{"id":104245,"date":"2020-07-04T16:06:11","date_gmt":"2020-07-04T23:06:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=104245"},"modified":"2020-07-04T16:06:11","modified_gmt":"2020-07-04T23:06:11","slug":"future-cannot-be-built-on-the-failed-past-of-minorities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2020\/07\/04\/future-cannot-be-built-on-the-failed-past-of-minorities\/","title":{"rendered":"Future cannot be built on the failed past of minorities"},"content":{"rendered":"

H. L. D. Mahindapala<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

Managing a democracy in normal times is bad enough.\nManaging it in times of crises can be a horripilating nightmare. Choices have\nto be made between confronting imperatives demanding urgent and unpalatable\ndecisions and the popular will that will invariably opt for the comfortable and\nthe least painful way out. The choices available for the drivers steering the\nwheel of state are risky either way. To begin with, no one likes the changing\nof gears which disturbs the settled position in the seat at a time when you are\ncruising smoothly on the surface of a flat road. Besides, it tends to build a\nkind of resentment against the driver who is doing his best to navigate his way\nforward through the bends and over the bumps. The driver who is at the wheel of\nthe state is always trapped in this predicament. In reality he doesn\u2019t have\nmuch of a choice. The choice available in trying to lie down at the end of the\nday is between a bed of thorns and porcupines. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Gotabaya Rajapakse is the current driver in the seat. He has\nbeen driving the state since November 19, 2019. To arrive at his destination,\nhe has decided to go down Dharmapala Mawatha. That is the meaning of November\n19, 2019 \u2013 a date which is going to be as meaningful as 1956\u201d. At no time in\nthe post-independent period has the Sinhala-Buddhists decided to act\ncollectively as a united political force as on November 19, 2019. There is, of\ncourse, 1956\u201d. That was different. It was the year in which the colonial dam\nburst. The natural flow of history was dammed for nearly five hundred years and\nthe accumulated forces were rearing to break loose in 1956. It could not be\ncontained any longer behind any wall. The increasing pressures of the critical\nmass of historical forces waiting to breakthrough was too overbearing for any\nobsolete colonial dam to hold back. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Besides, by 1956\u201d the tsunamic waves of anti-colonialism had swept\nacross Afro-Asian nations overthrowing Western institutions and values. On the\nsurface there was the change of guard. On the surface the Brown sahib replaced\nthe White sahib. But beneath that political fa\u00e7ade were the grassroot forces\nsweeping away the cultural remnants of colonialism. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The waves were just not political. Overthrowing the alien cultural\ndominance that came with Western imperialism proved to be more difficult than\njust sending home the Western masters.  At independence Sri Lanka was\nruled by 6% of the English-speaking elite. Of this, the English-speaking\nVellalas held a disproportionate share of jobs and power in the British\nbureaucracy.   More than the class division it was the cultural\ndivision \u2013 the English-speaking kultur<\/em><\/strong> elite versus the\nSinhala-speaking yakkos<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 that separated and alienated the people\nfrom the state. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, by 1956\u201d the trends had developed and\nstrengthened at all levels for the people to reclaim the nation they lost to\nthe West. It was a historical inevitability.  It was the momentous year in\nwhich the historical imbalances caused by alien rule were readjusted and\nrestored to their legitimate place. It was the first flowering of the grassroot\nforces that were suppressed for nearly five hundred years of colonialism. It\nwas the dawning of a new era for the people who understood it their way and\nexpressed it in the very simple slogan: Api-ta tha-na dun-na!\u201d (We were given\nour due place!) They were referring to the place their ancestors lost five\nhundred years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was there when the over-joyed masses swarmed into\nParliament and occupied the well of the House. The feeling in the air of having\nregained the precious heritage that was lost for centuries was infectious.\nOverwhelmed, some even shed tears of joy. It was a moment to remember for the\nrest of the living days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike who came from Oxford had the\nforesight to identify and go along with the irresistible and overwhelming\nforces of history and win. He was chosen by history to lead 1956\u201d. Stephen\nSpender\u2019s splendid lines in ”I Think Continually of Those Who Were\nTruly Great” describe his stature most aptly:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Born\nof the sun they travelled a short while towards the sun,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And\nleft the vivid air signed with their honour.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He didn\u2019t die when he was assassinated. Like all great\nhistorical figures, he was reborn in the memory of the people whom he served.\nTo this day he lives as a determining force in the memory of the people who\ndefine and pursue their own destiny.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gotabaya Rajapakse\u2019s victory on November 19, 2019 is a\nreturn to 1956\u201d but with new characteristics. If 1956\u201d was a clear rejection\nof colonialism \u2013 a movement that was defined, refined and led by\nself-sacrificing activists like Anagarika Dharmapala — , 2019\u201d was an\nunequivocal rejection of fascist minoritarian politics threatening the\nmajoritarian way of life inherited from the first steps taken by the\nnation-building pioneers who put their roots down firmly, unlike the other\nitinerant migrants, and opened up the virgin land to make this island a fit\ndwelling-place for men\u201d (Mahavamsa<\/em><\/strong>) \u2013 one of the finest political\nideals of all mankind. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2019 the minoritarianists were all out to rewrite\nthe pages of history by devaluing and denigrating the very forces that opened\nthe doors of the land and welcomed them when they too landed as migrants and\nhad nowhere to go. But by 2019 they had grown to a point where they could take\nto aggressive politics challenging the very foundations on which they thrived.\nAfter they found their feet — with the help of the majority, of course — they\ndecided to dislodge the majority and take over as king-makers, hiding behind\nvarious imported theories and rights. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Minoritarian power, which included\nanti-Sinhala-Buddhist NGOs, had reached its peak. By 2019 they were ensconced\nin a position to dictate terms to the Yahapalanaya regime. Ranil\nWickremesinghe\u2019s 19th<\/sup> Amendment was the noose that was tightening\nround the neck of the majority. As if that is not enough, he sent his\nemissaries to UNHRC to promise his buddies in the West that he is prepared to\ndo their bidding, even if it means sacrificing the heroic soldiers who saved\nthe nation. Together with the arrogant minorities and his NGO partners he was\nlustily ringing the death knell of the Sinhala-Buddhists. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The desperate Sinhala-Buddhist majority had no one to\nstand up for them. No saviour, no hope, no light at the end of the tunnel. The\nhelpless majority knew that Ranil Wickremesinghe and his anti-Sinhala-Buddhist\ngang had to be stopped. But who was going to do it? It was in these frightening\ncircumstances that Gotabaya Rajapakse emerged as the tried and tested man. He\nhas proved his worth by leading the longest and the biggest military campaign\nfrom a commanding height. He was the power behind the forces that crushed the\ndeadliest enemy \u2013 the invincible enemy — of the nation with the bullet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On November 19, 2019 he went to battle with the ballot\nin hand to fight the new enemy at home. His victory shocked the pundits by\nwinning the unwinnable electoral battle. Conventional wisdom had concluded that\nno one can win without the minority votes. Gota proved that he can win\nunwinnable battles both with the bullet and ballot. Besides, earlier Field\nMarshall Fonseka failed to win with the ballot despite collecting the votes of\nthe minority and the majority. Gotabaya won only with the votes of the\nmajority. Gota has rewritten the political textbooks by proving that it is\npossible to win without the minority votes \u2013 a force that was considered\nindispensable for any electoral victory <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This should convey a new message to the minority which\nis in total disarray, particularly with their UNP patron with two heads not\nknowing which head to follow. The Tamil minority played their last card at\nVadukoddai by declaring war against the majority and they failed. Failed\nmiserably! They tried international pressure but that didn\u2019t take them to the\ngoals they aspired. They tried regional pressure but that boomeranged on them.\nOr to change the metaphor, they killed the goose that was expected to lay the\ngolden egg for them. With the killing of Rajiv Gandhi Tamils have proved to be\nbetter experts than the Japanese in committing harakiri. Their last hope was in\nthe ballot. After the failure of the Vadukoddai bullet it was considered to be\ntheir most indispensable weapon. They relied on their myth that the Sinhalese\ncannot win any electoral battle without their vote. But Gotabaya won this\nunwinnable battle too with the votes of only the Sinhala-Buddhists. This\nvictory is as stunning as the victory at Nandikadal.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

