I would like to reply to this even though it was not meant to me.....
No Problem, Constructive discussions are always welcome, rather than trolling and chest thumping.
Do the Negros claim US as their native land? Well the Sri Lankan Tamils are. We Sinhalese have no problem with Tamils live in SL. But when they demand a separate country I think we cannot tolerate it. If Tamils wants to live here peacefully they should drop their separate eelam ideology.
It was LTTE which wanted a separate country! Not the ordinary Tamils... Still why the Tamil civilians supported LTTE? I am getting an opinion that the Sinhalese still believe that they did Nothing... still the Tamils joined LTTE and attacked SLA!
I as an Indian never wanted my country to disintegrate... I have same wish for SL as well... But I don't buy the argument that LTTE did the bloody battle out of boredom or fun! There is something wrong and SL Government side, Perfect time to correct it now!
Historically and genetically it has proven that Sinhalese are Tamils blood brothers. We Sinhalese are ready to embrace them. But the problem is will Tamils ready to do that.
They have NO choice now.... Sinhalese are the majority... So they should initiate things... If the Sinhalese treated everyone equal... then no one would have took arms... All countries does mistake... The starting point of Pakistani disintegration is the West tried to push Urdu into the Bengali east.... I am glad that India did not fall into that trap!
Sl could have kept English as the medium or made all citizens learn English, Sinagala and Tamil... Nothing wrong in learning another language... I still feel bad that I know only 2 languages! The issue arise when one tries to push something into another!
The reason for not granting citizenship for the rest of Indian Tamils is pretty obvious. That was because the Indian Tamils population has altered the demographic balance of the central province. If SL had kept them today the Indian Tamils could have dominated the the central heartland of SL.
The Indian Tamils were brought in against the will of the people of central province. There fore we Sri Lankans had the right to send them back to their homes. The Indian Tamils had a contract with the British and post-Independence SL government had no wishes to continue the contract.
Still they lived there for more than a century! They belong there!
You question our right to sent Indian Tamils home. You ask to name one commonwealth nation that had sent other ethnics back to their home land once they get independence. Then I have a counter question to ask from you. Why did Indian government invade Goa and took it from Portuguese? According to you Indian government had no right to take or alter anything that was established by their former colonial masters This is only one example we can take from India.
At least be thankful that we didn't send all of them home.
There is a difference between ethnics and colonists... India asked Pondichery from the French... The French happily agreed to give it... And I can find many Indian students learning French language and still I find many French Citizens living on Pondicherry!
So if tomorrow Indian Army occupies SL and executes all SLA.... and colonize SL... Whether SL will become a part of India and SL'ns become Indian? No RIGHT?
No difference to Sinhalese. Only Jaffna Tamils (Vellalas) see the difference. You should ask from a Jaffna vellala what is the difference.
Never met one!