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20 April 2018 12:17 am - 0     - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

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Sri Lanka needs a longer Nonagathaya for sanity

This article is being typed for the Daily Mirror, almost two hours before the Sinhala-Hindu New Year is to astrologically close at 02.37 p.m. this Saturday, April 14.   


That period from 01.49 a.m. is called Nonagathaya: The time Sinhala Buddhists also call Punyakalaya, literarily meaning meritorious time.   
Sinhala Buddhists generally refrain from routine work they usually indulge in and keep this time to go to temple and engage in deeds they understand as meritorious.   


Thus, I thought, if rational thinking and intellect could not make most Sinhala Buddhists accept and treat others as equals entitled to the same rights they enjoy, why not have a longer Nonagathaya when they at least refrain from their usual selfish work and engage in meritorious work?   
Nonagathaya, an annual short period when they try behaving nice and sharing time with others as good human beings? But astrology wouldn’t allow good times last long, I guess.


We are therefore into the next day with the New Year, going about as usual in a nasty competitive world that leaves no time for one another, but for individuals and for their families.   


The extended family there was for older generations and have gradually become extinct. For the present generation, the extended family is too distant and almost non-existent in daily life. 

Reginald Cooray


And they are also turned into human atoms chained to ever growing life targets that by virtue of the competition to survive and succeed demands chasing after time.   


They wouldn’t even bother about what happens next door, that in this Neoliberal Society is often talked of as good and civilised behaviour.   
Within this atomised, isolated and explosively competitive society, the identity crisis is often found answers in terms of ancient and historical rights. 


That brings to life all the dirty divisions from localisation to religion, ethnicity and then caste. Majoritarian dominance is thus the order in 
urban life.


Any racist, hate-filled society that divides along localities, ethnic and religious lines wouldn’t stop divisions just there. 
They seek and seep into other feudal differences from geographical localities to caste that encroach into trade, politics and governance.   
Comfortably immersed in that melee, there was a time during the height of Madam Bandaranayake’s tenure, the city gossip said anything could be done if one was a KGB. It wasn’t about the Soviet espionage agency “Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti. It meant “Kandyan, Govigama, Buddhist”. 

Much later in the decade of 1990 during President Kumaratunga’s time, the Colombo middle class was talking of an MKR dominance. During our school going days, that had a different meaning tagged to dumb Romeos. But this was different and was all about being “Matara, Karave, Rahula”. Old boys of Rahula, it meant.   


Such is social divisions that exist and are given political importance in racist societies.   


In India, Narendra Modi’s Hindutva campaign openly carried through the RSS, is not only about religious dominance. It is also about the ruthless dominance of the upper castes over Dalits. 

 

 

 

The Buddhist monks are not alone in shouldering and nurturing caste preferences


Where the political executive is shy in handling issues the society may react against, the Narendra Modi Government allowed Courts to handle them, wrote senior journalist and a very serious columnist Bharat Bhushan in The AsianAge on 12 April 2018.   


Referring to the Court ruling on the “Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act” he added, “The Supreme Court ruling comes in the wake of the increasing atrocities against the Dalits under BJP rule. A Dalit youngster can be beaten or even killed for daring to ride a horse to his own wedding or for sporting a moustache. The only time upper caste goons forget about untouchability is when they rape Dalit women.”   


Hindutva dominance thus is not just about religious authority over society but also about hierarchical dominance of upper castes in their most indecent and ruthless manner.   Searching for a dominant identity, Sinhala Buddhist extremism in our society also carries similar caste patronage, the South lives with. Caste plays its role big and small in conservative family life to trade and business and in politics too, from Point Pedro to Dondra.


Recent shuffling of Governors to Provincial Councils (PC) had its share of caste and religious preferences the South never paid any attention to. 
The first indication of shuffling Governors between PCs was reported almost three weeks ago on April 5.   

Recent shuffling of Governors to Provincial Councils (PC) had its share of caste and religious preferences the South never paid any attention to


It was said President Sirisena would re-appoint Western Province Governor Logeswaran as Governor Northern Province (NP), the first Tamil Governor for NP.   


Reginald Cooray thus was to move from North to Central Province (CP) as Governor, while others were also to change provinces on mutual consent.   


Yet, the shuffling did not take place as expected though without clear reasons given.   


