Dilrook Kannangara

Mono-ethnic nations like Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Maldives and almost all developed and peaceful European nations that are demarcated by ethnicity, make decisions fast, have a constitution almost everyone is happy about and has one historical narrative each. These are essential for a nation to move forward. In the absence of this high level of natural unity, nations stall, get stuck in mud, unable to move in any direction. This is the case of Sri Lanka and also the current NPP regime. Due to its ethnically diverse 159 seats, it has been unable to move in any direction. It’s not their fault. The fault lies in ethnic diversity.

Historically governments that made vital decisions and made positive changes for the benefit of the country and most citizens were mostly mono-ethnic. It started in 1936 when due to Tamils boycotting the 1931 election, a Sinhala-only cabinet of ministers was appointed. They did a massive amount of work in healthcare, public welfare, education, housing, etc. despite British rulers having the final say. The party that approved free education in the early 1940s was also mostly Sinhala-only in composition. Progressive change was made in 1956, 1972, 1977 and 2005 elected governments in economic, public security, territorial integrity, foreign policy and public welfare spaces by similarly mostly Sinhala-only cabinets of ministers and ruling parties. Despite the economic collapse in 2022, the grueling return to normalcy was also facilitated by a mostly Sinhala-only ruling party (2020 to 2024).

Historical evens further justify this matter. All historical regimes of kings and ministers before 1525 when the nation succeeded and prospered were Sinhala only. The reign of King Parakramabahu VI was also a Sinhala only regime despite the king adopting Tamil Nadu born orphans and widows. They were not decision makers.

Ruling parties with a large number of Tamil and Muslim MPs failed to take decisive action. Examples include 1947 to 1951 regime, 1965 to 1970 regime, 1988 to 2004 regimes and the 2015 to 2019 regime. The nation stalled during these times in every possible way.

This stuck-in-mud reality has been most visible in Constitution-making. The Constitution guides the rest of laws, economic management, national defense, foreign policy, etc. The nation had 4 Constitutions. Tamils and Muslims rejected 3 of them outright (1931, 1972 and 1978). The only Constitution they accepted was the 1947 Soulbury Constitution which they rejected a few years later. Both post-Independence Constitution related decisions were made by essentially Sinhala only regimes as buying consensus from Tamils and Muslims was not feasible. Many attempts were made to introduce a new Constitution but failed every time mainly due to tribal grievances of Tamils and Muslims. Even everyday laws cannot be passed easily in Sri Lankan parliament. MPs from Tamil and Muslim communities (no matter what party they represent) assess each and every clause from an ethnic point of view. Each ethnic community pulls the nation in a different direction. There is no one approach that suits all. As a result, multiethnic Sri Lanka is stuck in mud and the multiethnic AKD-led NPP regime is also stuck in mud, unable to move in any direction. Let alone the entire parliament, the NPP parliamentary group cannot agree on any major policy or legislative decision amongst themselves due to wide ethnic diversity of its 159 MPs.

This same root cause affects all other multi-ethnic countries including India. However, India has, since BJP came to power, totally disregarded the concerns of minorities, bulldozed minority rights and voices and has progressed relatively well for a less developed country. Similarly, there are a few violent developed nations with ethnic diversity. They have exterminated their minorities and constantly at war to sustain their economy. However, this is not a good way of governing a nation and certainly no role model for Sri Lanka.

Trying to make everyone happy will leave no one happy at the end of the day. NPP regime will go down in history as the largest, most-diverse, yet weakest, most indecisive and least agile ruling party. Things will worsen even further if provincial councils are elected, adding another layer of ethnic diversity leading to deeper sinking in the diversity muddy puddle the nation is already trapped in.

Like most Sri Lankans who are unable to comprehend how ethnic diversity stalls this nation, the NPP would never have imagined this challenge when it was in the Opposition. Common sense is not common across the three main ethnic groups when it comes to real decisions. Pleading, hoping, praying for and bribing for national unity is worthless. A model of ethnicity based nations is the only way to prosperity, decisiveness, pride, self-respect, peace and national unity and to end economic freeloading without reciprocation.