Features
The burden of expectations
By Uditha Devapriya
Compared to the excesses of the yahapalana or good governance regime, and the Gotabaya Rajapaksa raj that followed it, the omissions of this government seem trivial and innocent. The NPP is now two months in office, and whether we like it or not, the excitement of those early days is fading away. One can almost see the end of the honeymoon around the corner. The cynics are, of course, growing louder. They are all speaking with one voice – and in one tongue – and they are all saying that the government is doing precious little.
The Speaker of the Parliament must be beyond reproach. He must be like Caesar’s wife, and above suspicion. It does not do for someone constitutionally bound to integrity to lie about his credentials, as his critics allege him, and the government of which he is a part, as having done. Moreover, to me, the doctorate scandal highlights a bigger issue: the obsession that many Sri Lankans, in the public or private sector, have with their qualifications, and the mad rush among many of us to award ourselves honours we either do not have or do not deserve. In this, for better or worse, the Speaker is only too representative of many of his colleagues in parliament, and many of the people he is representing.
Yet once we account for the fact that the NPP/JVP has never been in power before – unless you count the parivasi (probationary) coalition of 2004 – once we acknowledge that the parliament is seeing a plurality of new faces for the first time since 1994, that the old faces have been wiped off from the face of the legislature and a new generation is in charge – once we get around adjusting ourselves to these realities, then we must realise that this too is an elected government, which, like its predecessors, needs to be kept in check.
Much of the criticism of the NPP’s actions, and inactions, come from those who have sinned for far too long to have any semblance of credibility. These are the Ranilists, the Rajapaksists, those who are glad the NPP is in power because that gives them the perfect opportunity to exact revenge on their rivals. The NPP, we must remember, has been in opposition for too long. They have, at every step of the way, pointed out the errors of those in government and the Opposition. When Harsha de Silva questioned the NPP’s ability to lead, Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s response was to band him and Ranil Wickremesinghe together, to liken them to birds of the same feather. Today, however, Dissanayake is President.
If the rise of the populist left hasn’t (yet) united the right, it appears to be doing so. True, the SJB and UNP – or the New Democratic Front (NDF) – don’t seem to be getting together. But some MPs, including certain bigwigs from the SJB, have hinted that they would be open to Ranil Wickremesinghe joining the SJB. These are, to be sure, minority voices. But they can well grow louder if the NPP fails. And the way things stand, the NPP can fail in two ways: it neglects its radical mandate and caves to the right, or it commits the same errors it accused other parties, both in government and Opposition, of doing.
On both counts, the NPP is playing with fire. It has opened itself to misinterpretation and critique, from both the left and right. A good example, perhaps the best one, is the IMF agreement. Now, it is not true that the NPP said at the outset, before it assumed power, that it would exit the IMF. That was never its promise, and to pretend otherwise would be disingenuous. Yet the NPP did give rise to expectations that it would at least talk to the IMF on a possible renegotiation of the terms.
President Dissanayake, to be sure, did stress on the importance of social protection during a meeting with the IMF delegation. Yet the situation has become so complicated that both Sajith Premadasa, the leader of the centre-right Opposition, and Ravi Karunanayake, the former Finance Minister who was at the heart of a financial scandal a decade ago, have questioned the NPP for continuing the reforms of the previous administration. “Don’t signal to the left, and then turn right,” Karunanayake recently advised the NPP.
In this, officials of the Wickremesinghe government have had it both ways – praising the NPP for continuing their reforms, while eviscerating them for their hypocrisy. The People’s Struggle Alliance (PSA) has emerged as the NPP’s critic on the Left, and it too has been vocal in its denunciations. Perhaps the biggest takeaway from all this is that no party can escape the allure of parliamentarianism. As a friend of mine put it, in Sri Lanka it is impossible to do politics without accounting for the vote. And as far as the NPP is concerned, even if they have not entered coalitions with other parties, they have come to power on the strength of the broadest electoral alliance in Sri Lanka’s post-independence history: an eclectic mixture of different, often divergent, class interests.
It is, of course, ironic for a party that called both the UNP and SLFP bourgeois formations in the 1970s – without appreciating the fundamental differences between the two – to cave into the same bourgeois democratic structures it sought to transcend. But this would be a gross misinterpretation of the NPP’s or rather JVP’s history. The JVP did make attempts to re-enter the democratic mainstream – prominently in 1982. But, for close to a decade in the 1980s and early 1990s, it toyed with the idea of going beyond that framework, provoked by the most right-wing authoritarian government Sri Lanka ever elected. Since 1994, it has been trying to course-correct and have it both ways – regain credibility among the masses without going down the route of coalitions and alliances with other formations.
