Confederation is not a bad idea

Iqbal Jafar's suggestion of a South Asian union on the lines of the European Community (IE, June 2) might offer a solution to territorial ...

Iqbal Jafar’s suggestion of a South Asian union on the lines of the European Community (IE, June 2) might offer a solution to territorial conflicts in this region, including the terrible war in Sri Lanka.

For starters, this is an arrangement that could be tried between India and Sri Lanka. As things stand today, the situation looks grim for Colombo.Writing in Outlook, Lasantha Wickrematunga, the editor of Colombo’s The Sunday Leader has almost accepted the inevitable. “After a quarter century of war and enormous sacrifices, they (LTTE) are unlikely now to settle for a regional council or even a federal state, which they could have had for the asking all along,” he says. “The battle is for Eelam and from the Tigers’ point of view, the only relevant negotiations are to decide where the boundaries should be drawn.”

For any sovereign state to accept secession of any part can be devastating. Sri Lanka does not even have the alibi of geography being on the wrong side, that helped Pakistan reconcile with the separation of its eastern wing. Perhaps, a third option in terms of Jafar’s proposal could be considered a confederation between India and Sri Lanka. If the two nations could form a new entity on the lines of the European Community a way may be found to prevent the LTTE from pressing for total secession. While the Tamils may refuse to continue as a part of a stand-alone Sri Lanka, they could accept participation in a broader South Asian confederation.

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Both Colombo and the Tamils could be given face-saving sops in such an arrangement. And for more than just cosmetic reasons, LTTE may find it difficult to cut itself entirely loose if India and Sri Lanka decide to forge confederal links. Sri Lanka can then claim that Eelam is still a part of a larger entity as a constituent of the island nation.

Sri Lanka, and to a smaller extent, India, have made a series of blunders in dealing with the Tamil problem. The only way to cover those mistakes is for all parties to compromise with some of their sovereignty.

In the age of globalisation, national barriers the world over will inevitably become less distinct. It is already happening in Europe. This will also happen in other regions of the world in due course. If such a situation is to evolve a few decades hence, why not let it happen now and find a less painful way to stop the bloodshed in Sri Lanka?Fortunately, India and Sri Lanka have always had close religious, cultural and ethnic links. And no territorial disputes plague relations between the two nations. Nor would the existence of two separate Tamil-speaking states be a hindrance. If India can have seven distinct Hindi-speaking units, the two Tamil areas can also exist separately.

In fact, the best way to overcome the fear of the two Tamil units, in India and in Sri Lanka, going their own separate way is to actually throw them together in one crucible. The dream of `one nation’ can be very heady as long as the envisioned entity remains just that a dream, but once it comes closer as a reality fissures begin to appear.

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How many times have the different constituents of the Arab nation tried to form unions, only to break up again? The Bengalis, being wiser, did not even ask for a Greater Bengal after Bangladesh came into being. The two Germanys, too, found that integration was not as easy as imagined earlier.

The Tamils of India and Sri Lanka have lived apart for centuries. They may have sympathy for each other, but what separates them are the Palk Straits and much more. The closest they will ever come would be as parts of a loose confederation. Karunanidhi, or even Vaiko, will never get into a bear hug with Prabhakaran. Which man in his senses would ever want to embrace someone who has grenades tied around his waist?