In The Event Of A Political Miracle, What Happens To The Pandankarayas?
Emil van der Poorten
Having just completed reviewing a children’s fairy tale containing equal parts of whimsy, kindness and the acceptance of “difference,” all underpinned by those traits that make humans that much better than the lower forms of life, I thought today’s column would afford me the opportunity to emerge from this flood of decency and enter the real world of Sri Lankan politics!
However, I thought I’d build what I have to say and surmise on a foundation of wishful thinking provoked by the review referred to earlier. What follows is based on an unrealistic, fairy-tale ending to the nightmare of a government that even some of their number admit as being the most inept and corrupt that this country has had to endure since independence in 1948.
Let me begin by defining and describing, by category, those who need attention in the unlikely event of the current junta being divested of its power. While their behavior has resulted in huge losses to the nation, it must be appreciated that the conduct of all of those referred to in what follows must be viewed in the context of a particular political culture for which they themselves might not be responsible.
1. The lowest on the totem pole of culpability are probably the monumentally ignorant who take pride in and encourage the “discipline” exerted on the people of Sri Lanka by our current rulers. These are true believers in the “mantram” of xenophobia, which chants that within the shores of Sri Lanka is a master race, incapable of so much as making a mistake and that the current regime epitomizes all that Sri Lanka should aspire to be. Their conduct would have a Hitler or Mussolini chuckle with glee (or, maybe, blush in embarrassment!). They have not only repeated their chants glorifying those they see as their leaders but have sought to thrust their beliefs down the throats of any unsuspecting soul who might have had the misfortune to have strayed across their path! So far, they’ve done very well, thank you, with the assistance of a government only too ready to shore up their sycophantic brigades whenever they believed that those brigades needed shoring up. Since the majority of these have already displayed their ability to transfer their allegiance from one political configuration to another, it would be unrealistic to ignore their capacity to provide a repeat performance when the next change occurs.
