|
CONTENTS
OF THIS SECTION
Last updated
14/11/07 |
About Us
10 May 2007 On the
third anniversary of the re-launch of
tamilnation.org
on
10 May 2004 and the
ninth anniversary of its
first launch on 10 May 1998 - Revisted:
Reflections on the Gita - 26 years ago
"..That which was said by Lord Krishna
to Arujna in the battlefield was both simple and fundamental -
simple to declare but fundamental in content. It was a call for
action in the battlefield and where else is there a greater need for
action. And Lord Krishna urging Arjuna to do battle against those
whom Arjuna regarded as his friends, his teachers and his
relations, tells Arujna, "To action you have a right,
but not to the fruits thereof." This oft repeated statement of the Gita is of very direct relevance to all of us who
are engaged in activity or action of one kind or another. The detachment which the Gita
speaks about is not the opposite of attachment. It is not a dead detachment. It is not a
negative detachment. Understanding the Gita is not a mere intellectual exercise in the
trap of opposites.
There is in each one of us an urge to
live without conflict, without opposites, to
understand the whole and become holy. There is in each one of us a path of harmony, our
dharma, and it is this path of harmony which the Gita enjoins us to follow.
For Arujna
that path was to engage in battle. "
more
About Us
10 May 2006
"Today is the Second Anniversary of the re-launch of
tamilnation.org
on 10 May 2004 and the Eighth Anniversary of its
first launch on 10 May 1998. Anniversaries afford opportunities
to pause and reflect. And something that I had written eight
years ago, in April 1998, came to mind. It was written in
response to a friend who wondered whether Gandhiam would
survive. My response was titled
Gandhi and Tamil Eelam.
I wrote - "I have often agonised about whether I should write at all - I have asked to what end do I
write? The Tamil short story writer,
Sundara Ramasamy
who was in London about four years ago told me that he had asked the same question - and
his answer was that as he gave expression in words to that which was buried in him, he
himself evolved and changed. My involvement in the Tamil struggle during the past several
years has helped to further my understanding both of myself and the people to whom I
belong. Every inside has an outside - and every outside has an inside. And the
two always go together. However, I can lay no claim to infallibility...
Words which are not related to
our deeds are not of much value.
Gandhi
walked his talk. It is when our words match our deeds that we ourselves become integrated
and whole - and acquire the capability to truly serve.
Each of us have our dharma - our way of harmony.
It was Arujna’s dharma to do battle and it was in battle that Arujna
found peace - and eventual growth. Any other path would have
left him in pain and in conflict. But, the search for harmony is elusive. It was Annie Besant who remarked once (translating
the Gita), that it is better to
act in accordance with one's own dharma rather than try 'to act out some one else's dharma
better'. .. The
struggle for Tamil Eelam is no afternoon tea party. I remember
Sathasivam
Krishnakumar (Kittu) speaking to me about action in battle - how single minded one
needed to be once engaged in battle. There could be no wavering. No question of a Hamlet
like 'to be or not to be'. He would pause reflectively and say: "It was almost as if
one was transformed in the heat of battle into another being." At the same time an armed struggle is not a carte blanche to kill and maim and lines will
have to be drawn however difficult or even seemingly impossible that task may sometimes
appear to be. I believe that
means and ends are inseparable...
Each one of us will determine that which appears right to
him or her - and then match his words with his deeds. It
seems to me that the way forward is not to turn a blind eye
to the issues that confront the struggle - but at the same
time refuse to undermine those who have given so much of
themselves so that their brothers and sisters may live in
equality and freedom. ... Yes, I do believe that 'Gandhiam'
will survive as more and more people (and that includes
myself) acquire more and more courage to openly stand up for
that which they know to be the truth and be willing to
suffer for that which they believe to be right..."
About Us
-
10 May 2005 - Today is the first year anniversary of the re- launch of tamilnation.org
on 10 May 2004. On looking back, we are reminded of the quote
from Victor Frankl which appeared
in our Reflections
page on our first launch on
10 May 1998 - a quote which, perhaps, bears repetition, seven years later - "Don't aim at success - the more you aim at it and make it a target,
the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must
ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side effect of one's personal
dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by product of one's
surrender to a person other than oneself. Happiness must happen, and the same holds for success: you have to let it happen
by not caring about it. I want you to listen to what your conscience commands you
to do and go on to carry it out to the best of your knowledge. Then you will live
to see that in the long run - in the long run, I say! - success will follow you precisely
because you had forgotten to think of it..."
Victor E. Frankl, who endured
years of unspeakable horror in Nazi death camps, writing in 'Man's Search for
Ultimate Meaning'
"அன்பும் சிவமும் இரண்டென்பர் அறிவிலார்
அன்பேசிவமாவது யாரும் அறிகிலார்
அன்பே சிவமாவது யாரும் அறிந்தபின்
அன்பேசிவமாய் அமர்ந்திருந்தாரே"
Thirumular's Thirumanthiram
About Us
-
10 May 2004
"The world occurs differently for each one of us. Additionally,
for each one of us, the world occurs differently at different stages
of our lives. We grow and we change - we
enfold and unfold.
tamilnation.org
was launched on 10 May 1998 and was
closed three years later on 30 June
2001. The closure led to some bouquets and some brickbats -
both were understandable though, perhaps, not equally welcome! The fact that the
reasons for the closure were 'personal' led to some speculation as to the
'reasons' - and that too was understandable. The reasons were
personal, but perhaps I should have made clear, at that time, that the closure had nothing to
do with any external pressure. There was no external pressure. There are
passages
in each of our lives when, more so than at other times, we feel a
compelling need to stand back, reflect upon, and learn from our
life experiences. The closure of
tamilnation.org
on 30 June 2001, had something to do with that compulsion and that need."
-
Nadesan Satyendra, 10 May 2004 |
|
Mission
Statement:
This Site exists to
nurture the
growing
togetherness of more than 70
million Tamil people,
living in many lands and across distant seas - a
growing togetherness rooted in a
shared heritage, a
rich language and
literature, and a
vibrant culture - a growing togetherness
consolidated by
struggle
and suffering and given
fresh impetus by the
digital
revolution - a growing togetherness given purpose
and direction by a determined will to live in
equality, in
freedom and in
peace with
their fellow beings and
meaningfully
contribute to an
emerging
one world, unfolding
from matter to life to mind ... |
|
 About
Us &
Visitor Comments
From: Manohari
Velamati, New Delhi, India
[tapana2007@yahoo.com ], 12 November 2007
I’m pursuing my PhD on Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora in the School of
International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi . Your
website is of great use for my research as it helps me have a broader
understanding of various perceptions of Tamils across the world. Considering
the active role of
the tamilnation.org
website, I felt that approaching you can greatly help in finding the
diaspora organisations in the UK as I have chosen London for my field trip.
I will be delighted to visit the concerned organizations in March 2008 and
like to interact with the concerned individuals or refer to pertaining
literature for enriching my research on the Tamil Diaspora. I could get some
organisations names from your website and other Tamil websites. If you could
suggest active organisations or individuals and their email addresses in
London or in other countries of Europe especially in
France/Germany/Switzerland which you consider will be of more help to me in
acquiring substantial resources for my PhD, I’ll be very grateful to you.
Could you please send me your response and the persons whom I can meet in
your organization as that they will help me in finishing my formalities
before I attend my field trip interview? Thank you so much.
Response by tamilnation.org
We are happy that you have found tamilnation.org
of great use in your research. Regretfully our remit does not extend to
making arrangements of the kind that you have requested. However, we are
posting you request in our Comments page so that visitors to tamilnation.org
may respond to you directly if they so wish.
