Pic suggestion: Buddhist monk and R. Sampanthan seated while singing National Anthem
Blurbs:
. Many of us though never take the trouble to read well-documented scholarly history, but instead depend solely on tales from the Mahavamsa to inform our thinking and behaviour. Thus, it is that many of us ignore all factual research to the contrary and insist on talking only of Vijaya, Kuveni, and ourselves as their descendants
. Despite the absurd mental gymnastics Sinhala and Tamil nationalists alike resorted to on Independence Day and after, moderates on either side took the time and effort to engage with them continuously on social media, calling out their spurious rhetoric

. Are all disabled people in wheelchairs disrespecting the anthem in this country? Are all the elderly and/or sickly disrespecting the anthem if they are unable to stand? When did we start spouting such ableist, fascist narratives?
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By Thulasi Muttulingam
Scientists have established which came first – the chicken or the egg.
It was the egg, laid by a bird that was not a chicken. That’s how evolution works. The chicken, by the way, is one of the few modern-day descendants of ancient dinosaurs. Show some respect.
Meanwhile, over here, Sri Lankans are still hell-bent on enacting a parody of Animal Farm, based on claims on who landed first on these shores millennia ago, as if that argument alone gives them undue special rights over all others. Some of you Sinhalese had ancestors who landed here from India only a few generations ago too – take a chill pill.
The constant migration across from India’s shores, and the resultant formation of either new castes or assimilation into old castes, and thereby, the Sinhalisation of Tamil families living in Sinhala areas over time and Tamilisation of Sinhala families living in Tamil areas over time are all well-documented facts of both our ancient and modern history.
Many of us though never take the trouble to read well-documented scholarly history, but instead depend solely on tales from the Mahavamsa to influence our thinking and behaviour. Thus, it is that many of us ignore all factual research to the contrary and insist on talking only of Vijaya, Kuveni, and ourselves as their descendants. This is like the whole of America claiming descent from the Mayflower pioneers.
Not feasible, not likely, and ultimately not even relevant. It doesn’t matter who came over on the first boat. It doesn’t give you undue rights over anybody else.
Ableism on top of racism
The latest fracas to divide the nation is reams of online texts dedicated to wondering if the octogenarian Tamil senior most politician R. Sampanthan should have stood for the National Anthem at the Independence Day celebrations or not.
On all the heartburn spent on politicians who should retire from this country, this has got to be the most spurious. He is too old to stand up for the National Anthem, so send him home?
Before that, keep reviling him without taking his age into account because his not-standing-up means that Tamils don’t respect this country, and his singular action, which he has clarified was due to his inability to stand, represents all Tamils.
As usual, it is the nationalists leading the charge on both sides. Over here, Tamil nationalists (who, let me repeat, do not represent all Tamils and certainly not the majority of us either) brandished tokens of protest, and castigated Sampanthan for taking part in the celebrations at all.
Over there, Sinhalese nationalists went to town on the fact that Sampanthan was not seen standing for the anthem. They couldn’t be bothered to ask Sampanthan directly (or even guess themselves) what his problem really was.
Tamil journalists then clarified directly from Sampanthan that he had tried to stand, but felt unable to, and had sat down again. Yet, despite this clarification, his not-standing was seen as a sign of massive disrespect that all Tamils had to answer for.
Are all disabled people in wheelchairs disrespecting the anthem in this country? Are all the elderly and/or sickly disrespecting the anthem if they are unable to stand? When did we start spouting such ableist, fascist narratives? Ableism is the inability of able-bodied people to make allowances for people who are less able-bodied than themselves. Apart from the typical racist rhetoric, this came through in spades too this Independence Day.
At the same event, photos started circulating of the clergy standing – or not standing as the case may be – for the anthem. Guess which representative of which religion remained sitting, while all others respectfully stood? He was also visibly young and able-bodied, so it was not bodily impairment keeping him from standing.
Also guess which side of nationalists also maintained that this was alright as he represented the foremost religion in the land, and thus ought to have maintained his own superiority?
Too bad the Olympics don’t have mental gymnastics contests or these guys would win hands down. They display extreme mental agility in sending logic spiralling in convoluted twirls. It’s certainly a marvel to behold.
The superiority of Buddhism was not the only rationale they came up with as to why the Buddhist prelate alone had special rights to sit down. Others came up with other spurious ideas too – as a renunciate who had renounced all worldly attachments, it would not be seemly for the prelate to be attached to his mother country either, so he did not need to stand up, apparently.
This concept of clergy renouncing attachments is not unique to Buddhism; it is in nearly all other world religions too. Over a series of tweets, I attempted to engage with one of these fellows, asking if that meant other religious denominations’ clergy could sit down too – they too had renounced worldly attachments after all. Alas, I was not agile enough in my mental gymnastics to keep up with the answers. Something something…blah blah, and therefore Buddhist prelates alone blah blah…no, the rest of us still have to stand blah blah. It’s all above board and perfectly logical. Why couldn’t we grasp this simple logic? Also “go home to India” if we don’t get it.
Meanwhile, bash the 86-year-old Sampanthan for not standing up. How dare he?
Also, castigate the entire Tamil community along with him. How dare we?
Send him home and send a younger representative who can leap to attention on the double.
Don’t ask questions. Just display servility and servitude.
The peaceful majority
It’s important to note, however, that the peaceful majority on either side are no longer remaining silent, and thank goodness for that. Working from both sides, they successfully derailed the descent into active racism and supremacy, with reasoned, rational arguments. And humour. Lots of humour.
Despite the absurd mental gymnastics Sinhala and Tamil nationalists alike resorted to on Independence Day and after, moderates on either side took the time and effort to engage with them continuously on social media, calling out their spurious rhetoric. Fumigating the vicious fumes with sense, logic, and good doses of humour where all else failed.
Thus, it was that Sinhalese commentators noted and released videos of R. Sampanthan struggling to stand even in 2016 for the anthem, having to be helped by Mrs. Premadasa to stand.
MP Harsha de Silva tweeted that Sampanthan had tears in his eyes when the anthem was sung in Tamil for the first time in more than 60 years in 2015, after being done away with in the 1950s.
While the moderates worked to counter the racist rhetoric, the nationalists wouldn’t give an inch.
Harsha’s tweet and other similar ones then directly led to an outcry against there being a Tamil National Anthem at all. Tamils have to respect the anthem, but only in Sinhala, apparently.
The Tamil nationalists predictably picked up this fodder and ran with it. The rest of us who had become cannon fodder in the past – directly due to such nationalists at both ends, who are good at stirring the pot of communal violence and then conveniently escaping the repercussions themselves – had to work to call out the bull**** at both ends. But, at least, we the moderate majority are no longer silent. The nationalists no longer call the shots, and it's time they realised it.
The reams of text that went down though…
Some of us are still left scratching our heads over it. Soon after independence from the British in 1948, the immediate focus of the day by our grandparents’ generation was on who got to bash whom – based directly on who got to come over “first” with Vijaya and got to oppress Kuveni and her people here, because that is the one and only marker of social superiority we have come to accept.
We might have gained independence from the colonial yoke, but our minds are still yoked to outdated social norms of hierarchy and subservience.
Dinosaurs evolved, but we haven’t. Happy Independence Day.
(Thulasi Muttulingam is a freelance journalist based in Jaffna. All views expressed are her own and not of any organisations affiliated to her)