Editorial : Towards a meaningful Avurudu!

Soon the entire country will be celebrating Sinhala and Tamil New Year. This is the fourth Avurudu season the country will be celebrating after the end of a thirty year civil conflict. For the last three years we all were able to taste what it was really meant by Avurudu. No guns were fired and body bags stopped coming. School children in the North were not kidnapped to create child soldiers out of them. Sellamma made Pongal Jaffna and Senehelatha was able to prepare her delicious Kevum in Matara.

As everybody knows, this was achieved at the cost of many valuable human lives. So it is everyone’s duty to preserve the peace achieved, and strengthen the trust between the Sinhala and Tamil communities. The government should earnestly listen to the aspirations and hopes of the Tamil people while Tamil politicians should also make attempts to negotiate a practical solution instead of resorting to be Shylocks, asking for the pound of flesh.

As you may have noticed a new threat is looming against the delicate peace acquired with much sacrifice. Groups with vested interests are trying to make Muslims in the country new Tamils. In the guise of Buddhist revivalism, extremism has emerged. Against the very principles of Buddhism, a certain section of the so-called Sinhala Buddhists are ridiculing the religion and the religious practices of Muslims who had lived haroniusly with the Sinhalese even when Sri Lanka was a monarchy.

There’s nothing wrong if someone wants to call himself/herself a Sinhala Buddhist. But his/her Sinhala Buddhism should not propagate extremism, racial hatred and religious and cultural intolerance. This also applies to the Muslims, Hindus and Christians who live in this country if they resort to religious fundamentalism and extremism.

It is encouraging to see authorities now talking and taking action against extremists though they seemed somewhat unenthusiastic about the hate storm that was brewing intially. But it appears that they have to do more to avert a potential full-blown crisis in the future.

Hence let’s make this Avurudu season to mend the wounds and spread the message of peace and love as the custom goes. It would be even more admirable if a Sinhala Buddhist family celebrating Avurudu can share a plate of Avurudu sweetmeats with a Muslim family.