“Since 1983 the entire scenario has changed. Terrorism has changed the country and its leaders on the one hand and on the other hand, the root of all evil, money , rules the roost. Digressing from the subject, one cannot ignore the state of affairs in this country at present. It is most unfortunate that the political leadership is exploiting the situation to the maximum to gain power. LTTE seems to be playing a key role in the electoral process. At one election they were supposed to have had a secret pact with the party that won the election and at the other, by depriving the people of their vote, resulting in that party losing the election.”
______________
by Kan Butani
(July 08, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Reading a recent article titled "How does one become Sinhalese or Tamil by sentiment?" by Michael Roberts, prompted me to write a few words for the benefit of your readers because every man who knows how to read has it in his power to magnify himself, to multiply the ways in which he exists, to make his life full, significant and interesting.
In my humble opinion this is the most absurd question and every answer will be confronted by an unanswerable why. To Illustrate by example, this is how it goes: Mr. Jones was late to work, Why? Because he missed the bus. Why? Because he had a bad stomach, Why? Because he ate some Kothu Roti from a second rate eating establishment, Why? Because his wife has gone outstation, Why? It goes on and on .The ingredients illustrated in the melting pot, namely, Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim, Burgher and Malay, are wrong, purely because Malays are also Muslims. It is like adding salt twice when making a curry. It tastes so horrible that one has to spit it out .Most people in this Country have no idea whatsoever about the ethnic distribution in Sri Lanka and always address the countrymen as Sinhalese, Tamil, Burgher and Muslims. The last leader who knew how to address the people correctly was the late J.R. Jayawardene and since then nobody seems to realise that Muslims are a religious sect. All Muslims are followers of Islam. It is not a race and it cannot be one. The majority race among Muslims in Sri Lanka are the Moors, then come the Malays, then the Memons and Borahs and a very few other extremely small minority groups. People belonging to all these races are Muslims- the followers of Islam. Why have Sri Lankans forgotten the Moors. Shakespeare in his play Hamlet refers to Othello as the Moor of Venice.There are Moors all over the World and a large part of the Muslims in Sri Lanka are Moors, the Ceylon Moor and the Indian Moor. Without a precise understanding of the races it would be very difficult to understand the exact cause of the communal disturbances and delve into areas involving sentiment, because up-bringing and language influence people’s behavioural science and modus vivendi.
In Sri Lanka, the Moors speak Tamil and get on very well with the Tamils in spite of other differences.Until the advent of the LTTE the Moors and the Tamils in the North- East lived in perfect harmony, like a house on fire. With a proper understanding of the exact problem, which was basically a language problem originated in 1956, which created lack of equal opportunity, this problem could have been nipped in the bud, without allowing it to aggravate to this extent.During this period and even a couple of decades thereafter, the communities lived in harmony except for an occasional uprising against the Tamils. The Moors in Galle and Kandy got on very well with the Sinhalese, in fact speaking and writing Sinhalese better than the Sinhalese themselves. Malays speak Malay, and were little more westernised, got on very well with the Burghers, they mostly worked as Executives in Federation firms or were planters, with many joining the Forces specially the Police. There were some excellent singers in the Malay community, who dominated the Western music scene and also beautiful girls with some of them inter- marrying into the Sinhalese, Burgher and Tamil communities.
It was at that time that the political leaders of Sri Lanka should have created a Sri Lankan sentiment instead of exploiting and worsening the friction between the communities because of the language issue, for political gain. At this point of time it is pertinent to relate an incident involving the Late Sir John Kotelawala. Just before the now historic elections of 1956, when Sir John was so resoundingly defeated by S.W.R. D. Bandaranaike, he was Prime Minister and accepted an invitation to be the chief guest at the annual prize giving of a leading Maha Vidyalaya. He was invited before the elections but the actual event was after the elections, so he summoned the committee of the PTA to Kandawala, and with a guffaw of laughter, told them,"I say,. I am now a ‘gone case’ and if you b…s want to withdraw the invitation, it’s okay by me. I quite understand." In the committee there were people of all shades of political opinion. Some had even campaigned vigorously against Sir John, but at that moment they all saw the greatness of this man.In one voice they told him," Sir John, we want you and nobody else." And they truly meant it.
Sir John came for the prize giving and in the course of his speech he told a story.(It was apparent he was smarting a little under his defeat).
