{"id":98030,"date":"2020-01-20T16:25:33","date_gmt":"2020-01-20T23:25:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=98030"},"modified":"2020-01-20T16:25:33","modified_gmt":"2020-01-20T23:25:33","slug":"how-many-nations-are-there-in-this-country-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2020\/01\/20\/how-many-nations-are-there-in-this-country-3\/","title":{"rendered":"How many nations are there in this country?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dr. Sudath Gunasekara:\u00a0 President Senior Citizens movement Mahanuwara.<\/em> <\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

In the present\ncontext of the debate on the language in which the national Anthem should be\nsung I am compelled to ask this question from all our politicians starting with\nformer President Sirisena and all those \nwho either want to sing it in both Sinhala and Tamil or Sinhala only.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If we sort out\nwhat the jatiya of this country the matter ends there<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This has been a\nvery big puzzle for me for quite some time. I have no doubt that majority of\nyou who read this note might have had the same problem.  This is mainly because very often people who\nmater in society, when they speak at public forum use to say \u201dme rate Siyaluma\njatinta\u201d meaning to all nations in this country\u201d which obviously implies that\nthere are many nations in this country. What baffle and confuse me is the\nquestion as to how many nations are there in this country. Because usually any\ngiven country anywhere in the world has only one nation. To give few selected\nexamples Russia Russians, America Americans, Briton British, Canada Canadians,\nItaly Italians, India Indians, Japan Japanese, China Chinese, France French and\nAustralia Australians. In this backdrop then why we describe this country only,\nas a country of many nations, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the\ninception of history up to 1815, this country was called Sinhale or Sinhala\ndeepa or Sinhala dveepa, meaning the land of the Sinhala people and its nation\nwas Sinhala, going by the dominant race and the Language of the Bhoomiputra\u2019s.\nThis is why even the British called it Ceylon meaning the land of the Sinhala\npeople. It also had a second name Lanka from very early times, probably given\nby the ancient Indians. The word Lanka had three meanings. Purana named it as\nLanka in two contexts. Compilers of Puranas said \u2018Bhumadyaye lankiiyatiti\nLanka, meaning it was called Lanka as it is located at the centre of the world.\nIt was also called Lanka by early Bharatians for example Ramayanaya. Valmiki\nfascinated by its unsurpassed beauty named it as Lanka the beautiful land\u201d in\nRamayanaya. Tamilian EElamists like Purnalingam Pille in his Ravana the Great\nKing of Lanka assumes it to be a part of the main land later separated during\nthe Great Biblical deluge and formed in to an Island at the southern tip of the\nIndian sub-Continent. Thus the word Lanka also has the meaning of the Island in\nthe South Indian context though it appears to be an artificial invention of\nEELAMISts Tamils in their futile struggle to prove that this country  was a part of the their ancient imaginary\nEELAM . Either going by the Ramayana tradition or their own imagination the\nSinhalese also called it Lanka for its beauty, the resplendent Isle. The\nSinhala word Lake behe<\/em>,\u2019 also means\nwhat a beauty, aptly proves the authenticity of this argument. The word Lankika\npresently been used to designate its citizens means born in Lanka, just like sagarika<\/em> which means born in the sea. It\nis important to note that one does not legally become a citizen of a country\nmerely because he or she was born in a given country. To that extent he or she\ncannot claim citizenship in a country merely on the ground that he \/she were\nborn there. Nationality is a much wider concept than that. In this case the\nquestion arises as to what nationality one belongs. Obviously his or her\nnationality will be registered as a person of the country from which he or she\ncome. Therefore obviously all those who are born in this country cannot be\ncalled citizens { Ratavesiyo) of this country merely because he\/she was born\nhere. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is difficult\nto ascertain as to when the word Lankika that is now used to designate the\nnationality of this country came in to vogue. But I presume it must definitely\nbe of recent origin invented either by those who were\nlooking for an alternative to the word Sinhala which is hated by the Tamils as\nthey are allergic to it or by those Anglicized Sinhala \u2018scholars\u2019 who were\naverse to been identified as Sinhala and promoting minority sentiments.\nWhatever the reasons may be certainly the invention of the word Lankika to\ndesignate all those born in this country as citizens of this country was a\nclever conspiracy to drop the word Sinhala being used to designate its\ncitizens.