Tamil Nadu has come full circle on the Sri Lankan Tamil issue. After having hurriedly buried the ghosts of the Nineties, its politicians have voiced in unison at an all-party meet — boycotted by the state’s main opposition parties — that all members of parliament belonging to Tamil Nadu would resign if the Centre refused to enforce a ceasefire in Sri Lanka. To emphasize the threat, Kanimozhi, Tamil Nadu’s golden girl and a member of the Rajya Sabha, has staged a mock resignation as well. This is parochialism and political opportunism at their worst. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, which has the largest presence in parliament from the state, cannot be unaware of the fact that its jingoism threatens the country with political instability at a critical hour. Yet, it finds the need to protect its throne in the state so overwhelming that it has not thought twice before throwing the gauntlet at the government of which it forms a crucial part. With its much-advertised Sethusamudram project put on the back-burner by court rulings, the party is desperate to see that its local mandate isn’t further undermined by its apparent lack of sympathy for the ethnic cause, which continues to agitate the electorate and has, thereby, set off an unholy competition among the political parties in the state.

There is no denying the human costs of the ongoing civil war in Sri Lanka. But Tamil Nadu’s politicians continue to hold the plight of the Tamil Tigers as synonymous with that of the rest of the Tamil population in Sri Lanka. Why else should the cry for a ceasefire reach a crescendo when the Sri Lankan army is only yards away from decimating the Tigers with its drive towards Kilinochchi? A ceasefire at this point would give another lease of life to the terrorist organization, and, once again, hold up a final political resolution to the conflict. If politicians in Tamil Nadu are really worried about the Tamil population in the island, there are ways of assuring it other than holding the Indian government to ransom over an impossible demand. India can raise a storm over human rights violations in a neighbouring country, but cannot impose its will on it. That will not only establish it as a regional bully but also stymie its own operations against terror organizations within the country. Politicians in the South should push for an effective devolution of powers and establishment of a federal structure in Sri Lanka instead of prolonging the conflict by their politics.