None of this absolves the NPP. It is difficult to defend a government when it falls headlong into one scandal after another. The NPP’s leading faces have all grown silent. Perhaps they have no other choice – they have come to power on the most radical political agenda Sri Lanka has seen since 1970. Does that justify its recent failures, prominently the issue of the Speaker of Parliament? Probably not. As its critics and rivals get together to trip it at every corner, the NPP must realise that it cannot shield itself from censure for long. It must either respond to criticism – as it did, even if half-heartedly, with its statement on the PTA – or it must take decisive action – as it has so far failed to, with the Speaker. The NPP must realise it is no longer in Opposition. It must stop pretending that it is.
Uditha Devapriya is a regular commentator on history, art and culture, politics, and foreign policy who can be reached at udakdev1@gmail.com.
The most urgent need for the South Asian region right now, in the wake of the cold-blooded killing by gunmen of nearly 30 local tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir two days back, is the initiation of measures that could ensure regional stability and peace. The state actors that matter most in this situation are India and Pakistan and it would be in the best interests of the region for both countries to stringently refrain from succumbing to knee-jerk reactions in the face of any perceived provocations arising from the bloodshed.
The consequences for the countries concerned and the region could be grave if the terror incident leads to stepped-up friction and hostility between India and Pakistan. Some hardline elements in India, for instance, are on record in the international media as calling on the Indian state to initiate tough military action against Pakistan for the Kashmiri terror in question and a positive response to such urgings could even lead to a new India-Pakistan war.
Those wishing South Asia well are likely to advocate maximum restraint by both states and call for negotiations by them to avert any military stand-offs and conflicts that could prove counter-productive for all quarters concerned. This columnist lends his pen to such advocacy.
Right now in Sri Lanka, nationalistic elements in the country’s South in particular are splitting hairs over an MoU relating to security cooperation Sri Lanka has signed with India. Essentially, the main line of speculation among these sections is that Sri Lanka is coming under the suzerainty of India, so to speak, in the security sphere and would be under its dictates in the handling of its security interests. In the process, these nationalistic sections are giving fresh life to the deep-seated anti-India phobia among sections of the Sri Lankan public. The eventual result will be heightened, irrational hostility towards India among vulnerable, unenlightened Sri Lankans.
Nothing new will be said if the point is made that such irrational fears with respect to India are particularly marked among India’s smaller neighbouring states and their publics. Needless to say, collective fears of this kind only lead to perpetually strained relations between India and her neighbours, resulting in regional disunity, which, of course would not be in South Asia’s best interests.
SAARC is seen as ‘dead’ by some sections in South Asia and its present dysfunctional nature seems to give credence to this belief. Continued friction between India and Pakistan is seen as playing a major role in such inner paralysis and this is, no doubt, the main causative factor in SARRC’s current seeming ineffectiveness.
However, the widespread anti-India phobia referred to needs to be factored in as playing a role in SAARC’s lack of dynamism and ‘life’ as well. If democratic governments go some distance in exorcising such anti-Indianism from their people’s psyches, some progress could be made in restoring SAARC to ‘life’ and the latter could then play a constructive role in defusing India-Pakistan tensions.
It does not follow that if SAARC was ‘alive and well’, security related incidents of the kind that were witnessed in India-administered Kashmir recently would not occur. This is far from being the case, but if SAARC was fully operational, the states concerned would be in possession of the means and channels of resolving the issues that flow from such crises with greater amicability and mutual accommodation.
Accordingly, the South Asian Eight would be acting in their interests by seeking to restore SAARC back to ‘life’. An essential task in this process is the elimination of mutual fear and suspicion among the Eight and the states concerned need to do all that they could to eliminate any fixations and phobias that the countries have in relation to each other.
It does not follow from the foregoing that the SAARC Eight should not broad base their relations and pull back from fostering beneficial ties with extra-regional countries and groupings that have a bearing on their best interests. On the contrary, each SAARC country’s ties need to be wide-ranging and based on the principle that each such state would be a friend to all countries and an enemy of none as long as the latter are well-meaning.
The foregoing sharp focus on SAARC and its fortunes is necessitated by the consideration that the developmental issues in particular facing the region are best resolved by the region itself on the basis of its multiple material and intellectual resources. The grouping should not only be revived but a revisit should also be made to its past programs; particularly those which related to intra-regional conflict resolution. Thus, talking to each other under a new visionary commitment to SAARC collective wellbeing is crucially needed.