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coming back to\nnationality I always thought there is only one Nation in this country too. You\nwould have heard and noticed this lose utterance over the TV, Radio, and the\npress, at public meetings and even at private conversations. I have seen this\nhappening very often. Our politicians starting from the President, Prime\nMinister downwards, academia in universities including even some professors of\nSinhala and History, some religious dignitaries and some so-called\nintellectuals who have got disoriented or brain washed in the course of their\npolitical and ideological transformations and many more go on uttering these\nlose words repeatedly like parrots most probably without knowing the\nseriousness of the damage they do to the Nation that is Sinhala by doing so. In\nmy opinion politicians who woo for minority votes to come to power, people who\ndo not have that spiritual attachment that infuses the sense of nationality\nand  those who do not have a proper\nJatakaya (birth) are the people who indulge in such nonsense. Of course those\nwho really do not know the actual meaning also use it. But they could be\ncorrected whereas the other categories cannot be ever corrected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When all these\nbig shots either driven by their personal agendas or in their ignorance of the\nreal long term implications go on repeating it like parrots, minorities also\nbegin to think they are separate nations. The most dangerous thing about this\ntrend is the psychological transformation of the perception and attitude of the\npeople that would settle down permanently in their minds and become\nirreversible. It gets settled in society by usage. In this instance I would\nlike to draw a parallel between the division of the Sinhala people living on\nthe hills and the lowlands, who were divided in to two rival groups as Kandyans\nand low country Sinhalese by the British. Until Robert Percival in 1803 divided\nthem as Kandyans and cinhalese (those who lived in the lowlands) they were one\nnation. But since then these artificially created two groups behaved as if they\nwere two different nations and at the early stages of political agitation for\nconstitutional reforms they even asked for two separate federal states, one for\nthe Kandyans and another for the low country people. Thanks to the fact they\nall belonged to one race, spoke the same language, professed the same religion\nand had common roots, the differences were patched up in the course of time by\ncommon bondage and emerging nationalism it went back to square number one. As\nsuch why can\u2019t this band of ignoramus who talks of many nations understand that\nthis country, like most other countries in the world has only One Nation\u2019? They\nsay jati bhedayak neti ekama jatiyak. <\/em>How\non earth can there be differences within a nation\u201d which preciselyimplies one group of people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So it is no\nwonder that the ordinary people get confused and also begin to think that this\ncountry has more than one nation. The situation is made even worse when top\nPoliticians from high flat forms describe this country as a multinational\nsociety. Minority communal elements meanwhile make the maximum use of his\nconfusion. It is like the famous saying panina\nrilawunta iniman bendeema<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for me from\nmy small days I thought we have only one nation in this country. That was how\nthe teachers of our day have taught us in school. According to them we are\ncalled the Sinahala nation and the country Sinhale, meaning the land of the\nSinhala people. They also told us that that could be either because we descend\nfrom Vijaya (a man from the Sinha race whose father Sinhabahu is said to have\nkilled the lion father) who is supposed to have found this nation or because we\ndescend from the Sivhela namely, yaksha,\nRaksha, Deva and Naga <\/em>who had been living in this Island long before Vijaya\narrived in the 6th century B<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since this\nIsland had been known as Lanka or Lankadeepa or Lanka dvipa (the resplendent\nIsle) even from the time of legendary Ravana we were also called Lankan or\nLankika Jatiya, meaning those who were born in Lanka. They also taught us that\nthere had been north Indian invaders like Sena Guttika and Elara starting from\n2nd century BC and South Indian invaders like Chola and Pandya in much later\ntimes, who had been trying to capture this country from time to time. But every\ntime they attempted to do so they were defeated by the Sinhala Kings and they ruled\nthis country continuously until 1815, when the British conquered it by deceit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those invaders\nwho were left behind from very early times got absorbed and integrated in to\nthe main stream and became Lankans or Sinhala people while some of them\nretained their religion and culture. Also in between there were others\nespecially the Arab traders who came from time to time in small numbers, not as\ninvaders but as traders who were later known as Muslims going by their\nreligion. Most of them got married to local Sinhala women and even took Sinhala\nge names and lived among the Sinhala people. But all these men got absorbed in\nto the main stream while retaining their religious identity only. In addition\nto the language of the country, that is Sinhala, they also spoke Tamil. This\nmay be due to the fact that most of them came from South India and also they\ndid business with both local and Indian Tamils across the sea.  But the important thing to note here is that\nalmost all these people, both Tamils and Muslims knew the language of the Land.\nSo, even today at least 95 % of the population in this country, if not more, is\nconversant in Sinhala. The estate Tamils who were brought by the British after\n1840s, even though they were deliberately kept separated from the local people\nas a community also learnt Sinhala as they came in contact with the neighboring\nSinhala villages.  So if you take the\nlanguage as the dominant factor that unifies a nation, in this case Sinhala,\nwhat is the other name by which you should name this country and its people?