"Last night I saw a dream", he said. " I dreamt that I was walking through a vast desert . As I walked along, I came to a huge hole dug in the ground. This hole was completely surrounded by a formidable barbed wire barricade. In addition to the barricade there were armed guards carrying sub-machine guns standing right round the hole. Inside the hole there was a mass of people, all struggling to get out. But the moment any one of them managed to clamber up to the edge of the hole, a guard would kick him back into it." They are all struggling to go to Heaven, and we are here to see they don’t!". I approached one of the guards and asked him what was going on, Who are these wretched people inside this hole ? I asked, and the guard replied, "They are the Germans who died in the last war".
"As I proceeded on my way I came to another huge hole. Here too I saw the same thing. Barbed wire barricade, armed guards, and people struggling to get out. These are Japanese who died in the last war, and we are here to prevent them going to heaven, said a guard in response to my enquiry. As I went a little farther on, I came to a third hole with a teeming mass of people inside it. But here there was no barbed wire barricade no armed guards , nothing . I peeped into the hole and asked one of the people inside, ‘I say who are you?’. And the man replied , ‘We are Ceylonese who died in the last war!’. I then asked him , ‘ But why aren’t there any barbed wire barricade and armed Guards to prevent you people from going to heaven?’. The man laughed.’All that isn’t necessary. When one of us climbs on another’s shoulders the others pull him down’".
Since 1983 the entire scenario has changed. Terrorism has changed the country and its leaders on the one hand and on the other hand, the root of all evil, money , rules the roost. Digressing from the subject, one cannot ignore the state of affairs in this country at present. It is most unfortunate that the political leadership is exploiting the situation to the maximum to gain power. LTTE seems to be playing a key role in the electoral process. At one election they were supposed to have had a secret pact with the party that won the election and at the other, by depriving the people of their vote, resulting in that party losing the election.This is an absurd state of affairs. At present they are fighting an internecine war destroying the most important resource. Our people. Surely after 25 years of combating terrorism, they should have mastered the art by now. Terrorism has to be wiped out, but not in this manner. Intelligence,espionage and surveillance have to be given prime importance to eradicate this menace. How are the terrorists obtaining arms and ammunition. These are not manufactured in Sri Lanka, they are imported. The average businessman cannot import any item without opening a letter of credit through a bank and without obtaining Customs clearance.How do the terrorists get arms and ammunition worth millions. Where is the detection? What is their economic power, human power – they seem to have an unlimited supply of people. You have to engage a Spy network to find out who the high command is, and what they are planning.
You can still create a Sri Lankan sentiment and the only way left at present is to make Sri Lanka an economic power. Today, people are not interested in language, religion, habits or ways of life. What they need is a steady, bulky income, in short, money. To relate a yarn told to me recently, would suffice. A foreigner who lived in the Kandana, Ja-Ela area had a pet dog. The dog died and the foreigner being a decent bloke wanted to give his dog a proper burial. Not knowing many people in the vicinity, he went to the closest church and enquired from the priest whether he could help him bury his dog. The priest looked him straight in the eye and abruptly said," No we do not bury dogs here,". The foreigner tried a last shot," Do you think ten thousand rupees would be enough to have it buried." To which the priest replied, "Why didn’t you tell me the dog was Catholic." In short, where there is a will there is a way has become ‘ Where there is a will there are relatives’. Blood groups and DNA testing are only useful when it comes to solving criminal cases. Leave Germany and England aside and take India, for instance, where we have closer ties chiefly because Buddhism came from there and also the Tamil connection. Today Pakistan may be wishing why there ever was a Partition, because of the limited economic opportunities they are quietly flocking to India to seek greener pastures. Their cricketers are playing for Indian states in the IPL League tournament being conducted at present. Even Mathew Hayden who called Harbajan Singh an obnoxious weed, is playing for Chennai Super Stars because of the financial rewards. The great Mahathma Gandhi must be rejoicing in his grave for what is happening today. To prevent the Partition in 1947, the late Mahathma even offered Mr. Jinnah, the leader of the Awami Muslim league, the premiership of India, but Mr. Jinnah refused point blank.Besides they were determined to establish and create Pakistan, a plot cleverly devised and executed by the British imperialists, virtually the best example of divide and rule policy to date.
