An Unadulterated 75th Celebrations: ‘Clear the Path’ Through a New Constitution

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa observes a parade on Independence Day

The interviews that appeared in the Daily Mirror on the eve of the 74th Independence celebrations, provided ample proof of public antipathy towards the inauspicious waste of  millions, on the event.  
It is an undeniable fact that this island is a ‘pluralistic’ nation. Sri Lanka is the home of many communities that have contributed to its progress for a long time. This unity in diversity and variety, has given it strength and glory. The Sinhalese and Tamils have lived in peace and harmony, mixing socially with one another in a multi-ethnic environment, since settling downmore than 2500 years ago. Muslims who settled here 1100 years ago, established very cordial ties too, especially with the Buddhists, albeit in 1915, when there were some altercations. 
Their relationships are a unique example of ethnic accord in multi-cultural societies! These relationships have been fashioned over a very long period and preserved with confidence, trust and good understanding, until 1948. It had the capability to withstand several challenges made by three colonial powers and a few racist elements, to demolish it.  
‘Majoritarianism’ is a political philosophy which emphasizes that a majority of the population is at liberty to exercise a certain degree of dominance in society, and has the right to make choices that affect the entirety. 

"Sri Lanka is the home of many communities that have contributed to its progress for a long time. This unity in diversity and variety, has given it strength and glory"

This traditional vision has come under rising criticism; and democracies have included restriction in what the parliamentary majority can impose, in order to defend citizens’ fundamental rights. The reawakening should be pioneered this time by enlightened intellectuals and non-politicised monks, who understand the essence of Buddha’s principles of state governance.  
The constitution is the supreme law of a State. It takes superiority over all other legal enactments in the country. A nation is recognized or identified internationally and internally, with the National Flag, National Anthem and finally, with the Constitution. The 1972 Republican Constitution gave to Buddhism the foremost place in a multicultural country. Article 9 of the 1972 and 1978 Constitutions of Sri Lanka, says that “The Republic of Sri Lanka shall give to Buddhism the foremost place, and accordingly, it shall be the duty of the State to protect and foster the Buddhist Sasana, while assuring all religions the rights granted by Articles 10 and 14(1) (e).” The Constitution of the Republic of Sri Lanka, discriminates against the adherents of other faiths by not giving specifically, the foremost place to anything other than Buddhism! The clause itself is a violation of the Buddhist principle of non-discrimination.  

National Anthem should be such, while singing or listening to it, each and every citizen must be able to attach themselves emotionally with their mother nation. Without understanding what they sing or listen to, there is no possibility of achieving this status. It makes the non-Sinhala citizens feel ‘second class’ or outsiders. The National Anthem should be sung both in Sinhala and Tamil languages, but not as two different anthems. In Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, Switzerland, and Belgium, to name a few, the anthems include verses from more than one language. The Indian National Anthem is sung in the Bengali language, which is not even an Official Language of India! The unresolved ethnic problem, is a result of stubbornness of both the past and present rulers who fear reprisals by ‘Sinhala-Buddhists’, the so-called intellectuals, along with opportunist,  extremist, chauvinists, preachers and ‘activists’. It has destroyed the national unity and the economy and allowed foreign powers to interfere in its internal affairs. The other drawback is the lack of National Policies on Education, Foreign Affairs, Health, Economy, etc., that allows incompetent politicians to meddle with these vital fields as per their whims and fancies and through introductions of their own agendas.  

"The National Anthem should be sung both in Sinhala and Tamil languages, but not as two different anthems"

A new Constitution has to be adopted for wiping out all negatives attributes that contribute to ethnic conflicts, economic disasters and rampant corruption at the highest echelons; and also for the enhancement of democratic values, human rights and reconciliation. Denying citizenship rights to plantation Tamils, state sponsored Sinhala colonization, uneven distribution of wealth, making ‘Sinhala’ the only official language, organized violence aimed at Tamil and Muslim communities at various instances, denying equal opportunities to all in development strategies; and the right to live with dignity, making Buddhism the foremost religion etc., make the ‘non-Sinhala Buddhist’ feel like second class citizens. Successive governments have failed to share power with all communities and regions.  

‘Politics is too serious a matter to be left to the politicians.’ -- Charles de Gaulle A new “Supreme Law” drafted by the People can tighten and restrict the politicians. We need a constitution that can confine, regulate, and manage the politicians within the norms: it should prevent them from attempting to tamper and tinker with it at their whims and fancies. An appointed committee dominated by politicians or chosen by politicians, will never deliver! It can only be done through a Civil Society initiated body; a body with a broad spectrum of intellectual involvement which could confine, constrain and check the legislators. For universal acceptance, total abrogation of the PTA and adherence to UNHRC terms, are vital in the process.  
If we satisfy the above conditions, we could commemorate the 75th National Day on a low key, as a reminder of the sacrifices made by many freedom fighters of all nationalities, over the 133 years that preceded independence.  

"Sri Lanka is a secular state; changing the constitution does not fall within the realm of religions. Politics and religion should never be permitted to mix "

Kandyan Convention 1815—An agreement between Briton and the Kandyan Chiefs, stipulated that the Kingdom be annexed to the ‘Empire on which the sun never sets’, [Dr Colvin R de Silva once quipped, ‘it is because, God never trusted them in the dark’] giving Britain total power to be in command over the whole island. 
It was Wariapola Sumangala Thero who pulled down the Union Jack and re-hoisted the Lion Flag, minutes before the convention on March 2, 1815; and by doing so, he initiated a freedom struggle on the very day the island was surrendered. It was not only in Matale, in1848, but also in Uva, in 1818 and on numerous other occasions, at many historical sites, that freedom fighters had nourished the soil with their blood; the last being on  7th July 1915, when Capt. Henry Pedris was executed on trumped-up charges of treason by the British Army, under martial law, during the 1915 Sinhalese-Muslim riots. The 26 year old military officer was tied to a chair before a firing squad, soaking the soil of Welikada prison with the young hero’s blood. 

The gruesome episode did not end there. The blood splattered chair was taken to the cells where many prominent national heroes of the day, that included young D.S. Senanayake, F.R. Senanayake, D.B. Jayatillake, A. E. Gunasinghe and Dr. C. A. and Edmund Hewavitharana all of whom were falsely charged of treason, were being held. 
A brutal act of warning by Governor Chalmers! These heroic struggles which spanned over 133 years, won independence for our own destructive elements to drag it to near extinction in the 74 years that followed. Religious dignitaries should be prevented by the constitution from engaging directly in politics. Sri Lanka is a secular state; changing the constitution does not fall within the realm of religions. Politics and religion should never be permitted to mix. The shrewd politicians take the utmost advantage of this situation, in order to gain and continue in power.

Writer can be contacted at 
– [email protected]