Today's logic
Today's logic
The kid doesn't seem to believe the lady.
Hey kid, this is today’s logic.
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This blog is about the entrants in the year 1960, to the Faculty of Medicine, University of Ceylon, Colombo. The email address for communications is, 1960batch@gmail.com. Please BOOKMARK this page for easier access later.Photo is the entrance porch of the old General Hospital, Colombo, still in existence. Please use the search box below to look for your requirement.
Thursday, November 7, 2013
Today's logic - email from jksw
A teacher - email from jksw
On behalf of all our wonderful teachers. Each had something to impart, and did too.
jksw
A good/sensible reply from a Teacher?
From A School Principal's speech at a graduation..
He said "The Doctor wants his child to become a doctor.........
the Engineer wants his child to become an engineer......
The Businessman wants his ward to become CEO.....
BUT a teacher also wants his child to become one of them, as well..!!!!
Nobody wants to become a teacher BY CHOICE" ....Very sad but that's the truth.....!!!
The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life.
One man, a CEO, decided to explain the problem with education. He argued,
"What's a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher?"
To stress his point he said to another guest;
"You're a teacher, Bonnie. Be honest. What do you make?"
Teacher Bonnie, who had a reputation for honesty and frankness replied,
"You want to know what I make?
(She paused for a second, then began...)
"Well, I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could.
I make a C+ feel like the Congressional Medal of Honor winner.
I make kids sit through 40 minutes of class time when their parents can't
make them sit for 5 min. without an I- Pod, Game Cube or movie rental.
You want to know what I make?
(She paused again and looked at each and every person at the table)
I make kids wonder.
I make them question.
I make them apologize and mean it.
I make them have respect and take responsibility for their actions.
I teach them how to write and then I make them write.
Keyboarding isn't everything.
I make them read, read, read.
I make them show all their work in math.
They use their God given brain, not the man-made calculator.
I make my students from other countries learn everything they need
to know about English while preserving their unique cultural identity.
I make my classroom a place where all my students feel safe.
Finally, I make them understand that if they use the gifts they
were given, work hard, and follow their hearts, they can succeed in life
( Bonnie paused one last time and then continued.)
Then, when people try to judge me by what I make, with me knowing money is n't everything, I can hold my head up high and pay no attention because they are ignorant. You want to know what I make.
I MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN ALL YOUR LIVES, EDUCATING KIDS AND PREPARING THEM TO BECOME CEO's, AND DOCTORS AND ENGINEERS..........
What do you make Mr. CEO?
His jaw dropped; he went silent.
THIS IS WORTH SENDING TO EVERY PERSON YOU KNOW. Even all personal teachers like mother, father, brother, sister, coach and spiritual leader/teacher
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
How we looked after post war 2009 - email from jksw
How we looked after post war 2009
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Time to recall. Lest we forget.
Attached picture. How we looked after people post war 2009.
Advising the keen lady doctor in charge.
L>R Myself, lady doctor, limb fitting manager Karunasena and Mr Benjamin in
charge of Mobile camp.
Note the lack of hustle and bustle even in these early days post war.
Thatched roof. Beds. Wheelchair. The patients.
Jksweerasekera
Orthopedic Surgeon.
Caves of 'Saliya and Asokamala' - Stories from Sri Lanka more than 2000 years old.
Forwarded from the ‘Leader’
jksw
Sixty-Four Rock Caves And A Story Behind Each: The Saliya-Asokamala Hideaway
By Rajithanganee Unantenna Fernando
Shelter from the sun, Posing by the ruins
Balumgala-observation rock!
I first heard of the Saliya-Asokamala hideaway from my husband, who had spent several days in the jungle while serving in the Army.
Once he described it to me, I decided I just had to see it for myself!
With a carefully engineered plan, a smile and some clever sweet-talk, I managed to persuade him to take me there.
With a carefully engineered plan, a smile and some clever sweet-talk, I managed to persuade him to take me there.
Soon, we were watching Colombo’s concrete jungle disappear in the distance: the journey had begun.
Nearly 27 kilometres from Puttalam, on the Anuradhapura-Puttalam road, we took a left turn at the 17th mile post to Pahala Puliyankulama, which is the last village in this area.
Despite the fact that it is a dry zone, we passed several lakes and ponds.
We feasted our eyes on several species of birds endemic to the dry zone.
As I looked out of the window, I saw a myriad Tamarind trees casting their immense shadow on us.
