By Easwaran Rutnam Misguided nationalism is posing a serious threat to national unity as a result of various comments made in public in recent times and some unruly incidents. The latest comment made by state officials, which has stirred Tamil sentiments, is a purported decision not to sing the National Anthem on Independence Day in Tamil. The comment was seen as being made in an attempt to promote what minorities feel is misguided nationalism. The Public Administration Ministry had been quoted as saying that the 72nd Independence Day celebrations will be held on 4 February at Independence Square in Colombo on a grand scale during which the National Anthem will be sung only in Sinhala. While the Government is yet to formally announce if the comments made by the Public Administration Ministry is the official stand taken by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the comments have already drawn strong reactions from Tamil politicians, both in Sri Lanka and in India. The National Anthem was sung in Tamil at the official Independence Day celebrations in 2016 for the first time since 1949. Then President Maithripala Sirisena had decided to have the anthem sung in Sinhala and Tamil in order to promote reconciliation among communities. The current Government, which won the recent presidential election, mainly based on Sinhalese votes, has reportedly turned tables and decided to stick to only Sinhala. Former Minister of National Co-existence Mano Ganesan wrote to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa saying the reported move to sing the National Anthem only in Sinhala has shocked the Tamil community. He said that the move will only divide the communities in Sri Lanka. Ganesan urged the President to stick to his word that he will be the President for all communities in Sri Lanka and reverse any decision taken to sing the anthem only in Sinhala. He also later tweeted noting that the Sri Lankan National Anthem was sung in the Sinhala and Tamil languages on 4 February 1949 and later they were recognised as national anthems in 1952 with the Sinhala version being sung in the South and the Tamil translation sung in Tamil areas. “Let us use the national anthem with the same meaning and music score to bring Sri Lankans together as children of one mother,” Ganesan tweeted. Ganesan said that as Minister of National Co-existence, he worked hard to reintroduce the National Anthem in Tamil at Independence ceremonies. “When it commenced in 2016, I tweeted ‘a small step – a long way’ to win the hearts and minds of the Tamil community by giving them a sense of Sri Lankanness. Now, do not change this patriotic step in the name of false nationalism. Let us not build Sinhala, Tamil,Muslim states but one Sri Lankan state with a Sri Lankan identity,” Ganesan said. Meanwhile, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), the largest Tamil party in Sri Lanka, also raised concerns the over move to sing the National Anthem only in Sinhala. The TNA accused the Government of taking steps which would suppress the rights of Tamils in the country. TNA General Secretary Mavai Senathirajah said that singing the anthem only in Sinhala will create disunity among the communities. He also said that the recent actions of the new Government had only further isolated the Tamils in the country. Senathirajah said that the Tamils have been patient in the recent past in the best interest of national reconciliation and to ensure a political solution. However, he said that the actions of the new Government had put that patience to the test. He noted that the actions of the Government had reiterated the position that despite Independence, the Tamils in Sri Lanka have yet to enjoy true freedom. Leader of the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation (TELO) Selvam Adaikalanathan said that he condemns any move to sing the National Anthem only in Sinhala. He said that justifying the need to make Sri Lanka a Sinhala-only country just because a majority of the Sinhalese voted for the new President is unacceptable. Adaikalanathan said that the TNA will raise its concerns over the move when Parliament convenes later this week. He asserted that the Tamil language has the same recognition that the Sinhala language has in this country and that cannot be overturned. The issue has also drawn attention in India. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) President M.K. Stalin and Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) Founder S. Ramadoss had flayed the Sri Lankan Government’s decision to sing the National Anthem in Sinhala only on Independence Day and termed it as an attempt to isolate the Sri Lankan Tamils. Stalin had sought the intervention of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on the issue. Stalin tweeted that such majoritarianism acts would lead to isolation of Tamils in the island nation. Ramadoss, in a statement, said the Sri Lankan Government’s decision to sing the National Anthem only in Sinhala during the country’s 72nd Independence Day celebration on 4 February 2020 was an insult to Tamils and he strongly condemned it. He said the Sri Lankan Government had taken such a decision to appease a majority of Sinhala people who voted in favour of them.