Freedom & independence a concept lost

Freedom!!! A single word with so much meaning and depth in it that it is not every Sri Lankan’s cup of tea… For me “Freedom” or “Independence” for that matter is a state of mind. A state of mind we have still not been able to apprehend nor comprehend since we as a country existed.

?Let’s take a walk, shall we… Sri Lanka’s written history goes back 2500 years which is a long time, to be honest. Where we boast of a civilization that contributed so much to modern-day engineering, medicine, astronomy, warfare, food technology, and diplomacy. However, throughout our history, we read about our people who lived for the longest time as “Royal Subjects” up until the Portuguese. Where we have depended on everything to be provided to us by the state through a barter system also, we have been cultivating paddy and all other crops in the lands provided to the landlords who were the closest to the king. From this time onwards we have never been a set of people who were “Free or independent” don’t believe me? Maybe this will change your mind, legend has it that when the lord of the village asked a man to send his woman to his house for the night the man used to shut up and deliver his wish because he had much more to lose. This is just a mere example to show how “Lordship” driven we have been and our spines have always been broken by our own by giving us downright basics like land to cultivate so we could do so and provide them the lion-share while they further exploited everything that was around us.??

Things I may put down today may be taken as controversial but I know deep down we know it is true although our fragile nationalist (racist) ego won’t allow us to accept it. This is why I say that we’re not ready for a state of mind called “Freedom” because freedom or independence is not something tangible that someone could grasp, it is a concept. Now some may argue “This is not factually accurate” because we have rebelled against the kings or invaders the truth is “Some of us have done it” as in some Sinhalese rebelled back then against our invaders while most of them turned towards the invaders and declared loyalty so that they will have a new master because it was of benefit to do so than fight and get their hands dirty.

This shows that we have never been capable of being independent and doing things on our own, Fast forward 2500 years later we see that same mentality in our people which makes it an easy set of people to deceive and abuse simply by promising them material. How? Let us look at the promises made by politicians during the past 74 years. We were promised 05 types of grains, bread at 3.50, lower fuel prices, the ability to drive a car and make Sinhala the national language which led to 30 years of civil conflict. And yet not a single politician got on stage and told us how they were going to achieve them. Nor a single politician has gone on stage and said “This is how I’m going to increase state revenue, This will be our tax policy, this will be our monitory policy, this will be our defense and diplomatic policy” have you ever thought why? “Because we do not care” and have you thought “Why don’t we care” the truth is that our education hasn’t taught us “To Care” about these issues which were again developed by the same rulers – NOT Leaders, Rulers who ruled over us for the longest time.

?Once an uncle told me “Putha, Back in the day at Ananda College they taught Sinhala in English” this is the quality we had in education where our leaders in the past were extremely educated and tactful, I mean not to be surprised we have over 60 individuals who have received Knighthoods under the British Empire who were educated extremely well who also deprived his countrymen receiving the same level of education simply because they could foresee that one day their throne will be threatened by a commoner. They wanted people who could read & write but certainly not “Think” hence to-date the child who asks questions from the teacher is considered a trouble maker. To date, the child who’s not good in math is considered a failure no matter how much potential he/she has in other aspects of academics in their life. It is simply because our teachers are also a product that comes from the same educational system. And their job is to orient, program, and conform the next generation towards the same structure so that the rulers can further keep them away from reading, thinking, and understanding because if they do they know it is not a good thing for them.

?This is the sad truth of the modern-day Sri Lankan and this is why our youth is more interested in dancing on Tok-tok than actually speaking their mind on it, this is why our youth don’t invent, develop business enterprises, drop out from university to start a business. We think we received independence from the British in 1948 why don’t we read about the culture under the British back then and the culture 74 years later. Has it changed? Are people more independent? Are people more empathetic? Logical? Understanding? Law-abiding? ARE WE FREE??? And the answer is we’re not at all free because we’re still bound by the same “Royal Subject” mentality where we venerate everything…

• “If a leader wears a scarf around his neck it is a symbol of his pride and that man is pure and patriotic because he speaks loud and addresses the monks on stage,”
• “If a man wears a white scarf around his neck and speaks Sinhala with a slightly off British accent, he’s is an aristocratic leader who’s born to rule us,”
• “If a man wears a suit he must be educated and well respected internationally”
• “A monk has an opinion about the way the country should be run because he’s the leader of the assemblage NOT the voters who voted them into power” (Although his appointment to become the leader of the assemblage is a result and a statement of the deep-rooted and institutionalized caste system which doesn’t allow anyone from a lower caste become the Mahanayake Thero”
• People in the health sector are called a “Suwaviruwa”??
• Military personnel are called “Ranaviruwa”
• Foreign employees are called “Rataviruwa”

?Why??? Why are we venerating professions? I’m not saying any of the above professions shouldn’t be respected of course they should but in developed countries, Ex-Military personnel are called a “Veteran” not a “Hero” when they sacrifices their lives “He/She is called a Martyr” their lives are celebrated not venerated because for all the services they extend they’re paid a salary and it is the profession they chose knowing the risk of it. We really need to take away the cross from the crown if not they’ll forever draw lines and say things like “I came to power with the majority vote of the Sinhala Buddhist votes” providing a certain community which I’m from as well as an unrequired ego boost which will allow them to look down another community.

In my opinion, if we truly need to be FREE, we need to understand that we shouldn’t be dependent on anything, that we should be able and willing to pay for the education that is provided to us so that the government can afford to upgrade the education system while hiring people who wants to educate the generation not buy a bunch of nobodies who,

1. Didn’t get enough marks in the A/Ls to go to a good faculty
2. Didn’t get a job after completing a completely useless degree from a state university and has no job

?We need to be ready to pay some kind of a value for what we consume for free and more importantly, we need to look beyond the generational die that is cast on us and break the mold. Have open discussions about what you feel that needs to be questioned and continue until you get a satisfying reply. It is that ability to comprehend that the response you got isn’t satisfactory and your ability to question further is what I call “Freedom” because you’re now questioning something that’s been told to you because you want to, not because you have to.

Remember freedom is not something that can be given, independence is not something that can be given, Prisoners write poetry, draw sketches, read books, and write books while they’re still in prison that is because their bodies are not free but their minds are. Freedom, Independence is something you feel, but it comes at a price and that is your ability to think & your ability to act upon them. And when you’re capable of such there will be no tyrant over us, there will be no politician above us who would want to stomp on us because we’re free in our mind from the shackles they place on us. Remember!!!

“It is our light, not our darkness that frightens us the most,?

You playing do not serve the world?

And nothing is enlightening about shrinking?

So that other people feel insecure around you…”

Marianne Williamson?