Archive for the ‘Identity’

Inter-Religious Integration in Sri Lanka—Inclusion not Intrusion

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Image courtesy Maliban Biscuit Over the past months Sri Lankans have been educated on two Arabic words: halal and haram (that which is permissible and not permissible). Unfortunately the circumstances of learning have been an unprecedented antagonism towards the Muslim community much deeper than the halal issue. This trend must be addressed without delay by the government and all religions before it spirals into a much wider conflict, which the country can ill afford. The government’s responsibility is to do what all governments are mandated to do: ensure the prompt implementation of law and order without fear or favour to any. This should include steps to curb the provocation of religious animosity and ensure the security and dignity of the Muslim community; an intrinsic part of the nation from well before the Ninth Century. That this has not happened is worrying since the government is more than capable of restoring order. It consequently suggests that there is an anticipation of…

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Bodu Bala Sena: A Threat To Sri Lanka’s Future

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Goatabaya Rajapaksa ceremonially declaring open a Buddhist Leadership Academy of the Bodhu Bala Sena in Galle, via dbsjeyaraj.com Sri Lanka’s fragile attempt of reconciliation, following the end of the thirty-year civil war, faces a potentially backbreaking obstacle. The growing Sinhala Buddhist nationalism that is the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) movement is threatening to divide an already a fractious society. On the basis of protecting Sinhalese businessmen from the rising prices allegedly caused by Muslim businesses, the BBS movement has taken to the streets targeting the Muslim community. Having started last year with the unsubstantiated accusations against Muslims for illegally building mosques on “temple land”, Buddhist priests banded together in an attempt to demolish these structures. The authorities chose to stand idly by, and when finally forced to address the issue have to still to make a firm decision. The anti-Muslim issue has now progressed to the BBS calling for the ban of all Halal products. According to the organisation the…

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How to Deal with Racism

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Photo courtesy The Platform/Raashid Riza The Lord Buddha once said “When someone fires an arrow into you, you don’t try and find out who fired the arrow and what they are all about. You concentrate on getting that arrow out.” What do we do to combat against racism and stereotyping we see so much of in our society? We think that those who spew such hate are a minority and that their opinions and actions are not representative of the majority that wants to co-exist and live in peace. So do we let things be or fight back? What is the best way to deal with racism? By thinking that we cannot change things, that certain situations in life are beyond us and that we must leave that to elected officials, we do what we unfortunately do best. We let people (usually with hidden interests) manipulate our emotions and pull wool over our eyes. So we react. Reacting requires less…

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The Sinhalese…

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[The triple gem of Anuradhapura; Abhayagiriya facing north and its synthesis of Theravada and Mahayana represents the spiritual values of balance and integration; Ruvanweliseya in the western corner symbolizes caution, orthodoxy and conservatism; Jethavanaramaya in the eastern corner symbolizes optimism and progress – the mentality of the rising sun. To the south is materialism into whose clutches the sinhalese walked innocently without any of the safeguards afforded by this ancient Trinity.] The Sinhalese… Left their unity and security at Anuradhapura. They have not been safe or secure in any of the subsequent capitals. This chronic insecurity has something to do with their narrow version of domesticated Buddhism and a Sangha that enjoys entrenched privilege upon a notion of an exclusive Sinhala Buddhist identity. The original sense of brotherhood upon which the Indian invaders and natives finally settled, sealing their compact with the Ruvanweliseya and Gamani Kingship was whittled down in stages into a sharp hierarchy where the Sangha and king…

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Mixed Messages and Bland Oversimplification in President Rajapaksa’s Independence Day Speech

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In a significant act of outreach the Independence Day ceremonies were held in Trincomalee, a provincial city with a pronounced ethnic mix; while President Rajapaksa presented one part of his message in Tamil, repeating what he had said earlier (in English?) and then reiterating the same points in Sinhala. In keeping with the occasion and location, he referred to the Dutch and British interests in Trincomalee during the imperialist past as a prelude to his argument that Sri Lankans “have had to face continued challenges to protect the freedom and independence of our motherland.” In line with this emphasis, he also reminded the UN and the West of the obligations within the UN Charter which enjoin member nations to refrain from “interven[ing] in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state.” It is the latter emphasis which has attracted local newspaper headlines. However, to my mind what was more significant and heart-warming was his criticism of religious…