From: Jey Raj,
Canada 11 November 2007
Hello, I am
really overwhelmed by the content on your site. This by far is the best
reference we Thamizh people have in reach. Although I used your site before,
I did not realize how much of content it is made up of and the depth of the
content. I am really happy and proud to use the resources available here in
my daily life. I am thankful for all your time and effort you have put in to
make available this resource across the world.
Response by tamilnation.org
We
would like to thank you sincerely for your comments about the site. Comments
such as yours truly sustain us in our efforts.
From:
Jiang
Huazhi,
Leshan Teachers College, Sichuan Province, People’s Republic of China, 11
November 2007
I know that Sri Lanka is a small but very beautiful country. But the
island has had very cruel war between the government and Tamils for nearly
30 years. Many people, young and old, men and women have been killed, which
is a national tragedy. Some Tamils want to establish a separate Tamil Eelam,
which is understandable but impractical. The reason is that Sri Lanka is a
very small country. If you have two nations on the island, the two countries
will be much weaker than today. Do you agree on the devolution proposals by
SLFP? Perhaps, a federal government with a two-chamber parliament is a good
way to solve your ethnic problems. What’s your opinion about peace in Sri
Lanka? What are your complaints about GOSL? I would like to listen to you!
Violence could solve nothing. Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela have set a
shining example for everyone who is fighting for their own rights and
interests. Everyone has only one life. Everyone should respect one’s own
life and others’ lives. Live in peace with everyone! Tamils need peace. So
do Sinhalese .So does the whole world. Yes to peace! No to war! God bless
everyone in Sri Lanka! Thank you again!
Response by tamilnation.org
We share your deep felt desire for peace.
But peace comes in many different forms. We have the peace of the graveyard as well.
After all, if it was simply peace that the Tamil people wanted they may have been well
advised
to willingly submit to alien Sinhala rule - many years ago.
"The would be conqueror is always a lover of peace,
for he would like to enter and occupy our country unopposed. It is in order to prevent him
from doing this that we must be willing to engage in war and be prepared for it."
- Clausewitz quoted in
Philosophers of Peace and War, edited by Professor Gallie
The
people of Tamil Eelam seek a just peace. And justice is not an empty platitude.
It is the cry for justice that has led thousands of
young Tamils to give their lives, and continue to give their lives, in a struggle for
freedom from oppression. In this regard Nelson Mandela serves as a shining
example. We are reminded of something which
Nelson Mandela said from the dock in
Pretoria on 20 April 1964 -
"...I admit immediately that I was one of the persons who helped to form
Umkhonto we Sizwe, and that I played a prominent role in its affairs until I
was arrested in August 1962.... we felt that without violence there would be
no way open to the African people to succeed in their struggle against
the principle of white supremacy. All lawful modes of expressing
opposition to this principle had been closed by legislation, and we were
placed in a position in which we had either to accept a permanent state
of inferiority, or to defy the Government. We chose to defy the law. We
first broke the law in a way which avoided any recourse to violence;
when this form was legislated against, and then the Government resorted
to a show of force to crush opposition to its policies, only then did we
decide to answer violence with violence."
And, we may also want to pay
attention to what it is that moved even Mahatma
Gandhi, the apostle of non violence, to remark -
".. I would rather have India resort to arms in order
to defend her honour than that she should in a cowardly
manner become or remain a helpless victim to her own
dishonour... Forgiveness adorns a soldier. But abstinence is forgiveness only when there is power to
punish; it is meaningless when it proceeds from a helpless creature. A mouse hardly
forgives a cat when it allows itself to be torn to pieces by her... "
As to why a 'small beautiful
country' such as Sri Lanka needs a division you may find the article
Why Division (written in 1998) of
interest. The harsh political reality is that so
long as the Sinhala people believe that they can conquer the Tamil homeland
and rule a people against their will (perhaps through quislings and
collaborators), so long will they fail to see the need to talk to the Tamil
people on equal terms. So long also will they fail to see the need to
recognise the existence of the Tamil people, as a people,
with a homeland and with the
right to freely choose their political
status. So long also will they fail to see the need to structure a polity where
two nations may associate with each other in freedom.
Finally, we too agonise over the
matters that violence brings in its train but as we have pointed out in 'Violence
and Integrity' we
judge that the struggle
of the people of Tamil Eelam for freedom from alien Sinhala
rule has
justice on
its side and we take the view that by so judging, and
placing
in the public domain the facts on which that judgment is founded, we are more likely to
bring
a just peace in the island of Sri Lanka than
by remaining a passive spectator. And here, we find the words of Martin
Luther King persuasive: "..The hottest place in hell is reserved for those who remain neutral in times of great moral conflict."
From: Helene Wigh, Denmark 11 November 2007
Hello, I hope that you can help me. My sister in law has just given birth
to a little boy and since she was born in Sri Lanka, she now lives in
Denmark, she was adopted when she was very small, she should like to give
her boy a name that comes from Sri Lanka, or a name that is often used in
Sri Lanka. Their daughter is named after herself, she is called Champika.I
have promised her to help, yet I have trouble finding such names. I,
therefore, hope that you can help me, either by mailing me a list of
different names or by mailing me a link to where I can find some. Neither of
us speak or understand Tamil, so it has to be in English. I really hope that
you can help me.
Response by tamilnation.org
Vannakam.You may find the web page at anbutamil.com helpful -
http://www.anbutamil.com/BoyNamesA.htm There are also a few Tamil names
in English at
http://www.tamilnation.org/culture/tamilnames.htm
From: Kandasamy Periyasamy , 19 October 2007
Vanakkam. Naan Kandasamy Periyasamy Tamilnation web pakuthiyaip
padiththu varukiren. Tamilnation web pakuthi ulaka makkalukku perithum
payan ullathaaka vilangkukinrathu. Ithanvazhi naan thamimoziyin
arumaiperumaikalai arinthu makizkiren. Tamilnation web pakuthiyil tamil
ezuththukalai kaana mudiyathillai. En kaniniyil tamil ezuththukal
varuvathillai. Itharku yaaraavathu vuthavi seithaal nanri theriviththuk
kolveen. Mikka Nanri.
Response by tamilnation.org
To read Tamil text please install a Tamil Unicode
font from
here -
and for detailed
help please see
Tamil Fonts & Software
From: S.Ranganathan, USA
1 October 2007
Dear Tamil brother
tamilnation.org:
I want the whole world to know what a fantastic service you are doing for
all of us, Tamils. Your site is the model of civility, courage, honesty,
nobility and inclusiveness – all qualities of Great Tamils. I only wish the
present Tamil Nadu government would take a few lessons from you.
On our struggle to have Eelam: I am extremely sad and disturbed to see the
conditions in Sri Lanka. I also see the enormous sufferings of my fellow Sri
Lankan Tamils. Can not the Singhalese government drop this militaristic
attitude and come to a bargaining table with the Tamils?
I was in India (Chennai) and I had to travel extensively by air. One
thing I noticed was that the announcements on the plane were in Hindi and
English – even when the flights were within Tamil Nadu. To me, this is
unacceptable. I can bet almost nobody on these planes understood Hindi!
Besides, what prevents these airlines to make announcements in Tamil? On my
flight from London to Chennai, British Airways made all announcements in
Tamil! Mr. Karunanidhi professes his love for Tamil but nothing is done in
this front.
Thru a relative of mine, I have found that many
CBSE (Central Board of
Secondary Education) schools
in Tamil Nadu
continue to impose Hindi (as compulsory subject), while Tamil can be
conveniently skipped. This is sharp contrast to Karnataka where all schools
including CBSE School, which do not teach Kannada as compulsory subject,
will be de-recognized. Mr. Karunanidhi has come to power the 4th time now;
still the Hindi imposition in CBSE flourishes in Tamil Nadu.
Why are Tamil Nadu's ports of entry, i.e., airports and ports staffed by
people who speak Hindi and do not know Tamil?
