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November 28, 2014, 12:00 pm

By Izeth Hussain

The more it changes the more it’s the same thing – French proverb.

According to widespread Sri Lankan perceptions, we came to a cross roads by 1989 and in 1994 we chose what seemed to most of us to be the right road, which would lead to definitive solutions of the two major problems bedeviling us: that of restoring a fully functioning democracy and establishing unity through a solution of the ethnic problem. Today, twenty years later, many Sri Lankans, perhaps most, share the perception that we have again come to a cross roads at which it is imperative to choose the right road that would lead to definitive solutions of the two major problems bedeviling us: the restoration of a fully functioning democracy and the establishment of unity through the solution of our ethnic problems. It looks like the more it changes the more it’s the same thing. Or rather it’s the same thing but worse, because we now have two ethnic problems – the Muslim one as well – instead of just one. That fact suggests that the major problem underlying everything else in Sri Lanka is that of establishing national unity – which is the main case that I will be advancing in this article.

It should be useful to chart the salient points in the political trajectories that led to the two cross roads because that could enable us to spot common factors between them. When the Jayewardene Government came to power in 1977, it was the confident expectation of most of us that problems that had been bedeviling us for decades would be set right. In the economy there was a turning to the market leading to phenomenal economic growth, a change that has established itself as irreversible. JRJ showed himself to be more prescient about our economic future than any of our other leaders, and wrought the bourgeois revolution that traditional Marxism saw as the necessary penultimate stage before the establishment of socialism. That was a major achievement, but it was his only one. Since he and his Government had overwhelming popular support, hardly anyone expected that he would want to deviate even one jot from democracy, but he quickly made himself a dictator. On the ethnic front, we confidently expected that the promised all-Party Conference would be held without much delay, resulting in a definitive solution to the ethnic problem. Instead he unleashed a program of State terrorism which reached its apogee in the holocaust of 1983, resulting in the thirty-year war. The record was as follows by the time he relinquished office in 1989: there were two rebellions going on simultaneously in this small country; the IPKF troops were here behaving like conquerors; and the Government had lost control over a third of the national territory and half the coast line. Premadasa also continued the dictatorship and could not solve the ethnic problem.

In 1994 we chose an alternative road. The market oriented economy was continued with – for the most part – very satisfactory growth rates. The economic difficulties we are experiencing, along with many other countries, can be seen – partly at least – as following from the defects inherent in the capitalist system. Democracy was restored. On the ethnic front our Governments were over a long period very accommodative but a solution eluded us mainly because of the intransigence of the LTTE. However, with the assumption of power by President Rajapakse the road has been veering in a totally different direction. But we must first acknowledge his two mighty achievements. If not for the military victory over the LTTE we would today almost certainly be living under a confederal arrangement amounting to a de facto Eelam. The other achievement is that with consummate political skill he has saved this country from one of the worst scourges that could have befallen it, a military government, though that has been at the price of allowing an excessive intrusion of the military into the civilian realm. On the negative side, he is clearly veering towards an absolutist dictatorship with the eighteenth amendment, the ridiculous impeachment of the Chief Justice, and much else. On the ethnic front there has been no political solution for the Tamil ethnic problem, which could have fateful consequences in the future, and he has allowed the eruption of yet another ethnic problem, the Muslim one. Sri Lanka could be moving towards another doom-laden 1989. It is understandable that many Sri Lankans should feel that we have arrived at a cross roads again.

There are several common factors in the two political trajectories that I have outlined above. All our Governments since 1977 have followed market-oriented economic policies, but that is not seen as a factor leading to a political cross roads in which we have to turn desperately to an alternative road. Two other common factors are seen as leading to the present cross roads: dictatorship and the failure to solve ethnic problems. We are still a quasi-democracy, but the drive towards absolutist dictatorship could become irresistible because a known fact about power, differentiating it from victuals, is that the appetite grows in the eating. As for our ethnic problems, there has been a failure to solve them but there have been no mass murder of minority members. That however could follow because Islamophobic extremists – who indisputably have a privileged position with the Government -profess to believe that the Muslims pose an existential threat to the Sinhalese. We could be well on the way to another 1989. It should be understandable that many Sri Lankans today feel that we desperately need to turn towards an alternative political road.