It then dawned on me why the place was called Puliyankulama – the Tamil word for Tamarind Lake.
The sun shone mercilessly on the parched earth, looking to rid it of any droplets of water that were hiding in its crevices.
The weather was hot and dry, and the few families that resided in the area lived an undeniably arduous life.
To add to their hardship, the nearest town was almost 12 kilometres away,
and one scanty boutique served as their supermarket, bookshop and hairdresser.
As we drove along, we managed to spot a few young lads, riding their bicycles aimlessly, while a group of elders looked on with disapproval.
We passed three bridges (Sapaththu Palam), and took a left turn towards the end of the Pahala Puliyankulama village.
Soon, we came face to face with a board that proudly announced the Wilangoada Aranaya and Archeological site.
This Aranaya is about 4km from the Southern border of Wilpattu.
The jungle is separated from the village by an electric fence that serves to prevent the entry of our hefty wild “frenemies”, the elephants, who seemed to make it a hobby to trespass.
I realized that from that point on, it was going to be a grueling journey into the wild.
I got off the vehicle and carefully opened the wired fence for the vehicle to enter.
It was either do or die; we were in the raw jungles of Sri Lanka, away from five-star hotels and coffee lounges.
That was reality. I was unquestionably excited, as we braced ourselves for the possibility of the occasional temperamental wild animal crossing our path.
After driving for about 600 – 700 meters we came to a police post.
After driving for about 600 – 700 meters we came to a police post.
With a smile, they directed us to the Aranya where the Monk lived. A few minutes later, we were face-to-face with him.
He was well into his sixties, maybe even seventies. The unforgiving weather had taken its toll on him, darkening his complexion. He wore a robe, which was arguably red. He sat on a wooden chair in front of his cave and his spectacles rested effortlessly on his nose.
Behind him stood a glass box and in it, was a human skeleton.
We were distracted from the initial shock of the skeleton when he gave us a smile overflowing with sincerity; a typical Sri Lankan welcome.
He ordered the little novice monk to lay a mat for us to sit on. There was another little boy who was introduced to us as the novice monk’s brother.
My husband took charge of the conversation, while my eyes wondered around with curiosity. He inquired into the whereabouts of the former monk, who my husband knew;
the reply came that he had perhaps fled the area.
My husband recounted that the previous monk had told him many fascinating stories of the jungle and its mysteries.
He had said that he had seen some unlawful timber fellers go deep into the jungle in three vehicles.
The monk had wished to himself that the criminals would not find their way out. Like magic, they never emerged out of the jungle.
The monk who sat in front of us replied with confidence: “This is a sacred place. People who harm this land do not go unpunished.”
After talking to him for a while, we got to know that he was well-known for performing supernatural acts. His name was Rev. Anuradhpura Nanda Wimala Thero but was known locally as Dolukande Hamuduruwo. He told us about the hardship he endured living in such a place. He had to walk 12 kilometres to receive alms. He stated with an overpowering sense of determination that he will always protect the land. He then delighted us with some interesting stories about the forest, that left us gaping like five-year olds hearing Cinderella for the first time.
We saw the Saliya Guhawa where Prince Saliya – King Dutugemunu’s only son – hid after eloping with Asokamala, his low-caste yet breathtakingly beautiful woman.
This cave is now converted to a shrine. He told us how one of King Dutugamunu’s giants, the Neela Maha Yodaya, was constructing a bund across Kala Oya, when he saw Prince Saliya.
He hastened to tell this to the King. However, he asked the King for one favour; if he was to divulge Saliya’s whereabouts, Saliya should not be brought to any harm.
The King granted him this wish. He went on to meet his son who offered him roasted paddy (Wilanda) and bees honey.
That was how this area got its name; Wilandagoda.
The King then told his son to count the paddy grains and build an equal number of Vihara’s Shrines, Dagaba’s, Caves, Temples and religious monuments.
The prince acceded to his father’s wish.
Subsequently, the King provided all that was necessary from the Royal Treasury to build these religious sites; sites which included those 64 caves for the Arahath monks.
We took a leisurely stroll in the jungle.
We saw rock caves of various shapes and sizes, making their presence felt. At present, two caves are used by monks while some are occupied by wild animals like leopards, bears, wild cats and birds.
The monk told us that we will be able to see only about 30 to 40 caves, but that too, not in one day. He noted regretfully that some caves are difficult to reach, adding that absolutely no one has seen all 64 caves.
