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A matter of identity

The instructions given by Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayaka for the speedy issue of National Identity Cards to Estate workers is a timely move given the emphasis being laid on the NIC in the current security context.

Today it is the lament of the Estate community that they are debarred from seeking employment outside the confines of the estates due to the lack of the NIC. This issue has time and again being brought up in Parliament by politicians representing Estate Tamils.

Some have charged that a deliberate ploy was afoot to disenfranchise Estate Tamils and exclude them from the national polity. It is hoped that the instructions issued by the Premier would allay such unfounded fears.

Not stopping at that the Premier has also issued a December 31 deadline for accomplishing this task. According to a spokesman of the Prime Minister’s office Estate superintendents will be entrusted to decide the age of those who do not have birth certificates.

This follows complaints from Minister Arumugam Thondaman that there is a large number of Estate workers without birth certificates- a pre-requisite for the issue of National Identity Cards. True, Estate workers more than any other segment had been the worst hit due to the non-possession of the NIC.

They are placed at an immediate disadvantage in securing employment or claiming eligibility for Government hand outs and other largesse. But where they suffer most is in their inability to undertake free movement given the strict application of the ID requirement due to the current security situation.

This restricted movement has made them confined to their estates and caught up in the poverty trap. Now with this matter fixed it is hoped a large segment of the Estate community would be free to venture out of their cloistered existence and seek fresh pastures far afield.

This free mobility it is hoped will free them from the grip of certain plantation politicians who had tied them to a life of servility, shielding them from the path of enlightenment that would expose their machinations.

The possession by all Estate workers of the National ID no doubt will go a long way towards removing the stigma attached to this segment of citizens. The problem of course has a history dating back to the times of indentured labour.

The disenfranchisement of many plantation workers under the first post Independence Government had its impact. The repatriation programme under the Sirima-Shasthri pact too combined to prey on the identity issue of the estate Tamil community.

As a result a considerable segment of the plantation Tamils suffered the indignity of being a fringe community. The matter was rectified by a subsequent Government by granting citizenship to all Estate Tamils.

Still though there is a sizable portion among the estate community who have no birth certificates and other valid documents to prove citizenship.

This has denied them opportunities open to ordinary citizens. Now the problem has been exacerbated by the requirement of the NIC for voting.

Hence the move by the Premier to reinforce the identity of the estate community as part and parcel of Lankan society is most salutary. It is a fitting tribute to their sweat and toil to bring much needed foreign exchange to the country.

This will also now put their minds at ease vis-a-vis the security factor.

While on the topic of National ID cards today there are a large number persons even in the South who do not possess a NIC due to various reasons and are handicapped in many ways as a result. Most of these people are tsunami victims who lost all their possessions in the Boxing day catastrophe.

One could also hark back to the times when IDs were collected from homes in the South during the height of the 88-89 uprising. These persons should be provided with alternative means of identification.

Today there is huge racket in forged National ID cards and all precautions may come to nought if this matter is ignored. The full might of the law enforcement agencies should be deployed to bust this racket and cover all loopholes in our security.
 

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