Senaka Weeraratna 

It is said that freedom is never given but grabbed. Grabbing was possible in many parts of Asia because the Japanese had given hell for leather to the Imperial Western colonial countries occupying a vast swathe of Asian territory before 1939. At the end of the war in 1945 the Victors were tired, financially and economically weak. Their soldiers were in no mood to fight another war(s) with National Liberation Armies in European Asian colonies. 

Great Britain was forced to grant independence to India by threats of Naval Mutinies and Army Revolts. 2.5 Million demobbed Indian soldiers had retuned to India by the end of 1945. They could have easily overwhelmed the 30, 000 English soldiers left in India. The British did not want another Indian Mutiny on a scale bigger than what happened in 1857. The British Prime Minister Clement Atlee was wise. Following the dictum ‘ When the going gets tough the tough gets going’ the British granted independence to India and followed by grant of independence to Burma and Ceylon in 1948. 

It was Japan that sealed the fate of Western colonial countries in Asia. Japan showed by its blitzkrieg type attacks on Pearl Harbour and other parts of Asia that no Western country was invincible. The Japanese yellow man out  of all the non European races was the only one that was able to capture the breadth and imagination of the world by fighting a war on the same footing as the Europeans had successfully done over the last 500 years.

Only the crippled colonized Asian minds cannot see this high achievement on the part of a non – European race.

Sri Lanka is morally indebted to Japan and Indian freedom fighters for their contribution to Sri Lanka’s independence. Sri Lanka is very lucky for it gained freedom on a platter without a fight and without bloodshed. The credit for ending Western colonialism in Asia must go to Japan and other Asian freedom fighters for their immense blood sacrifices.

Claiming credit for other peoples blood sacrifices that helped Sri Lanka to win freedom without any blood sacrifices on our part, is shameful and dishonourable.

Senaka Weeraratna