The monk told us that we will be able to see only about 30 to 40 caves, but that too, not in one day. He noted regretfully that some caves are difficult to reach, adding that absolutely no one has seen all 64 caves.
Another place that interested me was the Balumgala or the observation rock.
This is a colossal round rock that stands on rocky ground. What is surprising is this rock’s ability to stand, since just a small portion of it touches the ground. Seeing it, one would expect it to roll over at any moment!
The monk mentioned the city of Nandana Nuwara where the police post is.
It is said that it was built by King Dathusena.
There is a cave with carvings on built walls which are now damaged and distorted. In front of this cave there is an octagonal column which has now fallen. And there are many rock inscriptions around this area.
He pledged that he will protect it.
We even saw many ruins. Among them, was a huge rock statue of Lord Buddha, which was half buried.
It was distressing to see how treasure hunters had vandalized the area; we saw deep pits left by them, pits that took with them pieces of our nation’s valuable history.
I would recommend this place to anyone with a longing to see Sri Lanka in its true magnificence; the splendor of ancient history.
I would recommend this place to anyone with a longing to see Sri Lanka in its true magnificence; the splendor of ancient history.
What lies at the end of the road is worth the never-ending journey and unforgiving weather.
Just remember to do your bit for the Kings of the past, monks of the present and children of the future; preserve the natural beauty of our country and its past.
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Sights of present Sri Lanka - email from jksw
Subject: FW: Beautiful Sri Lanka..!!
Date: Tue, 5 Nov 2013 13:10:02 +0000
Yes, with the sun light the peacock can appear white! I have one such. jksw
Murali the one and only of Sri Lankan cricket fame.
Murali to inaugurate cricket pitches in former LTTE stronghold
PTI Nov 4, 2013, 04.35PM IST
Tags:
COLOMBO: Sri Lankan spin legend Muttiah Muralitharan will be inaugurating the new cricket pitches laid in a stadium in the former LTTE stronghold of Kilinochchi.
He will declare open cricket pitches developed by the governing body Sri Lanka Cricket at the Kilinochchi central college tomorrow.
Kilinochchi served as the LTTE's administrative headquarters when they ran their parallel administration.
In addition, Murali will conduct a small spin clinic for the Tamil kids who are recovering from the end of a 30-year old bloody armed separatist campaign waged by the LTTE.
Murali, a Sri Lankan of Tamil origin, was the most prominent of a very limited number of minority community, who have worn Sri Lanka colours.
Hailing from central hill country, Murali was admired across communities during the height of the separatist war.
Murali Cup, a tournament which is being currently played with representative schools teams from the former war torn areas of north and east is aimed at scouting young talent to represent Sri Lanka in future.
Comments of an ex member of the past elite Ceylon Civil Service (CCS).
Prime Minister S.W.R.D .Bandaranaike (SWRD) expanded the horizons of the Sinhala people in 1956 but simultaneously drew in the horizons of the Tamils and diminished them as a people.
For nearly 60 years thereafter, amidst bloodshed and tears, Sri Lanka has been trying to restore the balance but has not got it right yet.
Apart from the tentative attempts of SWRD (BC Pact of 1958) of Dudley Senanayake (DC Agreement of 1965) JR’s Accord with India (13th Amendment 1987) and CBK’s valiant efforts in 1995, 1997 and 2000, the first effective initiative at restoring the balance has been PresidentRajapaksa’s decision to call for elections under the 13th Amendment of 1987 and set up the Northern Provincial Council (NPC).
Almost 50 years ago to the day, when I was Government Agent of Jaffna (1963-1966) at a person to person interview I had with the Prime Minister Mrs Sirima Bandaranaike at Temple Trees (but attended by her formidable Perm. Sec. Mr. N.Q.Dias) I asked her, “Madame, don’t you think that we should start healing the wounds inflicted on the Tamil people”. I was meeting her to sort out one of many crises that kept confronting me from the time I took over as GA in August 1963. The ensuing discussion is fully reproduced in my memoirs, culled from the diaries I was maintaining throughout my tenure as GA of several districts, and it should appear in the book stores early next year.
