Features

Turning points and dead-ends

Published

4 years ago

2021/11/21

by Uditha Devapriya

After more than a year of holding back, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya has finally showed the government the proverbial finger. This is the biggest mass rally a political party has held in a long time. That it evokes memories of the February 2015 rally in Nugegoda only underlies its significance. At a time of deep political and social crisis, such movements can only bring to the streets a sweeping tide of discontent. Sceptical comments by Colombo’s upper classes and left-liberal blocs aside, that tide can’t be stopped or held back.

It is hence up to the SJB, with other Opposition parties, to seize the momentum. Whether or not it will do this depends on how far it can revisit and challenge old ideas, adapt to the new normal, and engage with groups hit hardest by the pandemic.

In characteristic élan and aplomb, Dayan Jayatilleka calls the SJB’s rally “the turning point”, presumably of the government’s disastrous post-2019 downward spiral. The timing couldn’t have been more symbolic. This week marks not just the SLPP regime’s second anniversary, but Mahinda Rajapaksa’s 76th birthday as well as the seventh anniversary of Maithripala Sirisena’s walk-out from his second government. These do not bode well for an administration that came to power on a sweeping mandate and, at least on paper, still enjoys a two-thirds majority in parliament. It remains to be seen which way the wind will blow in the event of a local government election, but the writing is already on the wall: there’s dissent and despair smudged all over. Obviously, the government can’t be complacent forever.

What is significant is that it is the social groups and classes which the Rajapaksas counted among their strongest supporters who have turned the other way. The fertiliser imbroglio is a deeply divisive issue, and in the absence of scientific evidence it is difficult to comment on whether shifting from chemical varieties (inorganics) was a good idea. While environmentalists call it the most progressive decision the SLPP has ever made, agricultural experts are clearly opposed. We are yet to see debates between activists and agriculturalists (though the latter have had their say), but we are seeing protests by farmers, almost everywhere. Indeed, none less than Wimal Weerawansa, hardly the sort of politico you’d expect to make an incendiary statement about the government, has come out against its fertiliser policy, urging it to reconsider its decision.

It is against such a backdrop that Dayan Jayatilleka has cautioned the SJB against adopting a resistance strategy that places emphasis on urban elements over peasant interests. This is something no political analyst here has advocated, and it says a lot about liberal critics of the regime that while they fault the Opposition for not doing enough, they are quiet about what the SJB, or for that matter the JVP, must do. Dr Dayan, on the other hand, has more or less outlined tactics and strategies based on winning back electorates which a) the SLPP and the SLFP used to court, but have alienated and b) the UNP, the SJB’s parent party, alienated for a quarter-century. In other words, his argument is two-fold: get such groups on the SJB’s side, and ensure the SJB reworks its ideas and escapes its UNP past.

By all accounts, Dr Dayan’s strategy is well thought-out, even productive. No one has seriously considered the peasantry until now. This is because while the urban middle-class has figured in party manifestos, the subaltern classes – what Partha Chatterjee once called the “dangerous classes” – have remained, at best, a set of fringe groups whose relevance to mainstream political outfits crops up only during elections. The upper and middle classes, on the other hand, are more sensitive interests, whose choices determine not just the course but also the destiny of political parties and organisations. This is the same middle-class that the SLPP tapped into, and won in the hundreds of thousands, two years ago.

In the face of deteriorating economic conditions, an increasingly proletarianised middle-class is now defecting from the SLPP government. At the same time, the pauperization of the peasantry has brought farmers into the streets. While the regime has in no small part given the impression of kowtowing to big business interests, be it blue-chip companies or rice mafias and intermediate traders, the dangerous classes have banded together. That the middle-class, itself known for its hostility to radical action, has joined protesting academics, trade unions, and hungry farmers, certainly says much about the times we are in.

However, I personally believe that the radicalisation of the middle-class can go both ways. Traditionally, the UNP has always been the party of the well-to-do, the rich, the haves, the privileged, and the elite. Its programmes have appealed to Colombo’s bourgeoisie, which it lost to the Rajapaksas because of sheer incompetence. This is hardly a problem endemic to the UNP, but it is one endemic to the UNP of Ranil Wickremesinghe, and of those Third Way Centrists who, under yahapalanaya, attempted to sweeten its neoliberal heritage by shifting its ideological commitment from free market to “social market” economics.

The SJB is trying its best, through the intervention of the likes of bright, sharp, intelligent MPs like Imthiaz Bakeer Markar, to escape this past. Yet there is a section within the SJB that believes in the ideas of the past, as well as the ideology of the UNP. Radicalised though they may be, the middle-classes remain beholden to these ideas. That is what explains their confused responses to price controls: while decrying those controls, they went back on their opposition to State measures once the government chose to let go.

