Sunil Pereras Baila Song sums up Sri

Lankas Tragedy since Independence

January 6, 2015

Time for stock taking and soul searching our racist politics and moral
crisis.
By Latheef Farook
Election time has always been a period of amusement in Sri Lanka where democracy
continues to erode ever since independence in February 1948.
One such item which sums up the tragedy fell on the island since independence was a baila
song in the YouTube by Sunil Perera under the title The Gypsies Kiyanne Gothala. This 4
minute 48 second song summarises how once stable and prosperous srilanka was ruined by
corrupt racist politicians.
Sunil even goes to the extent to state that this country would have been better off had the
British remained here. He provides sufficient food for thought for those who believe in a Sri
Lanka where all communities could live in peace and harmony.
Sri Lanka, during the time of independence, was truly one of best countries in the world to
live. There was political stability, economic growth, sufficient foreign reserve, developed
health care and education system, islands university degrees were recognised throughout
the Commonwealth of Nations, communal harmony and peace.
Those were the days one could walk from Matara to Jaffna or Mannar to Trincomalee without
the fear of being harassed, humiliated or waylaid. Instead on the way, perhaps, one may have
been treated for a free cup of tea or even a meal.

Rights and privileges in the constitution were guaranteed to everyone. People respected one

anothers

religious and cultural values.

Politicians, professionals, intellectuals and all others were respected by the society.
Corruption and crime were relatively unknown. Such immoral and anti social activities
rampant today were detested and those involved in such evil deeds were ostracized.
There was independent judiciary and police .This was the Sri Lanka during independence
when the country was blessed with everything required to move ahead to ensure a better
future for all.
However, where are we today after more than six decades of independence? Who is
responsible for plunging this blessed island in to the depths of moral degradation and
depravity?
Isnt it the short sighted and destructive racist politics which turned the island into Asias
worst killing field?
The tragedy is that Sri Lanka failed to produce a national leader who could think above
communal politics and guide the country for the ultimate unity and prosperity for all.
In fact the evil of racism began rising its ugly head in the 1930s when some Sinhala
politicians began to promote the interest of the Sinhalese for their own selfish political
interest.
For example during the State Council days in 1930 it was D.S.Senanayake as Minister of Lands
and Lands Settlement initiated the colonisation scheme of Sinhalese in Polonnaruwa,
Padaviya and Inginiyagala in the East which were claimed by Tamils and Muslims as their
traditional home .Thus began the conflict between communities which is raging to date and
torn asunder peace and harmony in the country.

The politicians also started claiming that this is a Sinhala Buddhist country and dismissed the
reality of the existence of minorities. As expected, minorities dismissed this fallacious claim
of the Sinhalese politicians. They do not want to be second class citizens and demanded equal
rights and equal role in the affairs of the country and in deciding their own destinies.
Here lies the crux of the ethnic crisis.
Despite rising chauvinism even around 1930s there was communal harmony and todays
hatred, bitterness and suspicion of one another were unknown then.
Realising the racist mindset of the Sinhala politicians, the British colonial government,
before granting independence, enshrined in the Soulbury constitution a special provision,
section 29A as a security valve in the hope of protecting minority rights.
However successive governments with their own hidden and open agendas promoted and
protected the interest of the majority community, dismissing the rights of minorities.
As a result Sri Lanka is one of the most mismanaged countries in the world today. Crime and
corruption is rampant. Lawlessness is order of the day, communities remain divided and the
countrys resources which could otherwise be used for development and help raise the
standard of living to provide better life to people have been siphoned for security.
Some of the Sinhalese leaders, before and after the independence, were quite open in
continuing to whip up communal feeling. They openly equated and, continued to equate
Sinhalese nationalism with Sri Lankan nationalism and Buddhism, and began implementing
their communal agendas ruthlessly, not realizing that they were plunging the country into a
bloodbath. Since the dawn of independence, the Sinhalese dominated governments sought
to strip the minorities of their existing rights and privileges.