The burden of this article is that the desideratum over-riding everything else in Sri Lanka is the unity of the nation. This article is not being written from a partisan political standpoint. A new President, or for that matter a Prime minister under a Parliamentary system of government, can make himself a dictator if the conditions are propitious for that. And of course our politicians can go on mucking and wrecking our ethnic relations as they have been doing since 1948. We need new thinking about building an inclusive nation. We need, not necessarily a new Party in power, but a new road in our politics. Hitherto the majority assumption has been that there is no need to build a nation because it already exists: this is the land of the Sinhala Buddhists, or it is the land of the Sinhalese inclusive of the Christians, while the minorities are no more than visitors. This has led to a deep sense of alienation among the minorities. It has also, I believe, aggravated the divisiveness among the Sinhalese themselves.

What could be the reason? I have identified two factors – the drive towards dictatorship and the failure to establish ethnic harmony – as having led to the disastrous situation that prevailed in 1989, and those same two factors are threatening to lead us again to another 1989. I suspect that those two factors are really one and the same. A dictatorship can be assumed to have a tendency – not inevitably so but a tendency – towards division and hierarchy. A dictator places himself above the people, and he and his coterie constitute an elite that is above the people, which means that the tendency to division and hierarchy is at the very core of dictatorship. Furthermore, that tendency applies not just to the minorities but to the majority ethnic group as well. That is why under the dictatorship of President JR the ethnic problem got completely out of hand, the result of the hierarchical principle being taken to an extreme, and that is why after the IPKF troops came here the Sinhalese slaughtered each other, showing that the divisiveness extends to the majority as well as the minorities. Sometimes a dictatorship puts up a meretricious show of unity, but the ethnic and other divisions erupt violently once the dictatorship breaks down, as in Iraq, the former Yugoslavia, and the former Soviet Union. Sri Lanka’s ethnic problems can be solved only under a fully functioning democracy.

I have raised issues in this article that evidently require in-depth treatment. As that will not be possible within the ambit of a single article, I will conclude by merely mentioning some facts that we must bear in mind about national unity. How did the West gain its ascendancy so easily over Asia? Contemporary scholarship rejects the familiar notion of Western dynamism and Asian decadence because the evidence shows that Asia remained economically and culturally dynamic in the eighteenth century. Pankaj Mishra in his book The Revolt against the West and the Remaking of Asia argues that the ascendancy was due to the West’s superior skills for "industrial civilization", more simply for organization, for acting as members of corporate groups, churches, or governments. In my view behind it all was the nation state which enabled a far higher degree of unity than was possible under any other state formation.

The interested reader should take a look at the DVD of the film Invictus. Under apartheid the South African blacks used to cheer any foreign team playing against the legendary white South African Springbok rugby team. After apartheid the Springboks were faring miserably and didn’t seem to have the faintest chance of winning the World Cup. Nelson Mandela took charge and resorted to concrete measures to make the South African blacks support the white Springboks, who proceeded to win the World Cup spectacularly. It was a victory that had behind it a deep sense of national unity. All our politicians should view that DVD.

