Sri Lanka: Where English comes to symbolise Tamil resistance

Tue Dec 25 17:45:42 UTC 2007

Where English comes to symbolise Tamil resistance

Monday, 24 December , 2007, 10:26

Colombo: While in the rest of Sri Lanka nationalism means rejection of
the English language, in the areas controlled by the Tamil Tiger
rebels, virulent Tamil nationalism coexists with an eagerness to
promote English education.  The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
(LTTE), which survives on global links, is pushing English education
with a view to equipping the Tamils to face the challenges of the
modern world. The rest of Sri Lanka too depends heavily on foreign
links, like international trade, foreign aid and overseas employment.
But it has determinedly shut out the English language in its
educational system out of a sense of nationalism.

The LTTE established an English Language College (ELC) in Kilinochchi
in 2004 to train English teachers, and its fourth convocation was held
December 17, 2007 reports Tamilnet.com. Stressing the strategic
importance of English in his convocation address, the LTTE's political
wing leader, B Nadesan, said: "For our people to acquire skills and
knowledge at the global level, opportunity and facilities to attain
high levels of proficiency in English is critical. "Historically, Sri
Lankan governments have created educational hurdles with a view to
curtailing the development of the Tamils and scuttling their progress.
The English Language College is symbolic of the Tamils' resistance to
such moves," Nadesan said.

Contrasting the LTTE's policy with that of successive Sri Lankan
governments, which denied an English education to the masses but
winked at the elite learning the language, Nadesan said that Tiger
chief Velupillai Prabhakaran wanted English to be taught to all.
In south Sri Lanka, home to the majority Sinhalese, there has been a
rigid adherence to the "swabhasha policy" (involving the use of the
mother tongue only for study and work), though this has resulted in
the rise of conflicting and violent nationalism based on ethnicity and
religion. Up to the mid 1950s, Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims went to
the same schools and learnt through a common medium, English. They
developed a fellow feeling of being "Ceylonese" as Sri Lankans were
called then.

But post-independence, Sinhalese nationalist governments did away with
English and created separate schools for Sinhalese and Tamil speakers.
Later, Muslims got their own schools, adding a religious dimension to
the problem. With the children of various ethnic groups not studying
and playing together, ethnic stereotypes got enforced and xenophobia
increased.  The language policy also reinforced existing class
distinctions. While the rich taught their children English, sent them
abroad and got them the best jobs in the private sector, the Sinhalese
or Tamil-educated underprivileged majority languished, employable only
in the unproductive government sector. Attempts by individual leaders
to promote English education at a mass level were opposed tooth and
nail by the radical Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and university
students with vested interests.

And the governments always succumbed to such pressures because no
politician wanted to be branded "anti-national". The language policy
has adversely affected the economy also. Foreign investors are shying
away from Sri Lanka not only because of the war and terrorism, but
also because of lack of skills, including English language skills. The
envoys of Britain and the US have publicly urged the adoption of
English to open a window to the world, and break the ethnic gridlock
that has resulted in the death of over 70,000 people and displacement
of millions in the last 25 years. But any such suggestion would
immediately draw flak from Sinhalese nationalists, who would denounce
it as a nefarious plan to bring the British Empire through the
backdoor.

However, there is a subtle change for the better now, says Gamini
Samaranayake, chairman of the University Grants Commission.
"Today, students as well as parents are seeking proficiency in
English," he told IANS. "Science and technical students in the
universities have to go through a three- month course in English. In
the arts faculty, at the post graduate level, some lectures are in
English, though the students are allowed to write their exams in any
language they like," he said. "I believe that English should be taught
from an early level in schools, as children have the capacity to learn
many languages, but Sri Lankan educational experts disagree,"
Samaranayake lamented.

http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=14579837

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