For example, they passed the

Citizenship Act No 18 of 1948; Indian and Pakistani Residents (Citizenship) Act No 03 of 1949
followed by the Parliamentary Elections (Amendments) Act. Within two years, the
implementation of these Acts deprived a large number of Indian Tamil residents in Sri Lanka
of their citizenship rights and franchise.
The irony is that it was Tamil and Muslim votes that deprived the estate Tamils of their
citizenship. According to some, the Citizenship Acts were partly aimed at Indian Muslims
who had come to dominate many local businesses.
Exploiting the mood of Sinhalese the then Legislative Council Member S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike
formed the Sinhala Maha Sabha which segregated the Sinhalese from the mainstream
political scene.
With no respect to minority sentiments, J.R.Jayawardene moved in the United National Party
annual convention the Sinhala only resolution.
Going a step ahead, S.W.R.D.Bandaranaike called for Sinhala Only within 24 Hours and
faced elections on communal slogans to gain power. Adding fuel to fire the politicians
encouraged the rise of Sinhala chauvinism with frequent violent attacks on Tamils, killing
and causing damage to property.
Though Mr Bandaranaike was quick to realise the consequences of his communal politics and
took damage control measures such as Bandaranaike Chelvanayagm Pact, BC Pact, he became
a victim of the very same forces which he unleashed, when he was assassinated by a Buddhist
monks.
Even at that stage, did the politicians do some stock taking and soul searching of the
consequences of their racist politics? They were not bothered.
Instead almost all governments dominated by the two main political parties, the United
National Party and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, with their eyes firmly fixed on the elections,
either to win or to retain power, aggressively continued to woo the majority community as
the most effective vote caching strategy.
In 1970 Prime Minister Mrs Srimavo Bandaranaike removed Section No 29A of the soulbury
constitution in her Republican Constitution and made Buddhism the state religion. In
consequence to this all Tamil political parties united under the umbrella of Tamil United
Liberation Front (TULF) which demanded equal rights.
Added to this President Jayewardenes draconian 1978 constitution which paved the way for
a democratically elected all powerful dictator, not accountable to parliament or anyone,

virtually turned the country into a One Man Show and made minorities voiceless and
helpless.

In July 1983 his party thugs

attacked and killed Tamils besides burning their properties under a very well organised anti
Tamil pogrom.
The result was the emergence of the Tamil militancy, later trained, armed and financed by
India, which produced some of the deadliest terrorists who virtually paralysed the island
besides paving the way for a powerful Tamil Diaspora of Sri Lankan Tamils.
There was death and destruction all over, economy was crippled and people lived in fear. The
situation was such that womenfolk at home were not sure whether their husbands who went
to work or the children who went to school would return alive. Those were the days when
people went about only for essential work as they did not know when and where a bomb
would explode.
While people bled and suffered, politicians and their cronies, according to many reports,
flourished making money in the form of commissions in weapons purchasing. This dire
catastrophic situation spelt adversity to the helpless people and prosperity to the self
motivated politicians.
The ethnic war also brought in all sorts of players from weapons dealers, merchants of death,
to several others tearing the fabric of peace and harmony and polluting the political
atmosphere.
For example India came into the islands politics when the Indian Prime Minister Rajiv

Gandhi forced down the throat of President J.R.Jayawarden, to prick his pride, the
13th Amendments to the constitution. In the subsequent years Indias interference and
dominance in the local politics came to such a ridiculous stage that Sri Lankan politicians
visited New Delhi frequently to brief the Indian government and, perhaps, to get their
blessings on local issues.
It was the time when people in general lost all hope of an end to the war and return to
peaceful life. Most disillusioned people from all communities left the island in search of
peaceful life to countries all over the world.
Squeezed between Sinhala chauvinists and the Tamil racism and militancy, the Muslim
community had its own share of sufferings. They always peacefully raised their grievances
but those fell on the deaf ears of almost every government after the independence.
Muslims always wanted to be part of the mainstream politics despite facing numerous
problems due to racist politics. However President Jayewardenes arrogant statement that
the Muslims can remain with the government or leave when Muslim parliamentarians
resisted his move to bring in the Israelis, the sworn enemy of Islam and Muslims, to fight the
LTTE, was an arrogant reply tainted with pride.
Humiliated time and again, a section of Muslims, especially those in the east, launched a
separate Muslim party, Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, which isolated the Muslim community
from both Sinhalese and Tamils and ended up as disaster for the community which is now
paying the price for this short sighted move.
Though the Muslims were not party to the conflict between the Sinhalese and Tamils, they
too suffered a great deal during the ethnic war. Their sufferings continued even after the war
ended as the government was indifferent to the grievance of the Muslims in solving their
issues.
On the other hand the military defeat of LTTE provided a golden opportunity for the country
to learn lesson from racist politics, take measures for healing wounds, bring communities
together and jointly move ahead for a better future for all.
That historic opportunity was squandered once again due to racist politics.
Instead of relief a very well organised anti Muslim campaign was unleashed by few hundreds
of racists threatening the very existence of the Muslim community. There were more than
350 attacks on mosques, religious schools, business establishments and the organised pogrom
at Aluthgtama, Beruwala and Dharga town.

As a result once again racist politics, widespread corruption, lawlessness, rapid erosion of
democracy and the like brought the country to where we are today. Ends
Posted by Thavam