These are two excerpts from the Memorial Oration delivered by President and CEO of the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi, Prof. Pratap Bhanu Mehta’s on ‘The Crisis in Governance in South Asia,’ commemorating the 25th death anniversary of Wijaya Kumaratunga.

“I am just quoting a passage from the great German historian Heinrich Meyer from a biography of Julius Caesar. This passage will remind you of so many South Asian politicians, It certainly reminds me of Indira Gandhi, very vividly, and many other State leaders. Heinrich Meyer describes Caesar as, being insensitive to political institutions and to the way they operate. He was unable to see them as autonomous entities. He could see them only as instruments of his power or as instruments in an interplay of forces. He had no feeling for the power of institutions, to guarantee law and safety. But he had only feelings for what he found troublesome about them! In Caesar’s eyes no one existed or no institution existed, except if it was useful as it were for him “The people were not the people; they were either supporters or opponents. The scene was thus denuded of any impersonal institutions; and politics became a fight for the leader’s own rights”. This authoritarian temptation is very prevalent in South Asian politics. I don’t think it represents the majority public opinion. But when you have the best lacking all conviction, you can see the temptation to have things as it were as politicians speak things up. So how do we move the equilibrium back to a political culture which understands institutions. It is going to be the second big challenge of democracy. Public opinion and Institutions are the two backbones of democracy if you get these two wrong, everything else follows”

“My confidence comes from the fact that, if you talk to young people, even if they do not articulate it, they are ready for a paradigm shift in our politics. From old administrative practices to new administrative practices; from identities being prisons, to identities being freely chosen. And from looking upon the world as a place they can go out and conquer, I am using conquer metaphorically, rather than as a place that is beating them down and keeping them in that place. I think nothing would perhaps serve Wijaya Kumaratunga’s memory better than if he had actually seized the promise of this moment; all our elites, political, bureaucratic, civil, military, and recognize that South Asia can now move beyond being a perpetual under achiever. That we can create a civilization that lives like Wijaya Kumaratunga’s will not be cut short by political violence; that each of us gets to write our own story, sing our own song and enjoy the exuberance which so manifestly comes out in his movies but which is alas so much at variance with the politics we experience”.

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EXERPTS

“Poverty is considered to be the greatest challenge facing all countries. Governments have formulated and implemented thousands of programmes to alleviate or end poverty and deprivation.”
“However, rarely do governments recognize the importance of searching out the causes of conflict and resolving them. Unresolved conflict invariably leads to violence and civil war. This in turn compounds the problems of poverty”.

“The colonial rulers transformed diversity into sources of friction, employing diversities “to divide and rule”. From being a cultural strength, diversity was transformed into a political and social weakness. With the advent of colonialism, diversity was no more celebrated and accepted as part of an existential necessity, but was seen as something to be opposed. Of course it was greatly advantageous to the invading rulers to divide us in order to rule and dominate us better”.
“Hence ethnic and tribal differences, religion differences and so on were exacerbated causing division and conflict”.

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Excerpts

“Terrorism poses the most serious military challenge to the modern world. Recognition of the importance of searching out the deep-rooted causes of conflict and seeking to resolve them seems to be a rare occurrence in the planning of counter-terrorist strategies. We can witness, all around us, the dismal failure of mainly militarist methods to address violent conflict.”

I believe that militarist strategies must be employed only as the solution of the last resort. The deep-rooted causes of each conflict must be understood and managed. This will, no doubt, take time and involve complex operations. However, it is such a holistic approach that has proved to finally overcome violent protest and conflict in a durable manner.”
“Hence we proposed to enact a new Constitution, containing extensive devolution of power to the minorities, together with various other measures adopted to guarantee their rights. This draft Constitution also contained measures to abolish the Executive Presidency which invests excessive power in the incumbent “

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“Secularism implies the relationship between Religion and Politics, more specifically between Religion and the State. The concept of secularism has drawn its sources from the philosophy that Humans can order their lives and their societies without recourse to transcendent or supra natural powers, and hence they could also organize and manage the State and its government, without direct connections with the religious establishment. Thus evolved the concept of Secularism and the separation of the Sate from Religion, taking root in Europe and spreading its message across the globe”.

“In South Asia, the concept was popularized in the 20th century, mainly during the anti-colonial struggles and the consequent formation of new, independent States in the 2nd half of the century.
In Sri Lanka in the past few years, the end of the civil war and the victory of the State over the separatists has been immersed in Sinhala Buddhist discourse. Anti terrorist emotions have been successfully linked with anti-Tamil and now anti-NGO and anti-everybody else concept, by means of a massive State-led publicity campaign. The Sinhala Buddhist identity is projected as supreme and the exclusively legitimate one comprising the right to dominance over the State and body politic of Lanka. The present leaders seem to dig deep into the Sinhala Buddhist psyche, searching out the fears and concerns of the populace of a small, weak country to turn them against various types of “enemies”.

“At this point, I would like to describe my personal experience as Head of State. I was personally committed to the concept that Federalism and inclusivity were the solutions to Sri Lanka’s minorities’ question. I had also ascertained that the majority of adherents to the exclusivist Sinhala Buddhist concept of the State belong to a small minority of the elite ruling class- politicians and clergy closely linked to them, professionals and business men. The masses, in their vast majority were not committed to extremist political views of any type”.

“A Gallup poll we conducted at the time my government came to power in 1994 showed that only 23 per cent of the Sinhala people opted for a negotiated settlement of the conflict. We undertook programs to take the message of peace to the entire country. We held seminars, workshops, street theaters, and we used the media widely. At the end of 2 years another survey showed that the number of people opting not only for peace, but this time also for devolution of power had increased to 68 per cent.”

“The root causes of most conflicts in South Asia have proved to be poverty and exclusion.
We do not know of solutions other than those we find in Federalism, Pluralism and Inclusive development to forge a socially cohesive, stable and prosperous State”

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• Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, Chairperson
• Prof. Lord Meghnad Desai- UK
• Lalith de Mel- Sri Lanka
• Mano Tittawella –Sri Lanka

The Foundation has an International Advisory Council of eminent persons such as

• Justice Kamal Hussein (Bangladesh)
• Mr. Mohammed Yunus (Bangladesh)
• Dr. Nadeem ul Haq (Pakistan)
• Mr. Henri Rouille d’ Orfeuil (France)
• Marek Belka, (Poland)

The Foundation’s registered office is in London – UK.

Its operational office is situated in Colombo – Sri Lanka and will operate in the South Asian region.

Objectives of the Foundation

• Promotion of Democracy: We promote Fundamental Freedoms, Democratic Institutions and Values..
• Poverty alleviation: South Asia has the largest number of poor in the world and is also one of the two regions with the largest number of conflicts. It is thought that the extreme levels of poverty are a major cause of conflicts in the region.
• Conflict resolution : Educational & cultural programs to promote understanding between diverse communities living in the region, to build Unity in Diversity..
• Women Empowerment : through education and economic empowerment.

Our objectives will be achieved by formulating and implementing suitable projects.

Funding

Funding for the projects will be obtained from local and international agencies.

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• Provision Of Domestic Water Through Rainwater Harvesting Systems – Embilipitiya Sabaragamuwa Province
• Provision Of Electricity Via Solar Power To 100 Resettled Idp’s In Jaffna / Northern Province
• The Academy Of Leadership Training

DANIEL SHAPIRO:

You can download the Research Paper by clicking on the link below

GAMINI KEERAWELLA:

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PRATAP BHANU MEHTA:

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RAM MANIKKALINGAM:

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MANI SHANKAR AIYAR:

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