Support for the LTTE in TN began declining in the late 1980s, well before Rajiv Gandhi was killed. There were a number of reasons for this – internecine killings were part of it, but so were things like the expulsion of Muslims from Jaffna, the massacres of monks and other such things which gave the lie to the whole ‘noble freedom fighters’ image. Official tolerance of their activities didn’t end until Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, I’ll grant you that, but they’d lost the bulk of their popular support before then, and there was absolutely no protest against the government crackdown on the LTTE.

But believe what you want to believe.

US, UK, Aus issue travel advisories after Pune blast

The United States, the United Kingdom and Australia [ Images ] have issued travel advisories to their citizens in view of the bomb blast at a famous eatery frequented by foreigners in Pune, asking them to maintain a ‘heightened situational awareness and a low profile.’

http://news.rediff.com/report/2010/feb/15/german-bakery-pune-blast-us-uk-aus-issue-travel-advisories.htm

Clearly you have very little knowledge of Sri Lanka or what Sri Lankans have faced over the last 30 years or so. This is typical of the Indian mentality. It is to be expected however, I can’t say I am surprised. Most people from large countries are clueless about their smaller neighbours, bcause they see themselves as the centre of the world.

Support for the LTTE only “declined precipitously” not because the ordinary Tamil people ‘couldn’t stomach their terrorism’, but because Rajiv Gandhi was blown into a million pieces, and a bomb ripped through the then Madras Airport. That is, they only gave a shit when terrorism hit them hard. Otherwise as long Sri Lankans were getting blown to bits in bombs they were supporting the LTTE to the hilt. Some still do.

The way I see it now is that as long as bombs rip through Indian cities like in Pune, the Indian government and many of the Indian people will realise that supporting terrorism in neighbouring countries is a realy shitty thing to do. Sniggers about bomb blasts in Pakistan and support for the LTTE in Sri Lanka are kept in check.

From the tenor of your comments, I’m not sure you’re really interested in understanding how Indians felt about things in Sri Lanka, but in case you are, or some other watcher is, the reason support for the LTTE declined precipitously starting in the late 1980s was precisely that ordinary people in TN couldn’t stomach their terrorism. Note how, despite the strong wave of sympathy for the people of the Vanni, the parties who were openly pro-LTTE got their bottoms royally kicked in the election. Most of us did not see the LTTE as being part of the solution.

Rajivmw: That’s a sobering point. I’ve always belonged to the ‘if only’ school which likes to think that Vijaya would have ended the conflict and healed the rift if he’d lived. But I don’t know. It’s hard to accept that the problem was so intractible that only relatively unconstrained violence could have ended it. On the BJP analogy, I’m sort of aware that Mahinda wasn’t elected on a chauvinist plank. But neither was the BJP. The one time they were elected (and it’s worth pointing out that they came to power only once), it was becase they managed to attract economic nationalists (i.e. neo-mercantilists) and populists (jobs for the poor! protect the public sector!), political nationalists (i.e. Self Interested Great Power-style nationalists – we have the bomb! hurrah!) and the Hindu right. That seemed to me to be the same sort of coalition that propelled Mahinda to power in the first election.

Did you hear about the recent bomb blast in Pune? Did you watch the images of crying relatives, a devasted bomb site and breaking news blaring left and right? Well that’s what your government visited upon Sri Lankans by arming, training and funded the LTTE. How does it feel to taste the medicine you have been dishing out to neighbouring countries? I’m not trying to be an asshole here, just wondering honestly. And you have the nerve to threaten to revive the LTTE? Ha! Let’s see what the Maoists and the Indian Mujahideen do next.

Yeah I’m proud of my country. And you’re a typical ugly Indian who thinks others can’t be proud of their country :) Can’t even believe you asked such a dumb question dude. Let me guess, you think all Sri Lankans are desperate to become Indians? lol. Little wonder India has any friends in the neighbourhood, while SL has excellent relationships with all of them.

As for Fonseka, can’t say I feel sorry for him. If he was planning a coup he deserves to be behind bars.

Here is a quote about India from a forum:

“According to 1991 nationwide census., Muslims constitute 12.60 percent of the total Indian population. However, the representation of Muslims in the parliament, state legislatures, administrative services, armed forces, police and para military forces, educational institutions and the private and public sectors is far below their proportion. The percentage of the Muslims in the civil and foreign services is less than a quarter of their population. ”

Another one:

“In what promises to result in a long overdue move, the world is finally waking up to the shocking barbaric abuses that take place in the Third World shithole India. The United Nations is about to declare the barbaric, centuries old Hindu caste system a gross human rights violation.

Shithole India has always been the place where the most barbaric, subhuman, gross, savage human rights violations take place in the name of “caste”. The Indian government, controlled by the “upper castes” has understood that such barbaric practices don’t take place in any other country in the world and that no civilized person will ever tolerate such filth. Therefore, it tries hard to deny the issue, conceal it and even justify the sub-human savagery, rape, murder, torture that is perpetrated by the “upper castes” on the “untouchable castes” or dalits.”

and another:

“Yeah. India is a shithole all right. I’m a real Indian waiting to get the hell out of this country at the first available opportunity.”

You see where this is going right?

Two can play at this game.

As for Mahinda, some people hold that he rode a wave of Sinhala-Buddhist chauvinism into office in 2005. I think this is, at the very least, debatable. While his stands on the CFA and the unitary state certainly appealed to the tribalists, there were plenty of reasonable people who felt that the government needed to take a harder line with the LTTE, what with their rampant ceasefire violations and assasinations. There was also a deep anxiety about the ‘neo-liberal’ economic policies of the UNF administration. On top of that, Ranil was a terrible campaigner. Still for all, Mahinda just scraped by.

