By Vishwamithra –

“There is hopeful symbolism in the fact that flags do not wave in a vacuum.” ~ Arthur C. Clarke

North, South, East and West – the directions of the compass. When you are lost in the woods, without knowing where you’re going and with no possibility of retracing your steps, the compass helps you to find in which direction you’re headed, whether it’s North, South, East or West. The compass is a magnetometer used for navigation and orientation that shows direction in regards to the geographic cardinal points. The structure of a compass consists of the compass rose, which displays the four main directions on it: East (E), South (S), West (W) and North (N). The history of the compass started more than 2000 years ago during the Han dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD) in China.

That 2000 plus year history tells us the story of man and his adventurous journey through centuries of fear and pain; his curiosity and joy; his success and failure, the scope of his advancement, both materially and spiritually. Each time he failed, he gathered strength which none knew where it came from and rose again and again to continue his passage without complaining, without a murmur in order to arrive at his destination. Those who chose to stop for lack of energy and motivation were led by some inspirational leaders who sacrificed their time and energy, prodding along with their disciples. It has been a marvelous adventure, this story of man from one discovery to the other, from one invention to another. But the measure of the compass has never been underrated, its worth and indispensability were never foreclosed. A lost soul would have found his way back home thanks mainly to the compass.

When a country’s compass is broken, when she does not seem to know whence she came and whither she goes, an entire nation’s journey through crisis-laden episodes is being questioned and thrown into a totally different array of confusion and brewing conflicts. Failure of successive leaderships, ignorance and apparent lack of wisdom of her subjects and distressing apathy of her intelligentsia contribute greatly to the heart-wrenching stagnation of her development. Societal progress comes to a halt and her cultural advance withers away.

Such is the case for Sri Lanka today. After being exploited by her colonial powers, the Portuguese, the Dutch and the British, Ceylon became independent and she owes that ‘independence to the selfless sacrifices made by her closest neighbor’s leaders like Gandhi, Nehru, Patel and Abdul Kalam. The political and administrative leadership of of Ceylon in the first half of the twentieth century was dominated by those who enjoyed ‘accommodation’ by the British Raj. A landowning class for whom the ready and willing recognition of its ‘superior’ education and access to the country’s resources like renting and mining industries continued to reign the corridors of power. The common man for whom education was through the rural schools which were hardly adequate to impart even some rudimentary education, was throttled by the same idealistic shackles even after independence.

The cumulative effects of this malignant system were being felt soon after independence. Election after election made way substitution of one set of rulers with another and the irony was the original and substitute drew their strength, birth and methodology from the same source. The UNP and the SLFP were two sides of the same coin. With minor policy-differences, both segments of the political spectrum continued to safeguard and protect their age-old class and tribal inheritances with no heed paid to the suffering masses.

The country’s compass lay unmoving; its spiritual and material value was never measured in terms of service to the masses. A system that continued to produce a generation of corrupt leaders after another became an integral part of the whole and the common man became accustomed to an uneven or an irreparably broken moral compass. It was not only the leaders who became victims of this stifling corruption, the masses whose needs were never met unless and until they reciprocated the politician by enabling the original sinner with timely ‘santosams’ too became unwilling victims. An utterly despicable way of life and living set in and the prevalent mindset was all too happy to keep the system going as long as there was no looming abyss.

But the near-collapse of the country’s economic life in March/April in 2022 threatened to change that  convoluted system. One and half generations born after 1990 could not tolerate the country’s self-destruction any more. Having been caught up in a tribal cum ethnic warfare for thirty long years, the peace, for these generations looked more devastating than the unspeakable aspects of the war. Divisions and subdivisions that ethnic battles entail were not to be endured by these generations and they eagerly wanted to educate their predecessors by treating their Northern and Eastern brethren by embracing them in a fight for an all-inclusive war against economic and political injustice. That is the cruel yet unmistakable lesson the Aragalaya-22 taught our people.

The true consequences of the Aragalaya-22 may not have been felt as yet. But its compelling reasoning in exposing the gross inadequacies and serious failings of the existing system eventually gave rise to an extraordinary sense of high expectations and immediacy of attainment of freedom from the old. The glaring lessons of the Aragalaya-22 are still to be learnt. However, in that respect, Sri Lankan masses seem to be ahead of our punditry and political leaders, except perhaps, the National People’s Power.

In other words, the compass of all our political leaders and their political parties who have enjoyed not only power to the hilt during the last seven to eight decades, but have been enmeshed in the good, the bad and the ugly aspects of governance seems to have broken down beyond repair. When the direction given by the country’s compass to one way, our leaders had been taking us to the opposite direction. More often than not, that misdirection was not owing to a mistaken reading or sheer neglect on the part of them, it was one hundred percent due to their deliberate planning and plotting so as to lead the country in a direction wherein reside the financial and other material resources which could be exploited to their vigorous liking.

On the other hand, whether it’s AKD, Sajith, Ranil, Gotabaya or Mahinda, all politicians do not seek power with a puritanical objective of serving the masses. They are not ‘Bodhisthwas’ Yet, one cannot  look the other way when brazen violation of fundamental rights is committed by these charlatans. No politician should be spared of punishment if it is proven that they had engaged in politics and enriched themselves at the expense of the common man. It is not a Utopian dream to expect that our politicians are to be held accountable for everything that they do and not do in face of grave issues that confront all of us as one single nation.

Only AKD and the NPP remain spared by the voter today. Yet their adherence to the old Marxian theories and governance methodologies might not serve them right at this juncture. In Gulag Archipelago, Alexander Solzhenitsyn writes thus: ‘Ideology – that is what gives evildoing its long-sought justification. That is the social theory which helps to make his acts seem good instead of bad in his own and others’ eyes so that he won’t hear reproaches and curses but will receive praise and honors. That was how the agents of the Inquisition fortified their wills: by invoking Christianity; the conquerors of foreign lands, by extolling the grandeur of their Motherland; the colonizers, by civilization; the Nazi’s, by race; and the Jacobins, (early and late), by equality, brotherhood and the happiness of further generations. One cannot disregard Solzhenitsyn’s sayings and writings. He has lived through hell and come out wounded but cleansed and enlightened.

One revealing factor about NPP’s much-enunciated puritanical approach to politics is their translucent and transparent honesty and education. All other political parties cannot brag about honesty and education. Education, albeit its dominance in the first few Cabinets, especially DS’s first, Dudley’s and JR’s last Cabinet were crowned with men who were considered well-educated and occupying top notch echelons of that sphere, their ultimate performance had been found drastically lacking in empathy and inability to relate to the local rustic conditions of the country. Even today’s Cabinet is totally comprised of downright fraudsters and avaricious men and women whose primary aim had been, when entering politics, enriching themselves and their families and henchmen. Their political and moral compass was an assemblage of disjointed set of coils and wires and it was so even before they entered politics.                                            

The National People’s Power (NPP) has chosen the compass as its symbol. When one votes for the policies and principles of the National People’s Power, he has to mark his little cross for the ‘Compass’. How ironic, how symbolic and how befitting would it be? How the Compass happened to be the NPP’s symbol, I do not know and, in fact, I do not want to know. What matters is, when all dust settles down, whether AKD and NPP’s leadership would be worthy of their own symbol.

*The writer can be contacted at vishwamithra1984@gmail.com