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| Sunday, 23 May 2004 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Road to literary acclaim by Rohan Canagasabey
Very rarely does a first novel by a new author receive recognition in the form of a literary prize. But Nihal de Silva's The Road From Elephant Pass has done just that, winning the prestigious Gratiaen Prize for creative writing in 2003. The book was written in the year since de Silva took a back seat in running his family business, after handing the reins over to his sons. This fictional story of a clandestine overland journey of a Sri Lanka Army Captain and an LTTE defector/informant, with vital information that could change the course of the whole war to Sri Lanka's benefit, is set against the time frame of the LTTE's attack on the Elephant Pass garrison and the Jaffna Peninsula in March and April 2000.
The Captain comes across as a mentally and physically strong southerner, but an essentially good-natured man, who was "what I expect an Army officer to be like", de Silva said. When the two characters discuss the ethnic conflict at different times in the book, background information, which would be known to Sri Lankan readers, is also offered, through the thoughts of the Sri Lanka Army Captain. The reason for this, explained Nihal de Silva was that "if the book was sold abroad in the future, it would certainly help the foreign reader to understand the context in which the events take place", as the book is not only about their journey but also Sri Lanka's journey down the road to civil war and its consequences. The narrative through the thoughts and observations of the Sri Lanka Army Captain is also used to describe the flora and fauna as they travel along. On the question of why a significant part of the book concentrates on this aspect, Nihal de Silva said, "Sri Lanka has around 220 migrant and 210 native bird species, which I felt is something that we should be aware of and appreciate, hence my reason for also dwelling on this subject". Whilst reading the book recently, I found that the description of the flora and fauna pleasantly breaks the narrative of their journey and dialog with each other, even though the latter is gripping on its own. Even a reader previously uninterested in birds, may discover a new interest in the varied species of birds described, as I did. As both characters share a common interest in birds, it allows them during the course of their journey to share moments of joy together, as opposed to the occasional heated discussions on issues connected to Black July 1983 and the subsequent war, with each one's harsh experiences through it. This depiction of shared interest, said Nihal de Silva, was to show that, "though we - meaning Sinhalese and Tamils - may have differences and very different experiences, we also have many things in common". The Road from Elephant Pass is not about the ethnic conflict, but is only the backdrop to a story on how two different individuals work together amidst the dangers they face with their common goal of getting to Colombo. And amidst the shared dangers they face in getting past the checkpoints of, initially the LTTE and then Sri Lanka Army and Police, in addition to facing dangers of wild animals and ruthless poachers in Wilpattu, the cold matter-of-fact approach slowly begins to wear off, leading to respect for each other and eventually to friendship. The manner, in which this friendship develops between the Sri Lanka Army Captain and the female LTTEer, is one of the aspects commended by the three judges of the Gratiaen Prize, who were Priya David, Lakshman Gunasekera and Shermal Wijewardne. The Gratiaen Prize judging panel also praised the novel for its narrative, in addition to the theme of reconciliation through shared experiences. Despite a shocking new revelation about his LTTE friend Kamala that awaits the Captain on his arrival in Colombo, he is nevertheless concerned for her immediate and future safety and well-being. This is also true for the ex-LTTEer Kamala. Consequently both of them are forced to grapple with the contradictions between their own opposing convictions, vis-...-vis the ethnic war, if not loyalty as in the case of the defecting LTTEer Kamala, and at the same time being a loyal friend to each other. This plays out well in the concluding part of the book, which does not have the cliche all-round happy ending, but perhaps only to some extent, or maybe not at all, depending on the reader's perspective and point of view. You will need to read this novel, published by Vijitha Yapa, which is, to quote the Gratiaen Prize judges, "... full of suspense and adventure", to find out for yourself. Meanwhile Nihal de Silva has just finished the draft on his next novel, The Far Spent Day, about political violence outside of elections and the reaction to it. It remains to be seen if it will be as gripping a story as The Road From Elephant Pass. ########## Dangers of man's mismanagement of society Descent of man - by L. N. T. Mendis