\nLook at our immediate neighbor India, then countries like Thailand, Japan,\nChina, Korea, Russia, Germany, France, Italy, Greece, Spain and England to name\nonly a few. All these countries are named after the dominant language spoken in\nthose countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 It is only at the Donoghmore reforms the Tamil\npoliticians tried to establish a separate identity. With the growth of Tamil\ncommunal politics they assumed a Tamil National\u201d\u009d attitude and Tamil nationalism emerged which\nin later years tried to assert as a separate nation within this country. No\nwonder these minions behave like goliaths when there are no statesmen of\nstature to draw the line and tell everybody that this country has only one\nnation and those who talk of many nations will be charged for treason or\ndeported to their original places.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the\nidea of nationality is difficult to define the term nation in modern society is\ngenerally used to describe a community of race and language, geographic unity,\ncommunity of religion, common political aspiration and, above all,  historical development over a long time. This\nis of course not universal. But however it is essentially a sentiment of unity,\nspiritual in character and the will of a people to live together as Laski put\nit. The unity is the outcome of a common history. The Sinhala people even in\nthis context had been a nation at least from the 6th century BC in this\ncountry. Even the four groups who lived here previously got identified as one\nnation as Sivhela or Sinhala. That is why the land was called Sinhale meaning\nthe land of the Sivhela or Sinhala. With the introduction of Buddhism in 307 BC\nthey became Buddhists and ever remained as Sinhala Buddhists Nation\u2019 in this\ncountry. With all the vicissitudes of history even in 1815 more than 90 % of\nthe people in this country came within this category.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other thing\nis Tamils have a motherland in South India and Muslims a motherland in Arabia,\nwhile this country had been the historical motherland of the Sinhala people\nfrom the dawn of history. Thousands of archaeological, epigraphical and\nliterary evidence often running even to prehistoric times spread over the\nentire length and breadth of this country bear enough evidence to this\nconclusion that has been proved beyond all doubts. Therefore it is irrefutable\nand unchallengeable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this\nhistorical backdrop Tamils, Muslims and any other minor ethnic group in this\ncountry that forms a part of the Sri Lanka nation or the Sinhala nation is only\nan integral part of the \u201dNation Lankan or Sinhala\u2019 as this country had been\nknown as the land of the Sinhala people right through out in history.  No man or woman can contradict it unless he or\nshe is an incurable lunatic. Therefore at least now these minority ethnic\ngroups should understand their limitations and \ndue role within the Lankan nation, and concede to this historical\nreality and learn to live with the major community without running to America,\nIndia and other countries asking to tame the Sinhala nation and thereby\ncreating unwanted problems for us as well as for themselves. I am positive that\nthe big majority, of both Tamils and Muslims who are sensible, are prepared to\ndo so. For those who are not prepared to concede to this irrefutable reality,\nespecially the Tamil and Muslim politicians, I think, it is high time that they\nshould renounce their craving for this day dream and go back to their own\nmotherlands without trying to dream of a motherland on somebody else\u2019s country\nand claiming illegal ownership of someone else\u2019s soil by going round the world\njust denigrating our country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the part of\nour politicians I think it is high time that first they should rise above\npresent day party politics and assert and behave as statesmen and write this\nprovision in to the Constitution of this country and declare that anyone\nagitating, behaving or instigating, aiding and abetting others to talk, act or\nbehave as separate nations such as Tamils or Muslims who agitate for separation,\ncontravening the law of the land, shall be charged for high treason.Furthermore\nthe often spoken Bahujatika nonsense should stop. There is only one nation in\nthis country of the Sinhalese, and that is Sinhala. Since all Tamils and\nMuslims are either invaders or intruders who are scheming to own this country\nbelonging to Sinhalese. It is high time that a Sinhala politician should rise\nabove petty politics and tell this stark truth to the whole world and make the\nclarion call that The name of this country is Sinhale as it had been from time\nimmemorial up to 1815 and its nation is Sinhala.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dr. Sudath Gunasekara:\u00a0 President Senior Citizens movement Mahanuwara. In the present context of the debate on the language in which the national Anthem should be sung I am compelled to ask this question from all our politicians starting with former President Sirisena and all those  who either want to sing it in both Sinhala and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-98030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dr-sudath-gunasekara"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98030","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=98030"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98030\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}