A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
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Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj.- One Island Two Nations
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Thursday, January 19, 2017
Unity Of Muslims In Sri Lanka
By Nishthar Idroos –January 17, 2017
“When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt you.” ― Winston S. Churchill
“Negative and vicious forces are currently engaged in serious attempts
to destroy the unity of Muslims to alter the current political
stability, said SLMC Leader and Minister of City Planning and Water
Supply, Rauff Hakeem recently. The reference by the veteran Muslim
politician could have been directed not only at those orchestrating
implied treacheries from within but also perhaps alluding to the
notorious ones indulging in traditional sniping, genre characterized by
remote-control ploys through agents within executing a well-conceived
modus-operandi.
Being a seasoned politician, having countenanced and survived many
attempts on his long and illustrious career, he must be weighing in the
implications revolving the latest attempt to introduce purported
instability. It may be opportune for Mr. Hakeem to re-energize his sense
of perspicacity and circumspection in anticipation for another bout of
shadow sparing with forces and faces only known to him. He is that kind
of guy with a unique sense of style irksome to many and inviting an
avalanche of displeasure to an army of detractors.
Minister Rauff Hakeem further said “every party had within its ranks
negative forces who subverted party unity and progress from within”
“Sinister motives could be defeated only by vigilance, open discussion
and harmony among the rank and file” Very reassuring words but not
sustainable. It may come as a surprise to the minister, the world has
passed that threshold. Betrayal, duplicity, deceit is today very much
woven intimately to the fabric. You can never separate or eliminate
them. Symptomatic of the times we live. You only have the tools of
vigilance and management as available coping techniques. Ofcourse faith
to those who have it. Even the most robust rope of loyalty has its price
today. I am nether a cynic nor a pessimist but an informed and
indomitable realist. Sir Winston S. Churchill’s haunting observation
“When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt you.” is
indeed true if not prophetic.
Muslims in Sri Lanka would welcome the sentiments expressed by the
minister. He had talked about unity – a commodity very much in need for
the Muslims. Though negative in context its derivable attributes
meaningful. Diluted and diminished Muslim unity is an awesome reality
politically for the main two parties of Sri Lanka. Perpetual disunity of
the Muslims is to their advantage. They would love to entrench the
status-quo, you cannot blame them for that. It’s all about maximizing
opportunities for navigation for them. They have in their arsenal
alternate antidotes for every discerning need. To those initially
obstreperous or to the one readily making his claim. Many lubricating
oils had been used in the past to entice an entire salivating species.
These tactics nothing new but an integral and “wholesome” part of the evolving neo universal democracy stridently and subvertingly practiced by third world and first world politicians alike regardless its legality, Democracy though well-meant and assigned benign attributes at its genesis pollutes, contaminates and reeks. The stench today has reached high heavens. Its subtle, scheming and systematic emasculation of the voter only heightens the junk known as representative or participatory democracy. Incidentally Donald Trump is more keen today of building a Trump Tower in every popular city of the world than going ahead with the much-touted wall he so raucously clamored during electioneering.
These tactics nothing new but an integral and “wholesome” part of the evolving neo universal democracy stridently and subvertingly practiced by third world and first world politicians alike regardless its legality, Democracy though well-meant and assigned benign attributes at its genesis pollutes, contaminates and reeks. The stench today has reached high heavens. Its subtle, scheming and systematic emasculation of the voter only heightens the junk known as representative or participatory democracy. Incidentally Donald Trump is more keen today of building a Trump Tower in every popular city of the world than going ahead with the much-touted wall he so raucously clamored during electioneering.
As one wise guy said “Nations have progressed through bondage to
spiritual faith; from spiritual faith to great courage; from courage to
liberty; from liberty to abundance; from abundance to selfishness; from
selfishness to apathy; from apathy to dependence; from dependence, back
into bondage.”
Its interesting Minister Hakeem said what he said. Since the advent of
SLMC in the late eighties under the charismatic late leader A H M
Ashraff and his untimely death Rahimahullah (may Allah have mercy on
him) the party had given birth to bubbly quadruplets twice over through
its many libido-rich detractors and dissenters which is certainly not
the epitome of unity. A myriad of new political parties sprouted. Each
one vocal and vociferous to unite Muslims and firm in working for their
upliftment. The reality is they’ve carved their own fortunes whilst
being champions of disunity in the process.
This is not something unique to Muslim politicians or Muslim political
parties. In essence the worse losers are the majority Sinhala Buddhists.
They’ve been reduced to mere numbers, securely kept in data mining
repositories. Retrieved just before an election analyzed, extrapolated,
imputed and manipulated to evince a favorable outcome. Some
over-ambitious politicians in the past had embraced the art of violence
by unleashing the mob against minorities just to confirm and comply with
an opinion of a trusted Data-Mining expert. This does not in any way
mean that these politicians are communal or averse to working in a
coalition environment. But one thing it does mean is that man has become
distanced, desensitized, diabolical, deranged and distinctly dangerous.
Dividing to seemingly unite, downgrading, undermining and subverting the
constituency for one’s own upliftment though a blatant irony and
against cherished principles of democracy seems the norm and very much
consistent with contemporary values.
Its time Muslim leaders of Sri Lanka made a firm resolve towards unity
based on strong Principles. Let’s not forget the Muslims of Sri Lanka
did demonstrate historically this spirit. It was their unity that
prevented this country from being divided. They paid the ultimate for
this in blood and corpses, who can deny this? So why then would Muslim
leadership not unite and project the actual and real strength so that
none will try to play games next time around.