Thursday, 20 August 2020

The GORDIAN KNOT / Vareethiah Konstantine/ S.Vincent? KadalveLi/ Kindle/2020

 


Foreword

    My perception of the Rameswaram Island which has become the focus of the problems of Tamil fishermen keeps changing with times. It has passed many stages as I have often donned the mantle of fisherman, reader, environmentalist, field activist and observer. My writings on various occasions stand testimony to it.

The state government has rightly shown concern in banning the underground gas pipelines as it would spoil arable land. But where did this concern go when it came to establishing additional units in Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant? Why didn’t the political parties raise their voices in this issue?

The livelihood and habitation of the traditional fishermen along the coastal stretch of Tamil Nadu are plundered every day by corporates and governments in the name of mega projects. Why should the state and the politicians keep talking about the travails of the Gulf of Mannar? Are all the other stakeholders staging a fake drama projecting the problem of the poor fishermen while carefully avoiding what is to be done immediately?

Transcending the governmental projects, the constructs and political discourse about the fishermen and the media hype, we wanted to find out what is actually happening in the Island. To begin with, we had regular interactions with leading writers of Tamil Nadu. We published more than 30 titles by writers from the coast on behalf of Neidhal Veli Publications. We also made short stays in Tamil Nadu coast from Pazhaverkadu to Neerodi. The scope of this mission was simple. As a first generation fisherman, I wanted to form my own picture of the ecology of our seas and sea coasts and the ethnic communities that depend thereof. I consciously avoided statistics and scripted versions and was keen to listen to the subaltern. My visits to Ramnad coast took place between 2008 and 2014.

An uneasy equation of bread and blood has been thrust up on the Gulf of Mannar. The livelihood of the traditional fishermen is in the grip of big investors and corporates who have no connection with the sea at all. The coastal leadership, political parties and the media have become the agents and handmaidens of these rich men and planned propagandas have been unleashed. It is these hapless artisans who are being sacrificed in mid sea every day. When will they become political enough to decide their destiny?

The Gordian knot is the product of my consistent and conscious search of the realities of the coastal subaltern, keeping the above question in the forefront. This is an alternative voice, trying to reveal the hidden faces of a familiar problem. The book is neither a prescription nor is a final word on the issue, but a plank for constructive transactions.

Back ground information on the study area and some fishing methods are additions to this edition. I thank the International Collective in Support of Fish workers for the literature.

To the altruistic warmth shown by the ethnic people along the Indian coasts, I’m indebted. I cannot thank enough my spouse Jacintha and daughters Nancy and Laura, for, the quality time and energy that have gone into this and other works of mine are what they consciously sacrificed all these years. To my beloved mother Elizabeth Konstantine, who left us for heavenly abode, I owe my life.

Vareethiah Konstantine

vareeth59@gmail.com | www.vareethiah.com

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