S. W. R. D. - in perspective

A. Kandappah

REMEMBERED: In any animated discussion - either among a small group of activist individuals or a wider formal group - whenever the question of what constituted the lethal injury to the unity between the two major communities comes up the answer, interestingly, is usually spelled out from the angle of which side of southern politics the person expressing the opinion comes from.

Those with a UNP orientation are quick to point out the 'split' came in a substantial form 'in 1956 with the arrival of SWRD's government and the Sinhala Only policy'.

And, if an SLFP-inclined person were to express an opinion, it would invariably be "it was definitely the planned attacks on innocent Tamils in July 1983 on an all-island scale by UNP hoodlums and sections of the police and Armed Forces led by influential powerful Ministers of the day".

Many students of Sri Lankan politics overseas tend to believe the parting of the ways between the Sinhalese and Tamils began in earnest in 1956; as Singapore's Lee Kwan Yew commented "their problems began when they let the (communal?) genie out of the bottle." Here, it should be noted, the Singaporean elder Statesman is, quite rightly, subtly claiming credit to contain the similar racial divergence of his own society - now a happy and prosperous blend of plural harmony.

Yet others believed SWRD between 1948-1952 - being a part of the pukka sahib establishment is unlikely to resort to the sacrosanct factor of raising the communal bogey purely to come to power. The rest is now history. But in fairness to SWRD - and, assuming you belong to that line of thinking that SWRD did, in fact, substantially contribute to the rupture of the delicate texture of our then communal tapestry - let me say there is much to suggest SWRD did not irresponsibly breach entirely the bonds of communal unity that existed at that time.

The sum total of events of the time were well ahead of him by then. In an attempt to right the wrong done to the Tamils, it was seen whilst presenting his Official Language Policy Act in 1956 he assured he would, in time, present a Regional Council arrangement - arguably, to dilute matters.

He did exactly that - but this was to be thwarted thereafter due to pressure from religious extremists who were then asserting their new found political power - somewhat unwisely as later events were to prove as they snow-balled over the years to a point of no return - so far.

The post-WWII period generated tremendous energy and expectation amongst the children of the elite holding positions of power in the colonial lands. These sons of the ruling rich and powerful were despatched to the higher learning institutions of Europe - particularly in England and France - to equip themselves sufficiently in the 'political power takeover' exercise of their countries - virtually considered their 'right'.

The aura of bringing down powerful monarchial regimes was strong then in Western Europe fuelled by the growing republican shift of governance - aided further by fashionable liberal thoughts flowing from the teachings of the giants of the Ages of Reason and that of Enlightenment from the 17th century onwards that resulted in the French Revolution - a catalyst to the Russian Revolution to follow later.

The winds of change were blowing towards Asia and particularly towards the vast Indian sub-continent - the 'Jewel in the Crown' of Great Britain, the mightiest power of the day. Universal Liberalism was preaching for a world order of the sovereignty of nations and insisting they should be respected. The age of ruling other nations by might was reluctantly giving way to the age of right.

Our indigenous political elite, encouraged by the successful defiance of the empire across the straits, were themselves gearing up to harvest from the impending fruits of freedom.

Inspired by Annie Besant and Helena Blavatsky and their role in Indian Independence - and with the benign presence of Col. Henry Steel Olcott the campaign to create revitalised Buddhist consciousness in Ceylon gathered momentum - led by local Buddhist cleric and lay figures in the mould of Anagarika Dharmapala.

The release of the Buddhist Commission Report in 1954 touched the inner cord of every Buddhist in the country and brought forth the injustices done to the larger Buddhist population, their religion, their educational institutions and system throughout the period of subjugation - beginning from the Portuguese invasion in 1505.

Couples with this was the coming of the much awaited Buddha Jayanthi - 2500 years of Buddhism in 1955. SWRD found himself beneficiary of that highly charged atmosphere where the larger majority of people were asserting their democratic right - kept down by force for centuries by invading imperial powers.

Buddhism became an invaluable political investment - and progressively remains so todate. This rapid sequence of events and Bandaranaike leaving the UNP in 1951 - stung by the denial of his rightful political place to mobilise, in retaliation - it is argued by his opponents -the Balavegaya - the Sangha, veda, guru, govi, kamkaru as the vehicle to capture political power.

As in most cases of political transition, the era of the common man cry of S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike of 1956 engaged detractors from several quarters but its eventual arrival was inevitable. In fairness to SWRD, it must be said even if someone else other than he was to be in the political spotlight then challenging the government of the day armed with the same issues, that someone would have been equally victorious.

He was equally conscious what could possibly follow at the national level in terms of the injury to racial and religious harmony will be harmful to the general good. He could not have failed to realise the forces of indiscipline he was releasing will damage a country that was at racial peace for many centuries.

The transition from Dominion status to total independence in other colonial countries too engaged much acrimonious debate and confusion.

His main fault may well be that the repair job he wanted to do to appease other minorities, who had valid reasons for disenchantment, he failed to carry through after he seized power.

The divergent and incompatible forces that shouldered him to victory were power-drunk and consumed by racial-religious prejudice to the extent they lost the necessary vision and foresight to reunite the country.

Yet, history must judge SWRD more kindly and in proper perspective. After all, he had the wisdom and foresight to suggest the sharing of political power with the rest of the country through the federal path way back in the 1920s - a reality to which the present political leadership is awakening to.

If there is a lesson at all in all of this to President Mahinda Rajapaksa's regime and the future of Sri Lanka - now struggling to regain her unity and composure - it is the empirical wisdom of Lee Kuan Yew referred above - and that is to recover the racial genie that has created so much of havoc. And bottle it up - for all time.