Contrary to my expectations, Mrs Bandaranaike not only responded fully to my pleas for justice for the Tamil people, but after an hour long discussion, to Mr N.Q.Dias’s absolute dismay, agreed to my suspending the implementation of the Sinhala Only policy throughout the Jaffna district, provided I did not make a fanfare about it, and provided I did not ask for any confirmation in writing. (Mrs B of the 1960s was a very different lady from the Mrs B of the 1970s)
As requested by the PM, without making any public announcement, I simply let the Official Language Act lapse throughout the Jaffna district. In the event, not a single birth certificate, nor a death certificate, nor a marriage certificate, nor an invoice or receipt, nor any letter, was issued to anyone in the Jaffna district from any government office in the district, except in the language of the subject’s choice. Eventually, my unilateral initiative to launch a three-language policy for the administration of the Jaffna district was followed meticulously by all the GA’s who succeeded me until it passed into law for the whole country in 1987 through the 13th Amendment.
Now in my 84th year, I am asking President Mahinda Rajapaksa the same question that I put to Mrs Bandaranaike 50 years ago -
Does the 13th Amendment expand horizons for the Tamil people?
To expand horizons for the Tamil people must mean, at the least, delegating to them through a constitutional device, power to order their own affairs, consistent with the ultimate sovereignty of the nation.
Clearly, the 13th Amendment does not do that, because that was not its purpose and it was not driven by an ideological commitment to sharing power. Rather, it was drafted primarily as a mechanism to keep the Tamils in line and to that end it reinforces control rather than share power.
The fragmenting of the subjects into three lists – the Provincial Council List (PCL), the Concurrent List (CL) and the Reserved List (RL) makes coherent policy making and cohesive administration a nightmare. In any conflict between the Centre and the PC concerning the scope of any subject within the three Lists, the centre will always have its way by simply going to Parliament and getting it to declare “National Policy” in respect of the subject in dispute. Therefore, under the clauses of the Amendment it will be possible for a strong central bureaucracy in Colombo continuously to frustrate a PC and reduce it to a zombie.
If the absurdity of this mechanism has not been shown up hitherto, it is only because over the past 25 years the other seven Provinces have been merely gravy trains, content to follow in the wake of the ruling government.
When one looks at the background to the 13th Amendment, the subterfuge is entirely understandable. The driving purpose was to persuade the Tamil militants to call off their armed rebellion rather than to provide space for sharing power.
It was natural therefore that for the past 26 years all Tamil groups have remained pessimistic about the adequacy of the Amendment and they have all been vociferous that the Amendment does not meet their aspirations. Therefore I think that there is an urgent need to rethink the scope of the Amendment.
However, as an interim measure the President can at least abolish the Concurrent List of the NPC and transfer all of the subjects in it to the Council. Such an initiative will give the NPC a greater sense of involvement in government and cause the current discontent to subside.
Does 13th Amendment provide an opportunity for development?
However, looking at the issue from another perspective, in truth, the 13th Amendment does ( repeat does ) provide considerable space for the NPC to bring a range of benefits to its people and the TNA should look on the currently elected Council, however restricted in power, as an important first step in an incremental process.
The TNA must be realistic. Emerging from a background of 30 years of attempted separatism, the Sinhala people are still deeply suspicious and are not likely to acquiesce in a full blown autonomy for the Tamil people even within a sovereign Sri Lanka. Therefore agitation will only further aggravate that suspicion. Rather, I think that the TNA should first get on with setting up a viable Provincial Council and showcase it as a model of efficiency and development for the whole of Sri Lanka, and I am sure the Chief Minister Wigneswaran can do that.
The NPC has two enormous resources. Firstly, its people! The Tamils of Sri Lanka can match any community anywhere in the world for intelligence, industry and resilience. (I speak with considerable hands-on experience across the world) Secondly, it has in the Tamil diaspora an untapped resource of enormous magnitude. The diaspora has not only vast reserves of disposable capital but also has highly trained technology skills among its members.
What Chief Minster Wigneswaran can do is to siphon this capital and skills into the Northern Province and within a decade or so the NPC tail will be wagging the SL body. It happened in Scotland after the Scots had been utterly vanquished by the English at Culloden in 1745. The Scots did not retreat into the hills and sulk but simply rolled up their sleeves and got down to work, and within 50 years had taken over the commanding heights of the British economy. The Tamils who share many traits with the Scots can do likewise in Sri Lanka!
Promises given by President Rajapaksa
When one looks at the promises President Mahinda Rajapaksa (MR) has given to the Tamil people, to India, to the International Community (IC), again and again, that short of jeopardising the country’s sovereignty he will go all the way to devolve power, one feels optimistic that at last we may be on the threshold of expanding the horizons of the Tamil people. The fact that he has been the first among the Sri Lankan Heads of Government to call for elections to the NPC is itself reason to surmise that his commitment to devolution is sincere.
