Mayura Botejue
The views of Ms. Waduge and her chauvinist Sinhala nationalist backers do not help to serve the interests of Sri Lanka. They sow discord and division at a time when the South Asian geopolitical brews concocted are exceedingly complex and potentially toxic. The small island of SL is under watch and influence of powerful competing nations while it is parked well up the strategic defense crotch of a giant nation – India.
While the claim that the Northern and Eastern Provinces are generously funded by the Sinhala majority provinces that carry the economic weight of the entire nation may be true, This only reflects the pathetic state of the nation that is seriously under-performing on the economic development front. The Northern and Eastern provinces have significant development potential in the fields of energy, tourism, agriculture, process industries, etc. that can be fuelled by the following elements:
- Diaspora expertise and financing.
- Interest from businesses locate in the prospering southern Indian states that have linguistic, cultural and religious linkage with the N&E provinces of SL.
- Private sector (foreign and local) interest in the development of tourist hubs and airports.
Sinhala chauvinists fear the economic development of the N&E provinces and their close linkages with the Tamil Diaspora overseas and the states in South India. Their xenophobia drives them to view prosperity in these provinces as a threat to a unitary state.
With the aspiration of younger demographic groups driven high through education and social media influences, the lack of economic opportunities leads to a potential powder keg scenario. Nothing new to SL that has already faced youth driven insurrections/civil wars three times since gaining independence in 1948.
The Govt of SL face major challenges appeasing the giant brutes that hover over the island. As the joke goes, “Miss SL has two big brutes in bed with her – India on one side and China on the other. Meanwhile Uncle Sam is under the bed while Pakistan is outside and wants to come in”.
It will take high-level diplomatic skills, the maintenance of citizen harmony and a receptive investment climate to ensure that the SL ship of state can navigate through such turbulent waters.
The racist views of Ms. Waduge and her ilk are barnacles on the ship’s hull.
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