In other words, to recall a point I made a few weeks ago, these groups will remain radicalised and ripe for revolution only insofar as their aspirations are being threatened by the State. Recovery will kick in sooner than later, and in the event that it does, we will see sections of these milieus reverting to their old ideas: namely, the ideas of the UNP, the same ideas that have at least cosmetically been discarded by the SJB.

The dangers of being a captive of these interests should not be lost on any movement trying to dominate the resistance. To be fair, it’s not just the SJB that should be wary of such a prospect: given its past record of flirting with Colombo’s liberal intelligentsia, even the JVP has to be cautioned. Dayan Jayatilleka’s strictures against the liberal intelligentsia, that it should discard its perspectives and attitudes, may go unheeded by the intelligentsia itself, but it should not go unnoticed or unheeded by oppositional parties that think they can milk political mileage by being fellow travellers of Colombo’s civil society circuits.

I am not aware of any other analyst who has raised these points. That is why Dr Dayan’s interventions, even if one does not agree with them, are useful guides for the Opposition. More specifically, that is why his cautioning against relying on urban elements over peasant groups must be listened to, heeded to, and adhered to.

In my view, then, there are three challenges the SJB must meet if it is to seize the mood of the moment and carry forward the momentum of last week’s rally. Firstly, it has to extricate itself out of the UNP. The SJB may have officially renounced its links to the grand old party by contesting separately, but when you see its MPs not just regurgitating the ideas of that party but conjecturing whether Ranil Wickremesinghe will strengthen its hands, you tend to wonder whose ideology it is promoting: its own, or its ex-parent party’s.

Secondly, the SJB has to resolve all internal differences. Most of these differences are to do with what it must do with the UNP, but some are more personal: I am of course referring to Champika Ranawaka’s decision to organise his own troupe, the 43 Senankaya. One can very validly ask whether these troupes are part and parcel of the SJB or whether they are “a band apart.” Mr Ranawaka appeals to a suburban Sinhala middle-class, and it is likely that he can pose a formidable challenge to Sajith Premadasa’s electoral prospects.

The issue, then, is whether he will contest on his own or whether he will be with and work for the SJB. That he chose to participate at last week’s rally does show that, far from trying to sabotage the party as some of his critics claim, he is being part of it. This is, at least from Mr Premadasa’s standpoint, to be welcomed. After all, if the experience of the 1980s shows anything, it’s that a divided Opposition will always be an ineffective one.

Thirdly, and critically, it must decide whose interests it wants to privilege from within the multi-class resistance bloc it has been bequeathed courtesy of the government’s policies. The SJB, for all intents and purposes, is still seen as an offshoot of the UNP, even if in 2020 supporters voted for it and departed from the UNP en masse. How soon it can escape being demarcated as part of the “same old” will depend on how fast it can aim at and target class interests and formations which are suffering the most under the pandemic.

In my opinion, it is the SJB’s inability to focus on these class elements that has kept and is keeping it back from dominating the discussion. By failing to focus on its priorities and not heeding the call of the hour, the SJB runs the risk of ramming into a dead-end. It must hence turn away and search inward, strategising no less than a way out of the past.

The writer can be reached at udakdev1@gmail.com

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Features

Thunberg deported; various frauds; two women

Published

20 hours ago

2025/06/13

Thilina Walpola

Iranganie Serasinghe

Richard Gere, known to be a meditator and friend of the Dalai Lama, stunned the Hollywood audience that gathered to see him receive a lifetime achievement award recently. He began his address with the usual platitudes and then switched to the country that he said was in a mess. He blamed the US voters who brought Donald Trump in as Prez. And then he called Trump ‘bully and thug’. They are strong words, repeated to make sure his opinion got through.

Another actor, Alec Baldwin, donned an orange hair wig and acted in skits of Trump in the Oval Office and while electioneering. Hilarious and yet of import as it displays the extent to which Trump is derided and openly abused in his own country. Tweets came streaming in from Trump that the actors are old, spent forces, etc. But the public heard and saw the opinion of two very popular and respected actors.

To Cassandra, the disgraceful display of feuding between Elon Musk and Donald Trump made public on X, is the best thing that could have happened to America and the world at large. They are both acting child-like (an insult to children to class these two with them) while displaying their ignorance except about money. The latest as Cass pens this is that Musk has apologised for some of the tweets he sent maligning Trump.

