A time to honour; a time to reflect; a time to reset

On the eve of the country's 75th anniversary of Independence, there are disgruntled voices questioning the need to ‘waste’ money on 'celebrating' such a landmark event, especially as the country is in the grips of, arguably, its worst economic crisis. Some others, go still further to ask why local government elections cannot be held because of the lack of funds as the government trots out, but that same government is willing to spend on commemorating Freedom from more than 450 years of foreign rule.

No doubt, today's citizenry are thoroughly disillusioned with the current state of affairs. They firmly believe, and justifiably so, that the country's leadership since Independence let the nation down in these last seven and a half decades, leading to what it is today; a country financially bankrupt and at the mercy of foreign powers and international lending institutions, its sovereignty bargained for the next shipment of food, medicine and fuel.

It has not been all downhill since 1948. The country's population has quadrupled in the 75 years and so have people’s expectations. Many sectors have seen great strides. It is just that no one has been held accountable for the mistakes that have been committed which compounds the air of despondency pervading. The nation is, therefore, now with a noose around its neck and at the mercy of the Paris Club of its creditors to come out of the abyss it has fallen into.

And yet, young people, both professionals and working classes, are abandoning the country of their birth, and the government even encourages the process in the hope that those who leave in search of greener pastures will remit foreign currencies that are so vital for the sustenance of the bankrupt economy.

To have inhaled the sweet fragrance of freedom on that day on February 4, 1948, one must be over 75 years of age today. And to appreciate fully what Independence was to this country, one must at least have some awareness of modern history.

This issue of the paper runs a two-part series of articles starting today with some vignettes of life in this nation prior to Independence. Take the 1915 riots, for instance, as an example of how the colonial administration treated the natives. When the riots broke out, the ruling British Governor asked his Attorney General Sir Anton Bertram in London for legal advice on how to deal with the situation in Ceylon. World War I was in progress. Under pressure, the jittery AG was of the opinion that because Britain was at war, all the Ceylonese people were "statutory camp-followers" of the British Empire and within the meaning of the British Army Act and as such, subject to Martial Law.

Today, there is a debate among those very European colonial powers – the British, French, Dutch, Spanish and Germans -- who had carved up the world amongst them, if the history of colonisation should be taught as part of their school curriculum; whether they should return the looted artifacts and treasures adorning their museums and crown jewels; and whether they should, in fact, apologise to the colonies for the wrongs they committed during their rule. The question of reparation has not yet got entrenched into this agenda of remorse, and pangs of conscience.

It is a pity, if not a tragedy, that independent Sri Lanka has sunk to its current plight. It is not that the country has not faced difficult times post-Independence. The late 1950s were traumatic for the English-speaking Burghers who feared that the 'Sinhala Only' campaign would seal their fate. The 1970s was a period of rationing, long queues and lack of foreign exchange. The late 1970s, however, saw a turn-around of the economy. The middle class expanded to each family having 'wheels' and mod-cons that have come to be their undoing given the lack of gas and power to run them now.

Much maligned nowadays, that liberalised economy was emulated by Vietnam and even China but the economic boom in Sri Lanka was soon smothered by a separatist insurgency in the North sponsored from abroad, followed by a Southern insurgency. These put the brakes on Sri Lanka's upward mobility, but the country still survived and limped along. Then came the unbridled corruption with unsolicited projects greased by foreign state-run companies. This dishonesty seeped from the country's leaders to its public service and down the line to the traffic policeman on the street. It was the death blow to the economy.

On a separate front, in Geneva, the country is being crucified for having ended the scourge of terrorism back in 2009, after an excruciating three-decade period of armed conflict that impacted the lives of every citizen from North to South. Those Sri Lankans who abandoned the country and left for Europe and North America and have become voters in their cities are stoking the flames of communalism, refusing to allow those who stayed behind to accept national reconciliation. The political leadership allowed an essentially domestic situation to slip out of its grip and get exported to a multilateral arena and the fate of this country seems increasingly decided, economically and politically, in foreign capitals even after 75 years of Independence.

The call for 'black flags' (unwittingly may be falling prey to western culture which refers to black as evil) in protests on Independence Day is to insult the national heroes of this country, from all races and religions who, with one voice, gave their all for the freedom of their country, the liberation of their people, and the right of their children and their children's children to charter their own course without being the 'statutory camp-followers' of a foreign nation.

No doubt the economic situation does not warrant a grand tamasha to mark the 75th anniversary of Independence, but a celebration it must ensure. It is clearly a time to reflect on the post-Independence years, yet it is not about a government in office. It is a remembrance of a country's history, a recognition of what the forebears of the populace endured and agitated for – to remove the shackles of colonialism, and also, for the nation’s citizenry to rededicate themselves to ensure their country's well-being at least for the future.

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