Dr. Sudath Gunasekara 12.10.2011. In this article I am referring particularly to those Tamil politicians who are engaged in this dirty work. But broadly it applies to all Sri Lankan politicians who cut off their noses to spite their own faces whether they are Tamil, Muslim, Sinhalese or otherwise. I give some of the latest news items that appeared in the press highlighting the latest diabolical conspiracies of few bankrupt communal Tamil politicians. 1 “Tamil Political leaders call for an early solution Sunday Leader 11.10,2011. Sinhalese moving in to Tamil areas India told, South Asia 11.10, 2011″. 2 TNA ready for a discussion with the US. Tuesday, 11 October 2011 – 07:01 PM 3 Involvement of Mauritius legal firm in the case against Shavendra Silva was initiated by TNA Trans current 9.10.2011. 4TNPF says, No bartering of war-crimes accountability for political concessions P. Sivakumaran (October 24, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Tamil National Peoples Front (TNPF), a post-war Tamil political formation in the island of Sri Lanka, in a press conference held at a Colombo residence, congratulated TNA leadership on the forthcoming visit to the USA, and said that the visit is a significant historic first where the US-State Department has extended invitation to a non-State Tamil political party, adding that the visit has potential for improving the political status of the Tamil people who have suffered within a majoritarian democracy for several decades. While pointing out that the TNA is carrying a tremendous burden on its shoulders to articulate clearly the aspirations of Tamils, TNPF cautioned that TNA, under no circumstance, should barter away Sri Lanka’s accountability for war crimes for “ƒ”¹…”political concessions.’ Equivalent to Minister of External Affairs, the Secretary of State in the US customarily invites only State parties for policy exchanges and discussions, said Gajendrakumar Ponnampalam, Vice President of TNPF and convener of its Foreign Relations Committee. He further said, “What TNA does in this trip is of tremendous importance to the political future of the Tamil people,” TNA should insist that the US takes the lead in recognizing Lankan Tamils as a distinct nation having the national right to self-determination. International Community at present has been focusing on war crimes. TNPF’s view is that Sri Lanka not only committed war crimes during the final phases of war, but also carried out systematic structural genocide for the last sixty years on the Tamil people. The genocide has continued unabatedly even two years after the war has ended. Tamil National Peoples Front is a post-war political formation founded by a section of former TNA parliamentarians and many civil society groups, who differed with the TNA over its hesitation to spell out the sovereignty of the nation of Lankan Tamils after the genocidal war. S. Kajendren, the General Secretary of TNPF, Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, vice president, V. Mannivannan, leader of the Youth wing and a co-vice president, and K. Dharmarajah, treasurer, participated the TNPF meeting. The above quotations are only four of the latest denigratory and dangerous steps taken by the Tamil communal traitors against mother Lanka. By whatever name they appear all have one common denominator. That is they all are Tamils of EELAM. None of them are true sons of mother Lanka. They are all dreaming to Tail Rajas of EELAM comprisingSri LankaandIndia. They are also Tigers asking for accepting them as a Separate Nation and they all are anti Sinhala and Buddhist and therefore anti Sri Lankan. They have not yet given up the so-called Timpu demands of the LTTE. The first of the news item quoted above implies that there are separate and distinct Tamil areas in this country andIndiashould first accept that position and then forceSri Lankato secede those parts to Tamils only. The second, the Tamil politicians believe thatUSAshould also forceSri Lankato recognize that there are separate Tamil areas and a distinct Tami nation within this country and pressurizeSri Lankato yield. The third clearly shows to what extend the TNA is anti Sri Lankan, anti Sinhala and communal minded and to what extent they have spread their EELAM net all over the world and also what enormous resources they command in spite of the demise of the LTTE top rung within this country. The fourth is still more explicit and more dangerous when you look at the content of their press release. It also clearly demonstrates that they all are hardcore Tigers although they have left the TNA temporally due to internal power struggles. Their intentions could have been highlighted no better than when they said “TNA should insist that theUStakes the lead in recognizing Lankan Tamils as a distinct nation having the national right to self-determination.” The irony is none of these Tamil politicians either here or in South India ask USA or the so-called International Community to accept Tamilnadu with 72 million Tamils and twice the size of whole of Sri Lanka and 15 times the area of the Northern Province to be accepted and declared as the