Alarming fall in fertility rate in genocide-affected nation of Eezham Tamils

[TamilNet, Sunday, 11 December 2016, 23:39 GMT]
The district with largest number of Eezham Tamil population in the entire island is Jaffna district. But, it is the district with lowest fertility-rate registered in the whole island. If Tamils fail to take proper measures to address the issue, their status will decline as the third ethnicity, ranking below Tamil-speaking Muslims by the year of 2028, according to the projection by Murali Vallipuranathan MBBS, who holds expertise in population studies. A systematic genocidal policy of birth control is being implemented against Tamils, the expert says with credible evidences and statistics. While controlling the birth rate among Tamils, there are systematic efforts to accelerate the birth rate among the Sinhalese, both by the SL State machinery and the sections of Sinhala extremist groups such as the Bodu Bala Sena (Buddhist Power Force) that function as pressure groups on the government.

In 2013, the BBS went to the extent of false propaganda twisting the figures of statistics, the expert further explained at an awareness meeting held in Ki’linochchi at the end of November.

The current government is not different from the previous one in implementing the genocidal politics of demography, was the implied message of the experts in the field of population studies.



Dr Vallipuranathan has engaged himself in undertaking district-wise and village-level awareness campaign among the grassroots in the North and East.

The birth rate of other communities in the island has been sharply accelerating in contradiction to the decline registered in all the other countries in the South Asia region, he further observed at an awareness meeting held in Ki’linochchi in November 2016.

Eezham Tamils constituted 12.7% of the population in the island before the war intensified in the island in 1981. But, according to the 2012 Census, their percentage has dwindled to 11.2%.

The percentage of Up-Country Tamils has also fallen from 5.5% to 4.2%, despite having higher fertility rate than Eezham Tamils.

Forced birth control measures have been systematically implemented among the Up-Country Tamils for several years, Dr Vallipuranathan said.

Same genocidal tactics were applied to Eezham Tamils while they were detained at barbed-wire camps after 2009, he observed.

While discouraging Tamils from giving birth, Sinhala soldiers were encouraged with monetary assistance of 100,000 rupees for another child in South, he said. The policy is still in force regardless of the change of regime.

Apart from the genocidal approaches, there are also issues related to detrimental socio economic practices among Tamils, particularly late marriages due to financial burdens and discriminating practices such as the practice of dowry, caste and other forms of social discriminations, Vallipuranathan said urging increased awareness among Eezham Tamils.

The medical expert also condemned the lack of alternative development process among Tamils. The scope of development thinking prevailing among those who help from abroad also stop at assistance towards backyard poultry farming, he said urging solution-oriented re-unification efforts.

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