Pro-Palestinian Activists pushed out of Israel

Conveying a symbolic amount of emergency supplies, pro-Palestinian activists from France, Sweden, Brazil. Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Turkey, calling themselves the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, sailed to Israel in their barge the Madleen to protest against what Israel is doing to the few people left in Gaza – shelling them day and night and determined to chase them all out of the Strip. But the protestors’ visit was short; they were not allowed to dock or land, rather was the aid boat seized by Israeli forces in the Mediterranean on Monday. Thunberg and twelve others were deported from Tel Aviv to Ben Gurion airport to France, the following day. However, six French activists refused to sign their deportation orders and would be brought before an Israeli judicial authority and probably transferred to Ramle Prison, near Tel Aviv.

Such a brave onslaught on Israel in person should be highly acclaimed. Protests occur all over the world, but Netanyahu and the Israel Armey Commander seem not to take notice. As long as the US under Trump supports Israel, the Palestinian bid for freedom to occupy their land in Gaza

Local shark caught in the corruption net

Bureaucrats are being netted in; not only politicians. We have seen the highest in the prison’s department remanded. True, it may not be he who released a prisoner surreptitiously when on the last Vesak Poya, prisoners were pardoned and released. But he signed the papers and so is ultimately responsible.

A member of a former ruling family has been questioned on how come he claimed damages for the destruction of a house of his by the Aragalaya thugs. The question is how a non est house, maybe one dreamed up, came to be claimed as one gutted. The money, of course in millions, seems to have been paid to this elder Rajapaksa brother. Now, he is being questioned and one firmly hopes the money received by the foulest means will be paid back to the country’s till. Cass for one is shocked beyond words and belief at the lies and dastardly subterfuges thought up by these self-seeking minds, and the greed for more and more lucre. The immunity they conferred on themselves being a family that could not be touched by the arm of law and thus the carte blanche they enjoyed to do as they pleased AND with the nation’s money, seems to be ended. It looks to be.

Two local women: one celebrated, the other mourned

Iranganie Meedeniya Serasinghe

, well beloved by all Sri Lankans, celebrated her 98 birthday recently. We wish her very well and hope she can go through the rest of her life with minimum pain and illness. One fact that can be said about her is that she gained in facial beauty as she aged.

She is considered an iconic artiste who was a pioneering figure in theatre, the local silver screen and small screen. She did not just take to acting, she imbibed the art and craft of it at the well-known (probably the world’s best) Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London. She also studied at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School under the mentorship of Prof EFC Ludowyk, a founder of Sri Lankan theatre.

My brother hired her ex-Ayah to look after his son, so this dame was ever fond of regaling us with stories of her beloved Chandi Appo (the child Iranganie). She was born in the Meedeniya Walauwa very close to Yatiyantota and schooled at Bishop’s College, Colombo, and for her ALs at Girls’ High School, Kandy. This exam was known as the Higher School Certificate Exam (HSC) – entrance exam to the University of Colombo or Peradeniya. It was actually at KHS that she went into theatre acting. Well remembered by Cass as a younger student is Mrs de Mel producing Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion, forerunner to My Fair Lady. Producing and staging Pygmalion was certainly a hazardous task, but probably intrepid Mrs de Mel thought she had a star player to tackle the role of Professor Higgins. Iranganie was him and Rani Perera was Eliza Doolittle, fluently speaking Cockney and then metamorphosing to a near princess.

Iranganie was first in theatre but then, as good fortune would have it, Lester James Peries scripted and directed Rekawa (Line of Destiny) in 1956. It was the first Sinhala film fully shot in Ceylon and outdoors, eliminating any Indian influence. Iranganie played a major role while Winston Serasinghe too was in it. Willie Blake was cinematographer. Entered in 1957 to the Cannes Film Festival, it was included in the main competition and was nominated for the Palme d’Or; honour enough and is still the only Sinhala film honoured thus far.

Iranganie outsmarted traditional conventions, especially Kandyan radala conservatism, by going into films. Remembered best by Cass is her role in Yashorawaya where she played self-sacrificing mother to Richard de Zoysa.

She also founded Ruk Rekaganno, and went about trying to prevent the wanton cutting down of trees. Cass’ second brother was in the movement. Once on a journey out of Colombo. Iranganie had wanted a cup of tea. Only wayside tea kiosks were available. All four were willing to patronise one of them. The boutique keeper was nonchalant and even wary of these city types until his wife recognised Iranganie. “Aney appé,” she shouted and out came levariya and tea in cups and saucers!

