Zeina Mvemba
3:55 PM
09/11/09
Ethnic divide in India has progressed due to a simple issue on whether to remove burlap sacks from the statue of ancient poet Thiruvalluvar. The statue was to have been unveiled in 1991, but due to ethnic divide and acts of terrorism, Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated prolonging the reveal. The ethnic separation is between speakers of Kannada in Karnataka and the people of a neighboring state in Tamil Nadu. Historically, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have feuded over issues relating water control, and disagreements between the states chief minister’s. Efforts to keep the peace between the two states seemed to be prevailing with the compromise to finally reveal a Tamil speaking poet in Karnataka as long as another statue of a Karnataka poet was erected in Tamil Nadu. Tensions arose because of the final unveiling of the poet, causing strife to resurface. The statue is now blocked off by police barricades and is under constant surveillance, as if everyone is just waiting for the worst to happen.
Rivalry between ethnic groups are always a disappointment, innocent people become victimized only because of their heritage and birthplace. I find it sad that people were killed because of a simple statue of a man, who most likely did not promote violence. Although 18 years does not seem very long in comparison to other ethnic rivalries, it took over a decade just to unveil a simple statue. It is hard to imagine fighting with a neighboring state, only separated by a body of water and having to live in a constant fear of whether or not fighting will break out. The unveiling of the statue was supposed to ease the tensions between the people, and although some good has come from it, many people remain outraged by the statue. Overall, I think efforts to ease the tension should be continued, with the belief that this ancient rivalry will settle.
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