Make Sri Lanka an economic power and you could see the sentiment. If everybody is busy in lucrative economic activity they won’t have time for anything else. So don’t be surprised if people tell you, "We don’t like you Mr. Roberts, but we do love your money."
- Sri Lanka Guardian
______________
by Kan Butani
(July 08, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Reading a recent article titled "How does one become Sinhalese or Tamil by sentiment?" by Michael Roberts, prompted me to write a few words for the benefit of your readers because every man who knows how to read has it in his power to magnify himself, to multiply the ways in which he exists, to make his life full, significant and interesting.
In my humble opinion this is the most absurd question and every answer will be confronted by an unanswerable why. To Illustrate by example, this is how it goes: Mr. Jones was late to work, Why? Because he missed the bus. Why? Because he had a bad stomach, Why? Because he ate some Kothu Roti from a second rate eating establishment, Why? Because his wife has gone outstation, Why? It goes on and on .The ingredients illustrated in the melting pot, namely, Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim, Burgher and Malay, are wrong, purely because Malays are also Muslims. It is like adding salt twice when making a curry. It tastes so horrible that one has to spit it out .Most people in this Country have no idea whatsoever about the ethnic distribution in Sri Lanka and always address the countrymen as Sinhalese, Tamil, Burgher and Muslims. The last leader who knew how to address the people correctly was the late J.R. Jayawardene and since then nobody seems to realise that Muslims are a religious sect. All Muslims are followers of Islam. It is not a race and it cannot be one. The majority race among Muslims in Sri Lanka are the Moors, then come the Malays, then the Memons and Borahs and a very few other extremely small minority groups. People belonging to all these races are Muslims- the followers of Islam. Why have Sri Lankans forgotten the Moors. Shakespeare in his play Hamlet refers to Othello as the Moor of Venice.There are Moors all over the World and a large part of the Muslims in Sri Lanka are Moors, the Ceylon Moor and the Indian Moor. Without a precise understanding of the races it would be very difficult to understand the exact cause of the communal disturbances and delve into areas involving sentiment, because up-bringing and language influence people’s behavioural science and modus vivendi.
In Sri Lanka, the Moors speak Tamil and get on very well with the Tamils in spite of other differences.Until the advent of the LTTE the Moors and the Tamils in the North- East lived in perfect harmony, like a house on fire. With a proper understanding of the exact problem, which was basically a language problem originated in 1956, which created lack of equal opportunity, this problem could have been nipped in the bud, without allowing it to aggravate to this extent.During this period and even a couple of decades thereafter, the communities lived in harmony except for an occasional uprising against the Tamils. The Moors in Galle and Kandy got on very well with the Sinhalese, in fact speaking and writing Sinhalese better than the Sinhalese themselves. Malays speak Malay, and were little more westernised, got on very well with the Burghers, they mostly worked as Executives in Federation firms or were planters, with many joining the Forces specially the Police. There were some excellent singers in the Malay community, who dominated the Western music scene and also beautiful girls with some of them inter- marrying into the Sinhalese, Burgher and Tamil communities.
It was at that time that the political leaders of Sri Lanka should have created a Sri Lankan sentiment instead of exploiting and worsening the friction between the communities because of the language issue, for political gain. At this point of time it is pertinent to relate an incident involving the Late Sir John Kotelawala. Just before the now historic elections of 1956, when Sir John was so resoundingly defeated by S.W.R. D. Bandaranaike, he was Prime Minister and accepted an invitation to be the chief guest at the annual prize giving of a leading Maha Vidyalaya. He was invited before the elections but the actual event was after the elections, so he summoned the committee of the PTA to Kandawala, and with a guffaw of laughter, told them,"I say,. I am now a ‘gone case’ and if you b…s want to withdraw the invitation, it’s okay by me. I quite understand." In the committee there were people of all shades of political opinion. Some had even campaigned vigorously against Sir John, but at that moment they all saw the greatness of this man.In one voice they told him," Sir John, we want you and nobody else." And they truly meant it.
Sir John came for the prize giving and in the course of his speech he told a story.(It was apparent he was smarting a little under his defeat).
