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| Sunday, 29 August 2004 |
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The right column At the Twentieth Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev deplored Joseph Stalin, the former Soviet leader, for his misdeeds. Among the sins attributed to Stalin was the systematic development of a personality cult contrary to communist ethics. The bourgeois leaders, including our own, hailed Khrushchev and deplored Stalin. They, however, failed to draw a lesson. Though they abhorred the personality cult of Stalin, the bourgeoisie continued to develop halos and personality cults around their leaders. In our own way our leaders have been emulating not Khrushchev whom they praised but Stalin whom they detested. Take a look around and you would see dozens of villages and buildings named after living politicos, plaques carrying legends that they were entrusted to the public by such and such a politician. It is as if the money for the projects had come from the politician's pockets. While actual funds came from people's contribution by way of direct and indirect taxes, those in the know would vouch for what certain (not all) politicos had actually pocketed from those funds by way of commissions, bribes and kickbacks. In modern market economy parlance, personality cult is termed image building. Unlike the personality cult, image building is a positive exercise. During election time these politicos get sold to the voters in nice promo packages just as any other commodity like soap or toothpaste. He who spends more on the packaging often ends with the highest number of preferences. A case in point is a young green politico about whom the media had a lot to reveal and revel at recently. There is a world of difference between a politician and a statesman. Unfortunately most of our politicians have failed to recognize this distinction. That is why they often play to the gallery. They talk first and think later. Remember the famous words of John Kotelawala, Knight of the British Empire, who on visiting a farm in Jaffna with well fed cows said how he wished to be born a stud bull there. Though one could laugh and dismiss John's words as habitual mischief caused by external stimuli, thoughtless talk on war and peace albeit in front of military brass could have serious repercussions for the country. Disaster management has never been our forte. We usually lock the stable door after the horse has bolted. The country is still awakening to the most widespread and intense drought in recent years. Neither the politicians nor the administrators had realized that a process of desertification has been going on for several years with scant rainfall in many districts. Moreover, there was also a forecast of an unprecedented drought next year - 2005 due to El Nino. The much trumpeted Disaster Management Committees and Task Forces have failed to deliver for the nth time. Perhaps they are testing the endurance of our people. - the Sceptic |
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