I salute you, Sir, for your outstanding work for the cause of Tamil.
Nandri, Anbudan... "Chenthamizh Nadenum Pothinile Inba then thamizh
payuthu kathinele"
Response by tamilnation.org
Comments such as yours humble us and also sustain us in our work. We
continue to believe with Mahatma Gandhi that 'as human
beings... we must become the change we wish to see in the world' and that
'whatever you do may be insignificant but it is important that you do it'.
செந்தமிழ் நாடெனும் போதினிலே -
இன்பத் தேன்வந்து பாயுது காதினிலே. Mikka Nanri. May God Bless, Anbudan..
From: Tulasi Ram, Bangalore, India 17
September 2007
Hello, I am a media buyer at MediosOne (www.mediosone.com). I am
interested in buying advertising inventory on your site
(www.tamilnation.org). We currently have some new advertisers coming in that
we would like to run with you. If you could please provide me with some CPM
and CPC rates for your traffic I can relay those to the advertisers. I am
really looking forward to hearing back from you and exploring all buying
opportunities with you. Thank you for your time.
Response by tamilnation.org
Vannakam. Many thanks for your
interest. However, we do not at present advertise on our site. Should this
policy change we will get in touch with you.
From:
Lakshman Gunasekara, Sri Lanka 12 September 2007
Dear
tamilnation.org, I was pleased to see that your website carries
the text of my Sivaram
Lecture in full, more so with your own comments and added weblinks and
references. I wish to congratulate you on your very systematic treatment of
such articles. I, personally, found the comments and the helpful weblinks
that you have included, extremely useful and I thank you for it. You may be
interested to know that many things that I said in my Sivaram Lecture, I
have said, perhaps in slightly different ways, some years ago - even a
decade ago - in my commentary column 'Observations' that I wrote weekly for
about 5 years in the Sunday Observer newspaper (I subsequently became
Editor of the Sunday Observer). For example, I have devoted whole
columns on the racist nature of the Sri Lankan State and the
politico-military project of Sinhala-Buddhist ethno-supremacism. There are
many related subjects of cultural politics, nationalism, ideology, State
formation, and the peace process that I have also written on in my
'Observations' column. You are welcome to
access the Sunday Observer and peruse my columns. I find
www.tamilnation.org a
commendable effort. Wishing you success, sincerely
Response by tamilnation.org
We thank you for your comments. At the end of the day
it is for the Tamil people and the Sinhala people to be unafraid (yes,
unafraid) to have an open and honest conversation with each other and in
this way help mobilise a critical mass of people committed to secure justice
and democracy - a democracy where no
one people rule another. An independent Tamil Eelam may not be
negotiable but an independent Tamil Eelam can, will, and indeed must
negotiate.
A meaningful negotiating
process will need to address the question of working out a legal framework for
two free and independent peoples to co-exist - a legal framework where they may
pool their sovereignty in certain agreed areas, so that they may co-exist in
peace.
There may be a need to telescope two
processes - one the creation of an independent Tamil Eelam state and the other
the terms in which an independent Tamil Eelam state may associate with an
independent Sri Lanka.
Admittedly, the negotiating process may be complex but if Germany and France
were able to put in place such 'associate' structures despite the suspicions and
confrontations of two world wars, it should not be beyond the capacity of Tamil
Eelam and Sri Lanka to work out structures, within which each independent
state may remain free and prosper, but at the same time pool sovereignty in
certain agreed areas.
Tamils who today live
in
many lands and across distant seas know only too well that
sovereignty after all, is not virginity.
From: Mageshree Naidoo, South Africa, 7
September 2007
Good Morning, My boyfriend is interested in learning
Tamil....I have obtained lots of information for him from your
Learning & Teaching Tamil page and I
hope that it will help him. Is it possible for him to contact you if he
needs assistance with the pronounciation of certain words? Thank you
Response by tamilnation.org
Vannakam. We are glad that you found our
Learning & Teaching Tamil page
helpful. As you may know we are based in the United Kingdom. Regretfully our
remit does not extend to providing the assistance that you have requested.
From: Hariram Someshwaran,
Tamil Nadu, 30 August 2007
Vanakkam. I happen to read through the article by Dr.Muthu Mohan-"Sikhs
and Tamils -The Indus Connection". It was quite an interesting article
by Dr.Muthu Mohan. But after reading through the article I had a feeling
that Dr.Mohan was concentrating more against the Brahmins and the
Vaishnavities rather than the subject itself. Although I am a Saivite, I had
a feeling that the article itself can create some friction between the
Saivites and the Vaishnavites. I would suggest that he listen to
Arthamulla Hindu Matham by Kavingar
Kannadasan. And finally, I would like to appreciate tamilnation.org for
the tremendous work that they are doing.
From: T.Sreedharan,
Tamil Nadu, 10 August 2007
Dear Tamilan, I am very happy to visit your web site and note the
services you are providing for Tamil society. I like to introduce
myself. My name is Sreedharan and I am working as a primary school teacher
in Perundurai. I want to know what the abbreviation V.O.C
in V.O.Chidambaram Pillai (Kappalottiya
Tamilan) stands for. I know that C
stands for Chidambaram Pillai but I cannot find what V.O. stands for. It be
will be useful for our teacher's community to explain about such a great
personality. I looked for this in many websites, but I cannot find the
answer. I await your reply. Thanking you..
Response by tamilnation.org
Many thanks for comments about the website. The question
that you have raised is well taken. We must confess that we ourselves do not
have a definitive answer. In Tamil V.O.Chidambaram
Pillai is referred to as வ.உ.சி. and
not as, say வி.ஒ.சி. or
வு.ஒ.சி.. V.O.Chidambaram Pillai's father was Ulaganathan
- உலகநாதன் and this would seem to suggest that the
initial உ stands for his father's name and it is
possible that உ became O in English. But we must
admit that this mere conjecture on our part. Again, as you undoubtedly know,
in Tamil Nadu the name of the birthplace is often an initial in the
person's name. But V.O.C.'s birthplace is usually given as Ottapidaram - and
it will be difficult to suggest that somehow Ottapidaram stands for either
உ or வ. You are right to point
out that you were unable to find a satisfactory in your search of websites.
Wikepedia, for instance has this to say - " Vulaganathan Othapidaram
Chidambaram Pillai popularly known by his initials, V.O.C. (spelt Vaa.Vu.Ce
in Tamil) was born on 05 September 1872 to an eminent lawyer Vulaganathan
Pillai and Paramyee in Ottapidaram, Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu State
in India." We find that Wikepedia fails to explain why in Tamil V.O.C. is
always referred to as வ.உ.சி. and not as,
வு.ஒ.சி.. - and in any case, it would be unusual,
though not impossible, for Ulaganathan to be spelt with a Vu or
வு. We ourselves feel that the answer may lie in
identifying more clearly the name of V.O.C.s birthplace in Tamil. In the
case of C.N.Annadurai for instance, C.N. stands for Conjeevaram Natarajan -
it is the first initial that stands for his birthplace. One may well imagine
the confusion if Conjeevaram had been spelt Kanchipuram!
From: M.Prasath, Trivandrum, 8 August 2007
Hi, the web site is really good. I was searching for a site like this for
a long while. The search ends here. Almost
all the Tamil epics are converted in pdf. It is a really fantastic job.
Response by tamilnation.org
Mikka Nanri. The PDF files are the work of
Project Madurai - a
group of volunteers led by Dr.K.Kalyanasunderam in Switzerland and
Kumar Mallikarjunan in USA.
From: Afaaf Rajbee, London, 23 July 2007
I am a student studying for a Masters in International Public Policy at
London University and am extremely interested in your website. After seeing
its professionalism and vision, I am doing a research project on the use of
the internet by unrecognized nations... I am looking to interview the
webmaster of this site, or anyone involved in
tamilnation.org
about the motivations and visions behind creating the website, and what you
hope from the future. I hope that you will be willing to participate.
