The unsung and un-honoured also make history
‘No
man is a front,’ they say. There are rare instances when the action of a
single individual has changed the course of history, but typically there
is a long ‘before’ and a considerable ‘after’ that allows for event and
personality to be associated with singular historic moment. Also
typically that kind of marking is largely contingent on the chronicler’s
preferences.
We talk, for example, of the great King Dutugemunu and his efforts to
liberate the island of South Indian invaders. We talk of his one-on-one
engagement with the good and much loved Chola King Elara, and how this
prevented much bloodshed. Elara was an elderly man at the time and
Dutugemunu in the prime of his youth and this point has been made by
those who are loath to grudge any historical significance to the latter.
The relevant point however is that the challenge was valid regardless of
the age of the challenged; Elara could have been 18 or 80. It is to the
credit of Elara that he accepted it. And there is nothing to say that
had he not, his forces would have prevailed.
Triumphant moment
The pertinent point is that many know the above story but few
acknowledge the role of Dutugemunu’s father, the patient, wise,
far-seeing and humble King Kavantissa, who silently suffered the
ignominy of being gifted women’s paraphernalia by his obnoxious elder
son, Gamini.
Sri Lankan Ambassador in Japan, Admiral (Rtd.)
Wasantha Karannagoda |
My friend Udayasiri Wickramaratne who I have described in these pages
as the foremost voice of Sinhala literature of my generation, explored
this issue in a fascinating novella titled ‘Swarnamali Maharaja’ (The
Great King Swarnamali or ‘The Great King of the Golden Jewellery). It is
essentially a reconstruction of Gamini’s remorse in the manner of an
extensive soliloquy after leaving the Royal Palace upon humiliating his
father.
Udayasiri suggests that the Ruwanweliseya, also known as Swarnamali
Maha Seya was not named after the nymph/spirit by the name of Swarnamali
who resided in a tree at the proposed site (legend has it that
Dutugemunu requested this spirit to find another abode, promising that
the dagoba would be named after her), but was an expression of remorse
regarding his arrogant and hurtful act against his father, King
Kavantissa.
Kavantissa makes up the long ‘before’ of that triumphant moment
enshrined in history and legend when Dutugemunu vanquished the Chola
invader. It was he who set the stage by determining that the moment of
engagement was yet to come, uniting the Sinhalese through strategic
marriages that linked royal houses and encouraging economic activity,
especially paddy cultivation, to create the foundation for a long
battle.
War against terrorism
I am thinking of the war against terrorism, those who made it happen
and those who claim the glory. Historical account privileges rulers. We
associate the Taj Mahal with Shah Jahan and not the architects, the
landscape planners, engineers, bricklayers, artists and other craftsmen,
for instance. The same applies to all the magnificent architecture that
has arisen on our soil and in the course of our civilizational unfolding
over several millennia. When ‘history’ is recent, individuals other than
rulers are mentioned. Claims are made.
Our ‘recent’ is made of a lot of embarrassing braggadocio. Names need
not be mentioned. There are names however that were hardly mentioned.
Among the less mentioned names is that of then Rear Admiral Wasantha
Karannagoda, the Commander of the Navy during the most critical years of
the war on terror and the massive humanitarian operation to liberate the
hundreds of thousands of civilians held hostage by the LTTE. Politics
has a way of sweeping aside certain names and certain contributions from
the public transcripts. People reinvent themselves and in the branding
exercise this tends to snowball into, other names are made to occupy the
back benches of public memory.
Military operations
The Navy played a critical role. The following is a quote from
‘Chapter Closed’, a Government Information Department publication
written at the end of the war:
When Wasantha Karannagoda took over as Navy Commander the Sea Tigers
were playing a pivotal role in the LTTE’s overall military operations.
Their fleet of suicide boats was crippling the Navy’s ability to protect
the coast and provide security for ships carrying supplies to soldiers
and civilians in the Jaffna Peninsula. He knew the constraints that a
small country with a weak economy had. His was a homegrown solution. He
manufactured his own vessels. The small boat concept revolutionized the
Sri Lanka Navy and effectively neutralized the threat posed by the Sea
Tigers. Most importantly, he developed what was essentially a brownwater
Navy into an outfit capable of carrying out bluewater operations. The
Sri Lankan Navy went into the deep seas South and East of the island to
destroy the problem at its source. Close to a dozen ‘floating
warehouses’ which supplied arms to the LTTE were tracked down and
destroyed in operations that earned the admiration of far more powerful
navies in the world. Thanks to these operations, the LTTE became
isolated on the ground and starved of arms and ammunition. The Navy
played a role. An important role. It played it to perfection.
Diplomatic mission
Shamindra Ferdinando, reports in The Island about a glowing report
made by a Japanese member of the UN Law Commission, Shinya Murase to an
unnamed diplomat for his work subsequent to taking over the diplomatic
mission in spite of radiation fears caused by the destruction of the
Fukushima nuclear facility, on March 11, 2011.
The diplomat, Murase says, arrived at a time when many embassy staff
members were fleeing the city for fear of radioactive contamination.
‘But this ambassador was different. Right after his arrival, he
visited the evacuation centres in the affected area with his fellow
countrymen, cooking and serving hot food that was much appreciated by
the evacuees who had been living under freezing temperatures without
heat. His government donated the victims a huge amount of money for this
small country, as well as three million bags of tea produced in his
country. Furthermore, he led some 15 military personnel from his country
to clean-up the debris in the tsunami-stricken area. These actions went
well beyond his basic diplomatic duties, but his efforts were immensely
appreciated.’ All this was before Kumar Sangakkara made us all proud
with his remarkably forthright speech. Karannagoda is not a
speech-maker. Not taking away anything from Sangakkara’s effort of
course, but this former Navy Commander has done as much or more.
There are men and women behind certain outcomes. Some seek glory,
some get glory, deserved and underserved. Then there are those who
neither brag nor are talked about. That’s the kind of individual I would
like my children to grow up to be.
Wasantha Karannagoda was never a limelight seeker. This note is
hardly limelight-facilitating. Still, there are times when gratitude
needs to be expressed even if the deserved are self-effacing. This is
one such moment. Thank you Sir.
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