This memorandum is presented to you in the hope that through you, world conscience
will be awakened to the present plight of the Tamils in this country, who are being
systematically subjected to a denial of human rights, various forms of racial
discrimination and other practices which could lead to the genocide of the Tamils.
The Tamils of Ceylon constitute a separate nation divided from the Sinhalese nation
by territory, language, religion and culture. (See Appendix) At the beginning of
European conquest, there were THREE SEPARATE KINGDOMS in Ceylon: A
Tamil kingdom in the North and two Sinhalese kingdoms in the South. The Tamil
kingdom fell to the Portuguese in 1619. The Dutch replaced the Portuguese in 1659,
who in turn capitulated to the British in 1796. The British also took over the Kandyan
Sinhalese kingdom in 1815, thus gaining mastery over the three kingdoms covering
the entire island. These territories which were isolated from each other and
administered as separate areas were brought together into one administrative unit by
the British in 1833. This was done for reasons of administrative convenience without
consent of the peoples of the island. In fact the Kandyan Sinhalese protested against
this unification.
The British thus imposed a common administrative system on the whole island with
English as the Language of the government. In this way they brought together two
peoples who had lived separately through the ages. When it became clear that the
British were ready to share some of their authority with the local leaders, the conflict
between the Tamils and the Sinhalese came to the surface. In 1945 when the time
came for the transfer of power to the peoples of this country, the Board of ministers
submitted their own proposals for a new constitution. The Tamils almost in one voice
rejected their proposals in-as-much as they were calculated to place the minorities of
Ceylon in a position of subordination to and dependence on the racial majority.
A Royal Commission under the Chairmanship of Lord Soulbury was sent to Ceylon in
order to examine and discuss any proposal for constitutional reform in the island.
Recognizing the general state of apprehension and suspicion in the minds of minority
communities when power was to be transferred from neutral British hands to the
people of a country, the commission became alert to the need for minority safeguards.
The Commissioners therefore accepted the assurance of the Board of Ministers in the
belief that the latter were fully aware that the contentment of the minorities is
essential, not only to their well-being but to the well being of the Island as a whole.
Moreover the British Government issued a White Paper on the basis of the
Commissions report and made it clear to the Board of Ministers of Ceylon, that any
legislative action by the British would be conditional on the acceptance of their
proposal by the minorities. This acceptance was secured by many promises and
assurances by the Sinhalese leaders, the hollowness of which have been manifest by
the actions of successive Governments. It is significant that Lord Soulbury himself
was later disillusioned by the disregard of these assurances by the Sinhalese leaders.
Lord Soulbury has in his forward to the book, Ceylon a Divided Nation by Professor
B. H. Farmer said:
"The Commission had of course a cursory knowledge of the age long antagonism
between these two communities but might have been less hopeful of a solution had
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