Sri Lanka News Updates with Discussions

The breakaway LTTE faction has been cautioned against causing a rift between Colonel Karuna and Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, Chief Minister of the newly elected Eastern Provincial Council.

The warning came soon after intelligence services found evidence of an imminent threat to the SLFP-led coalition government s efforts to stabilize the Eastern Province

Authoritative sources said the government recently summoned Karuna, Chandrakanthan and several senior members of the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pullikal (TMVP) to emphasise the need for stability. The government had called the top leadership to Colombo shortly after the UK repatriated Karuna in the first week of July

The government said its political and security relations with the TMVP would be the key to stability in the Eastern Province where security forces were engaged in operations against isolated small groups of LTTE cadres.

The sources alleged that an interested party had infiltrated the TMVP and would try to influence Chandrakanthan. They expressed concern that this would cause serious problems if the top TMVP leadership did not recognize the attempt to manipulate them. The TMVP had been told had they remained together, they could go a long way.

Tamil Eelam - the Tamil's Eelam (North East)

Outside Bruice Fein's office, demanding their money back!

Tamil Eelam - the Tamil's Eelam (North East)

It may come as a big shock to many to know of the etymology of the term Eelam. It is the opinion of learned Tamil scholars like the late Professor Kanapathipillai, that the term Eelam must have been derived from 'Hela'. Thus in real terms eelam is an integral part of the helaurumaya (The hela heritage).

Ilankai

The Tamil word 'Ilankai' has its origin in another Tamil word 'Ilanku'. Ilanku means 'be visible'. Why did the name of an island come from the word Ilanku?

Tamils are great seafarers in all known Tamil history. Tamil merchants sailed to Burma and Malaysia in the east and Greece and Rome in the west as far back as at least 3000 years. As ships and fisher men sailed off from Tamil Nadu coasts they could see the large landmass of the island. It was clearly visible. So they called the island Ilankai from the word Ilanku. The island is referred to as Ilankai in some of the oldest Tamil literature available today, for example, Sirupanattuppadai and Purananooru, both written about 2000 years ago.

The Tamil word Ilankai mutated to 'Lanka' in Sinhalese. The prefix 'Sri', indicating honor, respect or reverence, was added to it and the island is today called Sri Lanka.

Eelam

The name 'Eelam' was also used to refer to the Ilankai Island. It referred to the whole island that is why Tamils call their historical homeland in the island 'Tamil Eelam'.

The usage of the name Eelam dates back to at least the Third Tamil Academy (Third Tamil Sangam or Third Tamil Kazhagam) some 2000 years ago.

Pattinappalai, a Tamil book of that time, uses the name Eelam to refer to the island. Also some of the poetry anthologies of the Third Tamil Academy, namely, Akananooru, Kurunthokai and Nattinai, contain poems written by Eelathu Poothan Thevanar (Eelathu means 'from Eelam' and Poothan Thevanar is the poet's name). Thus we see that at least one Tamil poet from the island contributed to the anthologies compiled during the Third Tamil Academy. (NOTE: Eelam is sometimes spelled as Eezham or Eezam.)

can we say that it means Sri Lanka too..?

It may come as a big shock to many to know of the etymology of the term Eelam. It is the opinion of learned Tamil scholars like the late Professor Kanapathipillai, that the term Eelam must have been derived from 'Hela'. Thus in real terms eelam is an integral part of the helaurumaya (The hela heritage).
When, after the 1972 constitution, the Federal Party was pushed toward the formation of the Tamil United Front and towards the declaration of a separate Tamil country, the term Tamil Eelam was not very much in vogue.
It was the Tamil militants who popularized the term Thamil Eelam. Unfortunately, only the word Eelam is retained of this compound form, and this very word itself is now taken to mean a separate Tamil country.

Here comes the chennaiguuy..