Response by tamilnation.org
At the outset, may we thank you for your comments - and for your
interest. However we ourselves do not participate
in interviews etc in relation to the site and we regret that we cannot
accede to your request.
Said that, we do wish you success with your research project
on the use of the internet by unrecognized nations. As we have pointed out
in What is a nation?, the
digital revolution is helping to forge
anew the togetherness of a people. State boundaries are becoming increasingly porous,
not only to the market but also to
information,
human
rights and political activism - and deep rooted kinship ties are finding fresh avenues
for expression. We do hope that you will find the material at
tamilnation.org
of some help.
From: Ravi Shankar Vaidyanathan, United
States, 19 July 2007
I am a PhD student (in biomedical engineering) in U.S. I am searching for
Tolkaapiyam in book format with English translation. Could you please tell
me where I could procure this. Also, please let me know where I can find
(with English translations) kurunthogai, agananuru, paripaatal and works
like silapathigaaram. Thanking you.
Response by tamilnation.org
An
English translation of Tholkappiyam by Dr.V.Murugan is in print at
the International Institute of Tamil Studies at Chennai and you may contact
them as to availabilty. There is also a
Tolkaapiyar Discussion Group
which may be able to help.
There are several translations of Cilapathikaram. You will find them
listed in the Cilapathikaram page.
The
translation by R.
Parthasarathy is well regarded and is available at Amazon.com. As for
the Ettuthokai works such as kurunthogai, agananuru, paripaatal we ourselves
do not have any specific information abour translations, though you may want
to have a look at our
Sangam Classics: Ettuthokai/Melakannaku
- the Eight Anthologies page. You may find helpful information at Dr.Kalyanasundaram's
Tamil Electronic Library.
From: Monica John, Nashville, Tennessee,
USA 3 July 2007
Good afternoon! I would like to say that I really enjoy your site. It is
wonderful. Please keep up the great work. Sincerely,
From: Nirmalan Vethanayagam 21 June 1007
I really do appreciate the service you are doing in upholding and
nurturing our centuries old Thamil history &
traditions, through your
website. I hope you could give me some answers or links to quench my age old
thirst in regard to the architectural wonders (Indian) of South East
Asia.
1. When did this migration take place to countries like Burma, Indonesia,
Thailand, Cambodia, Bali - and under whose direction?
2. Were they South Indians - could we indentify them as Dravidians - what
language did they speak?
3. Why have research books failed to say much on the South Indian factor
- rather than crediting Khemer regimes for the creation of Anchor Wat.
4. To which extent did Indian Government glorify this link - or hide the
link because of the South Indian factor?
5. Does the current population in these countries ever think about their
South Indian forefathers?
6. What kind of transportation/technology was available during the hay
day of migration, and how often did the ships travel the dangerous waters of
the Indian Ocean?
Response by tamilnation.org
The matters that you have raised are important areas for
research. Said that we ourselves do not have the skill set to engage in
independent research in these areas. You may find
G.K.Rajasuriyar's Kappal Oddiya
Thamilan of some interest. Rev. Father Thaninayagam also researched in
some (but not all) of the areas that you have mentioned
e.g.Tamil Diaspora
- Myanmar - மியன்மார் , Tamil
Diaspora - Trinidad - ட்ரினிடாட்,
Tamil
Diaspora - New Caledonia and
Tamil Migrations to
Guadelope & Martinique, 1853 to 1883 - Xavier S. Thaniyayagam.
Here, the papers submitted at the Conferences organised by the International
Association for Tamil Research may provide some helpful pointers - you will
find the links at
http://www.tamilnation.org/conferences/index.htm. A
Brief History
of Tamils in Mauritius by M.Sangeelee may be of interest. Two
other papers which may be of interest are
the
Tamil Migration Cycle 1830 - 1950
by Christophe Z Guilmoto and
Birds of Passage - Migration
of South Indian Labour Communities to South-East Asia; 19-20th Centuries,
A.D.by Adapa Satyanarayana, 2001 .
From: Elango Cheran 21 June 2007
Dear
Editor:
re
http://www.tamilnation.org/digital/mark_whitaker.htm
In this page, the title is incorrect ("Address by Tamil Nadu Chief
Minister, M.Karunanithi - Inaugration of Tidel Park for IT
industries"). You deserve many thanks for
maintaining such a great website. Without your website, where would there
be a documentation of everything affecting Thamils? Where would there be
an archive of Taraki articles? etc..
Do you know if there are any efforts in the Diaspora to make another
compilation of Taraki's articles in the recent few years into another book?
I think that would be a good idea
Response by tamilnation.org
Many thanks for your comments and pointing
out the error – this has now been rectified. We ourselves are not aware of a
project to make another compilation of Taraki's articles - that is not to
say that such a project is not in hand.
From: Sudha Govindasamy, 14 June 2007
Awesome! You people are really doing a wonderful work. I was looking for
this E-copy of
Ponniyin Selvan and am glad I could find it here. For people who have
interest in literature but not able to buy the hardcopy and for those living
abroad this is really a great source. Keep up with your good work.
Response by tamilnation.org
Mikka Nanri. The E-copy is the work of
Project Madurai - a
group of volunteers led by Dr.K.Kalyanasunderam in Switzerland and
Kumar Mallikarjunan in USA.
From: Maithily, United Arab Emirates, 4
June 2007
Hi, I am a frequent reader of
tamilnation.org.
Really systematic information. It is an
encyclopaedia
of Thamil and its world.
Response by tamilnation.org
Mikka Nanri.
From: Siva Ratnam, 27 May 2007
From: Jiang Huazhi,
Leshan Teachers
College, Sichuan Province, People’s Republic of China, 22 May 2007
I’m so happy to have viewed your website, which is very nice. You know,
I’m Chinese and I’m studying something about your
Constitution of 1972. The
Constitution has 134 articles. But on your page, there are only Articles 1 to
65, 134.Could you tell me how I can get Articles 66-133? I’m looking forward
to hear from you. Thank you.
Response by tamilnation.org
Vannakam. Many
thanks for your interest. We have recently posted Articles 66 to 90. We will
be posting the remaining articles during the course of next month. As you
may know, the 1972 Sri Lanka
Constitution was later replaced by the
1978 Constitution. We wish you
success with your studies.
From: Praveen Kumar, Info Edge India Ltd,
22 May 2007
We are exploring various opportunities to advertise our real estate
vertical 99acres.com on different portals across India. We are looking to
increase property searches on 99acres.com from visitors through your site,
who would be landed directly on our home page. We would like to know
different advertising options that you could offer for 99acres.com.
Response by tamilnation.org
Vannakam. Many
thanks for your interest. We wish you success with your efforts. We regret
that we do not place ads in our website.
From: Jim Brodie, [
jim.brodie3@btinternet.com
]Edinburgh, 16 May 2007
For several years now I have been trying to find a description of an
ancient two pronged digging implement which may be similar to those carvings
on Pictish symbol stones in Scotland. No luck so far. Does the digging
fork your article mentions [first
page of Who
is a Tamil ] have two long prongs and a short
handle. In all about 70 cm. long? Thank you for any help that you can give
me.
Response by tamilnation.org
Vannakam. We have been unable to contact
the author and we regret our inablity
to respond to your query. We are however posting your request in our
Comments page so that visitors to site who may be able to help may contact
you directly.
From: Sarah Raymond [
sarahr@gardenmoment.org ],
15 May 2007
Hello, I don't have a large budget but I will pay you something in the
ballpark of $35 dollars to place a text ad on your webpage:
http://www.tamilnation.org/indictment/indict039.htm I can pay you
immediately through paypal. The text ad would be for a website that sells
designer glasses. Please let me know if you are interested! Thanks :)
Response by tamilnation.org
Vannakam. Many
thanks for your interest, though we did find your
choice of
link somewhat intriguing. Be that as it may,
we do not, in any case, place ads in our website.