Having appointed two committees, the All Party Representatives Committee (APRC) and an Experts Committee, specifically charged with submitting plans for solving the National Question, President Rajapaksa unfolded his vision to them in the following terms.
He assured them that he will explore all attempts to solve the National Question and said that rather than imposing a solution himself, would ask the two committees to come up with a solution.
He said that he was of the view that people in their own localities must take charge of their destiny and control their politico-economic environment. Central decision-making that allocates disproportionate resources has been an issue for a considerable time, he said.
In general terms, he emphasised as a matter of urgency the need to devolve power to the regions and to enable people to take charge of their own destiny. He said he was willing to stretch to the very limit any solution proposed by the two committees, without sacrificing the sovereignty of the country.
Brave and most heart warming words!
The horns of President Rajapaksa’s dilemma
Now however, Rajapaksa is caught on the horns of the same classic dilemma on which SWRD in 1958, Dudley in 1967, JR in 1987, and CBKin 2000, were impaled. Individually they were all liberal minded, forward looking leaders, and had they not been stymied by the Sinhala supremacist Southern consciousness would have solved the National Question with justice towards all.
Rajapaksa’s case is even more difficult. No other leader of Sri Lanka had his roots so deeply embedded in the heroic Ruhuna narrative as he, and it is therefore natural that he feels that he has to keep tryst with that tradition. On the other hand, he must also see that he is no longer a local chieftain but the leader of a nation comprised of different races, different religions and different cultures and his paramount responsibility must be towards the nation than to the local tradition.
How can Rajapaksa make the transition from being a great local chieftain to being a great national leader and statesman? Obviously the transition must first be made in his own consciousness before it can manifest through constitutional structures. I have never known President Rajapaksa personally, but over the years I have seen him trying to make that transition in consciousness, and one can say that seven years into his term as the President he may now be poised to be a statesman rather than continue as a petty local chieftain.
Can Rajapaksa transform the consciousness of his people?
One is tempted to say that either another Constituent Assembly or invoking Article 86 might be the way out of the impasse, but what guarantees will the Tamils have that another Constituent Assembly will not do to them exactly what Mrs. Bandaranaike’s Constituent Assembly did to them in 1972 or that a verdict under Article 86 will go in their favour? After all, every Constituent Assembly will have a Sinhala majority and will merely follow the contours of the Parliament. Likewise Article 86 can only reproduce the majoritarian consciousness. Therefore, what is needed is not more constitutional devices but a complete turnaround of the supremacist Sinhala consciousness which alas, short of the Second Coming, can never happen through the historical process.
However, a charismatic leader gifted with a higher vision can leap frog the consciousness of a whole nation more effectively than a long drawn historical process. Mahatma Gandhi did it in India, Martin Luther King in America and Mandela in South Africa.
Can Mahinda Rajapaksa step up to fill the role of catalyst and change agent in Sri Lanka? Rather than merely articulate the consciousness that gave rise to him, which any third rate politician can do, can President Rajapaksa rise above his conditioning and drawing from a higher set of values, transform the consciousness of his people?
Only President Rajapaksa himself personally can find a way out of this impasse, but he has to lay hold of that higher vision and under Article 86 lead a campaign for a radical change in the consciousness of his people.
Recent elections (2013) have shown that, even after being in power for over seven years, Rajapaksa can still command more than 58% support in the country, outside the NPC. In all my 84 years I have yet to see a political leader either in Sri Lanka or abroad who has mastered the skills of managing individuals as well as the political landscape, as brilliantly as Rajapaksa has. Like the Pied Piper of Hamelin, he has drawn unto himself leading members from the Opposition, plus an assortment of intellectuals, academics, professionals, business magnates, journalists and even religious dignitaries and got them to jump through hoops at his behest. Should he ever be in risk of losing his 2/3rd majority in Parliament he can give portfolios to all the remaining MPs of his government and that will take care of that!
Given such extraordinary skills at political manipulation I feel that given the will and a higher vision, he can navigate his way to a solution to the National Question, using Article 86 as the vehicle.
The long term benefits of JRJ’s Mahaveli Diversion Project probably exceed those of Mahinda Rajapaksa’s roads and ports but not all of his predecessors’ achievements, and not even his own contributions towards infra structure growth, will match the benefits he can bestow on the country if he can finally solve the National Question. Only then will President Mahinda Rajapaksa win for himself the final accolade – a place in the Mahavamsa’s pantheon as “Mahinda Rajapaksa the Great”!!
