‘Education for everyone is our goal’- LTTE official

[TamilNet, Thursday, 21 August 2003, 16:57 GMT]
“Sections of the Sinhala media in the south are spreading deliberate falsehoods about the struggle for our rights. The Singhalese can enjoy the fruits of peace only if our people are also able to live in peace. Tamils have been cheated by successive Sinhala regimes. But today they are politically alert. Our people are very patriotic. They are prepared to pay any price to win their rights,” said Mr. C. Ilamparithi, the head of the political division of the Liberation Tigers in Jaffna, addressing a gathering in the northern peninsula Thursday.

The LTTE official said that the Tamils in the northeast are still living in the midst of military occupation. He was speaking at a meeting organised by the Kattavely-Nelliyadi Multi Purpose Co-operative Society (MPCS) to honour educationists, scholars and activists of the co-operative movement in Jaffna Thursday morning.

Mr. Ilamparithy lauded the MPCS for granting scholarships and bursaries for students while observing that Tamil society should come forward to help educate less privileged children. “We should work towards the goal of making education available to everyone in our society,” Mr. Ilamparithi said.

He emphasised the need for imparting enlightening political education to students so as to dispel myths, obfuscations and falsehoods, which, according to him, cloud their rational judgement and behaviour.

“Even now some of our students believe that Ravanan was an evil person and that Raman was good. Such views should be dispelled,” he said, referring to the manner in which the Indian epic, Ramayana, is taught in school to Tamil children.

Scholars of the Dravidian Movement say that the Ramayana myth glorifies the archetypal Aryan warrior in the person of Rama who, according to them, defeated the Dravidian ruler Ravana through deceit and deception. They point to the portrayal of Rama as the defender and champion of Brahminic interests in the Sanskrit version of the Ramayana.

Mr. T. Sithamparapillai, President of the MPCS, presided. The chief guest was Mr. Ilamparithy.

The meeting took place at the Nelliyadi Murugan Temple hall Thursday morning.