LIFE IN SRILANKA COULD BE - SO SIMPLE!!!

Life in Sri Lanka could be – so simple!
An article in The Island of November 19, Daring to Hope for Change, by Kath Noble has inspired me to pen this.

Life in Sri Lanka could be simple. Very simple indeed, if we ‘Sri Lankans’ just outgrew the need to display superiority of our respective origins. We also need to be able to avoid the compulsion to claim the ownership of our fair land. What the likes of Champika Ranawaka forget when putting forth the argument that the Sinhalese are the only original race in Sri Lanka, is that the aboriginal Veddah communities can claim prior ownership of this land as they are believed to be the descendants of the Yakkas and Nagas, the original tribes of our motherland.

The history of the sinhala race is common knowledge and even a primary school student would be happy to explain the probable origins of our race as recorded in history to Champika Ranawaka and anyone who is in agreement with that narrowest of narrow views.

Centuries have passed and as a country now in the name of civilization we should have been able to assimilate ourselves into a state with one identity––being Sri Lankan. That is not to say we should all forget our roots and ignore our individual heritage and culture. That, too, is important but it should be secondary to our national identity.

Sri Lanka is a democratic country which subscribes as a state to the teachings of the Budda. If the teachings of the Budda are indeed the basis of all practices that the country subscribes to then it’s puzzling how Sri Lanka attempts at all times to place the sinhala Buddhist above all others. In this county the teachings of the Budda are ignored when it comes to the rights to minority groups. Treating others the way r you wish to be treated is not practised when it comes to minorities.

Kath Noble raises the Cornish example to further illustrate the problems of a minority people. Cornwall with its ancient hills and oceans with myths of yore is a quiet land of forgotten people. It could be argued that they are indeed correct in wanting recognition as a different race. The more you suppress a race the more determined it gets. If you compare that to the issues in Sri Lanka, it’s the continued ignoring and skirting of reasonable minority grievances that have landed us in a rather bloody mess. If those grievances had been nipped in the bud perhaps the extremist terrorists we now battle may have had no place in Tamil politics.

The United Kingdom where Scotland, Ireland, Wales prefer independent governments relies on each other as a whole economically. Their strength is built on the might of the UK. I think it’s prudent to understand that this means permanent division is almost an impossibility.

What the Welsh assemblies and the Scottish parliament bring to the table is self-governance which enables these nations to secure their cultural heritage and national interests while being answerable to the House of Commons. This division of powers ultimately strengthens and encourages the active participation of people in guiding their nation’s destiny.

The Welsh people for centuries were persecuted for speaking Welsh, their mother tongue and yet to this day the language has lived on and is now undergoing a revival.

My point here is that a nation such as Wales has in the last few years been able to move so far forward that the histories of war and subjugation have been buried and the granting of rights has enriched the lives of both the English and the Welsh .

We as a country do not have the histories of animosity that those countries share. I cannot speak for anyone who has been under the tiger rule for most of their lives but those of us who have lived enjoying freedom in harmony with our brothers of all races can claim if Wales and England which were so divided can live side by side and rise from its past, there is nothing to prevent us living in amity. Whatever the methods used to unite those of this island nation, we must remember ours is an easier a task if only we act wisely.

In practice, I move freely with all communities and have never judged a fellow Sri Lankan on the basis of his or her racial background and believe that the average Sri Lankan does so.

In Sri Lanka unlike in India, where the people of one caste/ race would not live side by side with another caste / race or even share a water spring, ethnic harmony is more than a way of life. If our neighbour was in a desperate circumstance irrespective of his origin we would help. That I believe is the Sri Lankan way.

In fact, in my experience the differences in culture are often celebrated as a good thing. As petty as it may sound, the Sinhalese love an invitation or a plate of food from our friends of different races on their festival days? The same is true of others.

History has its lessons. Unfortunately the politicos of Sri Lanka never learn them. The Jews of Europe faced persecution because of Hitlers obessession with his Aryan origins.

Generations of European Jews lost their lives due to that lunatic.

We are a people of different beginnings with the same destination. We should aspire to be Sri Lankans first and foremost.

It’s time to put an end to the various committees and conferences and introduce just a few words to our constitution to the effect that it ensures that in Sri Lanka all are equal in all respects.


R. H. Gunesekera
www island.lk