Change we have and change we must

By Durand Appuhamy

(July 07, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Senator Obama became President of the US by playing on the word "change" during the election campaign. Americans are still debating, many months after his election, whether any real "change" has taken place in the American society, economy and politics. Our President and our Security Forces have delivered the "change" we wanted and badly needed. We are now one country without terrorism and terrorists’ claim to separatism. I am reminded here of Edmund Burke’s truism "a state without the means of some change is without the means of its conservation" (Reflections). This change to protect our country and its territorial integrity will come in the form of new arrangements (constitutional or otherwise), once the immediate needs of the Tamils victimised by the now defunct LTTE terrorists are sorted out.

Before everything else, I hope, the proponents of political change will make an effort to examine critically the welter of conflicting claims, grievances aspirations and interests and make a prioritized list of them.

This attempt to understand and define the problem would facilitate the solutions. Such solutions need not necessarily be a change of the Constitution. Only when we clearly define our problems, can we proceed to offer genuine and acceptable cures. Preferably, the APRC should have endeavoured at least to make a list of the knotted issues before looking for solutions.

No matter how elegant the new formulation, as it is man-made, it will always have some defects. I leave them for our many constitutional experts, who are a dime a dozen, to sort them out. I am here more concerned with the weakest link in the chain—the humans who have got to implement the change for the benefit of all citizens.

We the citizens have got to change, too. Presidential fiats cannot abolish the physical existence of the minority and majority communities in any country. Our minorities have had their own value systems, language, beliefs, customs, conventions, habits and practices transmitted over centuries to successive generations. They, therefore, will identify themselves with such community culture for security and emotional satisfaction. Should we not accept this for what it is? What is paramount is the prevention of the emergence of a new Velupillai transforming this attachment into xenophobia, an exclusivist and expansionist doctrine seeking absolute control over geographic territory and over all the members of the Tamil community. How could we achieve this? We need to actively promote a truly genuine nationalism that captures and expresses, as Hegel would call it, the Volksgeist or the true character of our nation. A nationalism that would increase the cohesion of the nation. We need a nationalism that "metamorphoses the subjects into full-fledged citizens" (Geertz: The Interpretation of Cultures). The type of nationalism I have in my mind is "the sentiment of belonging to a community whose members identify with a set of symbols, beliefs and ways of life, and have the will to decide upon their common political destiny" (Guibernau: Nationalisms). We do display such absorbing nationalism at international cricket matches. Now we do need to transfuse this sentiment to other national events. One example of it occurred in Galle in December 2008 Tsunami Remembrance get-together under the guidance of a Deputy Minister (Hemakumara Nanayakkara) and the organisational expertise of an ex-diplomat (Mr. Walter Fernando). One hundred torch-bearers from each community (Hindhu, Muslim, Buddhist and Christian) followed by large groups of people gathered at the Galle Fort for the Commemoration. The significance of this gathering was that they were not only expressing national solidarity, but also were displaying national identity of the kind we should promote. They were enacting in Renan’s terms the experience of suffered, enjoyed, and hoped together" (Renan: What is a Nation?).

Our nation-state is multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-religious, and multi-cultural. Our world is one where the political and the national unit cannot be congruent or homogeneous. We need a nationalism that allows and vindicates the right to be different while maintaining the over-arching identity with the nation. This is an arduous yet not an impossible task given the space created by the defeat of the terrorists.

Our multi-ethnicity is a matter of perception. In reality we are a hybrid nation. Many inter-ethnic marriages still do take place. According to the beliefs in the two main religions, one who died as a Sinhalese today could be born a Tamil tomorrow. As humans there are no differences in our physical appearance or intellectual capacity, even though some racists do believe in the superiority of intellect of the man from the North! What is factual is that we are all born in this country, live in this country and, therefore, owe allegiance to this country. This is what the new nationalism should emphasise. This is the change we urgently require.

