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An Inside Story On Plight Of Tamil Fishermen

By Iqbal Selvan

02 February, 2011
Pondicherryblog.com

The world is changing rapidly; the nations once thought to be most backward are progressing towards new development. The countries once subjected to severe anti-human rights and ruled by dictators are over thrown by the people. Every nation wants to be more progressive and developed. Every human population liked to be live peacefully, economically developed and have a good life style.

We Tamils once considered being a progressive community have strong cultural backgrounds, trading internationally since 3rd century BC. Tamils had good trading ties with Europeans, Chinese and Javans in Ancient periods. Tamils are mostly consists of agrarian society, Karikala Chola who ruled Eastern parts of Tamil Nadu build first Anicut during 2nd century AD.

Tamil is considered one of the two most ancient languages of India, other being Sanskrit. Tamils always had a sense of pride and living peacefully with other peoples around them. Tamils once had a stretch of continuous inhabited land stretching from Vengada Hills in the North to Cape Comorin in South, Bay of Bengal and Arabian sea are provided natural boundaries on East and West. Along with modern states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, it is now called as Tamilakam.

Gone are the days, once pride race with ancient literary and greenish land masses turned to be only dreams for most of the Inhabitants of Modern day Indian state of Tamil Nadu. If you look at the Google Earth, the land mass of green vegetation soon changing into the dry and barren lands. So as the people, once considered them as pride ancient warrior race shrunken into a mere working people, slum dwellers, failed farmers, coolie migrants or those who hail from educated families working as Techy coolies. Don’t ask about the Fishermen of Tamil Nadu, who leading a miserable life. They lack any government support schemes, they dwell in unliveable hamlets along the coasts; merely depend on fishes they caught daily.

The sole supporting sea wealth turned into night mares for most of the fishermen in Tamil Nadu, once the Island of Kachchateevu, transferred de jure to the Sri Lankan Republic in 1970′s. It gave a striking blow for their fishing rights, once they used it as fishing grounds.

The civil war started between Sinhalese ethnic community and Native Tamils of Sri Lanka during early 1980′s severely affected the livelihood of Tamil Nadu fisherman. They always interrupted by Indian coastal guards and prevented by Sri Lankan Navy. The Sri Lankan Navy banned the fishing rights of Tamil Nadu fishermen in the Palk Bay, which is situated a few kilometres from the coast of Tamil Nadu.

On accusations of Tamil Nadu fishermen helping the Native Tamil rebels of Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan Navy severely punished the Indian fishermen, sometime resulted in heavy price, shooting them to death in International waters. Indian Central government promises Tamil Indian fishermen to protect their fishing rights, and safeguarding the life, failed most of the Time.

From early 1980s to 2009, until the Civil war in Sri Lanka came to an end, Sri Lankan Navy killed nearly 500 fishermen. For most of the killings, Sri Lankan Navy denied the allegations, or simply turned down the accusations. None of the governments across the sea did any investigations and not punished any one. Although the Sri Lankan Navy is always accused of firing or assaulting the Indian fishermen the navy is very rarely blamed by the Indian side for trespassing Indian waters. On the contrary, sometimes Indian Navy’s top rankers had cleared the Sri Lankan sailors of such allegations. Indian Naval officer, Commodore P E Van Halteren after an inspection tour in the coastal areas of Tamil Nadu on July 25, 2008 said that “They (Lankan Navy) never cross into our (Indian) territory”.

Once the civil war came to an end in the Island nation of Sri Lanka, fisherman in the coastal Tamil Nadu happy thinking no more interruptions for their fishing rights. But it did not last long, until a group of 12 fishermen from Tamil Nadu today alleged they were attacked with empty liquor bottles by Sri Lankan Naval personnel off Kodiakarai coast in the district damaging their fishing nets, in a fresh incident since last week’s killing of a fisherman. The fishermen of Arucottuthurai near Vedaranyam alleged that when they were fishing off Kodiakarai coast, the Sri Lankan Navy personnel onboard a fast craft surrounded their boats and threw empty liquor bottles at them. After hurling the bottles for a few minutes, they went away, Harichandran, one of the 12 fishermen, said. Though no one was injured, some fishing nets were damaged in the incident. The fishermen immediately returned to the shore, he said.

Later, R.Pandiyan, a fisherman hailing from Jegadhapattinamin Pudukottai district, was killed in firing allegedly by SriLankan navy in mid-sea on January 12. The Sri Lankan Navy brutally killed another Tamil Nadu fisherman off the Vedaranyam coast in Nagapattinam district on January 23.

This time no excuses are accepted by People of Tamil Nadu from Central Indian government or from Sri Lankan government. Sri Lankan government simply rejected the accusations, blamed on unknown ghosts of the sea. Indian navy often patrolling the coasts of Tamil Nadu, turned blind eye to the incident.

People across Tamil Nadu demanded the Indian government to do more to prevent the violence. The State government of Tamil Nadu already caught in fraud of billions of money in 2G scam, seemed careless on protecting the rights of Tamil fishermen, which made a widespread agitation and protests by people across the state.

New Delhi condemned the killings and asked the Sri Lankan government to investigate. But Sri Lanka has refuted the allegations. Similar incidents were reported last year when fishermen complained that the Sri Lankan Navy was attacking them at sea when they accidentally sailed inside Sri Lankan territorial waters.

Written by Iqbal Selvan, a freelance writer lives in Canada, who hails from Chennai, Indian state of Tamil Nadu

 


 




 


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