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Thursday, 18 October 2012

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Asia comes into its own

The time could not be riper to build and consolidate bridges of unity among Asian states, since the economic circumstances in which most of them find themselves are most propitious for an epochal undertaking of this kind. Now is the time, it would seem, to realize that anxiously nurtured but long postponed dream of indomitable Asian solidarity, which was initiated in the first flush of decolonization in the fifties and sixties of the century past.

These reflections are triggered in the observer of Asian affairs by President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s pronouncement at the Asia Cooperation Dialogue Summit held in Kuwait recently that an Asian Age has dawned. He made a strong case for a closer and vibrant dialogue among the countries of Asia for the purpose of advancing development, in these times when there are unprecedented prospects of economic growth in the ‘Southern’ hemisphere of the world.

In former times, ‘South’ referred to the developing world, spanning Asia, Africa and other regions of underdevelopment. The term ‘North’ broadly pointed to the affluent and industrialized West, which until very recently, wielded overwhelming global economic and military power. It was in the early eighties that the phrase North-South Dialogue was coined by international development experts to point to the need for cooperation between the rich and the poor of the world for the purpose of laying the groundwork for harmonious economic interaction, shared material prosperity and collective survival.

However a couple of decades prior to the mooting of the North-South Dialogue, in the late forties and the fifties, the decolonized countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America had awakened to their distinctiveness as a grouping of states in the international order. The common socio-economic and political features which united them were underdevelopment, powerlessness and cultural oppression, besides being one-time colonies of the imperial powers of mainly the West.

It was conceptualized by the leaders of the Third World that the underdeveloped and developing countries should be united into a strong collectivity that would work towards securing the legitimate interests of the poor and powerless of the international system. Sri Lanka’s very own SWRD Bandaranaike stood shoulder- to- shoulder with political giants of the Third World, such as, Jawaharlal Nehru, Marshal Tito, N’kruma for the furtherance of these aims.

These and many more concerns of the developing world were projected in seminal gatherings of the powerless in the late forties and the early fifties, such as, the Asian Relations Conference and the Bandung Conference, to name just two such forums. From these initial meetings of eminent Third World leaders sprang into being the Non-aligned Movement and other memorable political formations of the powerless which articulated most eloquently the developing countries’ cry for justice and equality in the international order.

The point that we are leading to is that the tables have now been turned. The one-time powerless are on the threshold as it were of unprecedented growth and prosperity and it is all happening in East Asia, among other regions of great promise. Among the foremost economic powers of the globe are China, India, Brazil and South Africa - one time developing countries which were doughtily championing international economic equity and justice in the middle of the last century. Today, they are the Captains of industry and enterprise and are in a position to be role models of economic growth for their former colonizers.

There is a need for constant rapport among the developing countries because a fool-proof growth model is yet to be evolved. If a good part of Europe is in the economic doldrums, it is because the West has failed to come out with a formula for Sustained Development. This task has fallen to the lot of Asia and it has to strike on a development strategy which will prove viable.

While doing this, Asian states would need to interact vibrantly economically and open their economies to each other for investment, trade and closer integration. Although, the gap between the North and South has narrowed, the developing world is still a long way from equality with the economic powerhouses of the West. However, while forging ahead, the developing world should share their prosperity with each other, along with their growth formulas.

Anagarika Dharmapala, the greatest hero of modern era

When we analyse our recent history, we observe that there had been two persons who had rendered yeoman service towards Buddhism and Buddhist society in this country. The first and foremost among them was Most Ven Asarana Sarana Sarannankara Sangharaja Thera and the second was Anagarika Dharmapala Thera.

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Socio - economic scene

Women’s cricket and role models

Two weeks ago, the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo was packed to over its full capacity of 35,000 as Sri Lankans streamed in to watch the national team win the Cricket Twenty-Twenty (T20) World Cup. Instead they were witness to the demolition of their dreams at the hands of the West Indies team.

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It takes a whole community to raise a child

President Mahinda Rajapaksa in a message to mark World Children’s Day, commemorated a few days ago, said it is the ultimate responsibility of adults to understand children’s needs and their interests to help them grow into good citizens with confident personalities.

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