EELAM the traditional Homeland of the Tamils the world over without fighting for 1/3 of Sri Lanka to accommodate about .5 m Tamils who have migrated to this country of the Sinhalese over time. This is because they all know thatIndiawill never allow such a thing to happen. The Indian Government, unlike our politicians here, has banned all such movements long ago and prohibited even to talk on such matters. If their claim does not mean a separate Tamilnadu or EELAM within Sri Lankna then what does it mean? Look at the audacity they have to have a press conference in the heart ofColombo, living among the Sinhalese and thriving on the very Sinhalas whom they hate so much. Fortunately the Muslims up to date have not openly canvassed against the country in Arab countries or any other place, though they also have equally, if not more destructive and dangerous programmes to make this Island nation another Indonesia or Maldives which will continue as long as men like Rauf Hakeem and ilk continue to be in politics in this country. Everyone knows the fact that Sri Lanka Tamil politicians run toIndiaeven for a piss. But now it is obvious that they have extended it even beyond the Indian shores in desperation. What is worse is this time they are going on an invitation of Roberto Blake “”…”a sworn enemy of our country. They are also planning to meet that frustrated American woman Bill Clinton and all anti Sinhala sections including the Canadian leaders who harp on Tamil votes and LTTE blood money. It is surprising that even Anandasangaree a former critic of the LTTE has now joined the bandwagon of TNA communal politicians who are struggling for nothing but political survival in the backdrop of growing pro-government attitude of the ordinary Tamils in the north and the east in the post LTTE development that is being implemented in those regions. Shouldn’t these moves by the rabid communal elements be taken very seriously by all concerned Sri Lankans before it deteriorates any further and once again flare up communal riots? Meanwhile I read that the government is going to protest to theUSgovernment againstClintonmeeting the TNA delegates. It is good at least to protest. But will theUStake it seriously is the problem. So far what theUSand the West have been doing is betray the legitimate Sri Lankan government who is also a member of the UN by supporting an illegitimate terrorist outfit and its proxies, the communal Tamils who ask for separation. Instead why can’t the government ban all communal political parties and charge this bunch of communal politicians for treason under our law and put an end to this menace? It reminds me how Amirtalingam went round the world denigrating this country and finally what happened. His own beloved “ƒ”¹…”Boys’ whom the TULF fathered and nurtured, murdered him brutally. The same thing will happen to these traitors as well. But this time it will be by the ordinary Tamils who have been suppressed and betrayed by these hypocritical Tamil politicians. I call upon all patriotic people to take some positive action immediately. If the government is not initiating some action to stop these dangerous moves, that should have been done long time ago. Such far reaching measures should have been taken immediately afterIndependence. As it is people should take the lead and be prepared even to take to the streets before everything goes completely out of control. At what stage of history in thisIslandnation there were Tamil territories? How long are they going to saw these seeds of communal hatred that will bring no good for them or any other? These rabid Tamil politicians are the very people who flare up communal hatred and like the proverbial Hanuma who set the country ablaze. Everyone knows that throughout history it was the Tamil politicians, starting from 1921, who have been responsible for espousing communal politics in this country. The ancestors of the present day Tamil politicians were the very people who built up the Tigers as their boys. They all had to pay for it with their lives. All those Tamil politicians who now cry genocide and colonization of so-called Tamil areas were hiding under grass like leeches when their Boys were massacring all moderate Tamils, Muslims and Sinhalese in thousands. Have they ever uttered a single word against those atrocities either at home or abroad who brought destruction to Tamils than anyone else? This scum of the earth is a bloody shame to this nation. How can they talk of a Tamil nation and a Tamil country/state in this land of the Sinhalese when they don’t have such a nation or state even inIndiawhere they have over 72 m Tamils. The best thing they should do if they still feel that they want such a Tamil nation and aTamilStatewhy can’t these people start it in Tamilnadu with the blessings of Jayalalitha and Karunanidi. Why can’t they not only go to Hilary Clinton but to all their benefactors and buddies all over the world and ask for it to be created in Tamilnadu, the Traditional Homeland of the Tamil race and give up this craving for this land of ours as their ancestors have been doing from ancient times with disaster? Not only