The Challenge

By Sankajaya Nanayakkara

(April 01, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Nationalism is not a political pariah. It could play a positive role, especially in the decolonization and nation-building processes. Nationalism can also be rightly perceived as a bourgeois ideology for mystifying the contradictions, oppression and exploitation within the ‘nation.’ Nationalism becomes a problem when it oppresses other nations and threatens the co-existence and solidarity among diverse peoples.

Militant Sinhala nationalist politics in the island has a quite a long history. The Jathika Vimukthi Peramuna (National Liberation Front) of K.M.P. Rajaratne was one such nationalist formation that came to prominence in the late 1950s. The Dharma Samaja Party (Righteous Society Party) under the leadership of L.H. Mettananda was another outfit with a similar outlook that emerged in 1960. The Sinhala Mahajana Peramuna (Sinhala People’s Front) was organized by R.G. Senanayake in early 1970 to champion the cause of Buddhism and the interests of Sinhala middle classes. The ideological theme common to all these extinct formations and the present day champions of the Sinhala Buddhist cause is that the island of Lanka belongs to Sinhala Buddhists and all other ethnic and religious groups that inhabit it are outsiders. This exclusivist ‘sons of the soil’ line of thinking is the hallmark of the extreme right. In India the marauding Hinduthva forces that feed on Muslim blood epitomize this kind of politics, white supremacist fascist thugs such as, the British National Party and the Ku Klux Klan, who attack immigrants and non-whites, are the vanguards of this brand of politics in Europe and North America.

There were some noteworthy attempts by Sinhala political leaders to accommodate the political aspirations of the minorities in Sri Lanka, especially the Tamil political interests. The BC Pact of 1957, the DC Pact of 1965 and the Indo-Lanka Accord of 1987 are important milestones in this regard. Amidst the noise created by the lunatic fringe in the Sinhala society and political opportunism displayed by the mainstream opposition, the Sinhala rulers retreated from these important deals of political accommodation and ethnic integration. They lacked the vision and the courage to steer Lanka forward on the right path and succumbed to the pressure of dark forces in Sinhala politics which ultimately dragged the island into a bloody civil war.

Paper Lions

The Government of Sri Lanka has militarily defeated the separatist Tamil Tigers. But the battle against the politics that the Tamil Tigers spearheaded remains to be won. The history is knocking on the door of the Sinhala political class once again. President Mahinda Rajapakse has no choice but to accommodate the just political aspirations of the Tamils and other minorities within a framework of equality and power sharing. This is the only way to win the political battle against separatism and to keep the island together. Anything less would be a return to square one and the Tamil struggle for political emancipation will continue.

Sinhala supremacist forces make a big noise. They make themselves very visible. But in reality, it is a marginal and ephemeral phenomenon. The earlier discussed Jathika Vimukthi Peramuna failed to win even a single seat in the 1970 general election and disappeared from politics shortly afterwards. The Dharma Samaja Party, which came into being just before the general election of March 1960 went into oblivion after the general election of July 1960. The Sinhala Mahajana Peramuna was organized prior to the general election of May 1970. The party fielded fifty one candidates and failed miserably. All candidates except their leader lost their deposits. They never contested another election.

The modern day avatars of the above extinct forms do not fare well either. The recently concluded North Western and Central Provincial Council elections are a good index to gage the balance of forces in the country. The war-mongering Jathika Nidhahas Peramuna (National Freedom Front) of Wimal Weerawansa fielded ten candidates for both councils on the United People’s Freedom Alliance list. Except for one, all others failed badly. The single victory in the Nuwaraeliya District was due to the candidate’s family connections in the area and not due to party ideology or the popularity of the leader. In these very same elections, the hard-line Nationalist/Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (People’s Liberation Front) was reduced to one seat from a total of seventeen in the two councils.

Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse has won the confidence of large sections of the Sinhala society, including the nationalist constituencies. Sinhalese have more confidence in him than in blood (Tamil) thirsty demagogues like Champika Ranawaka, Wimal Weerawansa or the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna. Sinhalese are confident that Mr. Rajapakse will not betray their interests. On the other hand, he has alienated the minorities. With the impending victory over the Tamil Tigers, what is required is a political shift to win the confidence of the alienated Tamils and Muslims without losing the confidence of the mainstream Sinhala society. The President should begin to lean on the parties of the left and minority communities in his political alliance and further broaden it to include more representatives of the minorities.

The state ideology and propaganda apparatus should gradually substitute the Sudu Nelum Chinthanaya in place of the Jathika Chinthanaya. The government should gradually move away from the destabilizing nationalist allies with whom an eventual showdown is inevitable.

This kind of a re-alignment of political forces is a precondition for the full implementation of the 13th Amendment and an expansion on it. Will we see deception as reforms and a continuation of the old politics of Sinhala hegemonism or a sincere attempt at building a more inclusive polity? Does Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse have the vision and the courage to rise up to the historical occasion?

( The writer can be contacted at wickrama4sl@yahoo.com )

-Sri Lanka Guardian