The Desire To Engage By Those Who Cannot Sing National Anthem
Jehan Perera
There is an invigoration of civil society in the North after the holding of the Northern Provincial Council elections. For the first time ever since the end of the colonial period there is the sense of having a government that is their own. There are doubts expressed by some sections in the rest of the country that this political empowerment could lead to the strengthening of separatist sentiment. Sections within the government itself have expressed their concerns. However, when I visited Mannar in the North last week, the impression I received was of a people who celebrate being part of the larger national polity.
It so happened that the day selected by the government for the conduct of the last round of provincial council elections, and that of the first ever election to the Northern Provincial Council, was September 21. This coincidentally was International Day of Peace declared by the UN, which is celebrated worldwide and also within Sri Lanka by those who work for peace and reconciliation. Resources for Peace (RPR), an NGO based in Mannar had to postpone their plans to celebrate peace day on
September 21 due to the elections. They held it on October 11 instead.
As one of the invitees to the celebration of peace day in Mannar, this was an opportunity to see whether there was progress towards normalcy in the North and a progressive reintegration into the national polity. The day’s event began with the hoisting of the national flag by the Government Agent of Mannar who had been invited to the occasion as the Chief Guest. This was followed by the playing of the national anthem. Unfortunately, it could not also be sung by the Tamil-speaking people of Mannar who are not conversant in the Sinhala language. But they all stood to attention while the all three verses of the national anthem were played.
It is strange but true that although both Sinhala and Tamil are official languages, and this is stated in the Constitution, the national anthem is currently not being sung in Tamil at official functions or events at which there are government officials. This is because the after the victory in the war, the government is balking at permitting the national anthem to be sung in Tamil. Some of the less well educated members of the government have gone on record saying that no national anthem in the world is sung in more than one language. But in fact, in some countries, the national anthem is sung in as many as five languages, as in South Africa.