Malini Pethiyagoda Kulatunge

passed away in Australia a couple of days ago. Mention is made here since she was the first woman to pass the newly instituted CAS examination for recruitment of Ceylon Administrative Services officers which replaced the Ceylon Civil Service, started by the British under their colonial rule. This first exam was in 1971. Malini, too, had her education at Girls’ High School from where she entered the University of Peradeniya. Malini, sister of Dr Upatissa Pethiyagoda, migrated soon after to Australia with her young family.

What have we to look forward to next week? A Colombo Municipal Council formed, with hopefully Vraie Cally Balthazaar, graduate, researcher, entrepreneur and media professional of the bright sparkling face, as Mayor?

At least we hear fumigation going on. We also hope mosquito breeding places are being eliminated. Fast spreading dread diseases have to be stalled. It’s the duty of the local councils of the country, and if extra care is taken, we could live safe and healthy.

Features

As Prof. Arjuna De Silva turns 60 …

Published

20 hours ago

2025/06/13

Thilina Walpola

Prof. De Silva

I first met Professor Arjuna de Silva as his patient. I was immediately impressed by this consultant physician, especially by his considerable knowledge, remarkable efficiency and commitment. I also remember thinking that he was a bit arrogant, even bordering on the rude. He was just being matter-of-fact, strictly focused on diagnosis, prognosis and prescription. In the 25 years that have passed since then, I have had ample reason to conclude that behind the confident and sometimes stern exterior that I first encountered, there was a sensitive, intelligent, and scrupulously honest friend just waiting to be discovered.

Over the years this no-nonsense physician, affectionately known as Prof. Arjuna, became one of my closest and dearest friends. His selfless service to our circle, especially his steadfast care for our parents, is nothing short of heroic. The dedication with which he looked after my own parents, particularly my late father, speaks volumes about his loyalty and kindness. In fact, if there was an Olympic medal for “Friendship and Care,” Arjuna would be standing proudly on the podium, gold medal and a bouquet of roses, probably delivering an acceptance speech explaining why he deserves it more than anyone else!

We became firm friends and eventually our brotherhood would include a third, Johann Wijesinghe. The three of us shared a bond tested in the toughest of times. When Johann fell seriously ill, Arjuna stepped up not just as a friend but as a guiding light. Emotionally shaken though he was, Arjuna managed to steer Johann and his wife Kalpana through complex medical treatments while keeping the rest of us, who were understandably anxious, calm and hopeful. Watching him juggle this immense responsibility without panicking was nothing short of inspiring. It was only when Johann passed away that I was able to see him with his guard down; I had never seen Arjuna so deeply shaken before.

His sobriety in his professional life was quite in contrast to how he was when he put aside his ‘doctoring.’ It is no exaggeration to say that I have never met any medical professional who parties like Arjuna does. Arjuna and his wife Thulani are the ultimate hosts; they are supreme when it comes to hospitality and entertainment. Arjuna loves company and celebrations so much that I often joke that if there is a lot of light and music Arjuna would be there or should be. He wouldn’t miss these things if he could help it.

An Oxford-qualified professor, Arjuna’s achievements are nothing short of extraordinary. His contributions to sports, both specific disciplines and the broader sporting community, cannot be matched by any doctor I know. A proud Thomian, he embodies grit, determination, and just the right touch of flair that has earned him the affectionate nickname “Dr. Shahrukh Khan.” And yes, he encourages it with that charming smile and a mischievous wink.

Arjuna isn’t one to wear his emotions on his sleeve, but as a very close friend, I can vouch for his sensitivity and sometimes even a need for attention. Those close to him know he has his weaknesses, for example his legendary reluctance to forgive easily. Arjuna remembers both the good and the bad. For all this, he is the first person many would call in a medical emergency, knowing he will be there without hesitation. I will never forget how he visited my father almost every single day when he became critically ill.

Above all, Arjuna is a proud and loyal Sri Lankan, a true patriot in every sense.

My dear friend Arjuna knows how sorry I am that I cannot be with him tonight as he celebrates the milestone of reaching 60. However, as we have joked and agreed, his party would be better without me for I share his weakness to be unforgiving at times. He will have a blast, nevertheless, for Arjuna is irrepressible. He will take note and smile when I wish him a wonderful time. It will be a blast, as always and Arjuna will enjoy every moment and raise a cheer with those present with a nod to those who, like me, are not there, to many more years of friendship, laughter, and unforgettable memories!

Happy 60th, Prof. Arjuna!

by Krishantha Prasad Cooray ✍️

Features

They came, they won, they returned to Jaffna isles

Published

20 hours ago

2025/06/13

Thilina Walpola

J/Thambaddy GTMV Children swimming in the village pond

This is about the children of Kytes Island J/Thambaddy Government Tamil Mixed Vidyalayam and J/Delft Maha Vidyalayam in the northernmost inhabited island of Sri Lanka. They travelled to Colombo and won in the China-Sri Lanka Friendship Cup Dragon Boat Regatta Junior (Under 18) section held in the Diyawannawa lake last week.