It is true that we have two different indigenous languages. This should be considered a plus factor. While Sinhala is confined to this country only, Tamil has many adherents all over the world. By giving equal weight to both languages in this country, we share in the advantages of a greater coverage of the Tamil language. We should use our languages to learn our civic national catechism, in which all of us will be imbued with all the duties expected of us: from defending the state, to paying taxes, working and obeying the laws. The change required here is that, like in Switzerland, we have got to become multi-lingual citizens. Tomorrow’s citizens should be given all the opportunities to learn one another’s languages. Others, especially those government officials who come in contact with the public, should emulate the efforts the President makes to learn and speak in Tamil. Perhaps, spoken adult language lessons over the national TV could help bridge the present gap.

Our multi-religion and multi-culturism are only skin deep. The close connection between popular Buddhism and Hinduism is too obvious for any elaboration. The Christians and the Muslims do not share the beliefs and practices of others. Nevertheless, amicable co-existence is apparent in that at least some Muslims and Christians do participate indirectly in Buddhist and Hindu festivals in places like Kataragama, Kandy and Anuradhapura.


St. Anthony’s feast at Kochchikade, Colombo and the Madhu catholic festivals do attract people of all faiths. Our religions, songs, dances, literature, poetry and theatre should not be promoted as ethnic events. They should be projected as Sri Lankan arts and culture. Transposing Lord Macaulay’s Minute of 1835: "we have to create a class of persons, Sri Lankan in blood and colour and Sri Lankan in taste, in opinions, in morals and intellect". This is another change we need to usher in at the earliest opportunity.

This kind of nationalism has the capacity to create common identity among a heterogeneous people as most of the citizens would have accepted and adopted as their own, the symbols and rituals associated with that nationalism. The identity that ensues from genuine non-partisan nationalism will endow on every citizen the right to decide upon their common political destiny. It makes possible meaningful relationships with others as we shall live and work with a common culture. It will "situate" a person as he will now be identified with an entity recognised by the nations of the world.

Our flag is our national symbol and our national anthem is the ritual connected with our flag. Both demand the highest respect. Given that "the nation is the result of a daily plebiscite" (Renan), we need to constantly re-enact our identification with them. For, "it is by uttering the same cry, pronouncing the same word, or performing the same gesture in regard to some object that the individuals become and feel themselves to be in unison" (Durkheim: Elementary Forms of Religious Life).

Underpinning all these is the need that we do have a society where opportunities are available to all to progress in education. Employment is a matter of suitable qualification and/or skill. A society where freedom of expression exists together with the freedom to live anywhere in this country according to one’s wishes and the demands of the job. This is the responsibility of the government in power. Failure to create this environment will be disastrous, as the new nationalism will be stillborn and the old divisions will re-emerge to destroy our society. A lean and mean government has become a necessity to usher in the changes and promote relentlessly the new nationalism of national identity. Rampant corruption and lawlessness militate against new beginnings.

Identity politics or the politics of ethnicity was killed off at Nandikadal. Minority politicians who peddle these blatantly racist ideals should not be allowed to function in our new society. They should be persuaded to change from such damaging enterprises to more profitable and beneficial ideals of progress and unity of the people and nation. Similarly there cannot be any exclusivist enclaves in this country which now is one land, one country and one people. Just as much as no one grudges at Tamil settlements in Wellawatta, Kotahena, Wattala, Kandy and Negombo, no one should be alarmed at Muslims and Sinhalese settlements in Kilinochchi , Mullaitivu or Jaffna peninsula. This land belongs to all born here and live here. Let us live and let live.

Today we live in a globalized world. The foreign Tamils, inimical to Sri Lanka, are all bent to destabilise our society by using the pervasive global technology, currency markets and stock exchanges and the international media. We need to counter this by reactivating our true nationalism as the legitimising ideology and by articulating our set of all inclusive values and the right of our people to decide our political destiny. Those foreign Tamils have no stake anymore in this country which they abandoned for their material wealth and prestige. They should seek their homelands in the countries where they have found their domestication.

-Sri Lanka Guardian