From: Arumugam Boopathy, 13 May 2007
Thanksgiving - I am delighted at the invaluable service you are
rendering to the Tamils of the world.
Please keep it up.
Response by tamilnation.org
Mikka Nanri.
From: Puvirajan Rajen, Malaysia, 11 May
2007
I refer to the
report in
Tamilnet (10-5-2007) about the Bisop of Jaffna, Rt Rev. Dr
Savundaranayagam with Ambassadors Blake and Boucher. The Bishop executed his
Dharma and Duty very well. He
spoke the truth from his heart. My doubt is with the 'receptivity skills' of
the US Ambassadors. Do they know an Ambassador's Dharma?
From their looks and expressions, I sense they still have this thought
somewhere in the corner of their mind to bring about the defeat of the LTTE
which will then lead to genocide and destruction of not only Tamils but also
Tamil Eelam. This plan unless sanctioned by God will fail.
Nowhere in his message did the Bishop say a word to condemn the LTTE because
he knows that only the LTTE with the Grace of God will be able to protect
the legitimate rights of the Tamils and Tamil Eelam.
It is my humble prayer that Boucher and Blake convey the above true picture
to that bloke Bush in the White House so that it reaches Blair! Thank you. Many Sai Rams to Blake, Boucher, Blair and Bush! Embodiments of Love and Wisdom,
"... the human family is one indivisible Unity ... there is only one
caste, the caste of Humanity .... there is only one religion ... the
religion of Love ...."
What simple logic! What simple Truth this! Yet even such a thing cannot
be understood, will never be accepted, will be condemned as
blasphemy, ignored, despised upon and discarded! And so was the
advice given more than 2000 years ago, "Do not cast pearls before swine,
lest they ... turn against you ... Such is the way of this world or as
some ascribe to be the play, drama of God.
GOD loves Democracy!
From: Piyumi Samaraweera,
London, 9 May 2007
This is a message for Mr. Nadesan Satyendra.
Dear Mr. Satyendra,
My name is Piyumi Samaraweera and I am currently reading for my MSc in
Political Communication . I am doing my dissertation on new age diasporic
media and its role in nation building, and find
www.tamilnation.org
a wonderful example of this. I need to know if you are open to a dialog with
myself on the matter. I have done some (though admittedly not extensive)
research on the site but there's nothing quite like getting it from the
horse's mouth so to speak. I am currently also a student of
Nationalism and see so much of the body of
knowledge which resonates true within the
tamilnation.org
site. I realise that mine is one amongst many hopeful requests that get
posed to you on a regular basis, and also that your time is probably
limited. But I hope you will be agreeable to some form of exchange.
Response by Nadesan Satyendra
First, let me thank you for your comments re
tamilnation.org.
They were a source of encouragement and I was reminded again of the Albert
Camus quote
"...A writer writes to a great extent to be read - as
for those who say they don’t, let us admire them but not believe them." Your
area of research is a stimulating one. During the later part of the 19th
century, the print revolution brought Tamil from the ola leaves to
paper, from the select few literati to the many. Today,
the digital revolution is bringing Tamil
from paper to the computer and the internet - and is helping to bring
together Tamils living in many lands, not simply culturally but also
in political and economic terms. Having said that,
given the constraints on my own time I regret that I will be unable
to accede to the request that you have made.
I wish you well with your research efforts
on new age diasporic media and its role in nation
building.
From: Maria Bernard, Canada, 9 May 2007
Immigration and Settlement Canada Carleton Research
Hello, my name is Maria Bernard. I am working as a researcher for a
project led by Prof. Karim H. Karim of Carleton University. The project
looks at how whether the media provide information to immigrants to assist
them in settling in Canada. Is it possible for you to answer some questions
about your website, specifically the Canadian segment? This will not take
longer than 15 minutes. Your assistance in this research will be greatly
appreciated and would be helpful for your community as well.
Response by tamilnation.org
Many thanks for your interest. Regretfuly our remit does not extend to
making arrangements of the kind that you have requested. We wish you well
with your reasearch project.
From: Preeti Desai, Vice President
Strategic Alliances, Rediff.com India Ltd, 4 May 2007
We at Rediff.com would like to partner with you using our customized online
QnA [Question and Answer] service. Some of the features of Rediff Q & A
which is an extremely user friendly service are: a) Users from both the
sites can post questions and answers on categories of their choice. b) An
excellent opportunity to build a knowledge platform c) Opportunities of
users to become experts on subjects of their choice. We will customize the
service for you and it will be available to your users under your brand
name.
Response by tamilnation.org
We thank you for your interest. But at this time, we do not seek
to enter into 'partner arrangements' of the kind that you have suggested. We
wish you well with your efforts at
http://www.rediff.com
From: Sathya Narayanan, Chennai 1 May
2007
Anbula Aasiriyar avargaluku, This is an excellent web site where I visit
often. It is so educative that helps me to teach my kids. The best part
I like is Auvaiyar's
Athichoodi. Please continue this service. May God bless you.
Response by tamilnation.org
Mikka Nanri.
From: Safina Abbas Ali,
Pakistan, 28 April 2007
I am an undergrad student of Anthropological Perspectives of ethnicities
and nationalisms at Lahore University of Management Sciences. I am working
on my research project on the role of Tamil women in the Tamil nationalist
movement.
I wanted to know about the works published about the women in Tamil
nationalist movements, womens' role, their struggle and their motivation in
changing their role from domestic characters to active part of the movement.
It would be really great if you provide me with the names of books or papers
published on this topic and the content on your site regarding this topic. I
am sure it would be of great help in my research.
Response by tamilnation.org
You may find
Women & the Struggle for Tamil Eelam
and Women,
Nation & Struggle of interest. We wish you well with your research
project.
From: Kapil Goyal, USA 14 April 2007
Greetings, I am based in Chespeake, Virginia. We would like to place a
small ad on your website regarding our real estate business in Chennai.
Please let us know if that is possible and what formalities would be
involved. Sincerely,
Response by tamilnation.org
Many thanks for your interest. Regretfully, we do not place ads in our
website. We wish you well in your real estate business in
Chennai.
From: Harry Hammond,
Met Police Press Office, Scotland Yard, London, United Kingdom [Harry.Hammond@met.police.uk ],
13 April 2007
Hello, It's Harry from the Met Police Press Office based in Scotland
Yard. I have an important press release that needs sending out to various
Papers and websites. I'm hoping you can help me on gaining contact details
for them, the press release is basically about getting the Sri Lankan and
Tamil community to come forward with information about organised crime
affecting their community. I have already sent the press release to
Lankaweb.com, Asian Times, Asian, Voice, BBC World Service, UK Lanka Times
and Tamil's Information Ltd. However I'm still missing details for
Newslanka paper, Asian Post and Eelamurasu. If you could send me details on
how to contact them it would be great. If you would also like the press
release please send me your details too. Thanks, Harry
Response by tamilnation.org
Vannakam.
Regretfully, we do not have the information that you have requested. Perhaps
a Google search or a WHO IS search may be helpful.
Having said
that, we are posting your request in our Comments page so that
visitors to the site may contact you directly if they so desire. We wish you
every success in your efforts to combat organised crime affecting the Sri Lankan and Tamil
community - and organised crime, generally.
From: J.Venessa, California, USA 6 April
2007
I am originally from Trinidad and Tobago, now in California and
trying to trace or obtain as much information as I can about my great
grandfather who came from South India. I came across your site while trying
to obtain some information about Indians in
Guadeloupe and if any made their way
to Trinidad in the early twenty century.
