{"id":89580,"date":"2019-05-29T23:22:29","date_gmt":"2019-05-30T05:22:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=89580"},"modified":"2019-05-29T15:56:26","modified_gmt":"2019-05-29T22:56:26","slug":"many-faults-in-what-people-say-and-what-they-really-mean-by-prof-ekanayaka","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2019\/05\/29\/many-faults-in-what-people-say-and-what-they-really-mean-by-prof-ekanayaka\/","title":{"rendered":"Many Faults in \u201cWhat people say and what they really mean\u201d by Prof. Ekanayaka"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dilrook Kannangara<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

The following article\nby Prof. Ekanayaka contained many irrelevancies and faulty logic. Allow me to\npoint them out. He has not touched sufficiently about the \u2018Sinhala\u2019 part and\nfocused mostly on the Buddhist part. He is mostly wrong on both counts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

http:\/\/island.lk\/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=204747<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arguments before main arguments<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are no Sinhala Buddhist rivers, forests, mountains, catchment\nareas, etc. but Sinhala Buddhists had a way about looking after them well. What\nis now termed sustainable environmental practices were followed by them for\nmillennia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Places considered sacred by Sinhala Buddhists and are governed by them\nare open to all others to perform their religious acts as they please. Examples\ninclude Kataragama, Sripada and a number of Buddhist temples with Hindu\nshrines. Muslims, Christians and Hindus are free to perform their rituals and\neven have their own constructions in the vicinity. However, the converse is not\ntrue. Can a Muslim perform his rituals in a Hindu shrine or a Christian shrine\nor vice versa?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sinhala Buddhist identity may mean the difference between life and death\nfor the nation given Sri Lanka\u2019s geopolitical situation. Three powerful rival\ncamps are vying for power over the region which is increasingly becoming a\nplayground of Hindu and Islamic extremism. India plunges deeper into Hindu\nextremism against Muslims and Pakistan and its allies are going in the way of\nIslamic extremism. If Sri Lanka is seen as a Hindu-aligned nation, it will earn\nthe violent wrath of the other camp. If seen as a pro-Muslim nation, India will\nretaliate violently. If Sri Lanka becomes a secular nation, it will be up for\ngrabs by both camps which will scuttle violently to do so. Being\/becoming a\nBuddhist nation eliminates all these associations and gives the vitally\nimportant neutrality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Argument 1: A large majority of the Sri Lankan population identify\nthemselves as Buddhist<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Absolutely. However, it doesn\u2019t end there. Sri Lanka is not just an\nisland that floats aimlessly in the Indian Ocean. It is deeply rooted in\nhistory just as many other nations. In fact, most nations (apart from those\nthat were forcibly colonized with replaced populations) identify themselves\nwith a language and a religion. The land of the English is England, the land of\nthe Germans is Germany, the land of the Russians is Russia, the land of the\nThai is Thailand, the land of the Swiss majority is Switzerland and so on and\nso forth. Everyone learns and speaks in the language of the majority.\nMinorities can use their language (or whatever language they prefer) among them\nand not necessarily with the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The island nation was only once known as \u2018Sri Lanka\u2019 in an old Indian\ntext. It was mostly known with the association of Sinhala (Sinhale, Silen-deep,\nSerendib, Sihala Dwipa, Ceylon, etc. \u2013 all derivatives of the Sinhala\nidentity). A canine native to the island came to be known as \u2018Sinhala dog\u2019.\nJust to repeat, this is not unusual around the world as above examples\nindicate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, a large number of nations are identified, directly or\nindirectly, by its religious majority. Examples include a large number of\nMuslim nations, India (secular on paper but Hindu in reality), Christian\nnations and others that ascribe to their specific majority religious values and\nbeliefs (e.g. In God We Trust\u201d, \u2026So Help Me God\u201d). The Soviet Union and China\nbefore Xi were the only significant nations that defied this but they have\nsince ended their hard stand. Why should Sri Lanka be any different?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Argument 2: There is a distinctly precious Buddhist culture which\ncharacterises and pervades society, underlies the Sri Lankan way of life and in\nsome sense defines Sri Lanka<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sadly, the writer has only looked at existing societal deficiencies\nwhich are commonplace in most developing countries and even to an extent in\ndeveloped countries. Lawlessness has nothing to do with ethnicity, language or\nreligion. People of all ethnicities and religions engage in crimes. The Holy\nSea may be an exception but that defies the writer\u2019s logic. He fails to see the\npotential. The statement Sri Lanka is a Sinhala Buddhist country\u201d is a call to\nuphold those precious values, take the nation from its current state of chaos,\nlawlessness, environmental destruction, narcotics, terrorism (strangely\nuntouched in the long article), etc. Without stating an end point, one cannot\ngo on a journey. The alternative is to remain chaotic as today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then the writer veers completely away from reality in trying to tie it\nup with 1956, 1958, 1971, 1983 and 1971. These events had nothing to do with\nthe assertion Sri Lanka is a Sinhala Buddhist country. Sinhala was made the\nonly official language in 1956 very peacefully, following a huge mandate\nreceived democratically with the support of some minorities and adhering to the\nonly Constitution (1947) which was agreed to by all ethnic groups! If it\ndiscriminated anyone, they could have petitioned the Privy Council of the UK\nand get redress. But nothing of the sort happened. If 1956 was bad, USA, Japan,\nAustralia, the UK, Germany and most stable and prosperous nations are also bad.\nThe 1958 riot had nothing to do with language. It was the result of reaction of\nthe Prevention of Social Disabilities Act of 1957 that tried to iron-out caste\nbased discrimination. A pact was signed between the PM and a Tamil politician\nto resolve the situation. The pact resolved to keep Sinhala language as the\nsole official language! It was mostly about devolution of power to Tamil\nmajority provinces in the north and the east so Tamils could administer their\nown affairs. Therefore the problems were elsewhere. Please read it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