I like to close this article by quoting from chapter nine of my own memoirs, written in 2008, six months before the collapse of the LTTE.
“More than the power it derives from an overwhelming superiority in numbers, what exalts any majority community, and endows it with a true greatness and moral authority, is its willingness to guarantee to all those other communities who lack the advantage of numbers, a status and dignity equal to its own, and never to let them feel marginalised or disadvantaged because they are fewer in number, or because they are different in race, colour or beliefs.
“Unless and until Sri Lanka can produce leaders who can realise that truth, and are strong enough to translate their understanding into policies, it will continue to be dismembered by conflict, long after the LTTE and Prabhakaran have passed into history”.
For nearly 60 years thereafter, amidst bloodshed and tears, Sri Lanka has been trying to restore the balance but has not got it right yet.
Apart from the tentative attempts of SWRD (BC Pact of 1958) of Dudley Senanayake (DC Agreement of 1965) JR’s Accord with India (13th Amendment 1987) and CBK’s valiant efforts in 1995, 1997 and 2000, the first effective initiative at restoring the balance has been PresidentRajapaksa’s decision to call for elections under the 13th Amendment of 1987 and set up the Northern Provincial Council (NPC).
Almost 50 years ago to the day, when I was Government Agent of Jaffna (1963-1966) at a person to person interview I had with the Prime Minister Mrs Sirima Bandaranaike at Temple Trees (but attended by her formidable Perm. Sec. Mr. N.Q.Dias) I asked her, “Madame, don’t you think that we should start healing the wounds inflicted on the Tamil people”. I was meeting her to sort out one of many crises that kept confronting me from the time I took over as GA in August 1963. The ensuing discussion is fully reproduced in my memoirs, culled from the diaries I was maintaining throughout my tenure as GA of several districts, and it should appear in the book stores early next year.
Contrary to my expectations, Mrs Bandaranaike not only responded fully to my pleas for justice for the Tamil people, but after an hour long discussion, to Mr N.Q.Dias’s absolute dismay, agreed to my suspending the implementation of the Sinhala Only policy throughout the Jaffna district, provided I did not make a fanfare about it, and provided I did not ask for any confirmation in writing. (Mrs B of the 1960s was a very different lady from the Mrs B of the 1970s)
As requested by the PM, without making any public announcement, I simply let the Official Language Act lapse throughout the Jaffna district. In the event, not a single birth certificate, nor a death certificate, nor a marriage certificate, nor an invoice or receipt, nor any letter, was issued to anyone in the Jaffna district from any government office in the district, except in the language of the subject’s choice. Eventually, my unilateral initiative to launch a three-language policy for the administration of the Jaffna district was followed meticulously by all the GA’s who succeeded me until it passed into law for the whole country in 1987 through the 13th Amendment.
Now in my 84th year, I am asking President Mahinda Rajapaksa the same question that I put to Mrs Bandaranaike 50 years ago -
“Excellency! Don’t you think that you should finally heal the wounds inflicted on the Tamil people and effect a total reconciliation? Even seven years into your administration, your support amongst the Sinhala people seems intact and no other head of government is ever likely in the foreseeable future to have the same support among the Sinhala people as you still have. Why don’t you convert that support base into a springboard for putting through painful but long overdue measures and finally raise a new nation?Now, let us see to what extent President Rajapaksa’s heroic initiative to set up the NPC has expanded horizons for the Tamil people and restored the balance, and what yet needs to be done.
“Your decision to hold an election to the Northern Province is heroic and path-breaking, but you have yet far to go.
“Just as much as people are in awe of your military victory over separatism and of your many grandiose public works in concrete and asphalt, you must also be aware that there are many charges against your regime. Elevating corruption to the level of an industry, fostering the culture of impunity, the horrendous misuse of official facilities and privileges, human rights violations and the persecution of journalists are just a few of those charges. I am not in a position either to confirm or refute these charges, but I am as aware as you are, that they are being made widely, and increasingly loudly, both at home and abroad.
“All that that notwithstanding, if you will do whatever it takes, even invoking Article 86 of the Constitution, finally to heal the wounds inflicted on the Tamil people and integrate them fully into the nation, your place in history will have been secured”.
Does the 13th Amendment expand horizons for the Tamil people?
