Is a little bit of totalitarianism the need?

With less freedom to get about, my mind began to meander into forbidden mental zones. I was gently reminded of a racy Sinhala song we sang in the village school. It began thus “apeyma jaathiya, Sinhala jaathiya…” (our nation is the Sinhala nation…). Failing memory refused to sing me along to the next line. An old friend, Elmo de Silva, a regular contributor to The Sunday Island, supplied the words of the next line” “nathivena pata pene.” (there are signs of annihilation). But then I knew there were a few more lines. These lines were supplied by a lady, Mrs Kamala Wijewardana, nee Gunawardena, a sister of three Peradeniya University distinguished academics, two of them being Professors of Electrical Engineering and Geography, respectively. The additional lines are “kandath nae, bondath nae, car eka nathuwama yandathe nae” (nothing to eat, nothing to drink, etc).

The Covid-19 vaccination fiasco, despite the good work done by the professional staff, supported by the Army and Police, is a sign of cultural decadence. An old lady relation of 80 related to me how the queue system was derailed by lists sent by politicians, when she went along with her 50-year-old daughter, to the Negombo MC premises. Our people, mostly the young post teenagers, just do not have any respect for the discipline of the queue. I have seen this umpteen number of times at bus queues. The incidence of fatalities, on the roads, is another indicator of laxity of our lotus eater Sinhalayas. While the vaccination programme began successfully, with priority being given to the more vulnerable group of over 60s, the plan was subverted to vaccinate even those over 30, at the same time. Another case of jumping the queue.

A further illustration of how our people could not put their act together was manifested in a Middle Eastern country where I worked. Being fond of our hoppers and stringhoppers, I used to visit the Sri Lankan restaurant, in the town, during weekends.. About a month later, I found the restaurant closed. Then I went to the South Indian Tamil restaurant, which serves only idiyappam. I continued this practice of visiting the Tamil-speaking place till a new Sinhala eating place was opened, under a new management. This restaurant, too, collapsed a few weeks later. Very fortunately for me a Sri Lankan lady had a small eating house, a little far away, where she served only hoppers. This lady continued her catering business smoothly..

It was the late Felix Dias Bandaranaike, Minister in charge of several portfolios, who, in an unguarded moment, said that our country needs a little bit of autocracy. I may be regarded by some of your readers as a nutty case. Incidentally, when I was attached to the Public Services Board of Australia in Canberra, its chairman, hearing of a Sri Lankan studying the ropes of management consultancy, summoned me to his hallowed office and told me, among other things, how he was impressed with the pithy language of our Minister, when they attended the Commonwealth Finance Ministers conference in London.

Almost 80% of our politicians are corrupt, fleecing the tax paying public. Culturally we, mainly the Sinhala nation, are an indolent carefree nation. Now the question on the lips of any lover of democracy is how the autocrats can help the nation that is on the brink of an economic disaster. The US dollar was Rs.4.75 in 1950. Today it is Rs 195. Like having guards to supervise the autocratic guardians, the leaders of the nation, I mean the respected religious leaders, will have to design a method as to how the totalitarian guardians could be kept under control. The blame for the disastrous state of affairs should be imputed to the politicians of the two parties that governed our country, who strike deals with each other in order for them to survive. No action has been taken against the main political culprit on the Central Bank fraud yet. No action has been taken against those politicians responsible for the chaos that took place in Parliament, when Mr Karu Jayasuriya was the Speaker.

KANTO
FERNANDO
Pitipana