This slender volume with an index and copious references speaks volumes to those with ears to hear. It tells us what ails the world and man's inability to cope with his problems. Man took 200,000 years to produce the fire he encountered so often in blazing forest fires. He cut and sharpened flints to make weapons to kill animals for food and eliminate enemies. He devised the steam engine and the internal combustion engine to enable fast movement. He harnessed steam to ships. He even invented the flight of birds and created airplanes moving with amazing smoothness through air, earth and water. He created electricity for many missions - telephone, telegraph, teleprinter. He contrived a vast variety of weapons, to kill his enemies with deadly accuracy, winding up with the fission, (Hiroshima), fusion (Hydrogen) and neutron bombs. The latter is the acme of technical perfection - this bomb leaves buildings intact and kills all human beings inside them. A 20 million-megaton blast will dig a crater 600 feet, deep enough to bury a fair sized skyscraper. A scientist has stated that if technology moves so far so fast it can do irreversible damage to the human species. Albert Szent Gyorgii who won the Nobel Prize for discovering Vitamin C calls Man the "Crazy Ape" and says we are helpless "in the face of this terrible strain of idiots who govern the world." Dr. Albert Schweitzer - a doctor of medicine, music and philosophy - he said "Man can hardly recognise the devils of his own creation. He has lost the capacity to foresee and to forestall; he will end by destroying the earth." Man, in his present condition of incapacity to understand his plight cannot conserve drinking water for his fellow beings, find them enough food. Reuter news brief in Mid 1995 has stated. The number of people living in abject poverty is set to rise to 1.5 billion by 2000. . In rural Zambia women walk about 5 hours a day to fetch water. . Some 128 million children, mainly in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, lack primary education and swell 948 million illiterates in the world. . From 1966 to 1996, the number of people living in lands with negative growth rose from 200 million to 1000 million. That is one in five of the world's population were moving backwards. . 358 world billionaires possess more wealth than the combined incomes of countries with nearly half the world's population. These are pointers to Man's mismanagement of society. Where will he end? (From back cover of book) ########## Electoral Politics in Sri Lanka: A study of the Parliamentary General Election of December 2001 Reviewed by A. Sivarajah - Department of Political Science,
University of Peradeniya. Although elections were held in Sri Lanka for the first time in 1931 and in 1936, the systematic analysis of the general elections was attempted only in December 1959 by Dr. I. D. S. Weerawardana after the 1956 general elections, followed by A. J. Wilsons' study on "Electoral Politics in an Emergent State. The Ceylon General Election in May 1970. Prof: Wiswa Waranapala former Professor of Political Science, University of Peradeniya and Deputy Minister of Education and Higher Education who served as chairman of the Public Accounts Committee of the Parliament as well as chairman of the Employees Trust Fund Board has already published ten books on various aspects of Sri Lankan politics. Following the footsteps of both I. D. S. Weerawardene and A. J. Wilson, Wiswa Waranapala has brought out a new and refreshing study on psephelogical studies on Sri Lanka taking into account the instability created by the introduction of proportional representation under the 1978 IInd Republican Constitution. The study of the electoral system in Sri Lanka could be categorized into two periods, namely the pre-1977 and post 1977 periods. The electoral framework that prevailed in Sri Lanka from 1947 to 1977 was based on "first past the post system" or simple majority system. The Second Republican Constitution introduced by the United National Party (UNP) Government in 1978 made significant changes in the system of representation. It introduced a system of proportional representation. According to this system, the Members of Parliament would be elected under a district-based list system and the total number of representatives to Parliament was fixed at 196/36 were allocated to provinces at four each per province. However, the 14th amendment to the constitution and amendments to the Parliamentary Election Act presented in Parliament made certain changes in the above arrangements. Accordingly, 225 members are elected to the Parliament of whom 29 are to be elected in proportion to the votes received by the parties at national level. Although the system of proportional representation (PR) was introduced by the UNP government to overcome the weaknesses of the simple majority system that prevailed in Sri Lanka from 1947 to 1977 the PR has created problems in the electoral system of Sri Lanka: For example since the introduction of the PR in 1978 in Sri Lanka no major party could obtain a majority in Parliament. The only exception was that the United National Party managed to obtain 125 seats in the 1989 general election. In the 1994 general election the People's Alliance (PA) obtained 105 seats and formed a government with the support of the Sri Lankan Muslim Congress which gained 7 seats while the UNP got 94 seats. Similarly in the 2000 general elections the PA obtained 107 and the UNP 89. In the 2000 election the PA formed a government with the support of small parties. However, in the 2001 general election the UNP gained 96 seats and formed a government. Thus, the