Princelings And Nepotism
By Charitha Ratwatte -November 19, 2013 |
Charitha Ratwatte
In the context of the recently-concluded Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Colombo, for which delegates from Britain and her former British colonies were in town, it is a good time as any to look at important issues on succession to power and the route to economic development.
Princeling is a word which emerged out of China, the Middle Kingdom. During the time of the Emperor, senior courtiers close to the Forbidden City’s Palace often lobbied directly with the Emperor, the Empress, senior concubines and eunuchs for their relatives to be appointed to high positions in the Imperial Bureaucracy. This was to consolidate their power and influence.
It was said that the leading powerful courtier families sought to sustain their power and influence over the Imperial Court by ensuring that family members were well distributed among the Emperor’s concubines, bodyguards, military commanders and the officials who carried out priestly duties for the Emperor, at the holy shrines. In this way they thought they could cover all bases and have multiple points through these Princelings, which they would use to influence the Emperor and his immediate circle.
Although some of these ‘agents’ managed to keep a low profile, as was sensible, so that their connections would not be disclosed to other officials, many of them were unable to hide their influence and were perceived to be arrogant and undeserving of the important positions they held or the fortune their influence gave them access to. They made the mistake of trying to place themselves above the law and foster a culture of corruption and invincible immunity, thinking that they were untouchable.
Buddharakkita Thera: A Modern Kingmaker
T. Thurai
It was a personal, as much as a political, grievance that led to the death of Prime Minister Bandaranaike in 1959. The conspiracy to assassinate him was master-minded by his erstwhile patron, the powerful Buddhist monk,Mapitigama Buddharakkita Thera.
Buddharakkita was a king-maker. Chief Priest of the ancient temple of Kelaniya, he immersed himself in politics and affairs of business. He was also embroiled in a long-running court case by which he hoped to acquire direct control over the temple’s financial affairs.
As a novice at Kelaniya, he had found a patron in the person of Don Charles Wijewardene, son of the temple’s wealthy patroness and author of a pamphlet Revolt in the Temple in which he proposed that monks should resume their rightful place as advisers to lay rulers.
Don Charles came from a devout Sinhalese Buddhist family. His mother Helena had helped to restore Kelaniya Temple – once favoured by Sinhalese kings – from the decline into which it had fallen after centuries of colonial rule. He was at once a fervent Sinhalese nationalist and a supporter of the revival of Buddhism – two threads that rapidly became entwined following Ceylon’s Independence from the British in 1948.
