Myanmar's Tamils seek to protect their identity

Motivating young Tamil students to attend classes in Myanmar is a formidable challenge

People of Indian origin make up of roughly 2% of Myanmar's 55-million population, but the experiences of amil people - !ho comprise the largest group - ha"e "eered from one extreme to the other in the past 2## years$ After independence in 1948, the introduction of land reforms, the imposition of the Burmese language and the decision to give preferential treatment to the majority Burmese community pushed Tamils do n in the social hierarchy! They are no trying to revive their language and culture by opening ne Tamils from south "ndia began migrating to Myanmar # also no during the early 19th %entury! Political uphea"als But unli$e indentured labourers ho ent from "ndia to counties such as &ri 'an$a and &outh Africa , Tamils in Burma ere not ta$en on by the colonial administration! "nstead they or$ed as agricultural labourers for members of the traditional merchant caste $no n as (agarathars! )*e have a temple hich as built in 18+,! &ome say the first Tamil settlers arrived in 18-4,) says .hanapal, a trader living in the port city of Ma lamyine! At the turn of the -/th %entury, Tamils established themselves in agriculture and trade in hat as then Burma! But their fortunes too$ a huge do nturn during the *orld *ar T o and subse0uent political upheavals! schools!

$no n as Burma #

After the 1apanese invasion of Burma, many thousands of Tamils ho or$ed in urban areas for the British colonial administration returned to "ndia! 2nce independence as secured, the Burmese government introduced land reforms and too$ over vast tracts of irrigated land and businesses as part of a nationalisation drive! 'Permanent damage' The imposition of the Burmese language as the medium of instruction # combined ith the forced closure of Tamil schools in the 19,/s # triggered another ave of reverse migration!

There is a visible bond bet een Buddhism and 3induism in many 3indu temples But many Tamils have deep roots in the country! They $ept a lo profile and slo ly improved their fortunes by mending their relationship ith the majority community and staying a ay from politics! &eptuagenarian (ainar Mohamed says that the closing do n of Tamil schools by the government some 4/ years ago caused permanent damage! )*hile travelling in a train " sa a group of girls clothed in traditional saris,) he said!

)They had long hair and ore flo ers! But hen " tried to spea$ to them in Tamil, they ere not able to understand a ord! 'arge numbers of Tamils here cannot read, rite or even spea$ Tamil!) &umathi, -/, is a fifth generation Tamil! &he lives in an area inhabited by many Tamil families in Ma lamyine!

&he li$es to ear traditional Burmese dresses and applies thang$a # a yello ish paste # on her chee$s! )" or$ in a local shop! " spea$ in Burmese at my home! 5ven my Tamil friends prefer to spea$ in Burmese! " can understand a bit of Tamil but can6t spea$ it,) she says in bro$en Tamil! &he has no intention to attend Tamil classes! "n her neighbourhood # hich out ardly has symbols of Tamil culture # there are many others ho struggle to spea$ the language!

Many younger Tamils do not spea$ the language and adopt Burmese customs The younger generation of Tamils eats Burmese food, spea$s the Burmese language in their homes and in many cases prefers to ear traditional Burmese costumes! 7nli$e the previous generation they have very little emotional connection ith the land of their ancestors! This trend is giving ay to fears of total assimilation! )2ur boys and girls don6t $no Tamil or &ans$rit! They don6t $no the history and cultural traditions of our community! &ome have even embraced other religions,) says .evaraj, a trustee of a 8angoon temple! To arrest this trend he has started organising religion classes for 3indu children! Barring a small number of Muslims and %hristians, Burmese Tamils are predominantly 3indu! There is a visible bond bet een 3induism and Buddhism! There are more than 1,/// 3indu temples in present#day Myanmar! "n some of the more famous temples ethnic Burmese visitors outnumber Tamils! All 3indu temples have a statue or image of Buddha! 5ven though some 3indu

traditions accept Buddha as a reincarnation of 'ord 9ishnu, not many temples in "ndia have Buddha statues! Members of the Burmese Tamil community say that this mutual understanding means that they have largely escaped religious violence hich sometimes has plagued Burma! But hile Myanmar6s military rulers did not interfere ith temple administrations, the closure of Tamil schools meant that the Tamil language as only taught in temples # and then only for the purposes of fostering religious education and music and dance! The restrictions meant that Burma6s Tamil population has remained isolated for many years!

5vidence of Tamil culture is not hard to find # such as this statue of reno ned poet Thiruvalluvar "t maintained very little contact ith Tamil (adu or ith other ell#established Tamil communities living in &ingapore and Malaysia! Many Tamil teenagers # and their

parents # have not even seen "ndia! But ith change s eeping Myanmar, many ne schools # hich are $een to go beyond religious education only # have emerged! )*e have prepared a syllabus and brought out boo$s hich are given free! *e train the teachers and are doing everything to motivate the students,) says : &hanmuganathan, a teacher overseeing do;ens of Tamil schools in Burma! Tamils in Burma are thinly spread, e<cept in a fe villages! "n many places it is difficult to muster enough students to justify the salaries of teachers # usually paid by the voluntary contributions from Tamil businessmen! Motivating young students to attend classes is a formidable challenge! )&ome as$ me hy e should learn the language hich is not going to provide job opportunities and has no practical utility! " tell them this is about our o n history and identity! *e ill not be able to call ourselves Tamil if e lose our language,) Mr &hanmuganathan says! Tamil teachers say that if present efforts are sustained, the community ill be able to $eep the Tamil culture and language alive for years to come!