Searching mind on social issues
Raised in a background which afforded ample opportunities for career
development, Dr. Asoka Bandarage has reached great heights in the
academic field. A professor, research scholar, policy analyst, and a
consultant, Dr. Bandarage has many publications and achievements to her
credit. A lady with outstanding qualifications, she took time off from
her busy schedule to talk to Reminiscences in Gold.
“My father is from Induruwa in the Southern coast and my mother is
from Piliyandala. But I was raised in Colombo and attended Visakha
Vidyalaya. I was there right throughout. It was a different era. A much
slower pace. People had more time for each other. There were few choices
in terms of entertainment. It was basically a nice childhood.
Political economy
Dr. Asoka Bandarage |
“At Visakha, I was very active in studies as well as extracurricular
activities. I felt very much a part of my school. It was a very
supportive environment and the teachers were very involved with the
students’ development. Something very unique about my background was
that the education was bilingual and I was very good in both English and
Sinhala. It surprised some people that I could carry the Sinhala prize
as well as the English prizes for English Speech and Drama and
Literature. But for me it was not a contradiction. That multiculturalism
has really helped my academic outlook,” said Bandarage.
She was initially at the University of Peradeniya for one year. After
the General Arts Qualification (GAQ) examination, she got a full
scholarship to Bryn Mawr College in the US so it was very difficult for
her to turn it down. She finished her first degree in the United States.
However, she still has very nostalgic memories of the university days in
Peradeniya.
“I had a very interesting experience at Peradeniya. I still keep in
touch with my friends and teachers. There I came across people from all
different backgrounds, both rural and urban. They were students from
different ethnic backgrounds. We moved closely with each other.”
“I did my M.A. and Ph. D at Yale University in Sociology. I was
offered a position at Brandeis University , soon after or even before I
had finished my Ph.D. So one thing led to another. But I’ve always kept
my interest in Sri Lanka keeping in touch with family, friends and
colleagues. My work has always been historically oriented and focused on
political economy of global issues. For me Sri Lanka has been a case
study both in terms of economic as well as political and cultural
issues.”
Colonial records
Bandarage’s first book, Colonialism in Sri Lanka: The Political
Economy of the Kandyan Highlands, a historical and sociological study,
became quite popular. Commenting on this book, she said that she did her
research on Colonialism in the British Museum and in the Public Record
Office and on occasion she came back to Sri Lanka to do research which
she found much more difficult to get access.
“I found it easier to access colonial records and documents abroad.
On the other hand it is very important even if you are doing historical
or archival research to be in touch with the local reality. It was my
Ph. D thesis and it was published later on. It takes a critical
perspective of the colonial experience and questions a lot of
assumptions about colonialism and the long term consequences, the
development trajectory that we were given.”
Sri Lankan issues
Her second book, Women, Population and Global Crisis, is not only
about Sri Lanka and it takes a broader perspective. Stating that she had
always been an independent person and that she had followed her own path
- not the most travelled path, Bandarage said she had struck out on her
own.
Bandarage’s recent book is The Separatist Conflict in Sri Lanka:
Terrorism, Ethnicity and Political Economy. This issue has been narrowly
interpreted as an ethnic issue between the Sinhalese and the Tamils.
“While not denying that there is an ethnic dimension to it, what I’ve
tried to do is to move beyond a narrow ethnic perspective. I have
brought in facts and figures that have not necessarily been part of the
mainstream discourse.
“If it is not just an ethnic issue, the solutions have also to be
broadened in terms of addressing poverty, issues of development, the
regional dimension and the international dimension. Here in Sri Lanka
people think of Sri Lankan issues in a narrow way as if they are just
particular to Sri Lanka. While there is a local dimension, most of these
are also global issues.”
It was said that the war was unwinnable. Locally and internationally
that was the standard opinion. “In Sri Lanka there were many attempts to
bring about peace through a political process. The LTTE turned its back
on the peace process and the armed conflict ended through military
victory.”
Gender studies programmes
Bandarage was also a pioneer in the development of gender studies
programmes in the US. In addition to being the co-founder of the
Committee on Women, Population and Health, she also held the position of
Chair of the Women’s Studies programme at Mount Holyoke.
“I was very fortunate because I was involved in the emergence and
evolution of women’s studies and gender studies in the United States.
Even at the undergraduate level I had taken Gender Studies courses and I
taught women’s studies at Yale University.
“I have done some work in Sri Lanka too. Gender studies is not only
about women; it is about questioning gender roles and allowing greater
possibilities for both men and women.”
Bandarage also touched on the subject of gender based division of
labour. It is assumed that certain jobs can only be done by men and
others by women. That to some extent confines men and women to gender
categorized jobs. But that doesn’t necessarily have to be the case.
“Women have entered male spheres of work. This is particularly so in
the West. In spheres such as politics we don’t have enough women in high
positions. I think both men and women can benefit from having
opportunities to develop all our capacities. Domestic work, caring for
the young and elderly is seen as women’s work, but I also think that men
will benefit from engaging in that type of work. It helps develop our
empathy and compassion.”
Pivotal role
It seems that Bandarage’s father, Dr. D.S. Bandarage, a specialist in
Human Resource Management, played a pivotal role in her life.
“My father encouraged me to do what I wanted professionally. When we
were growing up we had small autograph books which people would sign and
write statements on. My father wrote: ‘long live the revolution but not
in this house!’ At that time I did not understand what it meant or the
need to break out of certain stereotype roles that women have been given
in society. The women’s movement was not just about opening career paths
but about equality and respect.”
A scholar who is passionate about Human Rights, Bandarage pointed out
some undeniable facts. “Human Rights have to be interpreted very
broadly. But what about economic rights? One could argue that
malnutrition is a violation of human rights. There are starving children
all over the world who die of poverty and lack of access to clean water.
Those are all human rights so I think we need to have a broader
perspective.
“What about environmental sustainability? Isn’t that a Human Right as
well. If the environment collapses, it affects us all.” |