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Hail freedom

Yesterday Sri Lankans celebrated the 58th Anniversary of Independence. It was a joy to be free after one and half centuries of foreign domination. Perhaps the present generation cannot understand the joy that gripped the nation then on February 4, 1948, as they have no personal experience of life under colonial rule.

In 1948, however, it was only a transfer of power to a handful of loyal colonial subjects who did not want to disturb their colonial masters in any way. Moreover, the colonial power kept actual control through an ignominious defence arrangement and the maintenance of military bases on Sri Lankan soil.

The servility of the new dispensation was seen even in the dress of the brown sahibs who inherited power. They preferred to wear top hats and tailcoats and looked down with contempt at things truly indigenous.

It was the radical cultural and political upheaval of 1956 that brought a renaissance of national culture and restored the dignity of the common man. Much still remained to be done and it was only in 1972 Sri Lanka unilaterally declared its independence from the British Crown by establishing a sovereign republic.

Consummation of political independence, however, did not signify any meaningful change in the life of the people. It was left to the leaders of independent Sri Lanka to take meaningful steps towards economic independence without which political independence was merely a fig leaf.

It is here that all our past governments and leaders have failed. The greatest failure has been the failure to build a truly Sri Lankan nation in which all communities feel equal and are treated equal.

Fissures of communal discord that appeared at the last stages of the independence movement developed to such an extent that a fratricidal war erupted between the two principal communities- Sinhala and Thamil. After two decades of that war peace and communal harmony still elude us.

On this independence anniversary we must resolve to find a peaceful settlement to this communal conflict that has plagued our society and sown nothing but death and destruction. We are glad that there is once again a light at the end of the tunnel, if we could only make use of it.

Even fifty years after independence we have failed to evolve a political system that suits us. The Westminster model proved to be unfit. The remedy in the form of the Executive Presidency has only made matters worse.

It has not only introduced the worst features of the Gaullist model but also reproduced the glaring discrimination of minority communities that the 1972 constitution enshrined in it. The political system that was introduced in 1978 to conform to the necessities of a liberal economic order has not only undermined democracy but also increased corruption and inefficiency.

The development of a political system that suits our country is a need of the hour. This requires unity and cohesion of all political and religious forces. Obviously a solution to the national question has to precede or be contemporaneous to the evolution of such a political system.

On the economic front we have been still unable to evolve a national economic policy. Actually the Washington Consensus has led us astray and the so-called development has turned to be a mirage to the majority our people. After 58 years of independence we have almost half the population living below poverty level. Problems are aggravating day by day with the onset of neo-liberal globalization driven by transnational monopolies.

Political independence won is being negated by the ever-tightening grip of neo-colonialism, which strangles the economy of Third world countries like ours. Enlightened nations have now sensed that neo-liberal policies could only develop poverty and dependence and are experimenting on new independent models of economic development, giving more weight to south - south cooperation.

Benefits of globalization could be achieved only if we develop our human capital and indigenous research and technology, a factor sadly neglected by all governments that came to power after independence. Our education system is still outmoded and has failed to keep pace with world developments.

The juggernaut of capitalist globalization poses a serious threat to our culture and imposes a hegemonic culture on all countries. Unfortunately we are even not adequately conscious of this danger.

As the President emphasised in his Address to the Nation yesterday let us build unity of our people to meet all challenges that face us.

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