Vichara

Now that the NPP has won an absolute majority in the Parliament, there will be reams written on their achievement, particularly on the unique contribution and wise leadership of AKD the President. While endorsing the sentiments expressed so liberally, what is not understood is why this radical change did not come earlier in a country with a literacy rate of 92 % for adults aged 15 and above and a high income inequality where more than half the total household income of the country is enjoyed by the richest 20% while the bottom decile (poorest 20%) gets only 5%, with the share of household income being just 1.6% for the poorest 10%.

https://www.cepa.lk/blog/the-correlation-between-poverty-and-inequality/

The country did not lack the leadership to rectify this situation. It was Robert Knox who said in1680 about the farmer of the country that by reason of his quality and descent is fit to be a King and if the mud was washed off the back of a farmer, he was fit to be a king.” President AKD has proved beyond doubt the veracity of the observation of Knox many centuries back.

The roots of the NPP-led revolution can be traced to the Kannangara Education Reforms, which stressed that Education is not just literacy. It should be important to shape the thinking of the people of a country. The main objective should be to create a free and open-minded people.” The radical recommendation in para 372 is that education should be free from kindergarten to the University. That made education open to every child regardless of income.

Knnangare said in Parliament that Any amount of money spent on education will have a very big return. It will certainly compensate for the loss in the first instance.” (Hansard 1944, pp. 838-860).” Today, we see the return on investment in free education in the nonviolent political revolution by the NPP.

The next step in the ladder of social change was heralded in 1956 when there was a social and cultural revolution all over the country that generated a national outlook. Eminent author Martin Wickremasinghe identified the 1956 Revolution as the fall of the Brahmin regime. That revolution did not survive in any radical form as it lacked a strong political ideology. It crumbled with the assassination of the leader by reactionary forces.

The next socialist coalition governments failed to meet the expectations of the masses due to divisions within the coalition, an adverse international environment, and a combination of political, economic, and social factors. Consequently, a neo-liberal UNP government under JR Jayawardhana with absolute power emerged. The massive majority in the parliament allowed the UNP to dominate Sri Lankan politics and implement sweeping economic and political reforms in the years that followed.

The harsh policies of the JR regime encouraged the JVP to become more active. The Indo-Sri Lanka Accord made them adopt an anti-Indian nationalistic policy. However, the insurgency mounted by the JVP was ruthlessly demolished by the government. The party was banned but later participated in electoral politics with negative results. It was the nadir of socialist politics which could not muster even 3 to 4 % of the national votes. The main reason for this regress was the fear among the population that the JVP believed and nurtured violence which was an anathema to the national culture.

The separatist war sent socialism to the backburner. The war pushed back the country for several decades. India’s former National Security Adviser and Foreign Secretary, Shivshankar Menon had disclosed in his book Choices: Inside the Making of India’s Foreign Policy” that the estimated cost of this three-decade-old war was around US$ 200 billion. This estimate does not include the opportunity cost” to Sri Lanka which was once the fastest growing and the most open economy in South Asia.

The euphoria of the victory over the LTTE created a sense of impunity in the MR regime, which allowed corruption and maladministration to creep in and made socialism irrelevant.

With an ineffective President and neo-liberal Prime minister, the Yahapalana regime too acted with impunity in governance and particularly in the management of the economy. It is the wanton borrowing in ISBs at high rates of interest that finally led to the bankruptcy of the country.

The consequent impact of the dearth of foreign exchange leading to a fuel and power crisis and the insufferable cost of living made the people rise against the government. It engendered the desire and opportunity to change the system of government, which had miserably failed the people. It is in this sordid background that the leadership of the JVP had to choose between Ballot or Bullet. The route of the bullet taken previously by the JVP had been disastrous. in the two JVP insurgencies in 1971 and 1988/89, the country lost over 80,000 youths of the JVP and government supporters, which was the cream of the youth in the country.

This time in 2024, the JVP had a leader in AKD, who believed that the path of violence should be abandoned and the nonviolent path of the ballet must be adopted. He realized that violence begets violence, creating a cycle of violence. It is the concept described in the Gospel of Matthew, verse 26:52. “Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.”

Buddhism went further and believed that Hatred does not cease through hatred at any time. Hatred ceases through love. This is an unalterable law.”

Gandhi took the religious principle of ahimsa, common to Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism, and turned it into a nonviolent tool for mass action. He used it to fight not only colonial rule but also social evils such as racial discrimination and untouchability.

Malcolm X used the mantra Ballot or the Bullet” to galvanize the black community to use political power to achieve civil rights and caution the government of the repercussions of holding back. It was a powerful rallying cry coined by Malcolm X in 1964 to emphasize the urgency of Black Americans securing civil rights and equality”.

There is no doubt that AKD would have to do a lot of convincing with his more militant comrades to agree with his approach. In July 2022, when the Gotabaya left the country and MR resigned and the military was reluctant to intervene, the country was ripe for a revolutionary capture. It would have been AKD’s calm and composed personality and perspicacity that would have made him win their unequivocal consent to take the path of the ballot instead. It is his statesmanly poise and sincerity, which has won the trust of 6.8 million voters of all communities giving him an absolute majority in the Parliament.

The unprecedented victory of the NPP was not accompanied by celebrations and harassment of the defeated parties. There is only a nationwide sense of calm and satisfaction. AKD, as President, has already announced that his government would be all-inclusive and serve all citizens equally. The support he has received from minority communities heralds a unified nation with common objectives.

The President has appointed a cabinet of ministers with both academic and professional distinction. The vilification that they lack experience should not be taken seriously. The efficiency and effectiveness of the LSSP ministers in the coalition regimes, who had no previous experience, prove the inanity of this concern. The AKD cabinet has to face the same economic crisis that brought them to power. It is an enormous challenge. In this task, it is hoped that the government resorts to the widest possible consultation with the citizens of the country which placed their implicit trust in the government. It is suggested that before major policy changes are adopted, ‘white papers’ are published for public discussion. (This is a common practice In the UK)

In the current complex international political milieu and the strategic location of the country there could be hostile developments against the new regime. Therefore it is essential that the security of the President and the regime be accorded very high priority. In the meantime, the President must nurture a successor in his own mould to take his place in the future.

Thank you AKD for your choice of ballot over bullet.

Vichara