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Many youth have been gifted with the priceless gem of leisure, time and health. But these gifts often come along with positive and negative consequences.
Notwithstanding these effects, you can become a Positive Muslim Youth.
Just as life in its entirety is full of many changes, challenges and cheap thrills; Each day comes with its own variety of consequences from your thoughts & accompanying actions.
Your thoughts, words, emotions and actions all need to sync together to help you fully utilise these gifts of youth.
The following phrases will help you train your mind & win against your nafs, to build a more positive attitude & lifestyle. The more positive your thoughts, so will be the accompanying emotions and consequently your speech and actions.
The phrases can be utilised in the following ways;
1. As an internal message to yourself.
2. As verbal utterances in your day to day activities.
3. As a visual prompt in your physical environment.
Here are 33 phrases you can use everyday as a prompt. Try a different one every day for a month. Each phrase will make a difference. You can get started by simply browsing through the list. How does each phrase make you feel?
Read on.
List 1: Eleven (11) phrases to foster positive thoughts of Allah (swt)
1. Be God conscious
2. Be Akhirah (hereafter) driven
3. Be Sincere
4. Be Righteous
5. Be Focused
6. Be Prayerful
7. Be Riya free
8. Be Reflective
9. Be Grateful
10. Be Hopeful
11. Be Content
List 2: Eleven (11) phrases to foster positive close relationships
12. Be Yourself
13. Be Patient
14. Be a Shepherd
15. Be a True Friend
16. Be Kind
17. Be Loving
18. Be Forgiving
19. Be Good Mannered
20. Be Easy on others
21. Be Friendly
22. Be Forgiving
List 3: Eleven (11) phrases to foster positive contributions in the Ummah
23. Be Islamically cultured
24. Be a Change Maker
25. Be a Helper
26. Be Charitable
27. Be Humble
28. Be Good Natured
29. Be Honest
30. Be Just
31. Be a Role Model
32. Be a Mentor
33. Be a Positive influence
The attitude of the Muslim Youth should be that of positivity – from an individual level to a communal one. And that is not to deny that negative situations come about or that negative people exist. Your choice should be towards a more positive outlook; beyond the negative ones.
Being a positive Muslim Youth means that you have only positive thoughts of your Lord (swt). You rely on Him at all times, you put your hope & trust in Him alone, and call on Him constantly – whether in pain, distress or not.
In this way you can also become a source of positivity to others. His Love, Mercy, Bounties & Blessings are just what you need to get through your not-so-perfect circumstances.
Let these simple phrases guide your thoughts and attitudes so they become motivational agents in your life. You can also use them as your daily goals, so they guide your actions and deeds.
And in much the same way, you can turn around negative thoughts and phrases into positive coping ones. After all the affair of the believer is always good.
Amazing is the affair of the believer, verily all of his affair is good and this is not for no one except the believer. If something of good/happiness befalls him he is grateful and that is good for him. If something of harm befalls him he is patient and that is good for him(Saheeh Muslim)

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සිරිමන්ත රත්නසේකර

විපක්‍ෂයේ පොදු අපේක්‍ෂක මෛත්‍රීපාල සිරිසේන මහතාව පරාජය කිරීමට බොදුබල සේනා සංවිධානය කටයුතු කරන බව එම සංවිධානයේ මහ ලේකම්, රාජකීය පණ්‌ඩිත ගලගොඩඅත්තේ ඥනසාර හිමියෝ ඊයේ (27 වැනිදා) විශේෂ මාධ්‍ය හමුවකදී සඳහන් කළහ.

මෛත්‍රීපාල සිරිසේන මහතා පුද්ගලයකු ලෙස නරක මිනිසකු නොවූවත් ඔහු වටා සිටින්නේ රට ගිල ගැනීමට මාන බලන කුමන්ත්‍රණකරුවන් පිරිසක්‌ බැවින් මෙම තීරණය ගත් බව උන්වහන්සේ කීහ.

පොදු අපේක්‍ෂකයා ජයග්‍රහණය කරවා රටේ අනාගතය ලේ විලක්‌ වීමට ඉඩදිය නොහැකි බවත් විජාතික කුමන්ත්‍රණ පැරදවීම පිණිස ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදී ජන අරගලයක්‌ කිරීමට සිය සංවිධානය කටයුතු කරන බවත් ඥනසාර හිමියෝ පැවසූහ.

රජයට සහාය දීම, පොදු අපේක්‍ෂකයාට සහාය දීම, ස්‌වාධීනව සිටීම හා ජාතික නායකයකු ජනාධිපතිවරණයට ඉදිරිපත් කිරීම යන විකල්ප හතරක්‌ සිය සංවිධානය තුළ තිබූ බවත් ඉන් අවසන් විකල්ප ත්‍රිත්වයෙන් ඉවත් වීමට සිය සංවිධානය තීරණය කළ බවත් උන්වහන්සේ කීහ.

මහින්ද රාජපක්‍ෂ මහතාට සහාය දෙන බවට සෘජුව ප්‍රකාශ නොකරන්නේ මන්දැයි මෙහිදී මාධ්‍යවේදීන් බොදුබල සේනා සංවිධානයේ මහ ලේකම් ගලගොඩඅත්තේ ඥනසාර හිමියන්ගෙන් විමසූ කල උන්වහන්සේගේ පිළිතුර වූයේ "තම තම නැණ පමණින් දැනගත යුතු" බවයි.

http://www.divaina.com/2014/11/28/news02.html

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27 නොවැම්බර් 2014 අවසාන වරට යාවත්කාලීන කළේ 17:20 GMT

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කොළඹ විශ්ව විද්‍යාලයයේ ඉතිහාසය පිළිබඳ සහාය මහාචාර්යවරියක වු ලෝනා ශ්‍රීමති දේවරාජා මහත්මිය අභාවප්‍රාප්ත වුවාය.

