Sudath Gunasekara

30.8.2018

Once upon a time

This country had been known as Sinhaladveepa as well as Lanka from ancient times. Ramayanaya was the first to use the word Lanka. The word Simhala was found in Bhagawath Purana

Pearl of the Indian Ocean

Granary of the East

Dharma dveepa

Paradise on earth

Glittering Island (Lankadeepa)

Asia’s Golden Island (Danis Clerk)

Ratnadeepa

Famous for

Best Gems in the world (that is why it was called Ratna Deepa)

Where Kings were one with the people and religion

Where kings declared the subjects as their children

Where only a Buddhist who take an oath that he will protect the Buddha Sasana could become the King

Where the king declared that his body with blood and flesh, he bears, for the welfare of his subjects (Sirisangabo) Iman saraththan pisitan sareeran Dharemi Lokassa Hitassa meva”

Even in recent history it was known as

The Paradise on earth

The land of the most hospitable people in the world

And famous for

Best Tea in the world

Best Cinnamon in the world

Best Gems in the world (that is why it was called Ratna Deepa

And  Now

The tear drop of India both literally and metaphorically as India is always crying to acquire it

The hell on earth

The begging bowl of Asia

The garbage ground of Asia

The drug hub of the Indian Ocean

The main source of cheap home maids for Arabian countries

The garage of South East Asia

Additionally

It holds the world record

For the country with the largest Cabinet in the world

For the only country where there are two leaders and also where one does not know what the other is doing

That has the highest number of politicians per person in the world approximately 1 for 2225 and the highest number of public servants per person 1 for 16

Of being the only country where appointments like the Prime Minster, Leader of the opposition, Chief Whip of the opposition and even the removal of the Chief justice are done against the provisions of the Constitution with impunity where the opposition keeps mum

Where the minority rules the majority and in fact where the tyranny of the minority reigns

As the only country in the world that has denied a party with 72 members the legitimate Leadership of the opposition and a man with 16 seats in the house is appointed as the Leader of the opposition

As the only country where the speaker speaks only for the Prime Minister and on behalf of his former party. And ceased to be the Speaker of the House

As the only country where the Prime mister robs the Nation’s Central Bank and keeps the man who did it, the second accused in safe hiding with impunity.

As the only country where the President takes orders from the Prime minister and the Prime Minister acts on his own without caring a damn just to maintain the majority in Parliament

Where both the President and Prime Minister have made the highest number of foreign trips within the shortest time.

Where the President does not know what his Prime minister is doing

Both the President and Prime Minister talk only no work done (NATO leaders0

Where Ministers enter in to agreements with foreign Governments even without the knowledge of the Cabinet Eg. FTA with Singapore

As the country where more than 50% of the electorates on ground do not have representatives in Parliament under the District MPP system since 2004

Where it is not the people of a given electorate who select and elect their candidates but the Party leader who sometimes name a person from the other side of the world after which voters just cast their vote to the man or woman put forward by the Party

It is also well known

As the country with the most parasitic, self-centered politicians

As the country where modern Democracy has become the biggest joke on earth where political office is only a ladder for politicians to climb to the heaven alive

As the only country with more than one nation

Has the largest number of political parties for any country in the world

A 75 % majority without a single patriotic political leader and where politicians betray their own nation for sake of political gains( The best example is the 80 odd pack of MPP supposed to represent the Kandyan areas keep deaf, dumb and blind while the Prime Minister Ranil and Leader of the house Kiriella freely distribute the native land to Indian Tamil laboures on the hills making the way for a mono Tamilnadu right at the heart of the traditional Home Land of the Sinhalese for 2500 years.

A country that has no national policies on any matter

The country with the highest number of public holidays in the word sometimes running in to 130 a year including holidays declared for 6%12%Islam and Hindu minorities are imposed on the 70% Sinhala majority without w whimper.

A set of people that don’t know its own country, its history, and value of their own people

Pack of politicians who don’t love their country, history, and values

As the say goes it has become a country where pigs are flying and cows summersaulting

And finally where politics is done by the politicians, for the politicians and the personal aggrandizement of the politician only but where the people continue line up and vote like a herd of cattle periodically, for their party nominees whom they see only during elections time one in 5 or 10 years.

In short the famous 16 dreams of the King Kosol appear to be performing on the Sri Lankan stage at full swing accompanied to the death drums beaten by the politicians

I am sure the readers can add many more. These are only few things that came to my mind as I was thinking of the sad flight of my motherland.

Our politicians call it five star Democracy, a replication of the Westminster model?