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Ini Avan: Hauntingly beautiful but…

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Ini Avan, Asoka Handagama’s latest film, in Tamil, has won international cinematic acclaim. And it is easy to see why. The film has interesting characters who within their confined destinies take some unpredictable turns and moves at a compelling and deliberate pace through carefully designed frames with strong aesthetic appeal that are also revisited, like recurring motifs, to telling effect. The camera-craft is sophisticated and the casting and acting impressive. The tale itself, involving different narratives—built mainly around an ex-LTTE fighter struggling to rebuild his social life and livelihood, a young woman whose love for the former comes up against barriers of caste prejudice and forced marriage, and an enigmatic middle-aged woman battling against the odds to provide for her family —is powerful and complex in its own way. While drawing attention to the internal contradictions within post-war Tamil society, the narratives do not necessarily follow predictable trajectories. Ini Avan is beautiful but at the same time leaves behind some…

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Will the Tamils Lose the Plot Again?

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  Photo courtesy Christian Science Monitor Chaos and Fear Much has happened in the space of three months. Soon after the Eastern Provincial Council election came the Divi Neguma bill and the subsequent calls for the abolition of the 13th Amendment. The impeachment motion against the Chief Justice and the recruitment of Tamil women to the military followed before the Maveerar Naal (Heroes’ Day) incidents in Jaffna. It would seem that the government is bent on creating chaos and fear. The Present State of Affairs In response to the negative Supreme Court verdict on the Divi Neguma bill, the government did two things: it unleashed a strong call for the abolition of the 13th Amendment to the constitution and set the wheels in motion to impeach the Chief Justice. It is highly unlikely that the company of Gotabaya, Wimal and Champika made a spontaneous decision to go public with a demand that strikes at the very heart of power devolution:…

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Give Full Force and Effect to the Separation of Powers & Unity in Diversity

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Photo courtesy Sri Lanka Guardian On the 19th day of May 2009, with the end of the military conflict that had divided the country for over thirty years, Sri Lanka entered a new era. The next step that Sri Lanka has to face is also extremely sensitive due to nationalistic feelings of the various ethnic groups. A durable peace can be built only if all these groups that go to form the Sri Lankan society feel that they are a part of the same nation. Building a nation had always been somehow a difficult task in Sri Lanka. Susil Sirivardana in his article titled “Paradigms and Foundations in Nation Building: A Way of Understanding” underlines that Sri Lankan leaderships believe in illusions that historically we were already a nation and hence, nation building as such, was not the central challenge of national politics. The articles mentioned in this paper appear in the book “Nation Building:Priorities for Sustainability and Inclusivity” edited by…

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The bridge between diaspora youth and Sri Lanka

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Rather than quoting empirical data, and authors or complex theories, today I will speak to you through my experiences. As far as I remember, like the majority of my Sri Lankan friends born during the eighties, I have always known my parents’ country as a country in war. And even if the conflict is over since a few years now, I frequently get reminded that there was a war. Especially when I meet someone new, and they ask me where I come from I naturally respond to them – Sri Lanka. To the majority of people that I have told about my origins, many are clueless, and I just don’t insist. For those of whom are accustomed to living in very cosmopolitan areas of the world or are slightly more aware of the world will ask me, “there’s a war there isn’t it? So are you Tamil or Sinhala? So who are the real bad guys?” All these questions awakens…

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To be or not to be Sri Lankan: That is the question!

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Image from DW How do I define my identity? At first glance, the answer would be simple and clear: I am a French citizen with Sri Lankan origins. This would be enough for any administrative paperwork. But in daily life, the reality is quite different depending on the situations that we are facing. The first question would be: Am I French or Sri Lankan? I was born in France, I studied in France, I live and work in France. So what could be more natural than to feel French? Let’s take the example at school. I did not have to worry about my origins. It was not an obstacle. We were in a French school regardless of our origins. We were learning French and consequently its traditions. Of course, my roots have always been a topic of discussion. All my friends were curious to know which country I was from, curious about its traditions and lifestyles. Talking about my Sri…

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Which way forward in post-conflict Sri Lanka? Lessons from the so-called ‘powerless’ women of the North

