a Bengali himself.It is however written in “Tatsama” and not colloquial Bengali.Tatsama Bengali is somewhat classical and has an extensive vocabulary of words “loaned” from the ancient Sanskrit language. About 70% of words used in Tatsama Bengali is of Sanskrit origin while only about 40% words in colloquial Bengali is Sanskrit.
Bengali poets of the 10th century resorted to Tatsama because they felt that a greater deal of classical Sanskrit was required to express their thoughts in poetic form. Later in the 19th century another school of thought comprising English educated Bengalis revived the Tatsama poetry in a big way.Tagore was influenced by this school of thought and resorted to Tatsama in conveying his poetic thoughts in Bengali. “Jana gana mana” therefore had a lot of Sanskritised words intelligible to most Indo-Aryan languages . Incidently another of Tagore’s compositions “Sonar Bangla” or “golden Bengal” is the national anthem of Bangla Desh.
Weerawansa was therefore incorrect in saying the Indian national anthem is in the official language Hindi. Weerawansa’s ill-informed onslaught on Tamil being used to sing the national anthem found a responsive chord in several ministers in Mahinda’s cabinet.One reason for this type of response was the view shared by some that Weerawansa was only articulating the wishes of President Rajapaksa. So some better informed ministers were seemingly in agreement with Weerawansa to curry favour with the President.
Vasudeva Nanayakkara
In that situation several of the more enlightened ministers also kept silent. There was also hesitation among ministers of the Tamil and Muslim communities to speak out. But not so the irrepressible Vasudeva Nanayakkara. The veteran leftist firebrand who had joined cabinet ranks then as minister of National languages and Social integration was the first to speak against the proposal to do away with Tamil in singing the national anthem
Vasudeva Nanayakkara
Nanayakkara spoke eloquently on the need to be inclusive and fair by the minority communities. He saw no need for the removal of an arrangement that had been in practice for so many years. Comrade Vasu also pointed out that the need of the hour was to reach out to the Tamil masses and bestow upon them a sense of belonging. The national anthem proposal would be detrimental to national unity,he said.
With Nanayakkara leading from the front, the counter-offensive to the “Sinhala only”imposition gained momentum. Rajitha Senaratne the then Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Minister , Douglas Devananda the then Traditional Industries and Small Enterprise Development Minister, Rauff Hakeem the then Justice minister and A.L.M. Athaulla the former Local Government and Provincial Councils Minister also joined the discussion and spoke out against the proposal.
Athaullah had a counter –proposal. Why not include verses from Tamil also into the national anthem along with Sinhala? He queried. For the national anthem to be truly national both the Sinhala and Tamil languages should constitute it, observed the Akkaraipatru Stalwart who went on to propose a bi-lingual national anthem.
The mood at the cabinet meeting changed and it soon became obvious that the proposal to do away with the Tamil translation of the national anthem was being met with stiff resistance. It was also clear that deep divisions were emerging on this account within the cabinet conclave.
Deferred Indefinitely
Gauging the situation correctly President Rajapaksa brought the discussion and debate to an end by announcing that the decision on the cabinet paper would be deferred indefinitely until a later date. He said that an intensive informed discussion was necessary before a final decision was arrived at. Meanwhile the status quo would remain as usual, the President stated.
What happened thereafter is well known. Orders went out quietly to Govt officials and officers of the armed forces that the national anthem should not be sung in Tamil. There was no official decree but officially sanctioned unofficial instructions resulted in the silencing of the Tamil National anthem. Neither Vasudeva Nanayakkara nor Douglas Devananda could prevent this.
The subterfuge adopted was that of maintaining status quo overtly while negating the practice of singing the national anthem. It was stated that there was no change and that the Constitutional provisions remained. Thus it was said that singing the national anthem was a right that prevailed and had not been taken away.an unofficial diktat however was strictly enforced by which schools, govt institutions etc were “discouraged” from singing the NA in Tamil. The armed forces in the North and East were tasked with the duty of preventing the National anthem being sung in Tamil. The Tamil people soon got the message and gave up attempts to sing the national anthem in Tamil. School children were compelled to sing the Sinhala words scripted in Tamil. People like Weerawansa went about saying Tamils wanted to sing in Sinhala and not Tamil. Thus the right to sing the national anthem in Tamil was suppressed forcibly on the one hand while it was falsely asserted that the right to sing the NA in Tamil remained still.
Now there is a ray of hope again after President Sirisena’s assurance to Mano Ganesan at the National Executive Council. There has always been a hiatus between pledges and performances in the ethnic relations sphere of Sri Lanka. Already the knives are out to scuttle the move and it remains to be seen whether President Sirisena can bring about a transformation where the National Anthem could be sung by the Tamil speaking people in their mother tongue.
It is my hope and prayer that patriotic Tamils should be able to hail “Mother Lanka” as “Sri Lanka Thaaye” in their “Thaai Mozhi” (Mother tongue)
Singing the National Anthem in Tamil Hailing “Mother Lanka” as “Sri Lanka Thaaye” | dbsjeyaraj.com