To expand horizons for the Tamil people must mean, at the least, delegating to them through a constitutional device, power to order their own affairs, consistent with the ultimate sovereignty of the nation.
Clearly, the 13th Amendment does not do that, because that was not its purpose and it was not driven by an ideological commitment to sharing power. Rather, it was drafted primarily as a mechanism to keep the Tamils in line and to that end it reinforces control rather than share power.
The fragmenting of the subjects into three lists – the Provincial Council List (PCL), the Concurrent List (CL) and the Reserved List (RL) makes coherent policy making and cohesive administration a nightmare. In any conflict between the Centre and the PC concerning the scope of any subject within the three Lists, the centre will always have its way by simply going to Parliament and getting it to declare “National Policy” in respect of the subject in dispute. Therefore, under the clauses of the Amendment it will be possible for a strong central bureaucracy in Colombo continuously to frustrate a PC and reduce it to a zombie.
If the absurdity of this mechanism has not been shown up hitherto, it is only because over the past 25 years the other seven Provinces have been merely gravy trains, content to follow in the wake of the ruling government.
When one looks at the background to the 13th Amendment, the subterfuge is entirely understandable. The driving purpose was to persuade the Tamil militants to call off their armed rebellion rather than to provide space for sharing power.
It was natural therefore that for the past 26 years all Tamil groups have remained pessimistic about the adequacy of the Amendment and they have all been vociferous that the Amendment does not meet their aspirations. Therefore I think that there is an urgent need to rethink the scope of the Amendment.
However, as an interim measure the President can at least abolish the Concurrent List of the NPC and transfer all of the subjects in it to the Council. Such an initiative will give the NPC a greater sense of involvement in government and cause the current discontent to subside.
Does 13th Amendment provide an opportunity for development?
However, looking at the issue from another perspective, in truth, the 13th Amendment does ( repeat does ) provide considerable space for the NPC to bring a range of benefits to its people and the TNA should look on the currently elected Council, however restricted in power, as an important first step in an incremental process.
The TNA must be realistic. Emerging from a background of 30 years of attempted separatism, the Sinhala people are still deeply suspicious and are not likely to acquiesce in a full blown autonomy for the Tamil people even within a sovereign Sri Lanka. Therefore agitation will only further aggravate that suspicion. Rather, I think that the TNA should first get on with setting up a viable Provincial Council and showcase it as a model of efficiency and development for the whole of Sri Lanka, and I am sure the Chief Minister Wigneswaran can do that.
The NPC has two enormous resources. Firstly, its people! The Tamils of Sri Lanka can match any community anywhere in the world for intelligence, industry and resilience. (I speak with considerable hands-on experience across the world) Secondly, it has in the Tamil diaspora an untapped resource of enormous magnitude. The diaspora has not only vast reserves of disposable capital but also has highly trained technology skills among its members.
What Chief Minster Wigneswaran can do is to siphon this capital and skills into the Northern Province and within a decade or so the NPC tail will be wagging the SL body. It happened in Scotland after the Scots had been utterly vanquished by the English at Culloden in 1745. The Scots did not retreat into the hills and sulk but simply rolled up their sleeves and got down to work, and within 50 years had taken over the commanding heights of the British economy. The Tamils who share many traits with the Scots can do likewise in Sri Lanka!
Promises given by President Rajapaksa
When one looks at the promises President Mahinda Rajapaksa (MR) has given to the Tamil people, to India, to the International Community (IC), again and again, that short of jeopardising the country’s sovereignty he will go all the way to devolve power, one feels optimistic that at last we may be on the threshold of expanding the horizons of the Tamil people. The fact that he has been the first among the Sri Lankan Heads of Government to call for elections to the NPC is itself reason to surmise that his commitment to devolution is sincere.
Having appointed two committees, the All Party Representatives Committee (APRC) and an Experts Committee, specifically charged with submitting plans for solving the National Question, President Rajapaksa unfolded his vision to them in the following terms.
He assured them that he will explore all attempts to solve the National Question and said that rather than imposing a solution himself, would ask the two committees to come up with a solution.
He said that he was of the view that people in their own localities must take charge of their destiny and control their politico-economic environment. Central decision-making that allocates disproportionate resources has been an issue for a considerable time, he said.
In general terms, he emphasised as a matter of urgency the need to devolve power to the regions and to enable people to take charge of their own destiny. He said he was willing to stretch to the very limit any solution proposed by the two committees, without sacrificing the sovereignty of the country.
