Eelam Tamils let us invite scholars, not Entertainers

Over the past three years, 2024–2026, there has been a noticeable pattern of visits to Sri Lanka by Tamil Nadu film personalities, including visits connected with Colombo and, at different times, the Northern and Eastern Provinces.

The recent visit of Namitha, the September 2026 visit of Khushbu Sundar to Colombo, and other visits by Tamil Nadu actors and actresses during the past three years have once again raised an important question for Eelam Tamils:

WHAT KIND OF RELATIONSHIP DO WE WANT TO BUILD WITH TAMIL NADU or SOUTH INDIA?

There is nothing inherently wrong with cultural exchange, cinema, entertainment or individual visits. Tamil cinema is undoubtedly an important component of contemporary Tamil popular culture.

But Eelam Tamils must ask whether our intellectual and institutional engagement with Tamil Nadu has become disproportionately centred upon entertainers and celebrities.

If so, we need to reconsider our priorities.

EELAM TAMIL SOCIETY NEEDS SCHOLARS.

We should be inviting:

Historians.

Political scientists.

International-law scholars.

Constitutional lawyers.

Geopolitical analysts.

Anthropologists.

Sociologists.

Economists.

Researchers of Hinduism and Saiva Siddhanta.

Buddhist studies scholars.

Indian Ocean specialists.

Demographers.

Researchers in international relations.

Policy analysts.

Academic researchers.

The question “What is Tamil Eelam?” cannot be answered adequately through celebrity appearances or entertainment programmes.

It requires serious scholarship.

It requires historical evidence, historiography, political theory, international law, geography, demography, anthropology, religious studies, sociology and Indian Ocean geopolitics.

We must also critically examine concepts such as:

Nation.

People.

Nationality.

Territory.

Sovereignty.

Self-determination.

Hinduism.

Saiva Siddhanta.

Buddhism and its diverse historical traditions.

Eelam Tamil identity.

Sinhalese identity.

The historical and geopolitical formation of Sri Lanka.

These concepts must be defined carefully, historically contextualised and examined through reliable evidence.

WHY ARE WE NOT BRINGING MORE SCHOLARS TO THE NORTH AND EAST?

Why should Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu, Mannar, Vavuniya, Batticaloa, Trincomalee and Ambarai not become centres for serious academic dialogue between Eelam Tamils and Tamil Nadu or India?

Why are we not systematically organising:

• Historical conferences

• Archival research programmes

• University collaborations

• International-law seminars

• Self-determination research

• Hinduism and Saiva Siddhanta studies

• Buddhist historical studies

• Indian Ocean geopolitical research

• Demographic research

• Economic-development research

• Youth policy programmes

• Artificial intelligence and technology programmes

• Comparative Tamil studies

• International relations forums

CULTURAL EXCHANGE HAS ITS PLACE.

BUT CULTURAL EXCHANGE SHOULD NOT BECOME A SUBSTITUTE FOR INTELLECTUAL EXCHANGE.

We need KNOWLEDGE DIPLOMACY.

Tamil Nadu has an enormous intellectual ecosystem: universities, research institutions, historians, lawyers, political scientists, economists, philosophers, sociologists and specialists in South Asian and Indian Ocean affairs.

Eelam Tamils should be building structured and long-term relationships with these institutions.

Instead of repeatedly asking:

“Which celebrity can we bring next?”

we should be asking:

“Which historian can help us understand our past?”

“Which legal scholar can help us understand international law?”

“Which political scientist can help us analyse nationhood and self-determination?”

“Which geopolitical scholar can help us understand the Indian Ocean and India's regional interests?”

“Which researcher can help us establish an evidence-based historical archive?”

“Which university can partner with Eelam Tamil institutions to educate the next generation?”

These questions have far greater long-term significance.

THIS IS NOT AN ATTACK ON ACTORS OR ACTRESSES.

Artists have their legitimate place in society.

Cinema has cultural value.

Entertainment has its place.

The issue is PRIORITY.

If Eelam Tamil society continues to devote disproportionate attention to celebrity appearances while investing comparatively less in scholarship, research institutions, archives, legal studies and policy development, we must have the intellectual courage to question that imbalance.

A celebrity may attract thousands of people for an evening.

A scholar can influence generations of thought.

A university partnership can educate generations.

An archive can preserve a people's historical record.