Over the years, I have done a lot of research and collected
stories/info from my relatives. What led me to search for Indians in
Guadeloupe was that my relatives said that my great grandfather came from
South India to Guadeloupe and later made his way to Trinidad. I was looking
for any information relating to that matter.
However, when I clicked on the Trinidad link I was even more astonished by
what I read. My great grandfather by the way his name is Pandora Terriminy
came to Trinidad with the priest "Seshaiyar" they were boat
brothers as they put it and later was good friends, but I have no idea where
they came from. Thanks to your site I know the date my great grandfather
came.
However, do you have any idea if any people from Guadeloupe made there way
to Trinidad in the early twenty century? Also any information about the
priest "Seshaiyar" from the Caura Road Temple would be a great deal of help.
Thanking you in advance.
Response by tamilnation.org Regretfully,
we do not have the information that you have requested, However if any
visitor to this site has any info that may help you in your search and
emails the same to us, we will be happy to forward the same to you.
Meanwhile we wish you well in your efforts - and we are happy that we have
been of some little help.
From: Krishna Chaitanya, India,
6 April 2007 [
kc_dcm@yahoo.co.in ]
Greetings. This is Krishna Chaitanya V., from India. I have one request
for you. I am working on a paper examining empirically the determinants of
Military Expenditure of Sri Lanka from 1980 to 2006. I have taken most of
variables which directly or indirectly affect the Lankan military
expenditure, which include, GDP, openness, civil war, number of political violence events,
number of deaths, population, ability of the government to
fund military expenditure (proxied by Treasury Bill Rates and
foreign aid)
and budget deficit. However, I think one of the other important variable
which one must consider in the econometric model is Security Web, which is
described as the sensitivity changes in neighbouring country's military
expenditure or that country's military expenditure with which we have
trouble. Since Sri Lanka does not have any such external troubles like India
has with Pakistan and Bangladesh, I prefer to take LTTE's military
expenditure. This tells us as to how the Lankan government's military
expenditure is sensitive to the LTTE's military spending or expenditure. Now
the problem is, I do not know where to get the data on LTTE's military
expenditure. If you have any data or information about LTTE's military
expenditure, I kindly request you to inform me or share with me the data.
Regards & wishes.
Response by tamilnation.org
We do not have the information that you have requested
- and, in any case, our remit does not extend to acquiring or storing
or supplying information of the kind that you have requested. Given
that the LTTE is banned in India
(and in a few other countries) we understand the difficulty that you must be
experiencing in getting the information that you appear to require for your
research study. Perhaps, the Sri Lanka Defence Ministry may be in a position
to help.
From: Cem Sevingen, 31 March 2007
Re your "Ernest
renan, what is a nation?" lecture page - first, a thank you for the
translation. Second, there is a small typing error in the introduction
which changes the whole meaning -
“The piece in this volume to which I attach the greatest importance
is the lecture ‘What is a a nation?’ I weighed each part with
greatest care. It is my profession of faith regarding human affairs,
and I hope that these twenty pages will be recalled when modern
civilization founders as > FLOUNDERS AT the result
of the disastrous ambiguity of the words: nation, nationality,
race.” Ernest Renan in the Introduction to his Collected Speeches
my sincere regards...
Response by tamilnation.org
Many thanks for pointing out the error. We have corrected "founders" to
read "flounders". We feel that "flounders as a result
of the disastrous ambiguity of the words: nation,
nationality, race" gives a clearer sense of that which Ernest Renan
said.
From: Kundran Veeran, Malaysia, 22
March 2007
From: S. Thyagarajan, Tamil Nadu, 12
March 2007
I am interested in carnatic music CDs which are recorded and sold by
Amutham, USA. Are they available in Bombay or Chennai ? If so, can I
have the contact phone/address please?
Response by tamilnation.org
You will find some information about Amutham Music
at
Winston Panchacharam, the Original Disc Doctor
Additionally you may want to address your request to the contacts
mentioned in Amutham
Music website.
Dr. Winston Panchacharam (USA) has been the spark of
inspiration for the birth of Amutham Music.
From: Sarah Bliss,
Stumble Upon.Com, 3 March 2007
From: Christian Brackett, 1 March 2007
Hello. I've been looking all over the internet on how to pronounce
"Tiruvalluvar" or "Thiruvalluvar." Could you please tell me?
Response by tamilnation.org
The Tamil spelling is
திருக்குறள் and the "correct"
phonetic pronunciation would be Thiruvalluvar.
From: Narayanaswamy Viswanathan,
Iflex
Solutions, 26 February 2007
Hi , I wanted to know
the English version of all the Kural’s … So , I had visited this
page to get the same. It was really good But , I can get Kurals
only till 1080. Can you please provide the rest of the Kural meanings
also.
Response by tamilnation.org
The
page
you visited contains the English translation by
Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami of the Himalayan Academy.
He confined his effort to 108 of the 133 chapters
i.e. to verses 1 to 1080. You will find the English translation of the
remaining chapters (verses 1081 to 1330 included in the work of
Kavi Yogi Shuddhananda Bharatiar
- specifically at காமத்துப்பால்
- களவியல் and at
காமத்துப்பால்
- கற்பியல்.
From: Roop Kumar, 22 February 2007
I am one of MGR's ardent fans. I am writing a Blog about MGR from
December 2005, and updating regularly. Please vist my Blog
www.mgrroop.blogspot.com
that is in English and www.allaboutmgr.blogspot.com
in Tamil. Please help me to propagate this Blog to the World
Response by
tamilnation.org
We have included the links to
your blogs in our
One Hundred
Tamils - MGR page. MGR's contribution to the
Tamil Eelam freedom
struggle will always be
remembered by the people of Tamil Eelam.
From: B Bhuvanakrishna,
22 February 2007
I am really pleased to note that you have inserted
Ullagam Suttrum
Valiban – Title Song this week. I must also
thank you for inserting it at the appropriate time. God’s blessings for your
continued service to the Tamil Nation. Perform your duty without regard to
the fruits of action. Never let your sense of 'morals' prevents you from doing
what is right. Death never destroys the great souls who lived their life for
truth.
Response by tamilnation.org
Mikka Nanri. May God Bless.
From:
Angelika, Elisabeth, Peder &
Zikhder, Sweden 15/21 February 2007
Hello! We are four students at a masters programme in International
Museums Studies in Gothenburg, Sweden. We are currently working on an object
from a museum collection, gathering information about it and later on we
will make an exhibition including this object. The object is a kavadi with
the God Murugan riding a peacock which was collected in South India, the
Kunrakudi Temple during the
1920s.
Now, we are wondering if someone at this address can help us
with some information or if you know anyone else that can help us?
Our questions are as
follows -
What is and has the value of the kavadi been? Value concerning religion,
culture, national identity and such?
Is the kavadi only used during the Thaipusam Festival or also at other
times?
If the kavadi was to be a part of a museum exhibition, how would you like
to see it displayed? In what context? As a piece of art? As a religious
object?
As a Hindu object? As a Tamil object?
Concerning museum storing, are there any specific rules or
recommendations?
Who can/should handle it? Are there any traditional ways of storing it?
We would of course appreciate any kind of information, thoughts, ideas,
photos on the subject.
Thanks a lot! Angelika.
Response by tamilnation.org
We ourselves do not have any special expertise in this area.
We are posting your request here so that visitors to this site who may want
to help may contact you directly. You may also
find the following link of interest -http://www.murugan.org/kavadi.htm.
Additionally, you may want to raise your query in the
Agaththiyar
Discussion List
moderated by Dr. S. Jaya Bharathi (from
Malaysia) who is very knowledgeable in these matters.
From: Sastha.J.S, 15 February 2007
Sir, I am very much proud to see your dedicated work for
Tamil literature... There are no
words to praise your work.
