We are not enamoured about the cosmopolitanism which would make us neither fish, fowl nor red-herring.” It was Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam who first exhorted the Tamils that – “They should work towards promoting the union and solidarity of what we have been proud call TAMIL EELAM. Why did the Commissioners think of that?” Then I asked what happened in the Dominion of Canada? The Official concerned said, it is an impossible situation … Let us give these French descendants one form of government and let us give other people another form of government – forms of government suitable to the interests of each of these great big communities. He argued “Why did the Donoughmore Commissioners not study Ireland, which is next door to them? They said that we are one lot and you are another. In a speech to the Legislative Council during the debate on the Donoughmore Reforms, Sir Ramanathan appears the precursor of the Tamils demand for a sovereign state of Tamil Eelam. The Ponnambalam brothers in their evening of life realized that the Sinhalese politicians have let them down the garden path and taken them and the Tamils for a ride to advance the interests of the majority Sinhalese community. It is to be noted that Tamil leaders like Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan and Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam fearlessly spearheaded the struggle for constitutional reforms that led to the independence of Ceylon from the British on February 04, 1948. My heart froze Sri Lanka became a frozen country with ultimate hatred.” The army encroached upon Tamil villages killing thousands of men, women and children. “It was heart wrenching to see women and children perish with shelling wounds. Varatharajan who was on duty inside the ‘NO FIRE ZONE” during the genocidal war laments: Share on WhatsApp Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Telegram Share on Reddit Share on EmailĪ NOTE FROM THE NO FIRE ZONE ĭr.