Brave and most heart warming words!
The horns of President Rajapaksa’s dilemma
Now however, Rajapaksa is caught on the horns of the same classic dilemma on which SWRD in 1958, Dudley in 1967, JR in 1987, and CBKin 2000, were impaled. Individually they were all liberal minded, forward looking leaders, and had they not been stymied by the Sinhala supremacist Southern consciousness would have solved the National Question with justice towards all.
Rajapaksa’s case is even more difficult. No other leader of Sri Lanka had his roots so deeply embedded in the heroic Ruhuna narrative as he, and it is therefore natural that he feels that he has to keep tryst with that tradition. On the other hand, he must also see that he is no longer a local chieftain but the leader of a nation comprised of different races, different religions and different cultures and his paramount responsibility must be towards the nation than to the local tradition.
How can Rajapaksa make the transition from being a great local chieftain to being a great national leader and statesman? Obviously the transition must first be made in his own consciousness before it can manifest through constitutional structures. I have never known President Rajapaksa personally, but over the years I have seen him trying to make that transition in consciousness, and one can say that seven years into his term as the President he may now be poised to be a statesman rather than continue as a petty local chieftain.
Can Rajapaksa transform the consciousness of his people?
One is tempted to say that either another Constituent Assembly or invoking Article 86 might be the way out of the impasse, but what guarantees will the Tamils have that another Constituent Assembly will not do to them exactly what Mrs. Bandaranaike’s Constituent Assembly did to them in 1972 or that a verdict under Article 86 will go in their favour? After all, every Constituent Assembly will have a Sinhala majority and will merely follow the contours of the Parliament. Likewise Article 86 can only reproduce the majoritarian consciousness. Therefore, what is needed is not more constitutional devices but a complete turnaround of the supremacist Sinhala consciousness which alas, short of the Second Coming, can never happen through the historical process.
However, a charismatic leader gifted with a higher vision can leap frog the consciousness of a whole nation more effectively than a long drawn historical process. Mahatma Gandhi did it in India, Martin Luther King in America and Mandela in South Africa.
Can Mahinda Rajapaksa step up to fill the role of catalyst and change agent in Sri Lanka? Rather than merely articulate the consciousness that gave rise to him, which any third rate politician can do, can President Rajapaksa rise above his conditioning and drawing from a higher set of values, transform the consciousness of his people?
Only President Rajapaksa himself personally can find a way out of this impasse, but he has to lay hold of that higher vision and under Article 86 lead a campaign for a radical change in the consciousness of his people.
Recent elections (2013) have shown that, even after being in power for over seven years, Rajapaksa can still command more than 58% support in the country, outside the NPC. In all my 84 years I have yet to see a political leader either in Sri Lanka or abroad who has mastered the skills of managing individuals as well as the political landscape, as brilliantly as Rajapaksa has. Like the Pied Piper of Hamelin, he has drawn unto himself leading members from the Opposition, plus an assortment of intellectuals, academics, professionals, business magnates, journalists and even religious dignitaries and got them to jump through hoops at his behest. Should he ever be in risk of losing his 2/3rd majority in Parliament he can give portfolios to all the remaining MPs of his government and that will take care of that!
Given such extraordinary skills at political manipulation I feel that given the will and a higher vision, he can navigate his way to a solution to the National Question, using Article 86 as the vehicle.
The long term benefits of JRJ’s Mahaveli Diversion Project probably exceed those of Mahinda Rajapaksa’s roads and ports but not all of his predecessors’ achievements, and not even his own contributions towards infra structure growth, will match the benefits he can bestow on the country if he can finally solve the National Question. Only then will President Mahinda Rajapaksa win for himself the final accolade – a place in the Mahavamsa’s pantheon as “Mahinda Rajapaksa the Great”!!
I like to close this article by quoting from chapter nine of my own memoirs, written in 2008, six months before the collapse of the LTTE.
“More than the power it derives from an overwhelming superiority in numbers, what exalts any majority community, and endows it with a true greatness and moral authority, is its willingness to guarantee to all those other communities who lack the advantage of numbers, a status and dignity equal to its own, and never to let them feel marginalised or disadvantaged because they are fewer in number, or because they are different in race, colour or beliefs.
“Unless and until Sri Lanka can produce leaders who can realise that truth, and are strong enough to translate their understanding into policies, it will continue to be dismembered by conflict, long after the LTTE and Prabhakaran have passed into history”.
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