From: Ali Hassan Awadh, Bahrain, 14
February 2007
I have a friend who speaks only Tamil, and wishes to learn English. Can
you help me where can I find books, materials that I can buy for him?
Response by tamilnation.org
You may find
Learning English Through Tamil by
Manikam Krishnan of interest.
From: K.
Narayanan, 13 February 2007
Hello, with much doubt, I made a
search for 'auvaiyar'.
I was surprised to see the good
work you have done. I should thank you on behalf of all Tamil people
for that. I was going through
Konrai
Venthan. The
eighth verse "Eva
Makkal
Moova Marunthu" ஏவா மக்கள் மூவா மருந்து
is something that perplexed me.
I could not get the meaning. Can you please
elaborate on that.
Response by tamilnation.org
An elaboration is given in a World Tamil Women Organization,
USA publication 'Kondrai Venthan Illustrated' as follows -
"The children who do their duties with no bidding act like ambrosia
to save parents from old age"
Professor Y.S.Rajan
suggested translation is "An active life is antidote to the ageing process"
Another suggested meaning is "குறிப்பறிந்து
செயலாற்றும் பிள்ளைகள் தேவாமிர்தம் போன்றவர்கள்"
From: P.Ganash Kumar,
Xchanging,
Bangalore, India 13 February 2007
Hi, I have recently seen your site towards my
search of Thirukural. I am surprised to see that your
first Kural translation
might be wrong.
'A'
leads letters; the Ancient Lord
Leads and lords the entire world.
Your translation for ‘Aathi’ is nothing but the
SUN. But, you are confusing the people by saying ‘The Ancient Lord’.
You can argue that the Sun must be the Ancient God but do explain the
things shortly / simply so that other than Tamilians can understand
easily. Thanks and Regards.
Response by tamilnation.org
Many thanks for your interest. However, the
translation is not by us but
by Kaviyogi Maharishi Shuddhananda Bharatiar.
It appears that you may have missed the reference to the translator at
the top of the page.
We have also published the
English
translation of the Kural by
Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami
of the Himalayan Academy which you may find of interest. The
translation reads -
"A" is the first and source of all the letters. Even so is God
Primordial the first and source of all the world.
அகர முதல எழுத்தெல்லாம் ஆதி
பகவன் முதற்றே உலகு.
From: Aravind Kumar,
South Africa, 10 February 2007
vazha tamil! valarha Tamil! engum Tamil! I am proud to belong to a
South African Tamil family. Vanakkam.
From: Hema Suresh, 10 February 2007
Hello Sir, I visited your website. It is really a wonderful site for
Tamil. tamilnation.org
ku engal panivarntha nandrigal. Valzha Tamizh. Valarga Tamizh.
From: S. M. Segaram Pillai, Australia, 7
February 2007
I am a regular visitor to your esteemed website. Selected articles you
publish provide in-depth information about the
art, culture and the
political struggle of the Tamil people.
Sanmugam Sabesan's articles, in
particular are authoritative, informative and factual, as far as the
Tamil struggle for freedom is concerned. It is a pity English translations of such articles does not
appear at regular basis.
From: Selvin Kumar, Madurai Kamaraj
University Study Center USA, 3 February 2007
I would like to bring to your attention that the Madurai Kamaraj
University in Tamil Nadu has expanded in the USA. They have started
a Distance Education Study Center in Maryland therefore enabling
people interested in continuing their education to attain a degree
of their desire. The University offers 99 courses and these courses
are affordable compared to the American Universities. The degrees
offered by the Madurai Kamaraj University are recognized through
World Education Services and is then equivalent to any degree
offered in the US.
I would like to encourage people to check into this. This program
helps one acheive his/her goal at one's own pace and at a resonable
price. The website for this study center is
www.mkudeusa.org and the website for the Madurai Kamaraj
University is
www.mkudde.org
From: K. Myvizhi, India 26 January 2007
This site is really fantastic. But it can be still more impressive and
interactive with the public.
From: Peter Wilson, [
pj.wilson@newsint.co.uk ]United
Kingdom, 23 January 2007
Hello, I am an Australian journalist based in London and hoping to get
your help in making contact with the LTTE in London. I am particularly
interested in finding out if it is possible for me to make contact with
Adele Balasingham, who of course is Australian-born. As the Europe
corrrespondent of "The Australian", (Australia's only national newspaper and
its most influential news publication), I am not an expert on Sri Lankan
affairs and would greatly appreciate any help or advice you can offer me on
how I can make contact with Ms Balasingham and her colleagues.Thank you
.(London) 07831-350-136
Response by
tamilnation.org
Regretfully our remit does not extend to making arrangements of the
kind that you request. However we are posting your
request in our Comments page so that visitors to the site who may wish to do
so may respond to you directly.
From: Vijayarani Fedson, [
ranifeds@yahoo.com ], University of
Chicago. USA 22 January
2007
I'm a Tamil researcher (my grandmother was from Jaffna), living in
Chicago, who has been a member of the team doing research for Prof
Robert Pape, of the Political Science department. I worked on the Black
Tigers and the Black Sea Tigers of the LTTE. He published the findings
of the team in his book, a cross-cultural study, in
Dying to Win a few years back.
I'm trying to get more information now in ongoing research on the
LTTE. The project is to collect any last Wills, Martyrdom videos, etc
made by the suicides before their last mission and other material
referring to them. The co-ordinator of The Chicago Project on Suicide Terrorism has
written to me :
"We're looking at all organizations that have used suicide attacks since
1980. We're trying to create a large collection of information
relating to the treatment of the suicide attackers- i.e. their final
statements, martyrdom videos, posters, terrorist propaganda, etc.
Hopefully we will be able to accumulate enough information to research
the cross-cultural differences between the pre-death rituals and
organizational treatment of the suicide attackers."
"Besides including a few anecdotal stories in his last book, Bob [Robert
Pape] did not list any of the names of the suicide attackers although he
had pretty good information on them. (I believe the only LTTE member
mentioned by name was Dhanu.) Instead the appendix in his book only
included the organization, date and casualties of the attacks. My
understanding is that this new project will follow a similar path -
although we are trying to collect the real names, this information would
not be made available to the public. Only those affiliated with the
project would be able to see them."
Could you please let me know (a) whether any of the material listed
above in bolded letters would be available for use in research, and (b)
where I can get such material?
Response by tamilnation.org
Vannakam, We ourselves do not have the information
that you seek. However we are posting your request in our Comments page so
that visitors to the site who may wish to do so may respond to you directly.
You may also find Sachi Sri Kantha
On
Suicide Bombers &
Educating Professor Robert Pape of University of Chicago of interest.
From: M A Waajid, India, 22 January 2007
Dear Sir, I am very happy today after seeing the
e books of Kalki in the internet and
my memories go wayback to 1967/68 when I was hardly 12 years old. At that
time I used to buy Kalki magazine for 40 paise every Thursday to read
Ponniyin Selvan out of my pocket money. I was a poor boy who could not
afford to spend 40 paise at that time. It was a very big amount for me. I
read the complete Ponniyin Selvan 5 Parts and I didn't know of the
demise of Kalki the great philosopher. He died even before of my birth. The
novel was serialised for the second or third time when I used to read the
story. Today I downloaded the entire novel and saved it in my PC. I am very
much thankful to you for the great job you have done for people like me. I
must also thank the Government of Tamilnadu for nationalising Kalki's books.
Thanking You
Response by tamilnation.org
Mikka Nanri. The digitisation of the Kalki novels is the
result of the
dedicated work of the team of volunteers at Project Madurai led by
Dr.Kalayanasunderam.
From: Sridhar Bharath, India, 20 January
2007
Hello sir, I visited your site. Really awesome & wonderful!...... Such a
dedicated website for Tamil.
