History in the making!

by Samangie WETTIMUNY

I still remember a few lines of the essay that I wrote as a school girl on ‘Independence Day Celebrations’ back in the nineties. “.......Sri Lanka gained Independence from the British on February 4, 1948 and the achievement is unique in history as it put an end to over 450 years of foreign rule. We should never forget the sacrifices made by our past leaders in their struggle to gain Independence.........” it went on.

No doubt ‘Independence’ was a remarkable victory, but what bored us was to repeat the same old lines throughout our school life whenever our teachers asked us to write on the same topic! Sometimes, I used to add an extra line at the end where I suggested that we should get rid of the colonial mentality left in us!! For all my life, I have lived through a war so that I always made it a point to end my essay as; “The need of the hour is peace for a unified Sri Lanka.....”

Several years have passed since I left school and I am sure all my little ‘sisters’ and ‘brothers’ too had to face the same ‘old routine’ whenever they were asked to write on the ‘Significance of Independence’!!!

But all that ‘misery’ came to an end last Thursday when we celebrated our 62nd Independence day with much dignity and pride in a united land free from the jaws of terrorism which had brought about mass destruction.

Having witnessed the first Independence Day celebrations held after the eradication of terrorism, it is no longer necessary to repeat the same old lines! We have achieved peace which we all yearned for and now, it is time to develop the country.

As President Mahinda Rajapaksa said while addressing the Independence Day celebrations held on a grand scale in Kandy last Thursday, he would strive for national development and reconciliation among all sections of the people-Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims as pledged in “Mahinda Chinthana”.

Jubilant citizens gathered in their thousands to participate at the event. Others watched their TV screens to catch a glimpse of it. All eyes were glued with seriousness when they observed two-minute silence in honour of all patriots, the war heroes who sacrificed their lives in the name of freedom, unity, lasting peace and territorial integrity of their Motherland.

“Sri Lankans have arrived at a new phase in their lives. In fact, we are witnessing history,” a middle-aged man whom I met in a Kandy bound Intercity bus last weekend told the co-passengers, as he listened to radio news which broadcast in detail the preparations made for the National Day celebrations in Kandy.

Born and bred in Kandy, he considered it a privilege to participate in the Independence Day celebrations which was to be held in his home town. I wonder whether I would come across him again to ask what he observed at the 62nd independence Day Celebrations. No doubt, it would have been a wonderful moment!

In 1815 the country completely surrendered to the British colonialists following the signing of “the Kandyan Convention” (Udarata Givisuma). Ironically, today, hundred and ninety five years later, it is a victory for the Sri Lankans to gather in front of the historic Sri Dalada Maligawa to celebrate their 62nd National Independence day, the first Independence Day celebrations in the second decade of the 21st century!

Today we stand to our National Anthem with an awakened sense of love for our country. For many of us, hoisting the National Flag has become a mere tradition over the years.

“Every year I had to undergo a ‘tough’ time searching for the Lion’s flag which I usually kept inside one of my old cupboards.” tells another man who had the habit of hoisting it only on the National Independence Day. “But since May 18 last year, the flag remains at full mast, fluttering in the air in front of my house. Since then each day is a national day,” he continued.

A vendor who sells National flags on the pavement tells me that National Flags are in high demand. “I have sold thousands of flags since Prabhakaran was killed (Maha Kotiya Iwara Vechcha Dawase Indala)”, he grins. “So whether an Independence day is round the corner or not the demand continues.”

The nominal freedom which we gained in February, 1948 became a reality only with the dawn of economic, social and cultural freedom in the post 1956 era.

In 1972 during the tenure of Prime Minister Sirima Bandaranaike the country became a Republic. It was the firm foundation laid by our heroes that has enriched and fortified the political life of this country during the last 62 years.

But in no time in history since Independence, we had worked with such a patriotic sense of commitment to our Motherland as we do today! For years we have been shackled by petty political agendas. Today the majority of the masses have begun to rally round a common cause.

“Shouldn’t we consider May 18 as our second National day?” Almost all those I interviewed beamed at the idea.

We all know that the government is entrusted with the responsibility of making Sri Lanka a fully developed country, but we all know that it is ultimately the faith and determination of our people upon which our nation could flourish.

We however succeeded in achieving a lasting peace and a solid economic growth which were earlier considered to be Herculean tasks Success depends on hard work, honesty and courage!