70 Years Of Ceremony: Decolonisation Or Re-Colonisation?
By Siri Gamage –February 7, 2018
On 4th February, Sri Lanka celebrated 70 years of independence from Britain with elaborate ceremonies with a special guest of honour from the British Royal family. As someone born a couple of years after regaining formal independence, it is important to reflect on this event more critically and deeply. Inevitably, topics such as the gains, losses, merits, weaknesses, strengths, challenges, changes, directions (for nation building) etc. need to be fairly and comprehensively evaluated but it is a task requiring collective efforts though recent media contributions focus on some of these aspects. In this piece, my intent is to offer a few comments and observations on a more deep and underlying issue lingering beneath the superficial ceremonies and applicable to not only Sri Lanka but also other countries that secured independence from colonial administration during the last century. It is the issue of incomplete project of decolonisation and new forms of re-colonisation.
Sri Lankans enjoy ceremonies. The society is organised in such a way that amidst the rough and tumble of everyday living frequently a range of ceremonies take place. Some are religious (Kandy, Kelaniya and Kataragama Perahara), others are civil, e.g. weddings, funerals, birth days. There are ceremonies associated with agriculture e.g. planting and harvesting, when laying foundations and opening of buildings and houses. There are also ceremonies to commemorate war heroes and their contributions. Among the politically significant ceremonies, the annual independence ceremony assumes significance as the dignitaries associated with governance and administration participates along with the security forces. Independence day ceremony in the country is organised by those holding power at a given point in time and it is another holiday –among many that Sri Lankans enjoy-for the public servants. More than in 100 countries the day is celebrated overseas in association with high Commissions and expatriate communities in the diaspora depending on the activist nature of the high commission staff.
What actually do we celebrate? Is it the fact that instead of White, Anglo colonial administration now we have a brown, predominantly Sinhalese administration with the support of Tamil and Muslim representatives? Is it the fact that now we have an elected President and a broad based parliament in comparison to the State Council that existed during the late colonial period with restricted local representation? Do we celebrate the fact that higher education has been made free and broad based in comparison to the limited system of the University College and later University of Ceylon at Peradeniya that catered to the children of elite and privileged, urbane, well-to-do families? What about the ability to determine our own affairs in Sri Lankan style? How far have we gone with that for the better or worse?
Have we achieved social justice and equality for those who have been neglected or discriminated by the existing socio-economic system, linguistic practices i.e. English, and cultural mores built on a hierarchical system? What about the status of women? Have they been able to progress in accessing opportunities in society or pushed them into darker corners in and outside Sri Lankan society? Have we raised our head as an independent and sovereign nation economically or have been on a slippery slope ever since we gained independence? Has the power been shared with diverse segments of the population or centralised in the hands of a few by using a political culture that has evolved to benefit the few?
What has happened to our values, culture, customs and cherished aspects of our history, social organisation and culture? Have we become prisoners of global powers or exploitative corporate entities –foreign and local- due to our inability of managing economy and society (social engineering) or are we moving ahead like other countries in the region that have made progress? The list can go on but these are enough questions to ponder in a more systematic and informative manner with particular evaluations by those with expertise.
What this list of questions shows is that political independence can mean different things to different layers of society –other than an occasion to celebrate- and the way political management or governance is handled by the guardians of the state can either move the country forward or backward. Likewise, many questions remain unanswered if we have a deep and critical look. By all accounts, the score card for the 70 years is a highly questionable one but let me turn to the issue of de-colonisation next simply because decolonisation was supposed to follow after gaining of independence.
Decolonisation
This is a term forgotten by those who speak about independence in Sri Lanka today. ‘As a term, decolonisation is a complicated concept to grasp. On one hand it signifies the very act of breaking free from a way of thinking, of conceptualising the world signified by oppressive power structures, that have benefited Western hegemony on behalf of the discrimination of indigenous peoples around the world. As such decolonisation represents the reclamation of lands, of languages and of the establishment of numerous self governing bodies working with and for an indigenous group from within’
There is a growing view among some scholars of the global south, in particular Africa, that decolonisation has not occurred to the extent that is desired by the peoples of decolonised countries or to meet the criteria of true independence. Important in the decolonisation of institutions is the social and psychological attitudes as well as the mindset of leaders in various sectors. As much as we desire institutional change for the better, social justice, respect for human rights, equality etc. if the leaders who should steer the nation in such direction are not having the necessary mindset and the comparative historical understanding, things cannot move forward. What we observe today is that the leaders of such institutions are absorbed by globalisation rhetoric and pursue corporate ideals for making profits at the expense of any social ideals with deep meanings and implications for the future. Modernist education implanted during the colonial period through powerful mechanisms with an Eurocentric bias continues to dominate our learning institutions, thinking and attitudes. This has become a graduate attribute desired by the corporate sector and some government institutions.
If gaining political independence was hard, decolonisation of the institutions of governance, social engineering (e.g. education) and important entities in the public and private sectors is even more hard as change requires consensus, change in attitudes, clear vision, strategies, monitoring and follow up. Moreover, the national leaders who inherited political power from the British and subsequently elected to office had to be visionaries like Gandhis or Mandelas with a deep understanding of the society and culture as well as its challenges and solutions in order to steer the country and its important institutions toward the goal of decolonisation along with the task of nation-building. Otherwise, the leaders who gain political power but continue with the inherited ceremonial structure of privilege and governance plus culture and symbolism can enjoy the fruits of power but drag the country toward an unknown and dangerous destination with or without intent. (As for the political ceremony itself, there are remnant elements of colonial authority. This is for the intellectuals interested in such symbolism to discern and elaborate on).