He won by a landslide in 2010. But then he did end a 30 year war.

Jcnars: Most Sri Lankans are proud of Sri Lanka in much the same way we’re proud of India. They may disagree with the policies of specific governments, but it doesn’t affect the way they feel about the country. Did the Gujarat riots stop us being proud of India?

Now, if you treat a brilliant military strategist and war-hero like a street dog, just imagine the plight of ordinary innocent tamils.
I can still say I am proud of my country.
You call SL your country. Are you sure you are proud of it?

Not my own comment but one I read somewhere in a forum :
“Srilanka Means lost paradise. Its constitution is illegal, its rulers and its agents and liers Its Pseudo Interlectulas are either singing the same lies for their supper , keeping mum. Its finances in the ruins, its armed forces, judiciary are politicised, media and INGOs have been silenced or ousted out of the country. Ruling elite have been squandering the countries wealth. Can a country sink any more than this and call itself a soveign state. ??? “

Is it a democracy when a democratically (on election day) elected president allow news papers to be closed, journalists to be arrested, media and opposition members harrassed, those police officers who did their job and acted neutral being transferred as punishments, while those acting in favor of the government are being promoted to higher positions? All examples taken only from the period of election and afterwards.
And there is a long list from the years before, which I maybe don´t need to remind you of?
Do you really call that democracy?

And there is no democracy as long as ministers and friends of the ruling powers can keep on behaving in a way detrimental of law, order and constitution without any attempt from the law governing authorites (not even from the president who have the executive powers and have used them on other occassions) to punish them.

No wonder that the leaders of the democratic world have no confidence or trust in the government of Sri Lanka.
Then you would probably claim that fraud, deceit and corruption can be seen also in governments in those countries. Correct, but in most real democracies, when it is revealed (and the press have the right to dig in it without repercussions, not like in Sri Lanka), the culprits are taken to courts or are forced to leave their jobs.
This never happens in Sri Lanka. But if you are an average citicen in this “democratic” country, then you can´t do the smallest misstake before getting nabbed. Not so for those who have connection or positions.
Check up what is the definition of democracy and then look att the Sri Lankan society. You might find discrepancies…

Now please tell us where exactly in the SL constitution it says that “If you are not a Buddhist, you can’t be a president” – Quote the exact words please. Thanks. Or are you speaking outa yer ass again?

“But they are in a minority & rejected decisively for the last 7 years ”

Um, the BJP is the main opposition party, it is hardly a minority.

So you reckon Shiv sSena is going to beat up Shah Rukh Khan? And Bal Thakery is going to bash up more Biharis?

One last comment. You might as well be describing Sri Lanka because we are after all a sub-set of India.

One difference between the countries is that Sri Lanka has a much higher AVERAGE standard of living than India. Don’t be fooled by the Colombo and NGO folks who see things by European standards.

And you write this:

“But in SL, I hear the Sinhalas are preferred over tamils in education/employment/defence.
If you are not a Buddhist, you can’t be a president. Don’t you guys think that sucks big time? Or am I being ignorant here?”

That is what you hear. Wrong on all counts.

There are still a few Tamils of the older generation who will tell you what really happened.

One of my long-held dreams is to visit SL especially for a test match on a lively wicket at Galle.
But, I see a lot of hate against Tamils/Indians in the blogosphere/twitterland.
And the SL public, is plain insensitive to the sufferings of Tamils. The suffered under LTTE. Now, the draconian govt.

SL, I am afraid, wants to censor & cower down any flowering of independent views that is healthy for a nation.

There are right-wing forces with a new found voice in the late 90s…like the BJP, RSS, ShivSena who stoke communal/regional tensions for their power. But they are in a minority & rejected decisively for the last 7 years (including the last general election).

Mostly, the India I know enjoys the daily grind of activities under sunny skies.
This includes (I can speak for small towns, not Chennai or Delhi) :
The Govt officers are, as always, educated & respected but corrupt. The election campaigns are just whipping up of emotions against the opponents. The temples are beautiful in the evening sunsets and have beggars. Our girls have an unique charm (we love SL girls too!!!). We like cinema music and playing cricket. We like spicy food and oily sweets. I like my mornings with newspaper & coffee. We love the folks in the market who came from villages to sell vegatables/fruits.

We are content with our jobs, families, evenings, local politics, cricket, cinemas, etc.
We may still be a lot of rubbish. But, (& everyone here feels it) the whole of the middle class has its standard rising.

And there’s that added self-reliance in space, IT, defence research and global acceptance of an emerging super power status (if we grow at the current 8% for the next 20 years).

The thing is: there’s not much hatred going around as everybody is busy lifting their lives and the government gives a chance to every indian on the same pedestal. You are brilliant in academics, you come up. It doesn’t matter if you are Bihari or Keralite.

But in SL, I hear the Sinhalas are preferred over tamils in education/employment/defence.
If you are not a Buddhist, you can’t be a president. Don’t you guys think that sucks big time? Or am I being ignorant here?

You think India is complex and lives in its villages.

What do you think about Sri Lanka? Saw your previous comments in this blog and it makes me wonder.

But you sound like a reasonable guy. So why not visit Sri Lanka, and see the reality beyond the LTTE inspired and NGO nurtured stories your friends tell you.

Indi is a nice guy, but he is not the average Sri Lankan, and neither are the bloggers who write in English.

I assure you, 20 million people here are not racists like you imagine them. If anything, they are less prejudiced than our average Indian gent or lady tends to be in private.