PR system has produced unstable governments in Sri Lanka or coalition. In addition the preferential vote system under the PR has created severe problems particularly election related violence. This book on Electoral Politics in Sri Lanka by Professor Wiswa Waranapala contains eight chapters, appendices and 21 tables. In Chapter I (prelude) the author has analyzed the events and developments that led to the dissolution of Parliament in October 2001 focusing on the disturbances at Mawanella. According to the author the downfall of the PA government started with the Mawanella disturbances. What is important to note is that the author has analysed these developments without bias. Chapter II is about the National Electorate. This chapter is an invaluable contribution to students, leaders, researchers and ordinary citizens, because it contains statistics on a national electorate profile on the allocation of territorial membership in the 22 districts, existing electoral structure, the number of members that the districts entitled, and the increase in the number of registered voters. Chapter III is on Nominations, Candidates and Parties. Making use of quantitative analysis the author has done an excellent analysis of the 1994 general election of 2001 giving a breakdown of the number of candidates, the number of Political Parties and the Number of Independent Groups. In addition the author has presented the number of political parties that participated in elections from 1947 to 2001. Also a list of Political Parties and Candidates and members of parliament by sex from 1960 to 1977 has been presented. Chapter IV is on the Manifestos of Political Parties. In this chapter the author maintains that "the manifestos of political parties need to be analysed to examine the extent to which they influence the mood of the electorate" and continues to assess political parties. Chapter V is a Detailed Analysis of Campaigns and Issues. In this section too the author presents a list of places where main meetings were held by the PA, and newspapers in circulation. Chapter VI deals with the Conduct of the Poll. In this section too the author has presented number of rejected votes and comes to conclusion that "all arrangements were made for the rules and regulations laid down in the Elections Laws of the Country." Next is a very important section namely Election Violence and the Electoral System. Even though election related violence has been increasing in all South Asian States in general and particularly in Sri Lanka so far no systematic study on this subject has been undertaken. In this study Prof. Wiswa Waranapala's chapter is a most welcome attempt to fill the gap. The author points out that "Both political participation and party competition suffered as a result of the growth of electoral violence which has now become endemic in the Sri Lankan Political System and argues that since it has become a common phenomenon, it needs to be investigated to establish a co-relation between electoral violence and the PR. In fact the author has succeeded in establishing the relationship between the electoral system and the violence in Sri Lanka in this section. After a thorough examination of the proportional system of representatives in Italy, Austria and Belgium, the author maintains that (i) This system of representation would break the link between the MP and his constituents. (ii) As far as preferential votes are concerned the candidates/organizers treats their divisions as sole domains and attempt to prevent other candidates from eating into their own resources which would evidently create animosities, resulting in violence. "After examining many examples of violence in Sri Lanka the author comes to the conclusion that the General Election of December, 2001 can be recognized as the election where both pre-poll and post-election violence reached a level unparalleled in the history of elections in this country.' The last chapter of this book is The Analysis of the Result. Making use of statistical analysis the author has analysed the result of the 2001 general election in a systematic way. In addition he has used quantitative analysis too and warns all concerned people that the "failure to work on the basis of the principle of co-habitation... will make governance much more difficult, resulting in further decline of parliamentary politics in Sri Lanka." In short Prof. Wiswa Waranapala has brought out a new scholarly publication which is very useful to undergraduates, and post graduate students, and researchers as well as interested citizens of this country. Certainly this book will be an valuable addition to students of politics and the libraries of our country. |
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Dialog between these two central characters plays a big part in how the
story and the relationship between them unfolds as they travel from the
Jaffna Peninsula through LTTE territory in the Vanni and then down via the
closed and lawless Wilpattu National Park and eventually to an intended
appointment with Military Intelligence at Colombo. As the female LTTEer,
Kamala Velaithan, is defecting for personal reasons, her commitment to the
separatist cause remains undiminished in theory, and therefore is
diametrically opposed to that of her escort, a Sri Lanka Army Captain
called Wasantha Ratnayake.
