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an irregular extenas been made, litical interference. going to do about es? tance, the academgroup is pressing complaint, but they

is very little supcademics as they about their promops and leave and so want to get into e). In the latter that most staff faculty concerned ifficult to fight ases”, what they also ask for similar rvice for everybody. heir position is-- if them, join them. omplain to a Head hat it is very difficult e lectures of a parave they spoken to ut it? “No, we are “the lecturer will So, why don’t group? “Very few only those few who enalised”. and other profest meetings, semithe classroom that tter under discusversial issue, I do ment on that”. mber of the legal he had accepted an an independent en the appointment onstitutional as it out adhering to the mendment to the What can I do when

land appoints sponse. He studiwering the question the appointment. tises me –“The u Deepika is that al world; we don’t”. rs ago, an environion came forward urts about a power- ful generator that had been installed by a private company in a residential area, causing severe health problems due to noise pollution. As public interest litigation is of narrow scope under the law of Sri Lanka, they solicited volunteers from the neighbourhood to be petitioners. Although almost everybody in the neighbourhood complained of the noise, hardly anyone wanted to join in as petitioners. But when the organization persisted and won the case, they all were delighted. Human rights lawyers too, I am sure, could provide many such examples.

viii) We all know that sexual harassment, or “eve teasing” as they say in India, is rampant in our public transport system. But very few women, who are harassed, will raise cries or complain. My students tell me that it is so, because most of the time other passengers not only do not support the victim, but they look at her as if she is the guilty party. Now that I too constantly commute to Peradeniya, I can confirm what they say. “Speaking up is wrong” is the general message one gets—“just why can’t you put up with it and save everybody the embarrassment of a public spectacle”.

ix) A CEO of a company that is a giant in the retail business tells a university audience that compared to consumers elsewhere, Sri Lankan consumers are a meek lot. “We get away with a lot” he says. I am certain that almost all of you can relate to the instances and responses I have recounted. Commonly recurring responses to the query about inaction are: “we are fearful”, “we don’t want to get penalized”, “we don’t get the support of others, so we too keep quiet”. Let me add another response I keep hearing often—“Well, you can afford to dissent or talk about controversial matters because you are a human rights person. But if we say that it will not go down well (with the authorities)”. My response to the last is that everyone in a democracy is expected to be (a) “human rights person”.