The last civil war in Sri Lanka ended in 2009. But did the problem for the Tamils end with that war? The answer is no! The problems faced by Sri Lankan Tamils due to Christian missionaries remain unnoticed by the international community. Various ‘Hindu organizations’ have long accused Christian missionaries in Sri Lankan of conspiring to destroy the culture, creed and religion of Tamil Hindus in Eelam. A recent announcement of the Christian missionaries in Sri Lanka seems to strengthen the accusation of the Hindu organizations.
The Federation of Christian Bishops in Sri Lanka operates under the name ‘North-Eastern Bishops’ Conference’. In a recent statement, the federation said that it had changed the day of remembrance of Tamils killed in the Sri Lankan civil war from November 27 to November 20. This announcement has greatly triggered Hindus with the All Ceylon Hindu Federation issuing a statement condemning this as a planned conspiracy against Hindus. Many Tamil Hindus have been questioning about saying “who gave authority to Christian missionaries, to determine the day of tribute to those who died in the Civil War?”
To find out more details Team Mission Kaali spoke to some of the executives of the Tamil organization in Sri Lanka. Asking their identities to not be revealed, they said, ‘Generally when talking about the problems of Sri Lankan Tamils, many people mistakenly think of Sinhalese as villains. But from the beginning the problem here was not the Sinhalese, but the Christian missionaries. Not many people know this.’
“Tamil Hindus and Sinhala Buddhists have lived in harmony in Sri Lanka for centuries. Hindus and Buddhists have been giving and taking women from each other for marriage. This was the situation until the 1920’s. It was only under during colonial rule that the situation began to change slowly. Christian missionaries who infiltrated the Hindu and Buddhist communities in the name of social service were involved in proselytizing and indirectly encouraged racist propaganda. After the independence of Sri Lanka there was a situation where Tamil Hindus were not treated equally. Following this, the Hindus began to peacefully urge the government to give them equal rights in the country.”, a person who wished to remain anonymous said.
The LTTE is an organization that established itself through armed struggle. But the LTTE never got along well with other organizations that gave voice to the Tamils. Many Tamil Hindus in Sri Lanka note that the LTTE brutally destroyed various Tamil movements and maintained close ties with Christian missionaries.
The LTTE’s activities were mostly based on Christian customs. For example, if a member of the organization died in battle, the organization would usually build a tomb for him.
“All this caused dissatisfaction among the Hindu Tamils. But Tamils were afraid to comment or act against the LTTE. The LTTE will not directly kill those who act against it. In ancient times Christians were arrested and tortured for several days and then burned alive. This is called ‘Inquisition’ (religious inquiry). Similarly, the LTTE routinely abducted and brutally tortured and then burned alive Tamils who did not support them. From this it can be understood that the LTTE was functioning in a church like structure.”, said another man Mission Kaali spoke to.
Many members of Tamil families have died in the war due to coercion and fear of the LTTE.
Although the Sri Lankan Tamil Hindus as a whole do not have a great devotion to the LTTE, they do have a devotion to the soldiers who joined the LTTE and sacrificed their lives. That is why Sri Lankan Hindus respect the ‘Heroes’ Day’ which is celebrated on November 27 every year. It is customary for them to light lamps for the fallen soldiers on that day.
When innocent people were dying in the civil war, Christian missionaries converted Hindus and Buddhists. In fact, many Sinhala Christians are actually Tamils who converted to Christianity a few generations ago! After converting to Christianity, Christian missionaries have been working against Tamils in the Sinhala identity. Similarly, Christian missionaries have worked against the Sinhalese by keeping the Hindus who got converted in the Christianity. Thus Christian missionaries on both sides have caused the death of millions of people by playing Sakuni.
“Not only that, the Sri Lankan government has now banned the celebration of the Heroes’ day. Hindus in Sri Lanka do not want yet another civil war. So on Heroes’ Day they silently pray for the dead soldiers. But the announcement by Christian missionaries that November 20 will be celebrated as Martyr’s Day is an indirect attack on Hindu freedom.”, they note.
The Karthigai Deepam festival is usually celebrated around this time with fervor. At that time, Hindus in Eelam, like the Hindus in Tamil Nadu, would light a lamp and celebrate the festival.
“If the hero’s day is celebrated at that time, it will create a confusion whether the lamp is being lit for the hero’s day or for Karthigai Deepam leaving the government in doubt. The government will begin to view all Hindus with suspicion. This will create an environment where Hindus will not be able to celebrate their festival peacefully. This is what Christian missionaries expect. Maybe if this happens future generation may even forget ‘Karthigai Deepam’. Fifty more years later, christian missionaries will built a narrative that the festival of Karthika Deepam was imposed on Tamils in Sri Lanka. The same Christian missionaries will propagate that Heroes’ Day is the true Tamil festival.”, they allege.
From the olden days, it was the custom of the missionaries to celebrate their festivals on the same day as other religious festivals. In this way, Christian missionaries gradually appropriate the customs of other religions making people to forget about the native culture and bringing them into Christianity. For example the calendar we currently use is called the Gregorian calendar.
Prior to this the Julian calendar was the norm in many countries. April 1 is the date on which the New Year is celebrated according to the Julian calendar. If we look carefully it is close to the New Year of Chithirai 1, the calendar of the Tamil Hindus.
But Christian missionaries then began to follow the Gregorian calendar. Accordingly January 1 became the New Year. They did this so that Christmas and New Year’s Day would come next. But many countries that followed the Julian calendar at the time did not accept this. They celebrated the New Year on April 1st. So Christian Missionaries began celebrating April 1st is as Fools’ Day just to tease them.
So, now January 1st has become the New Year. April 1, the old New Year, has become Fools’ Day.
Christian missionaries are now using the same technique for the Hindu festival of ‘Karthigai Deepam’.
(Views expressed here are the author’s own)
This article was originally published in Mission Kaali and has been republished here with permission.
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