The perils of democracy - The origins of Conflict in Srilanka - a perspective and a background
The perils of democracy - The origins of Conflict in Srilanka - a perspective and a background
“What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans, and
the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of
totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty or democracy?” ---Mahatma Gandhi
Any kind of civil war
has its roots in the way communities have lived and worked together within a
given geographical area, and is often the result of a long history of slow rot,
discontent and dissent accumulating over a period of time. The origins of the Sinhalese – Tamil conflict
is interesting principally in this context because for centuries, both these
communities have lived, worked, produced great works of art and literature,
shared common religious dogmas and myths; despite having the same ethnic
differences, that are being bandied about so much over the last three decades.
So my question is: what has changed in this century that resulted in this
brutal civil car claiming thousands of lives on both sides; and how is that we
find that two essentially mature communities who have lived together in harmony
and peace for so many generations have all of sudden fallen prey to genocidal
warfare in this century. I am attempting in this essay to provide an answer
this rather controversial question.
In the year 1911, the educated sections of Sinhalese and
Tamil communities were given their first “Ceylonese constituency”; ironically,
with a Tamil leader elected to hold that seat, against a fellow Sinhalese. This
was obviously the handiwork of the British colonialist policy of imposing their
version of order on a diverse society. Nonetheless, seeds of communal tension
were sown, and this first timid move towards elected representative politics
was soon to disrupt much of the traditional harmony between both the groups.
Numerically, the Sinhalese constituted a higher proportion of the population,
and it is but natural there would be discontent simmering its way to the top.
To appease this uneasiness, the Donoughmore commission was appointed and in 1931, it took the bold step of introducing
universal franchise in one go, intending to move politics from caste,
communal and class allegiances towards a broader and encompassing national
identity. Though this move did much to improve education and social conditions,
it dubiously resulted in entrenching Sinhalese leadership in a position of
unassailable majority and power, thereby aggravating, stimulating and viciously
strengthening the island’s bludgeoning pattern of communal politics.
The key question here is whether Ceylon was ripe for
Universal Suffrage at that point in time, when its political system was still
nascent and in a democratically embryonic stage. I don’t think so. Undoubtedly,
the decision was taken with the best intentions in mind, but unfortunately was
not based on factual reality. The previously elections witnessed a mere four
percent of the population turning out to vote, and such miniscule numbers
cannot be the rationale to impose such a significant moral demand on a country
not educated or mature enough to appreciate the power of an Vote. And like most
other Asian societies, the Ceylonese ended up accepting the Parliamentary
system of Democracy, vociferously evangelized by the British.
The Second World War changed the course of Asian history.
India and Pakistan attained independence in 1947, Burmese – in 1948; and Ceylon
became a free country on 4th February 1948. Signals of the coming
storm began to appear shortly after independence. In 1948-49, the United National Party
government led by D.S. Senanayake passed legislation which effectively deprived
nearly one million Tamil plantation workers of Indian origin of their
citizenship and voting rights. Apart from its manifestly discriminatory nature,
it upset the balance provided by minority weighting in the legislature which
had been a key element in the political compromise on which the Independence
constitution had been accepted. Thereafter, it was much easier for a major
Sinhalese party to ignore the wishes of the Tamil minority and yet win a
majority in parliament. This imbalance was the key impetus for all that
followed in the little Island nation that culminated in the cleansing of the
Tamils and their demands in the early months of 2009. Organizations like the
LTTE were mere branches of this deep fault line that was carved in the early
days of Srilanka democracy.
To me, the entire debate on this issue boils down to the
fact as to whether democracy and its concomitant rights can ever be imposed on
people. Is it not something that grows and matures from within? Unfortunately,
democracy is largely misconstrued as an ideology. Nothing can be further than
the truth. Democracy is enlightened citizenship participating wisely and
judiciously in the process of nation building. Franklin Roosevelt observed that
“Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to
choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education”. The history
of Srilanka would have different if a political order was not imposed from
outside to advance the selfish interests of a few avaricious colonialists. The
stunted development of many Asian societies is largely due to the fact that
they have not grown organically. Unless, they are tempered and chiseled by wise
education and learn to seamlessly adopt and appreciate the fruits of living in
a free society, there will be chaos and conflict, and chances of a civil war,
or even a Genocide is pretty high.
While we mourn the deaths and loss of so many innocent lives
in the civil war that has ravaged Srilanka and seek retribution, let us also
understand that all of us are collectively responsible for preventing such brutality.
Srilanka may be eventually ostracized for its role in perpetuating the
Genocide, but that is no solution to the problem. The answer lies deeper: the way we organize ourselves as nations, the
deep respect we must cultivate for everybody around us and an understanding
that differences are necessary for Order to be born, otherwise democracy will
quickly slip in dictatorship and end in Genocides, more brutal and horrific
than our imaginations can possibly conceive.
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