Delft Maha Vidyalam commenced on 17 January 1946, as one of the first Maha Vidyalayam established by the Father of Free Education, Dr C. W. W. Kannagara, then Education Minister. Declared open by Sir John Kotelawala with five teachers and 23 students; the school has classes from Grade 1 to Grade 13 today. There are 179 students (117 boys and 62 girls), 20 teachers (10 males and 10 females). This is the northernmost Maha Vidyalayam in Sri Lanka. A ferry voyage from the Jaffna mainland to Delft takes about one and a half hours.

Thambaddy Government Tamil Mixed Vidyalayam is on Kytes island. It has 179 students in classes from Grade 1 to Grade 11, and 19 teachers. It has produced excellent swimmers who won 18 medals in the last Provincial Swimming meet, even though they do not have a swimming pool. They practise in a village pond!

: J/ Thambaddy Government Tamil Mixed Vidyalayam

: Girls category competition

Boys Junior Dragon boat event was won by J/Thambaddy GTMV team consisting of twelve paddlers who pulled their boat in unison with much vigour and morale. They were followed closely by another team from Jaffna Islands (Delft) J/Delft Maha Vidyalayam. During the last stages of the race, there was a close competition between these two teams. The results were as follows:

1. Gold medal – Thambaddy GTMV, Kytes Island, Jaffna

2. Silver medal- Delft Maha Vidyalayam, Delft Island, Jaffna

3. Bronze medal- D S Senanayake College, Colombo

4. St Patrick’s College, Jaffna

5. Wesley College, Colombo

6. Gateway International College, Colombo

7. Wesley College, Colombo, (team 2)

This great achievement by Jaffna Island schools was due to unstinted support and guidance they receive from the Sri Lanka Navy, especially Secretary of the Canoeing and Kayaking Association of Sri Lanka, Captain (SBS) Chaminda Wijesiri, an injured war veteran. This potential international level talent was spotted by him when the Canoeing and Kayaking Association held the National Canoeing and Kayaking Regatta six months ago in the Jaffna lagoon adjacent to the picturesque Jaffna Dutch Fort.

The Chinese Embassy of Sri Lanka and Sports and the Youth Affairs Ministry jointly organised the Regatta at Diyawannawa lake, which was to be held near the Port City. It had to be shifted to the Diyawanna Lake due to rough seas. The Army and Navy Commanders and Director General Sports (Retired senior Naval officer Rear Admiral Shermal Fernando) helped transport the Jaffna teams to Colombo.

Winners with Preethi Perera the former President of the Canoeing and Kayaking Association

The teams were provided with accommodation at the Sports Hostel, Colombo, and the Youth Council Hostel, Maharagama free of charge, and Rear Admiral Shermal Fernando took care of their meals.

Girls from these two Jaffna islands also performed extremely well. They lost to Vishaka College Colombo team, but secured Silver and Bronze medals. The final results of Girls category were as follows:

Gold medal- Vishaka College Colombo.

Silver medal- J/ Thambaddy GTMV, Kytes Island, Jaffna .

Bronze medal- J/ Delft Maha Vidyalayam, Delft Island, Jaffna.

WP/ Jaya/ Janadipathi Balika Vidyalaya, Nawala.

Five fully equipped Dragon Boats donated by China were handed over by Chinese Ambassador in Colombo Qi Zhenhong to the Canoeing and Kayaking Association. Chairman of Canoeing and Kayaking Association, Rear Admiral (SSD) HNS Perera has already decided to keep two boats in Jaffna for the use of the northern children.

Winners with Rear Admiral Damien Fernando (Chief of Staff of Navy) and Captain (SBS) Chaminda Wijesiri

Our next step is to train combined Jaffna schools teams (both girls and boys) to take part in the world famous Snake Boat Race in Backwaters of Kerala, India scheduled to be held in September this year. Bravo to these children! Mother Theresa once said, “We can’t do great things – but we can do small things with great love”. Keep paddling children!

(The writer is Former Navy Commander and Former Chief of Defence Staff, Former Chairman, Trincomalee Petroleum Terminals Ltd., Former Managing Director Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, and Former High Commissioner to Pakistan.)

by Admiral Ravindra C Wijegunaratne ✍️
WV, RWP and Bar, RSP, VSV, USP, NI (M) (Pakistan), ndc, psn, Bsc
(Hons) (War Studies) (Karachi) MPhil (Madras)