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What is a Race?
Sunday, 26 November 2006 - 9:37 PM SL Time |  | |
What is a Race?
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At the beginning the word `Race`, in English, was used to distinguish between groups of peoples having `similar` physical features: Negros, Saracens, Malabars, Red-Indians, Chinese etc.
This classification is found to be completely erroneous if one looks at the genetic composition of individuals. Your genetic composition can be closer to that of a red-Indian than to that of your own brother!
One can say roughly that the physical features of a person is determined by the places in which his ancestors/he lived/lives, food his ancestors/he ate/eats etc. It is the environment which models the man.
For example, most of the habitants of Sri Lanka, if they live in isolation, will slowly acquire the features similar to those of the Australian aborigines: Big Nose(Big Nose for cooling air), curled hair(To protect the skull from strong radiations), Black Skins, Big lips etc...
But the above feature transformation will never happen because peoples keeps on migrating/mixing due to number of reasons including natural cataclysms.
Such migrations/mixings have made Sinhala as well as Tamil peoples to have a range of features which make them almost indistinguishable from one another.
I think that one can do an `exact` computer modelling to determine the physical features of a given people in a given locality by taking into consideration all the relevant parameters!
If you agree with the above observations, then you must stop talking about races. I propose that you use the word `peoples` instead.
My path is that shown by the great healer of ills, the Gauthama Buddha and similar Hindu sages.
Appamado Amatha Padam
Pamado Machcuno Padam
Appamaththa Ne MeeYanthi
Ye Pa Maththa Yatha Matha
Those who search the truth diligently will shine,
Who do not, are as good as dead.
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Source(s)
Taxila, a member of LankaNewspapers.com |
AnuD
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26 Nov 2006 19:51:47 GMT Report for Abuse
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Ariyllai_SB:
Tamils and sinhalas are from one mixed race. Becuse of just a language stupid LTTEers think they are a different race.
Most Sri Lankans are malayali immigrants. Those who settled in the NOrth, because of TamilNadu influence, developed a different dialect of tamils strong enough to erase their original identitiy.
Edited By - AnuD - 29 Nov 2006 06:47:03 GMT |
Achilles
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27 Nov 2006 10:08:58 GMT Report for Abuse
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Race doesn't matter. In fact, it doesn't even exist in humans.
Alan R. Templeton, Ph.D., professor of biology in Arts and Sciences at Washington University, has analyzed DNA from global human populations that reveal the patterns of human evolution over the past one million years. He shows that while there is plenty of genetic variation in humans, most of the variation is individual variation. While between-population variation exists, it is either too small, which is a quantitative variation, or it is not the right qualitative type of variation -- it does not mark historical sublineages of humanity.
Using the latest molecular biology techniques, Templeton has analyzed millions of genetic sequences found in three distinct types of human DNA and concludes that, in the scientific sense, the world is colorblind. That is, it should be. |
tamilcanuck
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1 Dec 2006 16:22:05 GMT Report for Abuse
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Ariyalai_Sb,
i give below areply from Lula a few months back on this subject
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http://www.lankanewspapers.com/news/2006/1/5288.html LULA
Mucha-linda's reply to TamilCanuck,
TAMILCANUCK:
Tamil is a race where as Sinhala is (used to be) a nationality.
A race of a person, in general, is decided by birth, where as the Nationality of a person is generally decided by the way that person is naturalised (or is being naturalised).
If Tamil is analogous to English then Sinhala is the British. To put in another way, Bala the Stanislaus is (or could become) a British, but never an English. As a result, the people who call themselves Sinhalas today (like my self) could in fact be descended from various ethnic origins (including Tamil) that have been naturalised in the Sinhala way of life (There is no other way to explain how Nissankha Mallas of Kalinga and Nayakkars of South India became Sinhala kings).
As a result, no one can find Sinhalas in India in the same way there are no Australians in UK (if not migrated later). In contrary, there are Tamils in SL as well in India, similar to English who can be found in Aus as well as in UK.
-Muchalinda
PS: I never wanted to discuss these things earlier since this is a very sensitive topic which, if not described properly, could lead to disastrous misunderstandings.
PS2: Now, never come to the conclusion that a Nationality is superior than an ethnicity or a race OR vise versa. Just understand that they are different.
PS3: What Dutch and later British largely did was reducing the Nationality Sinhala to a race for their interests.
PS4: Remember, what we are doing here is analysing the facts at our disposal with concepts devised in Europe. Therefore, my explanation may not be fully comprehensive since these concepts are devised by Europeans to analyse their systems. |
Sandman
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1 Dec 2006 21:15:59 GMT Report for Abuse
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Ariyalai
There is no such thing as race in nature. Man finds superficial differences among fellow mankind which overshadow the similarilites to differentiate and group themselves as one or, more often, to distance themselves from another. Race is purely a negatively focussed thought process, invented by, reinforced and faithfully maintained by persons who attempt to make it a priviledge system, which eventually becomes a discriminant against those who 'do not belong'. The unfairness of such systems lie in the fact that their intent is to deny access to public resources and opportunities to a general or specific groups of people, which allows another to benefit at their expense. |
petijo1
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23 Dec 2006 21:06:46 GMT Report for Abuse
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Sir AriyalaiSB!
Merry Christmas and Happy new year 2007.
God bless you
with regards
petijo |
KURAL
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4 Feb 2007 22:22:58 GMT Report for Abuse
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Ariyalai,
There exists more than 6 Billions human races.
Each person is a race. It is what i learned in Biology..
There could be more genetical difference between me and my brother than me and my father..
I even can a closer DNA to a Somalian than a Sinhala or Tamil !!
The term 'race' that is applied for animals can not be used for humans. |
LuLa
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23 Feb 2007 22:09:25 GMT Report for Abuse
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TCK,
i give below areply from Lula a few months back on this subject
The above is not a reply from me but a reply from Mucha-linda to TamilCanuck.
I do not agree with what is said above and has nothing to do with it. |
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