A question of identity and the hope for a more united Sri Lanka

Ascendancy of Western education around the globe since the expansion of the British Empire in the 19th century may be considered by ultranationalists in most Asian countries as a legacy of colonial domination. For many of us this is not so. There are still many of us in the Sri Lankan Diaspora dispersed throughout the globe, who appreciate the values imbued in us through a Western style education, particularly in the disciplines of the humanities and social sciences in the 40s, 50s and 60s. But we continue to grapple with issues of identity as I do.

Looking back I think I grew up in a confused setting for a child. Fiercely nationalistic, my parents who were closely involved in the Buddhist Renaissance in the early 20th century leading up to Independence, were also steeped in Western education. My early reading was confined to Grimms Fairy Tales and even a child’s compendium of Arabian Nights. Encouraged by my father, a voracious reader himself, I soon graduated to his collection of Everyman English classics, English Romantic poets and in my early teens to even D.H.Lawrence. So one could say my cultural fragmentation began early and the vision of English poets was installed in the landscape of my mind. I thought and even dreamt in English and I still do!

Some would say English was a traditional tool of western dominance. The allure of English literature, its aesthetic and moral values served as important tools in shaping the minds and imaginations of colonial minds, binding them to Englishness as an attractive way of life. Parallel to this with the dawn of independence arose a sort of national fervour, a nostalgic desire to look back at past glories and if possible a hope of re-enactment in a post colonial setting. But most of us continued to pay homage to the great English texts and English ways of life. Herein lay a version of the post-colonial predicament.

In the 1980s the unthinkable happened. Though a tiny island Sri Lanka has a myriad traditions and a complex and plural reality. Through the centuries more than a veneer of unity prevailed among the various ethnic groups who inhabited the island and peace prevailed. This peace was shattered by what Amartya Sen states in his excellent book-- “Identity & Violence”, is all too common in human societies: “Killing people for no other reason than the fact that they belong often by birth to particular communities.” He then goes on to talk of our multiple identities and an awareness of cross-cultural borrowings.

There are ultranationalists, fundamentalists and so-called freedom fighters throughout the world who are bent on reducing our usually plural sense of identities to one aspect only, whether race, civilisation or religion. So we are constantly assaulted by news of turmoil and barbarity in parts of our global village. We can only combat this by recognising the fact that we have many different affiliations and genuinely embrace a universality, a recognition of our common humanity.

As for myself, having lived away from the land of my birth for over 40 years, I remain Sri Lankan by birth and Australian by citizenship. I hold both places in my heart but my original loyalties come to the fore when I pray fervently to the gods of my forefathers, when the Sri Lankan cricket team is playing against Australia that the Sri Lankans win! However, the peace and stillness and the many bouts of solitude that Australia affords me sustains me. It is mostly a place of tolerance, diversity and community, a courtesy of manners, where when I come home from travels, I feel a sense of release, a feeling of home.

In moments of serious reflection I wish Sri Lanka that land of a myriad traditions and a long history could accommodate all kinds of plurality and the complex reality resulting from centuries-long hybridisation of Sri Lankaness. However facing the multiple nature of one’s identity within a framework of a shared national citizenship has never been easy for anyone.

I feel nostalgic when I think of the incomparable natural beauty, its ancient history, the majestic historical monuments and intellectual resources compressed into a small land mass, in the place of my birth. There was so much hope at the dawn of independence, which sadly was squandered by the politicians who gained control and continue to do so in their incapacity to maximise this hope for the benefit of the hard pressed people. While lauding the glory of the ancient rulers, they continue to violate the ancient norms of the kings, the Dasa Raja Dhamma according to which justice and peace prevailed for prolonged periods in the land for many centuries.

While I have reached a point where I am at ease in my claim to be a citizen of the world, a liberal humanist with multiple identities, emotionally I am still bound to the land of my birth. So my last words do not address the question of my identity. After many years of civil war and political turmoil there has to be a reconciliation that will guarantee peace in the island. An overarching spirit of reconciliation based on an agreed ideology is urgently needed to heal gaping wounds, and this must be embraced by the whole populace.

Constant attacks of dissenting individu- als on public institutions erode robust public debate and cause a decline in the health of democracy. There has to be a vision in politics- how people see themselves as a nation. It is no time to look to the authorities for a solution. As is true in many countries there is a need for leaders to articulate such a vision in the context of reconciliation. But there also has to be an upliftment in the state of public debate. In this context it is heartening to note that public intellectuals have gathered together in the Friday Forum, having reclaimed their identities as citizens, not mere consumers of politics. I also heard that a group of young people representing a cross section of religious, linguistic and ethnic groups have reached out to each other and initiated a partnership to work on progressive issues.

So I would like to end my reflections on a hopeful note that these developments will change the tone of public debate and strengthen the civil institutions that are at present, in a precarious state. It is time that with peace in the land that people stand up as citizens not just consumers, dissenters not bystanders demanding to be heard above the cacophony of adversarial politics. Siri Ranawake Australia