If a group of Sri Lankans are asked why they sing the national anthem there could be several answers. Some might not be able to remember all the words in the anthem, but now there is a drive by the majority to initiate a debate to ensure that ‘Sri Lanka Matha’ is sung only in Sinhala at celebrated events like National Independence Day.
The 72 Independence Day celebrations are fast approaching and the government is in a spot having to make a statement about which language the national anthem would be sung, come February 4.
Leave the national anthem aside for a moment. When the Indian Peace Keeping Force arrived here in 1987 there were Tamils who cheered them on. We have seen how some Sri Lankan Muslims cheer on the Pakistan side when they take on the island’s national team at cricket, especially when the matches take place at the R.Premadasa Stadium in Maligawatte. We also see hordes of qualified or ambitious professionals leave the shores of Sri Lanka the moment they are ‘ripe’ enough to fall off the family trees which gave them shade and nourishment. The bottom line is that these individuals don’t give a damn about patriotism. Taking into consideration this issue of trying to get the national anthem sung only in Sinhala would make members of minority communities remaining in Sri Lanka feel unwanted and isolated.
- It is reasonable for the minority Tamils to show a liking to sing the national anthem translated into Tamil
- In most countries the national anthem is sung to ensure one nation comes under one umbrella to promote peace and unity
- As mental wounds slowly heal after the civil war the Government must not prevent the national anthem being sung in Tamil
The word patriotism is akin to a pair of sunglasses. Like the glasses protecting the eye, patriotism, while generating thoughts of serving the nation, can also make you blind to certain truths. Some of the very people who show their love for the nation and fiercely guard the tradition of singing the national anthem in Sinhala might be caught with their pants down if investigations are carried out as to how they have cheated the nation with dubious business deals.
There are those who bad mouth Sri Lanka and rate it as a country which can’t be reformed. But these are the very people who want to enjoy the provision made by Sri Lankan custom to continue with the national anthem being sung in Sinhala.
In most countries the national anthem is sung to ensure one nation comes under one umbrella to promote peace and unity among communities. South Africa set an example to the world when it adopted a hybrid form of a national anthem in 1997. The present version of its national anthem comprises English and Africans lyrics. There is another form of the South African national anthem sung in their native language which also enjoys equal status as the hybrid version of the national anthem. We all know that in South Africa there was an ‘apartheid system of institutionalised racial segregation and discrimination based on white supremacy which repressed the black community’.
It was heartening to know back then that the ‘white’ members of the 1995 South African World Cup winning rugby team showed a keen interest on learning the African version of their national anthem titled ‘Nkoshi Sikelol iAfrica’. This was despite the majority members of South African team comprising ‘whites’. The crowning moment for the white members of the South African national team came when their captain Fracois Piennar received the coveted William Web Ellis Trophy from Nelson Mandela who fought to eliminate ‘apartheid’.
One of the best tools to use for the purpose of reconciliation is cricket. This is because the islanders regardless of religion and race cheer on the national team when they take on the rest of the world. The focus of the global cricket world was once on Sri Lanka during the height of the country’s civil war thanks to cricket. What awed the rest of the world was despite fighting between government troops and security forces and the squabbles between Sinhalese and Tamil lawmakers within parliament, the island nation could compile a multicultural and multireligious team to represent their national team at the international cricket. It was also heartwarming to see the players standing shoulder to shoulder or huddling together when singing the national anthem before a game.
Taking into consideration this issue of trying to get the national anthem sung only in Sinhala would make members of minority communities remaining in Sri Lanka feel unwanted and isolated
Coming back to the issue with the country’s national anthem, it is reasonable for the minority Tamils to show a liking to sing the national anthem translated word by word to Tamil, thanks to the efforts of M.Nallathamby. For the record articles 7 and 8 of the Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka state that the national anthem of the country should be ‘Sri Lanka Matha’. But there is no mention of provisions being made to sing the national anthem only in Sinhala.
This leaves room for those lawmakers who walk on the corridors of power to adjust the agendas during celebrations like Independence Day to wind up the occasion with the national anthem being sung with the Tamil translation of the anthem. If they want to be bolder than that they can follow countries like Kenya, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Switzerland, Canada, South Africa and Finland which have bilingual versions of their national anthems.
As mental wounds slowly heal after the civil war the Government must not prevent the national anthem being sung in Tamil.
If the majority treat the Tamils fairly and with dignity, maybe this section of the minority would willingly sing the national anthem in Sinhala and not ask for an alternative!
