From Rule Of Kings To Tyranny Of Political Party Rule
By P. Soma Palan –January 10, 2018
I refer to the article under the heading “Sri Lanka’s way forward- lets think outside the box” by the Columnist Vishwamithra in the Colombo Telegraph of 3rd January. It is a true and objective analysis of the state of affairs and the degradation of the Sri Lankan Nation during the 60 years period, since gaining Independence. Vishwamithra states “ Politics has destroyed the soul and eaten up the character”. Here the word “politics” is used in a general sense, which means Government. But the word politics cannot be divorced from Political Parties. Politics and Political Parties are two sides of the same coin. Therefore, in a positive and direct sense, it means that “Political Parties has destroyed the soul and eaten up the character”. Political Parties, in my sincere opinion, is the cause of all the ills of the Country. Political Parties is a curse that bedevils the country. It is clear as day light to all, the educated and the knowledgeable, that Political Parties is the root cause of the disease afflicting the nation, yet helpless to cure it by ridding the cause. This is conceded by Vishwamithra, when he says that “yet no Politician or any social-minded leader of any worthy repute has tried anything outside the box, within the democratic framework”. He further states that “ let us open this column to a national conversation. How far or how wide we can reach in this exercise”. It is in this spirit that I offer my “outside the box” conceptual framework as a solution for a true democratic form of Government as detailed below.
Sri Lanka, historically, was ruled by Monarchs, so was other Asian Countries. We were subjugated by foreign Western Powers and colonized and ruled in the name of a distant Monarch. We lost our independence.
Genesis of Political Party
A struggle followed to regain our independence. So a National Movement was born to unify all forces to achieve independence from colonial Rule, which led to the formation of the Ceylon National Congress. Without such a political organization, with unity and cohesion, it would not have been possible to launch a movement to regain our independence. This is the genesis of the Political Party system. Thus the political Party, called the Ceylon National Congress, played a valid and significant role in the transformation to self-government. But the initial spirit of patriotism of the Political Party evaporated after attainment of Independence. The Monarchy was replaced by the Political Party. Aftermath of our political Independence, the history of our country, is the history of proliferation of Political Parties. Parliamentary democratic form of Government came into being.
Theoretically, this is the ideal form of Government. President Abraham Lincoln of U.S.A succinctly and meaningfully defined democracy as “Government of the people, by the people, for the people”. Is this true in actual practice today? I say, no. It had degenerated today and become a Government of the Political Parties, by the Political Parties for the Political Parties. The people are mere voting machines at periodic elections to form a Government by Political Parties. Thus the right to rule and govern the country is solely vested in the Political Parties. It is the political parties that nominate their members, for the people to elect as their representatives, to govern. Very seldom do candidates from the people, outside the Political parties, come forward as Independent Candidates to contest, to be elected as their representatives. Thus, the Government is a monopoly of the Political Parties. The rule by a single Monarch has been superseded by a single Political Party or more in a coalition. Political Parties are virtually owned and controlled by families and their children, as a hereditary right, thus ruling power is wielded by Politicians. In place of one Ruler King we have a multitude of Petty kings, parading as peoples’ representatives.
After gaining Independence, Political Party based government came into existence. At the inception, there was only one major Political Party in Sri Lanka, Ceylon National Congress, precursor of the later United National Party. At the time of the first General Election, there were only three or four Political Parties, such as the United National Party, Lanka Sama Samaja Party and the Communist Party. Since then, to the present day, Political Parties have mushroomed to a plethoric number, due to the greed of Politicians to rule the country. They see in it a window of opening to aggrandize themselves and their families, though the ostensible reason given is to serve the country and the people. Today, there is a birth of a new Political Party at the drop of a hat, as it were.