A legal research centre can strengthen international advocacy.

A policy institute can contribute to serious public policy.

A research programme can create knowledge that remains valuable long after a celebrity has left.

THEREFORE, THE QUESTION IS NOT WHETHER ACTORS AND ACTRESSES SHOULD VISIT SRI LANKA.

THEY CAN.

The deeper question is:

WHY SHOULD ENTERTAINMENT RECEIVE GREATER INTELLECTUAL ATTENTION THAN KNOWLEDGE?

EELAM TAMILS NEED TO MOVE FROM CELEBRITY VISIBILITY TO INTELLECTUAL CAPACITY.

The North and East require more than stages and public appearances.

They require:

LIBRARIES.

ARCHIVES.

RESEARCH CENTRES.

UNIVERSITY PARTNERSHIPS.

POLICY INSTITUTES.

LEGAL FORUMS.

SCHOLARLY CONFERENCES.

INTERNATIONAL ACADEMIC NETWORKS.

Our young people need opportunities not merely to watch celebrities, but to become:

HISTORIANS.

LAWYERS.

RESEARCHERS.

POLITICAL SCIENTISTS.

DIPLOMATS.

ECONOMISTS.

ACADEMICS.

TECHNOLOGISTS.

POLICY-MAKERS.

This is how a society develops intellectual capacity.

This is how historical knowledge becomes strategic knowledge.

This is how cultural identity becomes intellectual confidence.

This is how international advocacy acquires scholarly credibility.

LET US NOT MERELY INVITE THOSE WHO ENTERTAIN US.

LET US INVITE THOSE WHO EDUCATE US.

LET US NOT MERELY ORGANISE CELEBRITY EVENTS.

LET US ORGANISE SCHOLARLY CONFERENCES.

LET US NOT MERELY BUILD AUDIENCES.

LET US BUILD INSTITUTIONS.

LET US NOT MERELY CELEBRATE PERSONALITIES.

LET US CULTIVATE INTELLECTUALS.

LET US NOT MERELY REPEAT OUR HISTORY.

LET US RESEARCH, DOCUMENT AND CRITICALLY EXAMINE IT.

LET US NOT MERELY SEEK VISIBILITY.

LET US BUILD KNOWLEDGE, CREDIBILITY AND STRATEGIC CAPACITY.

The relationship between Tamil Nadu and Eelam Tamils is too historically significant to be reduced to cinema and entertainment.

It should encompass:

UNIVERSITIES.

ARCHIVES.

HISTORICAL RESEARCH.

INTERNATIONAL LAW.

PUBLIC POLICY.

GEOPOLITICS.

ECONOMICS.

EDUCATION.

TECHNOLOGY.

HINDU AND SAIVA SCHOLARSHIP.

CULTURAL STUDIES.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS.

The North and East do not simply need more celebrity visits.

THEY NEED MORE SCHOLARSHIP.

They do not merely need stages for entertainers.

THEY NEED PLATFORMS FOR THINKERS.

And Eelam Tamil society does not merely need people who can attract a crowd.

IT NEEDS PEOPLE WHO CAN BUILD THE INTELLECTUAL FOUNDATIONS OF ITS FUTURE.

This is not anti-India.

It is a call for a deeper, more mature and more intellectually substantive relationship between Tamil Nadu and Eelam Tamils.

This is not anti-cinema.

It is a demand for intellectual balance.

MOST IMPORTANTLY, THIS IS A CALL TO EELAM TAMILS THEMSELVES:

LET US STOP MEASURING OUR CONNECTION WITH TAMIL NADU ONLY BY THE NUMBER OF CELEBRITIES WHO VISIT US.

LET US MEASURE IT BY THE NUMBER OF SCHOLARS WE ENGAGE, THE NUMBER OF RESEARCH PROJECTS WE BUILD, THE NUMBER OF ARCHIVES WE CREATE, THE NUMBER OF YOUNG RESEARCHERS WE TRAIN AND THE QUALITY OF KNOWLEDGE WE CONTRIBUTE TO THE WORLD.

LET US INVITE SCHOLARS.

LET US BUILD KNOWLEDGE.

LET US BUILD INSTITUTIONS.

LET US BUILD THE FUTURE.

Nila Bala (Balananthini Balasubramaniam)

Great Britain

03 October 2026