"Last night I saw a dream", he said. " I dreamt that I was walking through a vast desert . As I walked along, I came to a huge hole dug in the ground. This hole was completely surrounded by a formidable barbed wire barricade. In addition to the barricade there were armed guards carrying sub-machine guns standing right round the hole. Inside the hole there was a mass of people, all struggling to get out. But the moment any one of them managed to clamber up to the edge of the hole, a guard would kick him back into it." They are all struggling to go to Heaven, and we are here to see they don’t!". I approached one of the guards and asked him what was going on, Who are these wretched people inside this hole ? I asked, and the guard replied, "They are the Germans who died in the last war".
"As I proceeded on my way I came to another huge hole. Here too I saw the same thing. Barbed wire barricade, armed guards, and people struggling to get out. These are Japanese who died in the last war, and we are here to prevent them going to heaven, said a guard in response to my enquiry. As I went a little farther on, I came to a third hole with a teeming mass of people inside it. But here there was no barbed wire barricade no armed guards , nothing . I peeped into the hole and asked one of the people inside, ‘I say who are you?’. And the man replied , ‘We are Ceylonese who died in the last war!’. I then asked him , ‘ But why aren’t there any barbed wire barricade and armed Guards to prevent you people from going to heaven?’. The man laughed.’All that isn’t necessary. When one of us climbs on another’s shoulders the others pull him down’".
Since 1983 the entire scenario has changed. Terrorism has changed the country and its leaders on the one hand and on the other hand, the root of all evil, money , rules the roost. Digressing from the subject, one cannot ignore the state of affairs in this country at present. It is most unfortunate that the political leadership is exploiting the situation to the maximum to gain power. LTTE seems to be playing a key role in the electoral process. At one election they were supposed to have had a secret pact with the party that won the election and at the other, by depriving the people of their vote, resulting in that party losing the election.This is an absurd state of affairs. At present they are fighting an internecine war destroying the most important resource. Our people. Surely after 25 years of combating terrorism, they should have mastered the art by now. Terrorism has to be wiped out, but not in this manner. Intelligence,espionage and surveillance have to be given prime importance to eradicate this menace. How are the terrorists obtaining arms and ammunition. These are not manufactured in Sri Lanka, they are imported. The average businessman cannot import any item without opening a letter of credit through a bank and without obtaining Customs clearance.How do the terrorists get arms and ammunition worth millions. Where is the detection? What is their economic power, human power – they seem to have an unlimited supply of people. You have to engage a Spy network to find out who the high command is, and what they are planning.
You can still create a Sri Lankan sentiment and the only way left at present is to make Sri Lanka an economic power. Today, people are not interested in language, religion, habits or ways of life. What they need is a steady, bulky income, in short, money. To relate a yarn told to me recently, would suffice. A foreigner who lived in the Kandana, Ja-Ela area had a pet dog. The dog died and the foreigner being a decent bloke wanted to give his dog a proper burial. Not knowing many people in the vicinity, he went to the closest church and enquired from the priest whether he could help him bury his dog. The priest looked him straight in the eye and abruptly said," No we do not bury dogs here,". The foreigner tried a last shot," Do you think ten thousand rupees would be enough to have it buried." To which the priest replied, "Why didn’t you tell me the dog was Catholic." In short, where there is a will there is a way has become ‘ Where there is a will there are relatives’. Blood groups and DNA testing are only useful when it comes to solving criminal cases. Leave Germany and England aside and take India, for instance, where we have closer ties chiefly because Buddhism came from there and also the Tamil connection. Today Pakistan may be wishing why there ever was a Partition, because of the limited economic opportunities they are quietly flocking to India to seek greener pastures. Their cricketers are playing for Indian states in the IPL League tournament being conducted at present. Even Mathew Hayden who called Harbajan Singh an obnoxious weed, is playing for Chennai Super Stars because of the financial rewards. The great Mahathma Gandhi must be rejoicing in his grave for what is happening today. To prevent the Partition in 1947, the late Mahathma even offered Mr. Jinnah, the leader of the Awami Muslim league, the premiership of India, but Mr. Jinnah refused point blank.Besides they were determined to establish and create Pakistan, a plot cleverly devised and executed by the British imperialists, virtually the best example of divide and rule policy to date.
Make Sri Lanka an economic power and you could see the sentiment. If everybody is busy in lucrative economic activity they won’t have time for anything else. So don’t be surprised if people tell you, "We don’t like you Mr. Roberts, but we do love your money."
- Sri Lanka Guardian
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