yours truly.
ex-colleagues from Clements road.

Yours was an interesting article. But I feel that Sinhala Tamil unity can only come with the wider use of the English language between the comunities. Language can bridge the divide. That is one important reason why during the colonial era we had no ethnic divisions. The rot started after 1956. It will take us a long time to improve English standards in this country, but at least an effort is been made by this Government to train English teachers in India. I guess that is the best option available. Indian politicians did not give up English the way we did.

Niranjan

I hope your dream would come true and there would be a day that we as Sri Lankans see ourselves based on what we do in our life and based on what we make of our life rather than dwelling on where we were born and to which race we were born to.

May my country be blessed to have more people like you who genuinely hope that Sri Lanka would truly be a better place someday in future. Best wishes!

unfortunately the bloggers, the thinker, the commenter, the writers are all ” arm chair operationalists” either in the comfy of their sofas or in cooler climes in the west/UK/Canda….

I went to a Post office in Colombo to obtain a Postal IC for my nephew and was “ordered” by the post peon (mind it not the post master- he was a silent observer making him an accomplice) to state in the application form that my nephew is not “Sri Lankan” but a “Sri Lankan Tamil” . My arguments (which lasted a few minutes only- (a gang may stone my house or worse can be taken to the police for quarreling with a person from the majority race who has defeated terrorism-it has happened more than once to my friends ) was futile. He (the peon) said if i do not indicate as he says i will not be able to have a Postal IC. At last “succumbed to my injury”- his ID carries the Nationality as “Sri Lankan Tamil” ( easy for the police or the armed forces to identify)
All what i want to say is the power to create a change does not lie with you people who are blogging and thinking and writing, commenting, instead it lies with people who want to see the last Tamil out of Sri Lanka. So any amount writing, blogging , commenting ……..nothing will bring about a change including the so called instantly famous epistle by some one who calls himself a Tamil but has presumably not undergone any of the humiliation, suffering, torment, trauma, dilemma…….. of an Ordinary tamil in Sri Lanka

Sorry this idea of “no more minorities” concept is flawed from the get go. If we are sincere about peace, we need to encourage people to flaunt their ethnic identity and at the same time teach each other to be tolerant and celebrate the diversity.

On the long run, you will never suppress the persons born identity. That’s Tamil, Sinhalese, Burgher or some combination of a few of these. Sri Lankan is a nationality, and for people to be proud of that, they need to be accepted FIRST as who they are. They should feel, that being a Sri Lankan is a positive experience where you are at home, and where you are treated with fairness and the system offers opportunities to progress without giving up your identity. Many Tamils, especially the non-Colombo types don’t feel welcome, due to many historic reasons. And most Sinhalese and some Tamils, specially the Colombo types don’t simply get this.

It sounds complicated, but there are plenty of examples where this is being practiced very well. Singapore, USA, Canada, are some examples. In any of these countries, a Tamil for example doesn’t feel that the system is stacked against them, and they get a fair deal, where they can be as Tamil as they want to be in their social and cultural life and still live a normal productive life. They are happy to contribute to the economy, and are proud to attach the national identity to their ethnic identity. They proudly call them selves as Tamil-Canadian or Tamil-American or Tamil-Singaporean.

Unless and until structural changes are put in place to allow such a system, with protection to each ethnic group, we can’t move forward. A simple solution will be to create a highly decentralized federal system. Turn each province into a independent state with little control from Colombo. This will create healthy competition and diverse governance, that people will have a choice when it comes to where to live.

The Central government should be only involved in protecting individual rights and dealing with other nations. The states should have the right to collect taxes, make economic deals with anyone in the world, and they are fully responsible for their own economic and social system. We will have more unity with such a system, than a single power coming from Colombo.

We can’t move forward based on sentiments of good will and camaraderie and getting inspired by the cricket team. There has to be permanent safeguards, and a constitution that clearly outlines these guarantees. If the SL leadership can pull this off, Sri Lanka with it’s talented people will be an unstoppable force for good in the world.