බණ්ඩාරනායක අන්තර්ජාතික  තානාපති පුහුණු පාසලේ අධ්‍යක්ෂවරියකද වු  ඇය ආසියා පදනමේ ද සේවය කළාය.

ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ඉතිහාසය පිළිබඳ  ඇය පර්යේෂණාත්මක ග්‍රන්ථ රැසක් බිහි කළාය.

මාතර දෙවිනුවර උපන් ඇය ජාතික කෞතුකාගාරයේ හිටපු අධ්‍යක්ෂ අභාවප්‍රාප්ත අමරවංශ දේවරාජ මහතාගේ භාර්යාව වුවාය.

ඇය තිදරු මවකි.කොළඹ හැවුලොක් ටවුන් සිරිපා පාරේ අංක 48 දරණ නිවසේ දේහය තැන්පත් කර ඇත.කොළඹ කනත්තේදී සෙනසුරාදා (29) ආදාහනය සිදු කිරීමට නියමිතය.

http://www.lankadeepa.lk/index.php/articles/278418

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බොදුබළ සේනා සංවිධානයේ සහාය මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ ජනපතිට දෙන බව අද (27) එහි විශේෂ රැස්වීමකදී තීරණය විය.

http://www.lankadeepa.lk/index.php/articles/278429

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At a news conference held today, the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) Organisation said it would give its unconditional support to President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the upcoming presidential election.

BBS General Secretary Ven. Galagodaatte Gnanasara Thera said President Rajapaksa and common opposition candidate Maithripala Sirisena were good citizens.


“The country has to be our priority, not politics. The country is already in danger today. The opposition is filled with puppets. However, the people didn’t vote for this Government to loot the country,” he said.

The Thera said they had decided to back the President to save the country from various conspiracies.

http://www.dailymirror.lk/57561/bbs-to-support-mahinda

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හෙළ උරුම සහය කාටදැයි තීන්දුව හවස

මෙවර ජනාධිපතිවරණයේදී බොදුබළ සේනා සංවිධානයේ සහාය මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මහතාට ලබා දෙන බවට තීරණය කළ බවට ඉගියක් අද (27) එහි විශේෂ රැස්වීමකදී දැන ගත හැකිවිය. බොදු බල සේනාවේ සහය මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මහතාටද මෛත්‍රීපාල සිරියේන මහතාටදැයි මාධ්‍යවේදීන් විමසා සිටියද ඊට සෘජු පිළිතුරක් ලැබුණේ නැතත් සංවිධානයේමහ ලේකම් ගලබගාඩඅත්තේ ඥාණසාර හිමියන් මාධ්‍ය හමුවේදී පවසා සිටියේ මේ වනවිට රටේ හොඳ ආරක්ෂාවක් පවතින බවත්, තම සහය රට බේරාගත් නායකත්වය වෙත ලැබෙනාබවත්ය. රාජ්‍ය නොවන සංවිධාන ඒකරාශී කරගනිමින් සිටිනා පාර්ශවය තම සහය හිමිනොවන බව උන්වහන්සේ පවසා සිටියහ.
මේ අතර ඉදිරි ජනාධිපතිවරණයේදී කුමන අපේක්ෂකයෙකුට සහය ලබාදෙන්නේ ද යන්න සම්බන්ධයෙන් අද පස්වරුවේ පැවැත්වෙන විශේෂ රැස්වීමේදී ප‍්‍රකාශ කරන බව ජාතික හෙළ උරුමය පවසයි. ජාතික හෙළ උරුමයේ නායක ආචාර්ය පූජ්‍ය  ඕමල්පේ සෝභිත ස්වාමින් වහන්සේ ඇතුළු ගිහිපැවිදි නායකයින්ගේ ප‍්‍රධානත්වයෙන් කොළඹ නව නගර ශාලාවේදී අද පස්වරු 3.00ට අදාළ රැස්වීම පැවැත්වෙයි.

