It does not take a social scientist to recognise the ever-increasing pattern of aimless youth strolling the streets of Sri Lanka without purpose, discipline, or a sense of duty to society, country, and humanity. There is little sense of public duty, personality, dignity, honour, or affiliation in these youth.
Most are looking for quick money, for commitment-free gigs, to get high, and to loiter, which are indicative of a sense of indifference or ‘whatever’. At the other end of the spectrum, youth have turned to religious extremism, ethnic tribalism, terrorism, and mysticism. These signal the immense indifference or hate they have for their societies.
It is very important to note that responsibility cannot be placed solely on the youth as they are modelled by the society that brings them up. The responsibility lies with their adults, authorities, educators, and leaders. The youth are highly impressionable, irrespective of their social, economic, educational, religious, and cultural backgrounds, and the incumbent generation in charge has allowed many forms of bad influences to flourish in Sri Lanka.
These range from media glorifying crime and indiscipline, reality shows venerating fame and power, to racist institutions spreading hate and religious extremism, demanding blood. On top of the bad influences, they are behaving this way because they feel abandoned and excluded from society, as society has not given them guidance, purpose, and a social role.
Our education system has failed to produce students with social discipline, duty, and purpose. Students are told merely to pass exams, find a job, go to university, build a family – all of which are presented as self-contained individual goals. Therefore, those who are considered successful in the current educational system – people who get into university and find reputable jobs – are indeed self-disciplined but lack a sense of social duty or purpose. They are not socially disciplined, as demonstrated by rioting and anti-social university students.
Universities have also failed to instil a sense of social duty, purpose, or discipline in their graduates – the brains of the nation. They have only managed to produce graduates with knowledge and skill but without a shared vision and purpose. Graduates then move into the job market only to serve their individualistic goals in this vacuum of singular national or social interests. In the absence of a single direction for the country, the youth cannot be expected to do anything more than serve private interests, which sometimes cause dire consequences for society at large.
A possible solution
Now, there is a possible solution for this. However, in Sri Lanka, the mere word that connotes the solution raises eyebrows and may lead to a fundamental rights case. Nevertheless, the solution is being presented here to make the average citizen aware and hopefully lead to constructive public discussion on the matter. It is being used by many of the developed countries ranked at the very top of the Human Development Index (HDI).
It is called conscription. Conscription, in a narrow sense, means mandatory military training and service for the youth, both men and women, for a limited duration with the readiness to serve on notice. In a broader sense, it means mandatory public service for a prescribed time or when required. However, it must be cautioned and acknowledged that just because a solution is used successfully in developed countries, it does not necessarily mean that it will work well in Sri Lanka.
The case of Singapore
Since I have got the word out, let’s look at what this solution represents in a few highly-developed countries.
First, let’s look at Singapore. Given that it contains a multicultural and heterogeneous society similar to that of Sri Lanka, we can make more sense out of the policy purpose of Singapore’s conscription programme, aptly termed ‘National Service’ (NS).
The purpose of the National Service is captured by the statement of former Singaporean Defence Minister Dr. Goh, which he made in early 1967 when he asked Parliament to pass the National Service Bill. He said then: “Nothing creates loyalty and national consciousness more speedily and more thoroughly than participation in defence and membership of the armed forces.”
Today, regardless of wealth or status, every Singaporean male must serve two years of full-time NS, followed by Operationally Ready National Service (ORNS) cycles. For Singaporeans, National Service has gone beyond just meeting the defence imperative, becoming a cultural institution and part of Singaporean identity over the years.
A 2013 study by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) showed that more Singaporeans viewed National Service as fulfilling a social mission – instilling discipline and values in the young – than as serving a defence mandate. Singapore has effectively given youth a national identity, discipline, social role, and sense of national duty.
Therefore, Sri Lanka can consider a National Service programme to achieve purposes similar to those of Singapore, which has formed one of the foundations of its development and prosperity with an HDI value of 0.932 in 2017 – placing the country in the very high human development category – positioning it at nine out of 189 countries and territories.
