sSri Lanka’s reckoning has been going on for the past four months, as people from across the island nation have gathered at the Galle Face Green in Colombo and marshaled themselves to bring together a revolution that is still underway. Over the weekend, as President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled his home, people marched and helped to his kitchen, his bed, his swimming pool and his piano, celebrating the end of the Rajapaksa era.
There are reports that Brother Basil, former finance minister and widely thought to be the brains behind the rise and rise of the dynasty, was trying to check out of Colombo airport and fly to an unknown destination – but since immigration The officers only absented themselves in the Sri Lankan version of ‘Gandhigiri’, he could not fly. Brother Mahinda, the former prime minister who was forced to leave a month ago by Gotabaya to quell some anger in the streets, is said to have been hiding at a base in Trincomalee, on the eastern side of the island nation. Huh.
And so did the mighty collapse squeezed between the Palk Strait and the Indian Ocean. Lessons on democracy and sharing the spoils of power have been staring at South Asian leaders for some time.
So Sri Lanka patiently awaits Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s resignation tomorrow, 13 July – Rajapaksa’s ‘highly superstitious’ has chosen this date because the first July full moon, ‘Esla Poya’ Which falls on this day, commemorating the Buddha’s first sermon and founding of the Sangha – it may be time to reflect on how this jewel island nation in the Indian Ocean has come to this.
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where lanka went wrong
For a small nation of 22 million the size of Delhi, Sri Lanka’s pro-Sinhala majoritarian approach is particularly mind-boggling. The fact that it sits on the world’s major sea routes and has been washed by the ebb and flow of foreigners over the centuries, Ceylon – and later Sri Lanka – retreated to its puritanical framework shortly after independence in 1948.
Two examples stand out. In 1956 the then Prime Minister SWRD Bandaranaike forced through Sinhala Only Bill, Making Sinhalese the sole official language of the country despite heavy opposition from the Tamil-speaking minorities. When Tamil parties led by SJV Chelvanayakam protested and demanded that Ceylon be made a federal state as riots were taking place, Bandaranaike first refused, then agreed to some half-hearted measures.
It was only in 1988, a year later India-Sri Lanka AgreementThat Tamil was finally equated with Sinhalese with the 16th Amendment to the Constitution.
The second example that characterizes this unequal nation is its refusal to fully implement the nature and spirit of the 13th Amendment, which was an integral part of the 1987 Indo-Lanka accord – that is, India supported Colombo. promised if all citizens (ie, the Tamil minority) were not only given equal status, but were also given real power to work in the field of land and police. Even today, the Tamil-majority North and Eastern provinces have the power to run their affairs, but the land-police powers are still controlled by Colombo.
But with the 2009 victory over the Tamil militant outfit LTTE and the consequent end of a 26-year-long civil war – when Gotabaya was defense minister and Mahinda was president – the Rajapaksas seized the majority Sinhala throne, believing it would win them Country. It did, especially since Sri Lanka is 75 percent Sinhalese, but it also polarized the small nation.
It didn’t help that in recent years, Rajapaksa filled the government with his family. Dynasticism is a major defect in South Asia, but Rajapaksa took it to a new sophisticated level – all brothers held powerful positions, while their children were given influential ministries, despite having no administrative experience.
Enter China. As Rajapaksa became more and more powerful, Chinese companies were attracted not only because they were willing to invest in infrastructure projects, but also because they raised questions about Rajapaksa or his majority policies or his lack of human rights record. Don’t ask.
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India’s continued support
Seeing the Chinese expanding their influence over the Indian Ocean island, an area they believe belongs to its sphere of influence, New Delhi also quickly began to pick up its tongue.
It became easier to do so after Narendra Modi assumed power in India in 2014. Two strong individuals recognized leadership qualities in each other. And over the past six months, as Sri Lanka began to run away financially, Delhi moved to lend more than a sympathetic ear. All told, since the latest crisis began, it has lent Colombo about $3.5 billion in cash and kind, including petrol, medicine and food items.
India has reiterated that it will support the people of Sri Lanka in their hour of need. The most reassuring thing about people’s protests over the past few weeks, save those horrifyingly violent moments like the burnings RajapaksaAncestral house and PM’s torch in Hambantota Ranil WickremesingheHome on the Weekend- This is how Tamils and Sinhalese and Moors have come together to agitate against the government.
So far things are more or less under control. But since the opposition is hardly working to stabilize and guide the sentiments of the people, the crisis in Sri Lanka is unlikely to end anytime soon. The need of the hour is for the new government to take charge at the earliest; Sure, the Rajapaksa brothers shouldn’t be allowed to run away, but stay home and face the music.
As far as India is concerned, it should continue to do what it has been doing so far – respecting the wishes of the people of Sri Lanka. This is what democracy and good neighbors are for.
Jyoti Malhotra is the Senior Consulting Editor of ThePrint. She tweets @jomalhotra. Thoughts are personal.
(Edited by Prashant)