JVP insurrections had nothing to do with Sinhala or Buddhism. Most\ndeveloping countries experienced some form of violent communist uprisings. The\nCold War between capitalists and socialists played out around the world and Sri\nLanka was no exception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Incidents in 1983 had nothing to do with Sinhala or Buddhism. It was a\nriot that maliciously targeted some Tamils following the killing of 13 soldiers\nby Tamil terrorists a few days earlier and a series of Tamil terrorist attacks\n(1978 bombing of an Air Ceylon passenger plane, killing Tamil mayors, police\nofficers, etc. and evicting Sinhala people from Jaffna in 1977). None of these\nacts can be justified and they were done by opportunistic criminals with no\nlanguage or religion driven motive. Most affected Tamils also spoke Sinhala and\nmade no protest against the Sinhala language or Buddhism. In fact, they had\njust voted for the party that introduced Article 9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Argument 3: Sri Lanka \u2018belongs\u2019 to the Sinhala Buddhists<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri Lanka belongs to Sinhala Buddhists and all other citizens of the\nnation. As each individual has equal rights, 70% of Sri Lankans are Buddhists\nand 70% of the owners of the island nation are Sinhala Buddhists. No one\nbelieves that Sri Lanka belongs to Sinhala Buddhists only. The two assertions\nare vastly different. Article 9 of the Constitution is the law and the same law\nguarantees religious freedom to all others (Article 10). As a Christian, I have\nnever been restricted from practicing my religion and I was never compelled to\nfollow Buddhism or Buddhist practices some of which I sharply disagree with.\nThere is no sting in Article 9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The argument that anybody other than a Sinhala Buddhist cannot become\npresident or prime minister is simply wrong and is divorced from the rest of\nthe world. It took over 200 years for USA to produce an African American\npresident. No European or Oceanic nation has produced an Indian or Chinese\nPrime Minister. India is yet to produce a Muslim prime minister (the president\nis merely ceremonial). Kadirgamar may have been appointed the Prime Minister if\nhe didn\u2019t fall victim to Tamil terrorism in 2005. In fact, the JHU (a party of\nSinhala Buddhist monks) and JVP (Sinhala Buddhist elected representatives and\none Muslim lady) proposed his name in 2004 for PM! These are the most Sinhala\nBuddhist political parties in parliament then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It gets better. Sri Lanka has produced Muslim, Tamil and Christian war\nheroes who earned the highest bravery award (the prestigious Parama Weera\nVibhushana) fighting to defend the nation. May be they were fighting under the\nleadership of Sinhala Buddhists which is beside the point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I must hasten to add that Sri Lanka must not be a Buddhist theocracy and\nthe national interest must not be surrendered to Sinhala, Buddhist or anything\nelse. The national interest must be upheld at all cost. Wars must be fought\nwhen needed, criminals must be punished, people\u2019s food choices must be\nrespected and laws need to be discussed objectively with the nation\u2019s benefit\nin mind. There is no contradiction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In conclusion, it is fair to say there is nothing wrong in Sri Lanka\nbeing\/becoming a Sinhala Buddhist nation where citizens of any language,\nreligion or caste have equal individual rights commensurate with the UN Charter\nof Human Rights. There is no comparable concept called equal community rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Dilrook Kannangara<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dilrook Kannangara The following article by Prof. Ekanayaka contained many irrelevancies and faulty logic. Allow me to point them out. He has not touched sufficiently about the \u2018Sinhala\u2019 part and focused mostly on the Buddhist part. He is mostly wrong on both counts. http:\/\/island.lk\/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=204747 Arguments before main arguments There are no Sinhala Buddhist rivers, forests, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-89580","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dilrook-kannangara"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89580","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=89580"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89580\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89580"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}