Academics turned politicos must think before they write
As a former Fulbright scholar, I read with interest Ramya Jirasinghe’s article that appeared in the Sunday Times of July 29, 2012.I then read with dismay Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha’s inaccurate reference to Ramya Jirasinghe as “an employee of the US government”, “a staffer” and the like in his latest diatribe in the Daily Mirror of August 8.
Had Mr. Wijesinha read the credit-line that appeared in the Sunday Times as closely as he seems to have for his narrow purposes the article itself, he would not have made this significant error. It was clear that she works for and at the bi-national US-Sri Lanka Fulbright Commission.A cursory glance at the Fulbright Commission website would reveal that the Commission has been functioning in Sri Lanka for the past 60 years and governed by a board comprising equal numbers of Sri Lankan and US government officers and citizens as it members, with neither government having veto power. The programme is funded by both governments with the aim of providing academic opportunities for Sri Lankan and US citizens.
To date, more than 1,030 US and Sri Lankan academics (mainly Sri Lankan university cadre, completing their Master’s and postdoctoral research that is required for tenure positions) have got the opportunity to study and research each other’s countries.Wijesinha’s error makes us lesser mortals wonder whether our professorial academics turned politicians are unable to read with comprehension though they be literate.Attention to detail, we are told by our university teachers, is the hallmark of a responsible academic. Perhaps those academics turned (appointed not elected) politicians are not concerned with time-honoured values that true academics uphold.
I wish to share a passing thought with the academic community in general. Should not we demand from politicians who, at the end of the day, are accountable to us citizens, that they think before they write vituperative and inaccurate stuff that they frequently do? Comment may well be free, but are not facts any longer sacred?
Kurunegala