Ends and Means

Two days ago I was walking on Kings Road,South Harrow,London, on my way to buy milk from TESCO. On the way, I was stopped by three girls who asked me whether I am a Srilankan. I replied that I am not a Srilankan, but a Tamilian. With this, they handed over a leaflet to me which described the plight of Tamilians in Sri Lanka. They also asked me to pray for Prabhakaran. I simply smiled and left them.
Do I shed tears for Prabhakaran? The answer is "NO". There is a belief that "the end justifies the means". Is it correct?, I think that means are as important as the "end".Gandhiji is remembered as "Mahatma" and "Father of the Nation" in India because he chose means which did not hurt people. His no-violent satyagraha inspired people like Nelson Mandela in other countries. In his auto-biography, Mr Mandela clearly describes as to how inspired he was after reading and hearing about Gandhiji. That Gandhiji had stayed in South Africa is a different matter. There are other similarities between Mandela and Gandhi-both were lawyers and both went to jails-Mandela for a longer period.

Prabhakaran chose violent means to achieve his "end". Though he was believed to be charismatic, he had a bloated ego. His ego ran faster than his thoughts. During the course of his fight against Srilankan Government, Prabhakaran had killed many people- Tamilian civilians included. He killed other Tamil leaders like Padmanabha and a national leader like Rajiv Gandhiji. He had totally lost sympathy of the Indian Public after the killing of Rajiv Gandhiji. He wanted to be the undisputed leader of the Tamil Cause. After acquiring one third of land, he ran his own Government-Tamil Eelam. This Government did not provide any improvement in the standard of life of Tamil People.I have heard and read stories about how Tamils in LTTE controlled territory always lived in perpetual fear. The civil war in Sri Lanka killed as many Sinhalese as Tamilians. With his death, peace has returned to Sri Lanka. The job on hand,namely the rehabilitation of the Tamils is indeed
very challenging.The whole world will be watching as how the Srilankan Government deals with Tamils now.Using innocent civilians as "human-shield" for his own survival was another high blunder committed by Prabhakaran.

I also believe that the Government of India did not exert sufficient diplomatic pressure on Sri Lanka. Karunanidhi failed to use his strength with the Centre to push them. He was more keen accumulating wealth for his family. How a man of 84 could be attached to wealth so much remains a mystery to me.I also sometimes feel that if instead of Srilankan Tamils, it had been Srilankan Punjabi or Srilankan Gujarathis, the Government of India would have handled the issue in a different way. This is my view. Prabhakaran missed the bus for a negotiated settlement when it was offered to him by negotiators from NORWAY. His dream was a separate Tamil Eelam where he would be the undisputed autocratic leader.
I repeat that the "END" will never justify the "MEANS",