Mainstream media that often speculate on such decisions, did not follow on those stories and report. Yet it was no State Secret Reginald Cooray’s posting as Governor CP was being objected to on caste and religion. 


Cooray who thought he could impress upon the Mahanayakes to be Governor of CP, had persuaded President Sirisena to shuffle Governors as decided and on 12 April he was appointed Governor CP, along with other changes that saw K.C. Logeswaran being sworn in as Governor North Western Province.   


NP being left without a Governor was nevertheless an uneasy silence.   

Often times important State postings are compromised on caste, lobbied by influential personalities and groups


Within 24 hours a quick change saw a KGB appointed as Governor CP and Cooray re-appointed to NP.   


It was said, Cooray was sent back to NP on popular request. Whatever is said publicly, President Sirisena had given into the Mahanayakes for the second time and they had their choice as Governor for CP.


Mahanayakes of Shyamopoli Siyam Nikaya have been adamantly sticking to such caste preferences ever since 1778 when they refused the higher ordination (Upasampadawa) to the Low Country and low caste monks. 


That ancient feudal decision stayed when President Sirisena was to revoke the British colonial decision that named 20 Kandyan aristocrats including Keppetipola Disawe as “traitors” under Governor Brownrigg’s signature for rebelling against the British Crown.   


President Sirisena was to sign the Gazette notification at the Pattirippuwa, Dalada Maligawa on December 08, 2016, naming all rebels as national heroes.   


But that never happened at the Pattirippuwa as planned. Without any reason given, the venue was shifted to the Magul Maduwa adjoining the Dalada Maligawa.   


Yet, the ceremony fizzled off without much pomp and pageantry and in the absence of Amarapura and Ramanna Nikaya (Sects) 
Chief Prelates.   


President Sirisena had conceded to and compromised with the Mahanayakes.   


The Buddhist monks are not alone in shouldering and nurturing caste preferences. 


It is more than rumour in the Catholic Church, Bishops have to be from proven stock of social acceptance for appointment. That is said to be more important for Tamil Dioceses than for Sinhala Dioceses. 


After the war was brought to a conclusion, Tamil society also complains against growing Vellala dominance once again in Jaffna ruling circles and in its local economy.   


This is felt no less in the Jaffna University and within its academia. Over a year ago a research outfit in Jaffna thought it right to discuss caste issues in Tamil society and organised a forum in the Jaffna University that immediately ran into internal personality conflicts.   


The stubborn unrelenting fact here is, while racism provides enough space for such identity searches, in feudal divisions that grow within the political establishment as well.   


While in India Narendra Modi compromises with Hindutva politics that leads to caste polarisation, here President Sirisena compromises with a heavily divided Sangha on caste preferences. 


It is an unwritten, rarely documented fact in Sri Lanka that if not often than at times, important State postings are compromised on caste, lobbied by influential personalities and groups.


This leads to a more fundamental issue in governance.   


Is caste an accepted substitute for competence, seniority and merit?   


Though not referred to anywhere in public, there are caste preferences that decide public postings violating12 (2) of Chapter III of the Constitution that says, “No citizen shall be discriminated against on the grounds of race, religion, language, caste, sex, political opinion, place of birth or any one of such grounds.”   


There would not have been any necessity to mention caste as possible grounds for discrimination in the Constitution if caste was not used in decision making.   


Thus, it is the right of Citizens to know and for sake of promised transparency in Governance the responsibility of President Sirisena to explain, why Reginald Cooray posted as Governor CP was removed within 24 hours and replaced by Uva PC Governor Punchi Banda Dissanayake.
With such social values, attitudes and perceptions shaped by feudal bindings at the highest level of governance and in politics across ethnic lines, there is absolutely no social space for reconciliation and peace in this country.   


 No society that lives with feudal divisions and demarcations beyond ethnic and religious polarisation, can ever dream of inclusivity and secular life in a modern democratic society.   


This society that accommodates and lives with feudal divisions apart from religious and ethnic polarisation would never allow the dominant Sinhala Buddhists to accept the Other as an equal and a dignified human, like him or her. 

 
We thus need a much longer Nonagathaya for South to engage in decent social activities and engage in positive dialogue to accept, life is not about accruing rights and liberties, but is about sharing equally all that we want with the other.   


Understand and accept that life is not just individual living but social sharing too. But that would need a political alternative to this neoliberal free market economy as well.   


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