Similar events are not uncommon at all during the feudal era in Europe too. In Britain, for instance, King George 1 of the Hanover Dynasty was a German whose knowledge of English was minimal.

The principle of feudalist political, economic and social organization was the division of society into rigidly established castes. Political power, economic status and social relationships were primarily defined on the caste-system. Thus, ethnicity was of secondary importance.

It was Sri Lanka’s anti-imperialist struggle that marked the beginning of the modern version of Sinhala/Tamil nationalism. The Southern campaign to revive Buddhism and the Sinhala culture and the northern campaign to revive Hinduism and the Tamil culture emerged independently of each other, and later developed into political struggles for independence.

What I point out in the article is: the political structures imposed at the Independence Settlement haven’t done justice to the evolving phenomenon of Tamil nationalism on a par with Sinhala nationalism. To dump the ‘minority-nation’ of Tamils along with other ethnic minorities is a big mistake. [Indians, Africans or Sri Lankans living in Britain would gladly see themselves as ethnic minorities, but the Scots and Welsh would not; because the historically evolved mindsets are different. The English majority in Britain have the commonsense to understand this. The Sinhala extremists unfortunately don’t have that commonsense.]

Thus, it is clear that the post-colonial version of Sinhala extremism that brought about Tamil extremism as its counterpart is very much linked to the post-colonial political set-up – which has to be radically changed to transcend the dragging deadlock. My article – which proposes a unitary solution – is aimed at doing precisely that.

If there is a Tamil Nation in Sri Lanka then there are the following Nations as well:

Sinhala-Buddhist
Sinhala-Christian
Mulim
Veddah
Burgher(Eurasian)

+ Tamil Nation which Vasantha Raja claim exists in Sri Lanka.

If there is ethnicity based devolution then the powers has to be devolved along above mentioned Ethno-World View groups.

No, he had a fondness for cherry brandy. 🙂

Once upon a time, in the year 2009 AD, the ‘Agent of RAW’ appeared to Jayasaf in a dream and said, “Don’t hesitate to take MIAree as your wife! For the child within her has been conceived through an ‘International Conspiracy’ while she was in the ‘Please Don’t Fire We Are Innocent Tranquils Zone,’ and she will have a son, and you shall name him Jayzee and he will save his Tranquil tribes people from the misery they have undergone at the hands of the Stinkerlees tribes people for over 61 hundred years!”

When Jayasaf awoke, he did as the ‘Agent of RAW’ had commanded and took MIAree and surrendered to a ‘Welfare Concentration Camp,’ surrounded by barbed wire and armed SS. Jayzee was born in such a camp, in a canvas tent in the town of Bretleehom, during the reign of King Adolf Rogerproxy, Dictator of Idiot Island. At about this time, three wise dignitaries from Western lands arrived in Koolamboo, the capital of Idiot Island, asking, “Where is the newborn King of the Tranquils? For we received news of his birth from satellite images, and have come to worship him and make an independent confirmation.”
King Rogerproxy was deeply disturbed by the satellite evidence from the ‘Eye in the Sky,’ hovering over Bretleehom; the sole witness to all that transpired in the Tranquil homeland towards the north of Idiot Island. So he immediately called a cupboard meeting. And when the hundred an eleven cupboard polytikboobees arrived he asked, “Did our intelligence comedians inform us where the King of the Tranquils would be born?”

“Yes Sir! No Sir! In Bretleehom Sir!” they all chroused.

Then King Rogerproxy sent three SMS messages to the three wise dignitaries, asking them to come and see him; at this meeting he found out the exact time and date that they received confirmation from the satellite. Then he told them, “Go to Bretleehom and search for the child. You will be allowed free access to all the ‘Welfare Concentration Camp,’ with no restrictions whatsoever. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him too!”
After this interview, the three wise foreign dignitaries started their journey towards the north. And lo! And behold! The satellite appeared to them hovering over Bretleehom, and their joy knew no bounds! Entering the canvas tent where the baby Jayzee and MIAree his mother were, they threw themselves down before him, worshiping. Then they opened their presents and gave him a state-of-the-art satellite phone, a laptop with a high speed internet connection and a gift voucher to shop at the ‘OD HELL Warehouse.’

When they returned to their own lands in the West, they didn’t go through Koolamboo to report to King Rogerproxy, for an ‘Agent of the SeeHighHay’ had warned them in a dream to take a boat to Tranquil Naadoo and hop a flight home from there. After they had gone, the ‘Agent of RAW’ appeared to Jayasaf in a dream. “Get up and flee to Tranquil Naadoo with the baby Jayzee and his mother,” the Agent said, “and stay there until I tell you to return, for King Rogerproxy is going to permanently rehabilitate the child and blame it on an ‘International Conspiracy’ to put the Kingdom of Idiot Island into disrepute.”
That same night, Jayasaf left for Tranquil Naadoo with MIAree and the child, and stayed there until he received further instructions from the ‘Agent of RAW.’ King Rogerproxy was furious when he learned that the three wise dignitaries had disobeyed him. Sending his SS to Bretleehom, he ordered them to permanently rehabilitate every baby boy two years old and under, both in the town and in the various ‘Welfare Concentration Camps.’ This humanitarian action of King Rogerproxy fulfilled the prophecy of the ‘Agent of RAW.’ The screams of anguish, the unrestrained weeping and gnashing of teeth for their permanently rehabilitated children was recorded by the ‘Eye in the Sky’ satellite and relayed to BooBeeSee, See & End and Helljayzee Raw who broadcast these images to every nook and corner of Planet Mirth.

