A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
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Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj.- One Island Two Nations
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Monday, August 28, 2017
India Under Modi: Lies, Damned lies, statistics…
The problem is, rising above party and partisan politics, viewing matters with circumspection and objectivity, and thinking seriously about changing the condition of the poor, the labourer, the struggling artisan, or the welder and the small shop keeper. We are being heaped with statistics from all sides. What will it help? To write erudite papers?
( August 27, 2017, New Delhi, Sri Lanka Guardian) The
inner paradoxes that are in the body politic of our nation, is all too
evident. On the one hand we are again and again reiterating the secular
ideals of a nation, and it’s rightful diversity. On the other hand we
are trapped in this diversity, by proclaiming again and again that
history of the country was distorted and the enormous wrong must be
righted. True of course, that the history of the country represented in
past was North centred, paying little attention to the Southern, or for
that matter, the North Eastern regions of the country.The northern
domination came to be represented as a clash between Muslim and Hindu
rulers, be they Marathas or Rajputs.
So the paradox of in letter and in spirit, continues to live in a
conflict. We mouth the platitude of secularism, but practice the
ideology of sectarianism. There are many who are lamenting this, and
vocally protesting against it. The time has come to take stock and find
out whether things are going from bad to worse, or have matters improved
in terms of economy, corruption, and overall functioning of government
departments. In between is the great debate raging on nationalism, it’s
meaning and the relationship it bears, or does not with the professed
secularism. Certain radical changes in terms of cleansing the currency
and imposition of the goods and services tax have resulted in both
criticism, and appreciation. Three years some say, is enough for a
government to make changes. Are these changes visible, or can they take
place in such a short space?
Education and health many contend, are the two crucial points for the
well being and development of a nation. What has been happening to them,
in the past? some query. After all we are seventy years old.
The questions that come to mind, to the apolitical are: what is the
condition of poverty, has it decreased? What development has taken
place, in rural areas, in terms of housing or, communication? Has the
rural urban divide lessened? If we are talking about internet
connectivity, what is the state of road connectivity, in intractable
areas, say of North East India. True, how are we going to overcome
problems in accessibility of education, wipe out teacher absenteeism and
look at education for drop outs and street children? Health care
suffers a similar fate of apathy and neglect. Anyone having even an iota
of love for the country, must look at these matters dispassionately.
But what is unfortunately happening is that both rightists or leftists
are not rising above petty party politics.And, some of the
intellectuals, writers and artists. No one is willing to position,
oneself in an objective and unbiased manner. It is either this side or
that, mine or yours, thus dividing not only the body politic but
intellectual opinion in the country. If you constantly point fingers at
what is not done, why don’t you go and do it yourself, with ‘ like
minded’ friends? Taking recourse to the social media, by giving vent to
your anger is no concrete fall out.
The positioning is something like this: my way of an essential
patriotism is this, yours is different, your nationalism is different
from mine, your reading and interpretation of history is wrong,
subversive, mine is right etc. So we shout at each other, especially on
television platforms. In the midst of it lying totally unnoticed is the
poor Indian, who is perhaps not interested in such debates, but is
struggling hard, braving adverse and deleterious weather conditions,
whether it be the heat, or the floods, to simply eke out the meals of a
day. Just above this is the unorganised sector, the petty trader or the
shopkeeper. Then we have the middle class, whose grouse is endless,
where the rungs of a social and economic ladder have to be climbed, with
much bravado.
The problem is, rising above party and partisan politics, viewing
matters with circumspection and objectivity, and thinking seriously
about changing the condition of the poor, the labourer, the struggling
artisan, or the welder and the small shop keeper. We are being heaped
with statistics from all sides. What will it help? To write erudite
papers? To inundate the statistical bureau with more information, with
no action taken? For example we are hearing again and again, that the
gross enrolment ratio in education is abysmally low. But what about
retention, after this ? Can anyone quote the actual figures?
So the battle of wits, is transformed into the battle of half wits or
nit wits. Can anyone tell us whether a study on GST has been done to
show who are affected, or who actually benefits? A shop keeper says he
has been paying to the company, but the wholesaler in guise of the
middleman can be a constant shadow. All these must be clearly specified,
in terms of a white paper, or whatever you call it. Intellectuals,
economists, must go into a mode of enquiry, dispassionately, forgetting
the other, a syndrome haunting the country in all measures. The
rancorous arguments continue. The poor man continues to suffer. In this
midst we have catapulting figures of growth. Of what, poverty?
” Lies, damned lies, statistics”. The country continues- to suffer and
bleed. Damn it, diversity and unity! and let the idiot box continue to
spawn more idiots.