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| Sunday, 12 December 2004 |
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Editor, Sunday Observer. E-mail: [email protected] Snail mail : Sunday Observer, 35, D.R.Wijewardana Mawatha, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Telephone : 94 11 2429239 / 2331181 Fax : 94 11 2429230 Unity in diversity Speaking at the BMICH a week ago India's Petroleum and Panchayati Raj Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar said that the uniqueness of South Asia consists in combining antiquity and continuity with heterogeneity. He said:" There is no other civilization in the world which possesses diversity as the basis of unity. Everywhere else, there had been an attempt to secure unity through a larger and larger measure of uniformity." This is food for thought for Sri Lankans whose recent and contemporary history is one of division and fratricide. Thinking along the lines of Minister Mani Shankar it is not difficult to see that Sri Lanka too has displayed this unique identity of unity in diversity throughout ages. It is evident in the peaceful coexistence of communities belonging to different religions and ethnic groups. We have the Hindu gods in the Buddhist temples. Even Christianity, which came from the West, has absorbed the traditional cultural traits of the native Buddhists as witnessed in many of its rituals. The vice versa is also true. That means there had been a healthy mix of cultures, which together enriched what could be termed a Sri Lankan culture. Therefore, attempts to impose a uniform Sinhala Buddhist culture go contrary to the historically dominant trait of peaceful coexistence of diverse religions and ethnic communities. It is ironic that fundamentalists who clamour for hegemony of Sinhala Buddhist culture have borrowed Western concepts of uniformity, which have already proved disastrous even in Europe as witnessed by its fragmentation and the resurgence of numerous new nation states in the latter half of the last century. Speaking of South Asia Mani Shankar Aiyar said, " There is no threat to Indian unity greater than the European concept of nationality. For that concept if applied to South Asia would mean breaking up from being eight nation-states into being about a fifty nation-states. The consequences of that are so horrendous even to contemplate." It is obvious that single nation states would not be able to endure. As Mani Shankar Aiyar said a nation could exist within a state only if there is complete equality among the different nations that constitute the state and perfect respect for each other's rights was guaranteed with no majoritarianism. Majoritarianism is no longer accepted as a valid principle of democracy for it leaves room for the suppression of civil, political and social rights of the minority. Post-independence Sri Lanka is a good example of the failure of majoritarianism. In this respect we would like to draw attention to the dangers posed by a Bill that is to be introduced by the Jatika Hela Urumaya to make Buddhism the state religion. We have witnessed the tragic consequences of Sinhala only and Buddhism only could be even worse. Today we find huge banners displayed in the capital saying that this is a Buddhist state. No non-Buddhist would have equal rights in such a Buddhist state and they would be reduced to the status of second-class citizens just as the Tamils feel so today. Fundamentalism associated with religion is a more potent danger than chauvinism for the adherents are promised divine benediction or accrued merit in after life. It is tragic that such people have not learnt a lesson from our tragic contemporary history. The obvious fact is that vested interests are behind these movements that advocate racial or religious animosity and hatred. Unless these vested interests are identified and made impotent the danger of fragmentation and fissures in the Sri Lankan social fabric could not be averted. Uplifting the working poor Half the world's workers - some 1.4 billion people are trapped in grinding poverty, says the "World Employment Report 2004-5: Employment, productivity and poverty reduction", published by the ILO in Geneva recently. They were unable to lift themselves from poverty as they earn less than US$ 2 per day. Of them some 550 million live on less than US$ 1 per day. The report claims that lower productivity of labour, especially in agriculture is one of the causes for the poverty of half the world's workers. It also notes, however, that higher productivity does not automatically guarantee higher wages for workers, as there is a tendency to reduce the number of workers as productivity increases. Another factor, which maintains low wages, in our opinion, is the diminishing strength of trade unions as a result of new strategies followed by employers in the wake of globalization. Reduction of the permanent workforce by resorting to contract labour and outsourcing labour are some means they employ to weaken the trade unions. Actually, the main thrust of globalization is anti-labour according to the World Federation of Trade Unions. There is a strong need for international solidarity of the working people if the Millennium Development Goal of halving the world's poor by 2015 is to be realised actually. Reinforcing the strength of the working people could be the way not also to ensure job security and higher pay for the employed but also to press governments to start development projects that could provide jobs to those millions who are idling for want of work. |
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