The role of the individual in history
Mahinda: Leader or laggard?

The role of the individual in history has been much debated. Did Napoleon’s presence at Jena and Austerlitz change the course of European history? Sans Lenin, would Red October have failed? Has Mahinda Rajapaksa’s handling of religious intolerance and in particular the Dambulla mosque incident and its aftermath exposed a president congenitally incapable of leadership? The debates go on till late at night.

The anti-Tamil or if you prefer a narrower canvas anti-LTTE race war had certain particular dimensions from the Sinhalese perspective; the Sinhalese suffered asphyxiating fear for years, the LTTE used terrorism (so did the state), and fear of secession drove the community to apoplexy. I have no intention of attempting to summarize the national question in one sentence; what I am emphasizing is that there is no such dread and panic to justify current religious intolerance. Catholics are not about to annexe Negombo to the Vatican, nor are Muslims secretly plotting to circumcise all newborn males. Jealousy, bigotry and prejudices that rot our body politic are in the realm of political pathology. 

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