On the question of ties with India, it should be perceived by the latter’s smaller neighbours that there is no getting away from the need to foster increasingly closer relations with India, today a number one global power.
This should not amount to these smaller neighbours surrendering their rights and sovereignty to India. Far from it. On the contrary these smaller states should seek to craft mutually beneficial ties with India. It is a question of these small states following a truly Non-aligned foreign policy and using their best diplomatic and political skills to structure their ties with India in a way that would be mutually beneficial. It is up to these neighbours to cultivate the skills needed to meet these major challenges.
Going ahead, it will be in South Asia’s best interests to get SAARC back on its feet once again. If this aim is pursued with visionary zeal and if SAARC amity is sealed once and for all intra-regional friction and enmities could be put to rest. What smaller states should avoid scrupulously is the pitting of extra-regional powers against India and Pakistan in their squabbles with either of the latter. This practice has been pivotal in bringing strife and contention into South Asia and in dividing the region against itself.
Accordingly, the principal challenge facing South Asia is to be imbued once again with the SAARC spirit. The latter spirit’s healing powers need to be made real and enduring. Thus will we have a region truly united in brotherhood and peace.
The British School in Colombo celebrated the 2025 Sinhala and Tamil New Year with the traditional rites and rituals and customs unique to the island nation, during a special Avurudu Assembly held at the school premises.
Students from all over the world, who are part of The British School in Colombo, gathered to celebrate this joyous event.
The special assembly featured traditional song and dance items from talented performers of both the Junior and Senior Schools.
On this particular day, the teachers and students were invited to attend school in Sri Lankan national costume and, among the traditional rituals celebrated, was the boiling of the milk and the tradition of Ganu-Denu.
Boiling of
the milk
In the meanwhile, a group of swimmers from Lyceum International School, Wattala, visited Australia to participate in the Global-ISE International Swimming Training Programme in Melbourne.
Over the course of 10 days, the swimmers followed an advanced training schedule and attended sessions at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre (MSAC), Victoria’s Nunawading Swimming Club, and Camberwell Grammar School.
In addition to their training, the group also explored Melbourne, with visits to key landmarks, such as the Parliament House and the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), along with city tours and cultural experiences.
Traditional dance item
Tug-of-war contest
On arrival in Melbourne, Lyceum International School, Wattala, with Sri Lankan officials
Got a few more beauty tips to give you … for a perfect complexion, or, let’s say, a healthy skin.
* Honey Face Mask:
Take a tablespoon of raw honey and then warm it up by rubbing it with your fingertips. Apply the warm honey all over your face. Let this natural mask stand for about 10 minutes and then wash it off gently with warm water.
* Coconut Milk Face Mask:
You need to squeeze coconut milk out of a grated raw coconut and apply this milk all over your face, including your lips.
(This will help you gain a glowing skin. It is one of the best natural tips for skin care)
* Orange, Lemon, and Yoghurt Moisturiser:
To prepare this moisturiser, you need a tablespoon of orange juice, a tablespoon of lemon juice and a cup of plain yoghurt.
Mix them together and apply the paste all over your face, leaving it as a mask for 10 to 15 minutes. Next, take a damp handkerchief and use it to clean your face.
(This moisturiser brightens the complexion of your skin)
* Cucumber and Lemon:
Apply equal parts of cucumber and lemon juice on your face before taking a bath. Allow it to sit for 10 minutes before rinsing it off. This natural face beauty tip will brighten your skin tone and lighten blemishes if used on a regular basis. The best aspect is that it is appropriate for all skin types!
* Healthy Diet:
Aside from the effective home remedies, there are certain other factors to consider for skin care – and the first of them is your diet. Without the right nutrients, your skin cannot reverse the damage it suffers every day.
Eat fruits that are high in vitamin C because they contain antioxidants.
Adjust your diet to get the right amount of protein and unsaturated fats, as well as fresh green vegetables. All of this provides the right amount of nutrients so your skin can heal and improve itself naturally.
* Sun Protection and Care:
Another thing to keep in mind is not to step out of your home without sunscreen, especially with this awful heat we are experiencing at the moment. The hard rays of the sun can do you more damage than you could ever imagine.
By the way, you can prepare your own sunscreen lotion with glycerin, cucumber juice and rose water. You can also keep this lotion in the fridge.
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