From: Mariam Manuel Pillai, Matottam
a.k.a Mannar, 17 January 2007
தமிழ் நேஷன் ஐயா,
When I re-read Said's conscience rattling article on The Public Role of
Writers and Intellectuals, I said to myself, I must mail the link to the
reader's of தமிழ் நேஷன்
I'm in no doubt the late Said's
words are timely, sharp and deeply honest.
தமிழ்நேஷனின் சீரிய பணி தொடர்ந்து பலருக்கும் நன்மை பயத்திட என்றென்றும்
பிரார்த்தனைகள். அன்புடன்,
From: Anne Poiret [annepoiret@hotmail.com
], 16 January 2007
I am a French TV journalist working on the
massacre in Muthur
last August
of NGO Tamil staff in Sri Lanka. I know that some families left Sri Lanka as
refugees. I am trying to contact them in Switerland: could you help me? Best Regards.
Response by tamilnation.org
Vannakam, We ourselves do not have the information
that you seek. However we are posting your request in our Comments page so
that visitors to the site who may wish to do so may respond to you directly.
From: Nagalingam
Ethirveerasingham, USA 15 January 2007
On the International Community
Thank you for the
tamilnation.org
response
to Mr. Dhanapala's briefing to the Sri Lanka Caucus of the US House of
Representatives in 2001, where you countered Dhanapala's propaganda and gave
a rebuttal that the international community can accept. The
response to Victor
Rajakulendran's recent "Letter to President Rajapakse" will give the
Tamil diaspora ideas to form and act on a positive and worthwhile strategy
to move the struggle forward and utilise our time and energy to document the
reasons for the interests of various countries on Sri Lanka, and to
establish a legal frame under international law and treaties for our right
to self-determination. I whole heartedly agree with you. Such an exercise
would inform the international community and give impetus to the move
towards realising our right to self-determination.
tamilnation.org
has most of the literature on the subjects...
tamilnation.org's
latest publication of
Janaka
Perera's letter exposes the mindset of a majority of Sinhala
politicians, Buddhist priests and the armed forces of SL.
The survey by Centre for Policy Alternatives in November 2006 concluded
that, "A majority of the Sinhala (54.5%) community agree with the statement
“The Government should expand its military action including even to all out
war in order to weaken the LTTE.” A majority of the Up-Country Tamil (88.2%)
community disagree with the statement.
Your providing link to key words and phrases of Janaka Perera's article
effectively countered his ill-informed and outrageous statements. Janka
Perera refers to US Ambassador Wills'
address in Jaffna in March 2001. Your link to the
response to Ambassador Wills by the
Consortium of Jaffna NGO is one that I had not read before. I am
attaching hereto my letter to
Ambassador Wills and his response, (not previously published).
From:
A Visitor from USA, 15 January 2007
I was browsing
tamilnation.org
today and saw
Janaka
Perera’s name and wondered what he was doing there. But on looking at
all the links, I now know why. Hope he looks at it.
From: தேடும் மனிதன்
(Colombo, near the beach), 11 January 2007
Penning letters to the US Ambassador in Colombo or the SL President are good
examples of exercising one's democratic rights. At times, it serves the
purpose, if it is intended to expose concealment or to puncture a grand
ego. On odd occasions, it accomplishes the express purpose for which it was
sent. It gets the job done. At worst, by writing letters to the SL
President, your name may be logged on to a death list. No reason for any
one to be surprised at that! However, this is hardly a good reason to stop
writing in the name of simple truth, human dignity and decency and basic
honesty. As long as we are not bull-shitting - to put it crudely. But the point is
that penning a seminal piece, a scholar has found that there
are similar threads to be found in certain regimes that are more or less
akin to Nazism, fascism, even ? Chinthanaism. Such regimes tend to "form the historical models that define this twisted
political worldview." And it is found that these proto-fascist regimes often find
expression in these following characteristics:
1.
Powerful and continuing expressions of nationalism. 3. Identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause.
4. The supremacy of the military/avid militarism.
5. Rampant sexism.
7. Obsession with national security.
8. Religion and ruling elite tied together.
9. Power of corporations protected.
12. Obsession with crime and punishment.
13. Rampant cronyism and corruption.
Now of course, the driving question is: Does any of this ring any alarm
bells? If it does, wake up - and smell the coffee.
From: D. Ravi
Sankar, 10 January 2007
மதிப்பிற்குரிய
ஆசிரியர் அவர்களுக்கு... அன்பு தமிழனின் பண்பு வணக்கங்கள், தங்களின் உலகளாவிய
தமிழ்பணிக்கு என் இதயபூர்வமான வாழ்த்துக்கள், மற்றும் நன்றிகள்.
From: Onyi
Anatune, Department of Law, Governance And International Relations, London
Guildhall University, 6 January 2007
Hello Sir/Madam, I bumped into your website, as I am currently doing
a dissertation on
Self-Determination. I found your website very interesting and
informative, and I quite liked a lot of what I read... However, I was
somewhat disappointed when I looked at the list of "Nations" that are
yet to attain their full autonomy, and I did not see Biafra.
I assume that you are well informed in affairs of international
Law, as you have Ogoni on the List, obviously because of the
well-publicised hanging of the Ogoni leader in 1994..... but then, we
are not all knowing and perfect...so I shall give you a bit of history
Biafra, for your information is the first African
Nation in the African Continent to name and define itself outside the
British colonial structure. They attempted to secede from Nigeria in
1967 and fought a bitter civil war that lasted till January 1970.
The British and Soviet Union
did their very best to undermine and sabotage every effort of the Ibos,
and to prevent us building a nation where we can join the progressive
states of the world.
It was in Biafra that the world first saw pictures
of starving children when the Nigerian Government launched a war of
Genocide where millions of women and children died of starvation
The nation of Ibos or Igbos, is yet to gain self determination and
there is a peaceful movement on board to actualise this dream... Please
see
www.Biafraland.com for more information.
Response by tamilnation.org
Many thanks for your comments - and for your pointing out our
omission. We regret the omission and we have now included Biafra in
our list of
country studies. We wish you well with your research.
From: Muni,
http://upliftthem.blogspot.com,
http://greatscholar.blogspot.com, 6 January 2007
Hello, I read some of the articles in your Tamil Nation website, they
are very stimulating and thoughtful articles. I would like to use one of
the articles written in Tamil to record an audio of the article, mostly
read by me and is it ok to record it and put it on my blogger, can you
write to me the author's e-mail, so that I can check with the author
too. The title of the article is
Castes "Sathi" in Tamil by Shanmugam Sabesan from Melbourne, Au
Response by tamilnation.org Many
thanks for your comments. We have forwarded your email to Mr.Sanmugam
Sabesan in whom the copyright vests.
From: Rajiv, Chennai, 1 January 2007
அன்புள்ள தமிழ் நேஷன் ஆசிரியர் அவர்களுக்கு,
உலக தமிழர்களுக்கு நீங்கள் செய்யும் உயரிய பணி தொடர என் மனம் கனிந்த
வாழ்த்துக்கள். கண்டிப்பாக உங்கள் இணையதளம் மேன் மேலும் வளரும் என்பதில் திடமான
நம்பிக்கை உள்ளது. சென்னையில் மட்டும் அல்ல தமிழகம் மற்றும் இந்தியா குறித்த
எந்த ஓரு தகவல் வேண்டும் என்றாலும் என்னை தொடர்பு கொள்ளலாம். உங்கள் குழுவில்
உள்ள அனைவருக்கம் என் வாழ்த்துக்கள். அன்புடன், ராஜ்வீ
 [see
also Visitor Comments:2006]
|
|
rating
to the tamilnation website. [A well organised, and extensively annotated guide to Tamil-related
resources - ed.] Research usefulness [essential
- v.useful - useful - interesting - marginal]: Essential