http://lakbima.lk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=41606:2014-11-27-07-48-36&catid=42:2012-05-31-04-01-44&Itemid=90

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පොදු අපේක්‍ෂක මෛත‍්‍රීපාල සිරිසේන මහතා පරාජය කරවීම සඳහා ඉදිරියේදී රට වටා යන බවත් ජනපතිවරණයේදී තම සංවිධානයේ පූර්ණ සහාය ජනාධිපති මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මහතාට ලබා දෙන බව බොදු බල සේනා සංවිධානය පවසයි.

එහි මහ ලේකම් පූජ්‍ය ගලබොඩඅත්තේ ඥාණසාර හිමයෝ කොළඹදී මාදය අමතමින් කියා සිටියේ
මෛත්‍රීපාල සිරිසෙන් මහතාට නැවතත් ආණ්ඩුවට පැමිණෙන ලෙසයි.

http://lankacnews.com/sinhala/main-news/125342/

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By Muhammad Fathi

Did the Prophet (Peace and blessings be upon him) say anything about saving our planet? Did he promote any ideas or practices relevant to the world's growing concern about the future of the earth and its resources?

Below is a collection of the Prophet's Ahadith

Plant a tree even if it is your last deed:

1. Anas (May Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “If the Hour (the day of Resurrection) is about to be established and one of you was holding a palm shoot, let him take advantage of even one second before the Hour is established to plant it.” (Reported by Ahmad and Al-Bukhan on the authority of Anas in Al Adab Al-Mufrad,)

Planting trees is a renewable source of hasanat:

2. Anas also reported that the Prophet said, "If a Muslim plants a tree or sows seeds, and then a bird, or a person or an animal eats from it, it is regarded as a charitable gift (sadaqah) for him." (Bukhari)

Conserve resources even when used for rituals:

3. Abdullah ibn Amr ibn Al-`Aas (May Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet passed one day by Sa`d ibn Abi Waqas (May Allah be pleased with him) while he was performing wudu' (ritual cleaning of body parts in preparation for prayer). The Prophet asked Sa`d, "What is this wastage?" Sa`d replied "Is there wastage in wudu also?" The Prophet said, "Yes, even if you are at a flowing river." (Ahmad and authenticated Ahmad Shakir)

Keeping environment clean is important:

4. The Prophet warned, "Beware of the three acts that cause you to be cursed: relieving yourselves in shaded places (that people utilize), in a walkway or in a watering place." (Narrated by Mu`adh , hasan by Al-Albani)

5. Abu Zarr Al-Ghafari (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Removing harmful things from the road is an act of charity (sadaqah)." (Narrated by Abu Dharr Al-Ghafari)

No for over-consumption! Consider recycling and fixing before buying new items:

6. Abdullah ibn `Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet said, "The believer is not he who eats his fill while his neighbor is hungry." (Saheeh al-Bukharee (112))

7. Asked about what the Prophet used to do in his house, the Prophet's wife, `A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), said that he used to repair his shoes, sow his clothes and used to do all such household works done by an average person. (Sahih Bukhari)

8. The Prophet said, "Whoever kills a sparrow or anything bigger than that without a just cause, Allah will hold him accountable on the Day of Judgment." The listeners asked, "O Messenger of Allah, what is a just cause?" He replied, "That he will kill it to eat, not simply to chop off its head and then throw it away." (An-Nasa'i)

Animals should be cared for:

9. Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet said, "A man felt very thirsty while he was on the way, there he came across a well. He went down the well, quenched his thirst and came out. Meanwhile he saw a dog panting and licking mud because of excessive thirst. He said to himself, "This dog is suffering from thirst as I did." So, he went down the well again, filled his shoe with water, held it with his mouth and watered the dog. Allah appreciated him for that deed and forgave him." The Companions said, "O Allah's Messenger! Is there a reward for us in serving the animals?" He replied: "There is a reward for serving any living being." (Bukhari)

10. Abdullah ibn `Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet said, "A woman entered the (Hell) Fire because of a cat which she had tied, neither giving it food nor setting it free to eat from the vermin of the earth." (Bukhari)

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