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Image courtesy Sri Lanka Brief Introduction Before the war, we were all together. Now, we are widows with no security, and no one sees what we have to live through. But we go on, try to find some money to get us through the day…we have to eat, no? The cooking and cleaning needs to be done, the children have to go to school…that’s how life goes.[1] What must have seemed to 36-year old Rina[2] like nothing more than a statement of unavoidable realities is laden with meaning for social scientists studying representations in postwar contexts of‘vulnerability’ and ‘marginalisation’ – and perhaps even more interestingly, the meanings of‘survival’and‘endurance’ in such settings. Tragically, although an intriguing subject for study, Rina’s circumstances are relatively ‘ordinary’ in the north of Sri Lanka: she is one of the estimated 40,000 female heads of households (“FHHs”) in that region[3], most of them born from the three decades of civil war. Given the oppressive environment of…

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Why Religious Intolerance Makes Me Mad

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Image courtesy The Nation I am writing this in response to the various articles / comments  promoting intolerance, people basing their arguments on stereotypes, and just things that I have experienced in the recent past.  You may not agree with all I have to say but I really needed to say this out loud. My name is Anisha, I am a liberal Muslim woman and more than anything a proud Sri Lankan. I support the Sri Lankan cricket team…always have and always will. I like Pakistan, I have an amazing friend that lives there although I have never been BUT I was born here, lived here my whole life and that makes me Sri Lankan to the core. So the idea that someone assumes that because of my religion I will support a country other than my own is laughable. I studied under the Sinhalese stream so my mother tongue is Sinhalese. I have friends from all ethnicities because I went…

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Religious sensitivities, the Islamic world and the communication revolution

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Much hue and cry has been raised the world over the US made video titled “The Innocence of Islam”. In Sri Lanka too we have seen protests and numerous articles on the issue, most lambasting the USA. At the United Nations (UN) General Assembly last week, many leaders from Muslim nations accused the West of hiding behind its defenses of freedom of speech and ignoring cultural sensitivities by allowing such video to be made. One’s faith is sacred to people, be they  Christians, Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus or Jews and it’s a matter which has to be dealt with respect and a lot of sensitivity. Hence making a film like the “Innocence of Islam” is only intended to provoke and get itself undue publicity, which it did thanks to all the violent protests held world over. All the uproar only made people who would never have heard of the “Innocence of Islam” watch it and pass it onto other. Let us…

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Elections in the East, reconciliation and politics: In conversation with Javid Yusuf

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Javid Yusuf is an Attorney-at-Law and former diplomat. Groundviews last featured him over two years ago, just after the Presidential Election in early 2010. In this programme, we talked about the recently concluded elections in the North Central, Sabaragamuwa and Eastern Provinces in Sri Lanka and more generally, on politics and reconciliation in post-war Sri Lanka. We begin by looking at why this election and voting in the Eastern Province in particular was perceived to be so significant. Javid responds by noting the election was, in general, a barometer of the government’s popularity and in the Eastern Province, a barometer of how minority thinking. We talk about the very different narratives from government, the opposition and other independent political analysts after the results of the election, and what could be read into these divergent viewpoints. Javid notes that the government did quite well in getting the votes it did in the North Central Province and Sabaragamuwa, and said that there…

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Muslims and the Eastern Provincial Council Elections in Sri Lanka: Kingmakers or Pawns?

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Photo via Colombo Telegraph As the campaigning for the Eastern Provincial Council (EPC) election concludes, there are only a few absolute certainties as to the outcome – most notably that there will be no outright winner.  Given the electoral system, the results of recent elections, the demography in the East and the general voting pattern along communal lines, it is more or less clear that neither the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) nor a possible Tamil National Alliance (TNA) –United National Party (UNP) combine will have a simple majority. In such a context it will be the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) which is contesting independently that will hold the balance of power. The strategic value of the Muslim vote is all too evident, not solely due to the SLMC having been the key focus of pre-nomination lobbying, but also that other political parties and alliances are attempting to shore up their Muslim votes. Once more, the Eastern Muslim polity,…

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About Groundviews

Located at the Centre for Policy Alternatives in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Groundviews is a citizen journalism website that uses a range of genres and media to highlight critical perspectives on governance, reconciliation, human rights, the arts and literature, democracy and other issues. The site has won two international awards, including the prestigious Manthan Award South Asia in 2009. The grand jury's evaluation of the site noted, "What no media dares to report, Groundviews publicly exposes. It's a new age media for a new Sri Lanka... Free media at it's very best!"

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