Foreword: The Continuity of Sinhala–Buddhist Supremacism and the Political Reality of Tamils
In Sri Lanka, governments may change, leaders may change, and political alliances may shift — but the state’s administrative and political approach towards Tamils never changes.
This exposes an undeniable truth:
The Sri Lankan state is structurally built upon Sinhala–Buddhist supremacism.
The clearest evidence:
• Buddha statues are illegally erected across the Tamil homeland.
• Even when courts order removal, the same night — under police protection — they are reinstalled.
• This is not the work of any one officer.
• It is the permanent ideological project of the Sinhala nation-building agenda.
Tamils, on the other hand:
• Fight only for their rights.
• Are not against the Sinhala people as individuals.
• Are not against Buddhism.
• Even during the war, protected Buddhist temples from harm.
Yet the problem remains:
Sinhala-Buddhist nationalism = a racist political doctrine designed to deny Tamil self-determination.
Understanding this is the first step to understanding the history of Tamil nationalism.
❶. Sacrifice in Human Societies: A Psychological–Anthropological Foundation
1.1 The Origins of Sacrifice and Social Unity
From the earliest human communities, rituals involving:
• blood offerings,
• ancestral rites,
• clan worship,
• warrior ceremonies
served as mechanisms to build group cohesion.
Human psychology has always believed:
“Social unity is built on shared blood.”
1.2 Sacrifice in Civilizational Religions
As civilizations evolved:
• Jewish sacrificial traditions,
• Roman and Greek rituals,
• Christianity — built upon the blood sacrifice of Jesus,
all reveal a universal truth:
No society comes into existence without a foundational act of sacrifice.
During Jesus’s lifetime, Christianity did not form a unified community.
Only after his sacrifice did it become a global force.
1.3 From Religion to Nation: The Modern Transformation
When religion could no longer serve as the primary organizing principle of societies, a new phenomenon emerged:
Nationhood = a secular religion.
Its foundations include:
• the blood of fallen heroes,
• public commemorations,
• national myths,
• the sacredness of sacrifice.
Without these, a “nation” cannot form.
❷. Why No Nation Can Exist Without Sacrifice
2.1 Blood Creates Kinship
Sociologists explain:
When everyone sheds blood, everyone becomes kin.
Therefore:
• Victory in war is not the decisive factor.
• Sacrifice is.
Because sacrifice:
• connects the individual to the collective,
• transforms pain into shared memory,
• creates the idea of “us”.
This is the psychological birth of national unity.
❸. Prabhakaran and the Maaveerar: The Psychological Birth of Tamil Nationhood
3.1 Why Tamil Nationalism Did Not Deepen Before Prabhakaran
Earlier Tamil political movements:
• spoke about Tamil nationalism,
• but lacked a tradition of sacrifice,
• had no structured commemorative rituals,
• had no continuous heroic narrative.
Thus they created interest, not nationhood.
3.2 The Fundamental Transformation Created by the Tigers
The Tigers:
• shed blood,
• built memorial stones,
• institutionalized Maaveerar Day,
• turned sacrifice into a collective ritual,
• constructed a hero–centric national history.
This created the complete five-layer model of modern nation-building:
Sacrifice → Ritual → Memory → Unity → Nation
For the first time in Tamil history.
3.3 Today’s Reality: The Only Foundation of Tamil Nationhood
Without Prabhakaran and the Maaveerar, Tamil nationalism does not exist.
Without them, Tamil unity does not exist.
3.4 No Substitute — Why?
Tamil nationalism has:
• no alternative history,
• no alternative sacrificial tradition,
• no alternative symbols.
Any alternative would need to surpass the sacrifice of the Tigers —
an absolute impossibility.
❹. Maaveerar Commemoration: A Cultural Engine of Nation-Making
4.1 Maaveerar Day: Not a Day of Mourning — A National Ritual
Maaveerar Day is:
• not sorrow,
• but a national rite of renewal.
Through ritual:
• sacrifice is emotionally revived,
• unity is reinforced,
• memory is transmitted across generations.
4.2 The Nachchiyar of Ancient Tamil Tradition: Nadukal and Hero Worship
Ancient Tamil culture:
• honoured fallen heroes with Nadukal,
• celebrated heroic epics,
• practiced warrior veneration.
The Tigers revived this cultural heritage, giving Tamil nationalism:
• historical roots,
• cultural depth,
• political legitimacy.
❺. Language and Homeland: The Twin Pillars of Ethnic Identity
The survival of any nation rests on:
• a national language,
• a historical homeland.
5.1 Tamil Homeland = The Ancient Land Defined by Tamil Civilization
Eelam is:
• a thousand-year Tamil settlement,
• a land inscribed with Tamil language and culture,
• the northern axis of the Tamil maritime world of the Indian Ocean.
This is not merely a political boundary.
It is the geographical consciousness of Tamil identity.
5.2 A Nation Without a Homeland Cannot Survive
Without homeland:
• nationalism collapses,
• language weakens,
• ethnic identity dissolves.
Thus protecting the homeland is protecting life itself.
❻. Sinhala–Buddhist Supremacist Strategy: Erasing the Tamil Homeland
The Sri Lankan state’s long-term plan includes:
• erecting Buddha statues,
• expanding military camps,
• altering land boundaries,
• seizing Tamil lands through the Forest/Archaeology Departments,
• spreading Buddhist centres inside Tamil regions.
All these are modern political weapons aimed at dismantling the Tamil homeland.
❼. Maaveerar: The Shield, Foundation, and Future of Tamil Nationhood
The Maaveerar are:
• the spine of Tamil nationhood,
• the mothers of unity,
• the heartbeat of sacrifice,
• the sanctity of Tamil history.
They:
• achieved the impossible,
• offered unmatched sacrifice,
• created a history unparalleled by any nation on earth.
❽. What Tamil Nationhood Needs Today
• continued remembrance of sacrifice,
• transmission of Maaveerar legacy to future generations,
• unwavering protection of homeland rights,
• reconstruction of Tamil national history,
• safeguarding culture, language, and memory traditions.
This is the path to the survival and continuity of Tamil nationhood.
Conclusion: A Nation That Forgets Its Martyrs Will Perish
“A nation that forgets its history is unfit to live.”
“A nation that waits forever will be erased by time.”
The Maaveerar who rest in our soil have handed us:
• the shield of sacrifice,
• the foundation of nationhood,
• the torch of the future.
Maaveerar Day
is not merely a day of remembrance —
it is the sacred day of the rebirth of Tamil nationhood.
Written by: Eelaththu Nilavan
Tamil National Historian | Global Politics, Economics, Intelligence & Military Analyst