Scandinavian countries
Some may argue that Singapore is a one-party-dominated nation-state with limited human freedom and happiness. Therefore, let’s look at the Scandinavian countries, which have consistently ranked the highest on the HDI and the World Happiness Index (WHI). These countries are considered to be the most developed, peaceful, happy, and human rights-oriented countries in the world. Most of them have some form of mandatory national service.
Now, let’s look at Switzerland. The Swiss Constitution states that “every Swiss male is obliged to do military service”. Every Swiss male has to serve at least 260 days in the armed forces; conscripts receive 18 weeks of mandatory training, followed by seven three-week intermittent recalls for training during the next 10 years. As recently as 2017, Switzerland was considering adding women to its draft roles.
This practice is very popular and Swiss voters in 2013 again rejected an effort to abolish mandatory conscription in the Swiss military. Swiss voters overwhelmingly opposed abolition by a vote of 73.2% to 26.8%. It’s a pretty staggering defeat for the anti-conscription and pacifist forces in Switzerland.
It’s also essential to remember that Switzerland is a federal confederation of 26 highly-autonomous cantons with four language-speaking groups of citizens: German, French, Italian, and Romansh. The conscription requirement is a way to pull together young individuals from Switzerland’s multiple traditions, so you can think of conscription as less a military obligation and more of a nation-building exercise, or even an exercise in personal and social growth.
Finland is regarded as the happiest country by the World Happiness Index, is the country with the best education system, has one of the highest HDI ratings, and is ranked seventh in the Global Innovation Index. All these achievements are realised while having mandatory military training for its citizens. Therefore, all males aged 18 and volunteering females have a service obligation of 6-12 months. Furthermore, Norway, South Korea, Israel, Denmark, Austria, and the UAE also have some form of conscription.
A national and individual development tool
As can be seen, many developed countries use conscription as a method of nation-building rather than mere militarisation. Therefore, one must not see this idea or practice as intrinsically counterproductive or against human rights.
However, to present both sides of the picture, many dictatorships also use this mechanism to brainwash people with hardcore ideologies; for example, Hitler’s Nazi regime used such techniques extensively. Therefore, just like any tool, this can be used for both virtuous or malicious purposes. It depends on how it is designed and delivered.
Therefore, my suggestion is that Sri Lanka should seriously consider developing a conscription programme in line with its unique sociocultural and political needs and challenges, making it a constructive national and individual development tool.
It is not a new idea, but a forgotten one. Before independence in 1948, Sri Lanka had a volunteer force system. There were volunteer corps for Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims, Malays, Burghers, etc. and these corps were deployed to protect the nation during both world wars. On the other hand, there is a fear that introducing such a system in a country already ridden with racial and religious tensions can lead to unintended consequences. Therefore, we must approach this idea with caution, foresight, and significant public discussion.
Offering civic engagement opportunities
If in Sri Lanka conscription cannot be implemented in a military context due to various social, political, and economic reasons, then it is highly desirable to implement a mandatory national service for the youth after the period of a national training programme.
Let us now look at several countries around the world that have adopted mandatory national service that includes non-military options, aiming to foster national unity, address societal needs, or instil civic responsibility.
In Israel, aside from the well-known military conscription, there is ‘Sherut Leumi’ for those opting for civil services. South Korea and Finland offer alternatives to military service, allowing individuals to serve in public welfare roles or in settings like schools and hospitals. Norway and Sweden provide options for those objecting to military service on ethical grounds, with roles in emergency management or societal support.
Switzerland and Austria offer civil service opportunities in areas like health, conservation, and social welfare as an alternative to military conscription. Before suspending its military draft in 2011, Germany had a ‘Zivildienst’ for conscientious objectors to serve in non-military roles. Similarly, Denmark offers an alternative civilian service and Eritrea mandates roles in sectors such as agriculture and education alongside its military service.
Each country’s programme specifics vary, but the common thread is offering civic engagement opportunities beyond the military. Sri Lanka can design and implement a mandatory national service programme to instil discipline, purpose, dignity, and honour in its youth and safeguard its national interests with or without a military component. If carried out efficiently, without favour and fear, it will greatly benefit both personal development of citizens and the development of the nation.
(The writer is an Attorney-at-Law [SCSL] and economist)