Features
Multitude of contenders and symbols; SL population; an academic let down
On 29 July the Election Commission released a revised list of symbols for parties and independents contesting the presidential election. As noted by the EC: “This updated list is essential for the election process, as symbols play a crucial role in helping voters identify their preferred candidates or parties on the ballot.” Cass supposes RW or his advisors took this statement to heart and selected the gas cylinder as his symbol, sadly him forsaking the familiar, much loved elephant. Their intention was to have people recall gas shortages which RW is supposed to have remedied and with his economic wand made queues disappear. However, from the few comments Cass has read, the gas cylinder has let gas escape – laughing gas this time since people are using their ingenuity to make fun of the choice of symbol.
The choice of the independent contestant is appropriate, ironic and even carries hidden messages. Why apt? He saved us, or so we are made to believe, and mostly true. Long queues both day and night to get a cylinder of gas essential to most for mere existence since food had to be cooked, were eliminated no sooner he became PM and President after Brothers Rajapaksa vamoosed. Ironical too as improvement of the economy which also is adduced to RW, was symbolised by the availability of gas and kerosene for cooking, and petrol for getting about necessary business.
A container of gas is also thought to be explosive plus irrepressible – cannot be contained or its contents held down. Does RW exhibit these qualities? Yes, he shows irritation and has shouted in Parliament. He has exploded once or twice. He is irrepressible in his humour and often takes serious matters jokingly. Most people deride him for this but Cass, admiring subtle Brit humour, approves of RW’s frequently displayed attitude and aptitude for humour.
Cass was sent the Newswire reproduction of the symbol as released by the EC. Her eyes boggled; her mind dazed and body dizzied. There were three lots of 56 symbols in each and an added set of 31 symbols of everything imaginable. Hence a total of 199 symbols, if Cass’ arithmetic worked right. Overpowered, she yet manages to congratulate the EC for getting together such a mass of pictures.
Worse with names of parties created almost overnight like suddenly appearing mushrooms which we as kids took to be toadstools under which tiny gnomes and even fairies hid their miniscule selves. The Sinhala terms for association, free, fair and just, of service, etc – elevated vote catching terms – have been grabbed and included in various convoluted arrangements to make names of parties. Again, Cass is dazed and confused.
Heartening news
“Births decline by 20%, deaths increase by 30% in Sri Lanka” was the headline in 16 August The Island. Both heartening and hope giving, Cassandra pronounces. Deaths – heartening? some would gasp. Cass boldly says yes. The population of this tiny island increases exponentially and then only by a racial group, causing ever widening circles of economic woe. How feed, educate, medically care for, give housing, food, security et al to ever increasing masses? We had a monk – Ven Soma Thera – who was against family planning as he said only the Sinhalese resort to this practice to control the number of children they have while the Muslims reproduce freely. However, if no one practices family control, we would soon have only standing room in this tiny island for starved, uneducated and ill multitudes.
The statistics are consequent to Covid, Prof. Indralal de Silva pronounced at an 15 August policy dialogue, “Shaping the Future Population Dynamics in Sri Lanka” hosted by the Ministry of Finance, Economic Stabilization, and UNFPA Sri Lanka.
Cass adds her bit of knowledge. The pyramid of population strata has to be balanced; meaning the lowest strata i.e. of the young should not be too large nor should the apex be large showing many old who have to be ‘maintained’ by the not so wide middle tier which denotes the working sector of the population. “Population pyramids can be categorised into three types: stationary, expansive or constructive. These types have been identified by the fertility and mortality rates of a country.” Stationary, if the population is constant where births and deaths roughly balance each other. Expansive if the population pyramid shows large numbers or percentages of population in the younger age groups and usually with other age groups smaller in size. Constructive if the bottom tier is narrow showing a decline in population growth. We presume SL is on a better footing than say ten to twenty years ago, so we may be entering the Constructive Category. It definitely is a fact that now most families in Sri Lanka, especially Sinhalese and Tamil, are smaller in number. Rural people have no more than three children max while earlier numbers ran up to ten and beyond.
Academic undefended
Boxed headline in The Island of Tuesday August 20 was disconcerting, puzzling and regretful. “Lankan academic’s resignation over Chomsky quote on PM Modi sparks debate”. Needless to mention: the academic is Prof Sasanka Perera, who was a founding member of the South Asian University in New Delhi, SAARC sponsored. He has resigned his post after 13 years in this university in protest against the treatment meted out to a PhD student he supervised. The black mark against the PhD thesis writer was due to his quoting Noam Chomsky which criticised PM Modi. Reading it, people with sense find it harmless and not damning to Modi, because it is true.
The Island Editor in his characteristic style of commenting, deals succinctly and fully with this issue and titles his editorial: ‘Lajja!’ (Shame) he declares on the S A University authorities who so shortsightedly presented a charge sheet to Prof. Perera and mistreated the student who included the quote from Noam Chomsky, who is listed as “American professor and public intellectual known for his work in linguistics, political activism and social criticism. Sometimes called ‘The Father of Modern Linguistics’, Chomsky is also a major figure in analytic philosophy and one of the founders of the field of cognitive science.”
The Editor also directs his justified accusation of shame on Sri Lanka’s Foreign Service and the country’s High Commissioner in New Delhi since she has failed to support a Sri Lankan academic who to all observers is innocent of any crime and is the victim of too zealous national fervor and loyalty to PM Modi. The thesis could have been edited so the found-to-be-offensive quote was deleted. And where have we ever heard of the supervisor punished for a mistake of his student?
We in this tiny island have plenty of such incidents where prejudice and too blind loyalty caused immense trouble and even death through murder in a few incidents. Richard de Zoysa was taken away from his home and tortured, killed and thrown into deep sea on 18 February 1990, supposedly by zealots of Prez Premadasa for writing a play with the title of an ad for the Prez, asking the questions “Who is he? What is he doing?” or “What has he done?” Also, Lasantha Wickrematunge, founder editor of The Sunday Leader and activist, brutally assassinated on 08 January 2009, believed to be because of investigative articles he wrote on corruption such as the buying of MIG aircraft.
Very minor, almost insignificant, but first hand narrative of when Maitripala Sirisena was Prez. Cass used to write to a certain paper and quoting a video clip, she mentioned the 10 richest political persons in SL. Included was Maitripala Sirisena’s name at position six. Commenting, she said it was surprising to find his name as it was presumed that he was from a poor peasant family and considered incorruptible. (At that time). Soon after the said article appeared, the Editor of that newspaper informed her she was to be discontinued as a columnist by order of the Presidential Secretariat.
Sri Lanka really is a land like no other, when the phrase is taken in its negative sense.