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| Sunday, 24 August 2003 |
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Ministerial meddling Sel lipi by Gotabhaya Swasthi Shree! Thus says his sacred Majesty, the gracious Great King, glorious Chakravarthi, King of the Kings of Maya, Pihiti and Ruhuna, Mahoora of the Vanniala-aeththo and ruler of all lands from Yapapatuna to Sampanthota: It has come to the notice of the Maha Vasala that all is not well in the parangi land of Pahala Yata. It appears that a certain young man, the son of Vi-lissana Taki, the manthri in charge of the angshaya to do with administration, has been punished by the murakaara hevayos for committing an offence with his rathaya. While that would ordinarily be ignored in that land of the arcane rituals of 'dinkum', it seems that Taki had subsequently attempted, repeatedly to remove the punishment from his offspring. He had claimed that he had acted on behalf of his son, not as a scion of his line but as a feudatory of his, when in fact he was not, having lived some 15 gauwas outside the elder Taki's korale. Apparently this was the second time that Taki had got into trouble for intervening on behalf of his son. He had previously, while wanaspathi, been accused of attempting to change the laws of tax levies on the forests to benefit the fruit of his loins. The chakravarthi of Bim Ooras, Havadiya, has betaken himself to the audience hall and has refused to dismiss his manthri for misleading the korales who assemble within it. His opponents say that this is because Havadiya himself had misled his korales on the issue of ethana-ul. They accuse him of helping certain of the distillers of these distilled intoxicating substances at the expense of others. They say that if he dismisses his manthri, he himself would have to abdicate in keeping with the polata yanna (or 'fair go') principle for which the Bim Ooras of Pahala Yata are famed. All this is, of course, a source of puzzlement to the Maha Wasala. Why is there such a uproar, why are the proclamation tom toms beating so loudly in the land of the Jambuck? Here, in this dhammadweepa, it is unheard of for any korale, let alone a manthri of the great palace, to intervene on behalf of any member of his own family, from the closest elder sister to the most distant of cousins. It is unheard of that such an official would speak to the murakaara hewayos in an attempt to save them from the consequences of their actions. Even if this were so, we rarely ever hear the proclamation tom toms giving notice of such deeds. And verily, do we not hear of any punishment for such minor misdemeanours. Meanwhile, it has come to the notice of the Maha Wasala that the former korale and chieftain (or 'Swa-gee') of the Ek Jaathi tribe of Bim Ooras, Pol-ling Hansa-naa, has been sent to prison for three years. It is said that she had committed fraud and had deceived the Bim Ooras at the time of her selection as korale. some of the korales of Pahala Yata are demanding that the sentence be removed, since they believe that korales should not be treated like other criminals. To these sentiments of the lawgivers of that great continent, the Maha Wasala can only add its own voice of assent. It is unheard of in this resplendent isle for korales to be punished for infringing the laws of election. Indeed, they are far more likely, in this land that gives enlightenment to the world, to be rewarded for so doing. Swasthi Shree! This rock edict is made on this day of Ravi of the month of Nikini of the Year of the Saka Era 1930. |
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