Wednesday

Prabakaran exhibited Civilisational Strength of Tamils at Mullivaikkal

Prabakaran desisted from activating Destructive weopons and Suicide bombs in Ealem war at Mullivaikkal – Father Jegath Gaspar reveals

Fr. Jegath Gaspar Raj, the founder of Tamil Maiyam showered praises on LTTE Leader Prabakaran as a Man of Civilisational Strength while delivering the key note address in the Regional conference of Lions club international held at Vivekananda auditorium of Anna University, Chennai on 3.01.2010.

The meet was organised by the noted linguist and environmental activist MJF Lion M.Sadasivam, Regional Chairman of Lions Club International as a conference on “Life and Oceans” (piraviyum perunkadalum) and in facilitation of a team of activists who walked 5000 kms in Tamil nadu and met 5000 people to awaken the people in a save water campaign.

Fr. Jegath Gaspar Raj

Father Jegath Gaspar was originally asked to deliver a lecture on the opportunities available to the people of Tamil nadu along the long shorelines to exploit the potential of setting up minor ports to encourage shipping and trade and to utilise the wealth of the sea. But at the request of Mr. Sadasivam, Father Jegath instantly agreed to talk on spirituality and life under the same topic (perhaps he reserved the topic for another occasion since he was to leave immediately to Erode for organising Sangamam an event of performing arts of music and dance promoting and showcasing Tamil culture).

Father Jegath, a Christian priest, began his speech by reciting Hindu hymns from Thiruvasagam , written by Manickkavasagam in praise of Lord Siva and Thiruppaavai written by Andal in praise of Lord Narayana. Both these rich Tamil songs belong to the medieval period of Indian spiritual and philosophical renaissance originating from Tamil Nadu which spread to north later. Father Jagath sung the songs set in tune by himself which left the audience spellbound.

He went to compare Vaishnavism as a religion asking to “celebrate the life” and Saivism as a religion advising on ‘ fulfillment of life. He explained why Vaishnavism is more closer to his heart.

You cannot fulfill a life without celebrating.
The one who is afraid of celebrating life has not lived.
The one who lives to celebrate shall not fear.
How can we describe this birth? Blessing or Burden?
Definitely it is a Blessing.

As one of the ways to enjoy life without fear he said that he practiced critical irreverence to everything. Nothing is above criticism.

I can criticize the Pope.
I will obey his (Pope) leadership but not before making my point
One should enjoy the life
And should not be a slave to anything.

And finally Father Gaspar touched upon the humanitarian tragedy in Srilanka.

I have inherited Tamil. My language is not a barrier to reach others. There is a huge misunderstanding about Tamils among other Indians. Others think that Tamils are linguistic fanatics. It is not true. Tamils have not killed Hindi speakers during anti Hindi agitation. We are the only race which has not killed anyone for speaking a different language. That is the “civilizational strength” (naagareegach chezhumai ) the Tamil speakers derived from their language. Tamil is my mother. Just because my mother is black and my neighbor’s mother is white or for any other reason, I cannot call the other woman as my mother. I will celebrate my mother.

All attachments come from my love for my language and culture. I am a staunch Ealemist. Sri Lanka is a tyranny of the majority and not a democracy. Sheer unwillingness of Sinhala to accommodate Tamils by language and religion is the root cause of the problem. Whether LTTE is there or not, Whether Prabakaran is alive or not I hope Ealem is the only solution.

On the fateful day at Mullaivaikkal where 20000 Tamils were massacred on a single day, Prabakaran had one choice. He had destructive weapons and human suicide bombs enough to kill one lakh innocent people in Columbo and elsewhere in Srilanka. He desisted. He is a Tamil and Tamils have the Civilisational Strength not to kill the innocent.

Father Jegath concluded by highlighting “It is love that drives us.
Never be drowned by hate”.

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(Fr. Jegath Gaspar Raj is a Catholic priest currently residing in Chennai, India. His academic qualifications include bachelor degrees in History, Philosophy, Theology and Masters in Political Science, and Strategic Studies. He served as an international broadcast journalist for seven years, co-founded the Chennai Sangamam, played the pivotal role in the making of “Thiruvasagam in Symphonic Oratorio”; co-founded “Give Life” project, was the chief architect of “Give Life Marg Chennai Marathon”.

Fr. Jegath Gaspar Raj is a staunch democrat with fervent faith in the ideals of freedom, equity and fairness. He fiercely resists every form of fundamentalism and believes very much in dialogue between religions and cultures. Through international radio he reunited around 4600 SriLankan Tamil families who were disintegrated by the civil war between 1996-2000. This he considers the best he has done so far in his life).
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(Also hear Father in audio about defeat of LTTE: Where do the Tamils go from here? visit http://www.jegathgasper.com/speak.html
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