Non-violence our mightiest weapon

Violence breeds violence. Tragically, a once peaceful Sri Lanka has been wrecked and ruined by organised violence or war since the April 1971 insurrection by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP). Since independence in 1948, especially after SWRD Bandaranaike was elected as Prime Minister in 1956, there has been disunity between the Tamil and Sinhala communities because Mr. Bandaranaike was elected mainly on his Sinhala Only policy. In 1958, a state of emergency was declared after the Tamil community was attacked in various parts of the country. Pro-government supporters may have started the riots but ultimately looting gangs joined in. Mr. Bandaranaike probably realised his folly but it was too late. He began talks with the then federal party led by S.J.V. Chelvanayakam for the formation of District Councils, which did not have even half the power of the current Provincial Councils. 

In September 1959, Mr. Bandaranaike was shot dead by a Buddhist monk who had little or no problem in getting access to the Prime Minister’s Rosmead Place residence. The monk Somarama Thera shot him at point blank range when the Prime Minister greeted him. After senior minister, Wijeyananda Dahanayake replaced Mr. Bandaranaike as Prime Minister, he sacked several ministers before the Government’s term ended in 1960. General Elections were held March that year and the Dudley Senanayake led United National Party (UNP) obtained a slim majority. This shaky government only lasted three months and a General Election was called again in July 1960.  The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) leaders persuaded Mr. Bandaranaike’s widow Sirimavo to lead the party and she became the first woman Prime Minister in the democratic world. 

Among her major achievements was the Sirima-Shatri pact with India’s then Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri but it related largely to the Indian citizens here who were described as “stateless”. But Ms Bandaranaike did little or nothing to solve the issues of the Tamil people here. After some dramatic events including largescale crossovers in Parliament the Sirimavo Bandaranaike government was toppled and General Elections were held again in 1965. The UNP won the election and Prime Minister Dudley Senanayake formed a national government with the Federal Party frontliner M. Tiruchelvam becoming the minister in charge of local government.  Regular talks were held and some progress made. But there was much discontent when the Prime Minister cut the rice ration from two measures to one though that one measure was given free. General Elections were held in 1970 and Ms.

Bandaranaike swept to power in a coalition with the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) led by Dr. N.M. Perera and the Communist Party led by the widely respected Dr. S.A. Wickremesinghe. But the leaders were apparently unaware that the youth were unhappy about the poli-tricks and this led to the JVP uprising in April 1971. The JVP came as close to taking over the then Radio Ceylon but the government unleased the security forces on the youth and there was fighting in various parts of the country with the large number being killed or injured and a large of number of youths arrested. This apparently provoked the northern and eastern Tamil youth to turn to violence and it led to the formation of various armed groups mainly the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). This led to a nearly a 30-year war where tens of thousands of people were killed or injured and the material damage not calculable. With the LTTE producing suicide bombers who destroyed vital targets including the Central Bank. 

It is with these events in mind that we should on October 2 mark the UN International Day of Non-Violence. The theme is “Say no to violence” and the UN says the day was chosen by the General Assembly to mark the birth of one of the world’s greatest statespersons Mahatma Gandhi, leader of the Indian independence movement and pioneer of the philosophy and strategy of non-violence. Through non-violence or “Satyagraha” Mahatma Gandhi toppled the most powerful British Empire. 

According to the UN, the International Day is an occasion to disseminate the message of non-violence, including through education and public awareness. The resolution reaffirms the universal relevance of the principle of non-violence and the desire “to secure a culture of peace, tolerance, understanding and non-violence. Introducing the resolution in the General Assembly on behalf of 140 co-sponsors, India’s then External Affairs State Minister, Anand Sharma, said that the wide and diverse sponsorship of the resolution was a reflection of the universal respect for Mahatma Gandhi and of the enduring relevance of his philosophy. Quoting the late leader’s own words, he said: “Non-violence is the greatest force at the disposal of people. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man”.