His victory has pushed the minorities to a dead-end.\nIt means that the  minority can push the majority only sometimes and that\ntoo only up to a point at all times, unless they get another Ranil\nWickremesinghe to do their bidding. As usual he was self-sabotaging himself\nwith his incalculable missteps. But why should the nation pay for his\nstupidity? He had to be stopped. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On November 19, 2019, Gotabaya Rajapakse did just\nthat. The majority that backed him to the hilt signalled that enough is enough.\nOn November 19, 2019 the majority declared in bold headlines that there are\nlimits to minoritarianism. They went quietly to the polls and without throwing\nhand grenades told the minorities that the future is in peaceful coexistence,\nas they had done for centuries before, and not in identitarian violence that\ndestroys them more than the majority. It was not a move by the majority to put\nthe knee to the neck of the minorities and choke them. It was a predictable\nreaction to the minorities stepping over the limit with an unwarranted\narrogance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another proven fact in the last election is that the\nmajority is willing to place their trust in the Rajapakses leadership. It is\npartly because there is none in the horizon to give an alternative leadership.\nBut more importantly, it is the trust placed in the quality of the leadership\nto take the nation forward. Our politically bankrupt pundits, as usual, are\nblaming the Sinhala-Buddhists <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The total bankruptcy of the thinking of this gang is\nin the inane statement of Prof Quadri Ismail who wrote: There cannot be peace in Sri Lanka until the\nSinhalese come to terms with their bloody history, and disavow\nmajoritarianism.\u201d — A critique of (Tamil) Self-determination.<\/em><\/strong>\n(10\/7\/2013 \u2013 Groundview<\/em><\/strong>, Centre for Policy Alernative). This is\ntypical of the minority blaming the majority. In any case, why should only the\nmajority come to terms with their bloody history, and disavow\nmajoritarianism\u201d, eh Professori? Shouldn\u2019t the minority too come to terms with\ntheir  bloody history of persecuting  and oppressing  their own\npeople for centuries  and their crimes against humanity in the Vadukkoddai\nWar and  disavow minoritarianism? This racist tactic of blaming the\nSinhala-Buddhists has been going on since G. G. Ponnambalam denigrated the\nSinhala-Buddhists in 1939 which caused the first racial riots. Where has it\ntaken them? And for how long can they go on repeating the same\nanti-Sinhala-Buddhist mantra that has led them only to Nandikadal? Since all\nminoritarian gambits, including violence and international pressures, have\nfailed should not the minorities seriously consider their next move on a\nrational basis with the aim of securing the good of all concerned? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Isn\u2019t it time for them\nto revisit their failed past and consider how they can rephrase their rhetoric\nand their agenda to achieve peaceful co-existence as there is no space for\ndisproportionate power and territory in the future?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

H. L. D. Mahindapala Managing a democracy in normal times is bad enough. Managing it in times of crises can be a horripilating nightmare. Choices have to be made between confronting imperatives demanding urgent and unpalatable decisions and the popular will that will invariably opt for the comfortable and the least painful way out. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-104245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-h-l-d-mahindapala"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104245","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104245"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104245\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}