Mahindan meets Mahinda

Ananth Palakidnar

Following the annihilation of the LTTE, the outfit which remained a threat to communal harmony and unity of the country President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s address to the nation from Parliament highlighted that he was not merely a Head of State but a Statesman.

Unlike his predecessors President Mahinda Rajapaksa very carefully as well as boldly drew a line between communal forces and patriotic citizens by stating that in future there won’t be racial or regional differences in the country.

“There could only be two factions in the country, one is patriotic and the other unpatriotic citizens,” the President said.

Therefore, President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s remarkable speech in Parliament made the minorities of this country feel that they were in the safe hands of President Rajapaksa.The speech also ensured the equality and the safety of the minorities who had suffered due to extremist communal forces for more than three decades.

Since Sri Lanka gained independence from the British in 1948, the leaders who came to power lacked foresight as far as communal integrity was concerned.

The leaders of yesteryear were harbouring a colonial mentality on various national issues though they pretended to be leaders free of pressures from outside.

The leaders who lived during the pre-independence era stood as one against colonial masters in fighting for the independence of the country.

Irrespective of their racial, religious background and social standing they raised their voice for the country’s independence and integrity.

However the unity and the integrity which prevailed against the colonial masters began to decline with communalism taking centre stage in politics and creating inroads into co-existence among communities.

Sri Lanka which is known as the Pearl in the Indian Ocean had suffered immensely due to communal forces which had not only endangered co-existence, but also shattered the socio-economic structure of the island by fanning racial extremism.

For half of the 60 years of the post-independence era, the country had witnessed the worst form of terrorist activities on the pretext of communal clashes.

The LTTE claiming to be the liberators of Tamils endangered the very existence of the innocent Tamils from the North and the East.While carrying out an armed struggle against the Security Forces, the outfit also eliminated countless leading political figures and intellectuals from all ethnicities.

All citizens irrespective of their race, religion and region suffered terribly as a result of LTTE activity. Not only the political leadership of the country, but also the international community had been taken for a ride by the LTTE.India suffered terribly for being sympathetic towards the LTTE during a certain period.

The Indian attempt in bringing an end to the Lankan conflict in the mid eighties suffered a major setback which even led to the cold blooded assassination of its leader Rajiv Gandhi by the LTTE.The leaders who came in succession to power from the very beginning of the LTTE activities did not have firm policies towards dealing with the outfit.

They were simply carried away by the misgivings of the outfit. The late President Ranasinghe Premadasa was a good example in becoming a `sitting duck’ for the LTTE.

Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga escaped narrowly from an attempt made on her life by the LTTE.

However, President Mahinda Rajapaksa who became the fifth Executive President of the country had proved to be a courageous leader by totally annihilating the LTTE with the elimination of its elusive leader who haunted the entire island for a period of three decades.Unlike his predecessors President Mahinda Rajapaksa was very clear in his thinking in dealing with the LTTE.

He laid the `death trap’ for the terror outfit with a clear vision and brought it down like a good marksman hitting the `bull’s eye’ with perfection.

While eliminating the LTTE through the leadership he provided for the Security Forces in his capacity as the Commander-in-Chief, President Rajapaksa clearly and firmly expressed his views on safeguarding communal harmony and the integrity of the country by striking a blow on extremist forces by saying that racial and religious differences are no more in the island.

Even before becoming the President, as Opposition leader Mahinda Rajapaksa had visited Jaffna and spoken to the gathering present at one of his meetings in Tamil.

In his appearance at the UN two years ago President Mahinda Rajapaksa spoke a few sentences in Tamil and became the first world leader to speak in Tamil at the United Nations.

Not even an Indian leader had done so.Wherever the rallies were held in the areas with a Tamil populace in the hill country or in the North and the East President Rajapaksa made it a point to speak in Tamil to the appreciation of the gathering.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s attitude with regard to the caring of the minorities and his love for Tamil language was witnessed in Mullaitivu, the worst war-hit area in the North.President Mahinda Rajapaksa visited some of the Internally Displaced Persons who have been resettled in their original places recently.

An unexpected and memorable moment emerged when President Mahinda Rajapaksa who shook hands with a little Tamil boy from an IDP family in Mullaitivu asked for his name. The little one replied his name was Mahindan.

Mahindan is the Tamil version of Mahinda in Sinhala.

The President with a big surprise hugged little Mahindan and gave his blessings for a bright future.

The coincidence, while highlighting the small world the Lankans are living in also added another laurel to President Mahinda Rajapaksa in building the island nation without petty differences.