I have maintained that the educated, intellectual class might, from the outset, have prevented the situation from degenerating. By promoting alternative paths to democracy, perhaps the public might have had a more balanced perspective on the ethnic conflict, and, in general, the state of affairs in the country. In the West, this is known as “liberalism.” You can turn on a talk-show, for example, CNN’s “Crossfire” and for sure, there will be two or more academics with alternate points of view debating the issues of the day. In general, people in the West have a high regard for intellectuals… even if the government wants to make a case, it must back up its arguments with testimony from numerous experts. Further, one cannot hope to become a politician without some kind of formal university background. Nepotism simply does not exist here. Unfortunately, this kind of culture does not exist in SL. As you have correctly noted, the feudal mindset is still there.

Yes, Sri Lanka is losing its better educated people. But even if they were here would it have made a difference with a regime like this in power ? Technological education is very important and so is English, but our universities are churning out arts grads who are only proficient in Sinhala or Tamil. The problem is mainly with the state sector. The necessary will has to come from the state sector. Establishing private universities is a very good thing but long overdue. The cost of tuition should not be prohibitive.

Think of it this way: studying overseas would give the potential presidential candidate some perspective as to where Sri Lanka stands in the world. We have seen how foreign relations have crumbled during the reign of Mahinda Rajapakse. Whereas, such relations were either average or even excellent during the time of CBK and Ranil. You are correct to say that, in many respects, it comes down to education. The brain drain has deprived Sri Lanka of most of its intellectuals. Unfortunately, the rather high-handed policies of the present ruling regime, in terms of civil rights, combined with a rather bleak economic forecast (implying few career opportunities) have done little to bring such intellectuals back. On another note, I agree that the educational system needs to be revamped. Providing strong theoretical foundations, such as the Sri Lankan education system does, is not enough these days. It is imperative that the technological component be brought in. A new class of technical workers should be trained. But even for this, there are barriers. There need to be more private technical education systems that are willing to train students at a low-cost. Further, English should be implemented as the primary medium of instruction to accelerate the whole process. Of course, for any of this to occur, the ruling regime should give its consent, which is unlikely to happen. Therefore, as this article suggests, anarchy is the natural first step.

Cheers.

Best wishes and Keep writing!

Suren

I agree that most Sri Lankan Presidents came from the upper classes in the past. The one exception was Premadasa. I guess studying overseas broadens ones mind. The Sri Lankan education system has to change keeping in line with modern developments. One way of getting rid of feudalism is to educate the people. In Sri Lanka we have a set of outdated educationists and an equally outdated education system. What we have is quantity in education and not quality. This is partly the result of a large population and of being a poor country. The so called educated in Sri Lanka are not educated in a modern way. So it is no wonder that we still have a feudal mentality.

However, I feel that the opposition will pick up strength slowly, but it will take a number of years. Remember the UNP ruled for 17 years, but lost the election to Chandrika. We still have elections.