King Rogerproxy and his hundred and eleven cupboard polytikboobees once again screamed till they were blue in the face, claiming that this was another ‘International Conspiracy’ to tarnish the image of the Kingdom of Idiot Island. But the Mirthlings around Planet Mirth could not be fooled.

“Shame on you!” they said, and asked for an independent commission to look into the human wrongs committed by the SS, but King Rogerproxy rejected this outright. When King Rogerproxy eventually died, (some say of ‘swine flu’) the ‘Agent of RAW’ appeared once again in a dream to Jayasaf in Tranquil Naadoo, and told him, “Get up and take the baby Jayzee and his mother MIAree back to Idiot Island, for those who were trying to permanently rehabilitate the child are dead.

So Jayasaf returned immediately to Idiot Island with Jayzee and his mother. But on the way he got to hear that the new king was Rogerproxy’s son Nomaleproxy. Then in another dream, Jayasaf was warned (by who else) but the ‘Agent of RAW,’ not to go back to Bretleehom due to security reasons. So they went to live in NasalRot, just a stone’s throw away from WallHerWhatHer. Jayzee’s parent’s Jayasaf and MIAree registered themselves at the local police station, before they rented a small apartment after paying a five year advance. Jayzee went to the local international school and was a good student. He was called ‘Jayzee of NasalRot’ by all hi friends, and his enemies called him by many other names (but that’s another story). And so Jayzee and his parents lived happily ever after.

Quite an anti climax isn’t it? If you were expecting plenty of blood and gore and murder and mayhem, you should have switched on to ‘Idiot Island Television’ and watched ‘Humanitarian War’ instead!

Beautifully put.

Wasantha Ranagala >>

You should read this: http://www.pjeganathan.org/south-paw/2009/5/4/sri-lankas-conflict-an-interview-with-pact-part-i.html

Identity is something that’s always evolving. I think it’s high time we left these medieval ideas like Sinhala and Tamil identities behind and think of a Sri Lankan identity. Otherwise, all your rhetoric about Buddhist philosophy being supreme is moot, because it has obviously not helped you to understand the transient nature of all things and your “attachment” to a Sinhala identity is completely against the doctrines that the Buddha preached.

The same can be said for these die hard Eelamists and other assorted Tamil nationalist nut jobs, who together with Sinhalese nationalist fanatics, seem to be stuck in a fabricated past somewhere in the 17th century, making it really hard for the rest of us to think of a bright and civilized future.

…”how this country retained it’s Sinhala nation identity for over a two and a half millennia……….

Your contention is incorrect because the island was not known by it’s present name two and a half millennia ago but was known by several names.Even the Mahavamsa does not refer to the island as Sri Lanka. The subcontinent was referred to by foreigners by different names. As the sub-continent and the island were in geographical proximity to each other the peoples of these lands interacted and were not in any way isolated from each other for many many millennia not merely two and a half.No one can deny that fact.

The language,traditions and cultures of these peoples were influenced by various changes over time by what the monarchs of the subcontinent and the island said and did and were cosmopolitan in character. There was no divisiveness or sectarian rancour. To the people then, god was one and could be worshipped in any shape or form. That was a time when there was no fine distinction or dissenting sects or wars fought between the established religions like Hinduism and Buddhism. So much so it is no wonder that Gajabahu built a temple for goddess Pattini and Parakramabahu built the Sivan temple in Polonaruwa and the last Tamil king in Kandy Wickrema Rajasinghe espoused and protected Buddhism. There was no Sinhala or Tamil Nation during their time. Tamil Hindu and Sinhala Buddhist came later. That is a twentieth century phenomena ,which is the cause for all the rancour and suspicion manifesting as the Hela Urumaya and the LTTE. But the underlying cause is purely economics.It’s a rice and pol-sambol issue. So to say that the Sinhala Nation has held it’s own identity against that of the sub-continent mirrors the Vaddukoddai Nandikadal rhetoric and that is something which is utterly incongruous in this twentieth century world.

As I’ve explained in the article, the success of your kind of constitutions depend on the way various societies have evolved. In Sri Lanka, like in Britain, this is not going to work. Instead, transitional institutions (like regional parliaments) may have to be introduced to overcome entrenched suspicions while an equality-based Centre retaining the highest level of powers. Remember, this is essentially a unitary solution.

Your erroneous description of democracy as involving majority rule helps me to understand why Sinhalese government is able to kill citizens with impunity.

Majority rule as law is not democracy–it is FASCISM. It is Hitler, Mussolini, General Franco of Spain, all the fascist leaders of the world, who stood for majority rule. Fascism is the opposite of democracy.

Democracy enshrines equal rights to all, including the tiniest minority. Not only does it promise it in the constitution, but there should also be supplementary legislation that criminalises discrimination. This is why democracy rests on secularism. To give any religion a place in government over other religions in a pluralistic society is undemocratic. In addition to Buddhism, Sri Lanka’s citizens practice other equally great religions such as Islam, Hinduism and Christianity.

Equal rights means everyone has 100% of rights, not rights proportionate to the size of the population.

Not just you, but the SL government need to attend a PoliticalScience 101 course that will enable you to tell the difference between democracy and fascism.

On the contrary most Western governments have as their basis constitutions that are designed specifically to avoid the tyranny of the majority. Individual rights are enshrined in their constitutions that prevent a majority from voting away the rights of a minority. Sri Lankas problems be it with the minority communities or the culture of violence the government perpetrates against its perceived enemies are directly tied to the failure of the constitution to guarantee life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness to all its citizens.