Conflict in Sri Lanka: Ground Realities - Tamil Nation & Beyond
Conflict in Sri Lanka: Ground Realities - Tamil Nation & Beyond
Conflict in Sri Lanka: Ground Realities - Tamil Nation & Beyond
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their times and climes but their voices get totally submerged <strong>in</strong>the cacophony of the Bumiputras espous<strong>in</strong>g, ‘One land, one faith,one rule and one language’. Here it should also be po<strong>in</strong>ted outthat <strong>Tamil</strong>s were not party to any of the constitution-mak<strong>in</strong>g,i.e. 1948, 1972 or 1978 and <strong>in</strong> that the <strong>Tamil</strong> claim is that aunilateral S<strong>in</strong>hala constitution is imposed on them and <strong>in</strong> thatthey are ruled aga<strong>in</strong>st their will and consent.In a pluralist polity, for good governance it is necessary thatall ethnic and religious groups receive equal treatment andbe protected from discrim<strong>in</strong>atory actions and legislation. Thesolemn covenant, which became the anchor of the Constitutionat <strong>Sri</strong> <strong>Lanka</strong>’s <strong>in</strong>dependence <strong>in</strong> 1948, was section 29, which isthe non-discrim<strong>in</strong>atory clause. The SLFP and its Marxist alliesarbitrarily rejected this safeguard when they framed the 1972Constitution without the consent of the non-S<strong>in</strong>hala races andnon-Buddhist religious groups. A Bill of Rights replaced section29. This was found to be hardly adequate. This presupposes astrongly <strong>in</strong>dependent Supreme Court, but judges (majority ofwhom are S<strong>in</strong>halese) have been known to give politically motivatedjudgements even on cases that have serious implications forFundamental Rights and the Human Rights. Thus, there cannotbe any safeguard aga<strong>in</strong>st a hegemonic ethnic majority determ<strong>in</strong>edon thriv<strong>in</strong>g by subjugat<strong>in</strong>g and decimat<strong>in</strong>g other nationalities <strong>in</strong> aState where democracy is understood only <strong>in</strong> terms of numbers.This Buddhocratic state system is further consolidated by thefact that Buddhist monks enjoy unlimited freedom to dictatepolicy especially when it concerns the non-S<strong>in</strong>hala races andnon-Buddhist religions; these monks were largely responsible forthe gradual collapse of the State system as they have no idea ofhow modern democracies are managed. Encourag<strong>in</strong>g the Buddhistmonks to run the constitutional affairs of the State amounts tothe allow<strong>in</strong>g of medieval form of th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g to pervade the politicalethos. Beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g with the Bandaranaike couple this has provedto be a devastat<strong>in</strong>g gamble and it will cont<strong>in</strong>ue to prove to besuicidal to the S<strong>in</strong>hala State apparatus. It was no secret that theBuddhist monks pressured Mr. S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike to usher<strong>in</strong> the most discrim<strong>in</strong>atory “national” legislation of S<strong>in</strong>hala Only.47