communal political parties but also even words like Tamil areas. Muslim areas and all such terms which arouse communal or religious hatred that leads up to escalation of communal feelings should be proscribed by law, I think, if we want to have communal harmony and build up one nation. All these fellows, just like the proverbial camel, having put their heads inside the tent making use of the sympathy and good heartedness of our ancestors are now trying to rob our motherland. All these communal elements and even those “ƒ”¹…”Singalese’ idiots who try to display their intellectual nakedness or their illegitimate births by writing to papers and making big noises now and then in support of the so-called minority rights should be clearly told that this is the Mother land of the Sinhala people from the dawn of history and it is also the land of the Buddha as it had been from the 6th century BC. Therefore no one else should try to claim ownership to even an inch of it as their country. They can speak their language; they can profess their religion and practice their culture, so long as they do not become a threat to the Sinhala nation and their culture. In short none of them should pose a danger to this country or the nation. It is high time that all those who cannot accept this stark reality pack up and go back to their Motherlands or from whence they came, without creating any more problems for us. At least the present government should be bold enough to rectify this historical injustice inflicted upon this country and the Sinhala nation by the western imperial outfit. It is high time that it wage a second “ƒ”¹…”war’ against this as well, as it did against the LTTE. I have my reservations with regard to its present style of governance. But I also have my full confidence on its capacity to fulfill this onerous and historic task as its leadership has the will and the courage needed to do so. The whole country will be with the government on this issue if they do so. There isn’t the slightest doubt about it. This must not be mistaken for Sinhala chauvinism or Buddhist fanaticism as a cynic might call it. It is the burning aspiration of this nation that was kept suppressed firstly by the colonial rulers to further their exploitation and thereafter by our own self seeking politicians to come to power and remain in power with no regard to the future of this Nation.
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Dr Sudath Gunasekara 9.10,2011. President Senior Citizens Movement Mahanuwara. At first sight this idea might look crazy and absolutely mad as well. Isn’t it? But we should not forget that over time in human history many a thing unthinkable and sometimes unimaginable or unbelievable have happened. As such when we are confronted with intractable and puzzling issues like this we must firmly resolve that there cannot be anything that cannot be done or that cannot be overcome or achieved under the sun, provided we are armed with commitment, determination and perseverance and continue undaunted until the final goal is achieved. This is particularly so when you strive so for the benefit of the common people. Getting People’s Representatives elected without Political Parties obviously looks like day dreaming. This is particularly so in this country where one’s political party has come to stay in his innermost heart not only as his Party but also as his Religion as well as his Nation. Moreover for few selected it is their bread and butter as well. People’s representatives are the solid foundation of true democracy. But do we really have people’s representatives at present at any level? Whether in Parliament, Provincial Councils, Pradeshiya Sabhas or any other local government institution, do we have them? I am posing this question with all the seriousness at my command. This is the million dollar question I pose to my readers in this note. As for me I don’t think there is any at any level. The proportional representation system has made it even worst. It has reduced elections to the level of tribal wars where they kill their opponents or those supposed to be more popular in broad day light. In my opinion most of them are only the rogue representatives of the political parties which have thrust them upon the people by force, intimidation and other dirty tactics finally who win the elections. Very often they are the direct representatives of the party leadership. Of course one can see a wee bit relaxation in the leader’s discretion, varying from place to place and one politician to another, by a matter of degree, as we go down the ladder allowing the local leaders of the gang a little say. All these men and women after getting elected do everything for their personal gain. Power and wealth for themselves and other luxuries of political life”¦?, their families, friends and cronies are perhaps their sole aim. So much so today we have a well established permanent set of parasitic politicians, far from being people’s representatives, who only make the entire nation to bleed. This situation is all the more appalling at the bottom where the sprats are used as the bait to catch the whales. In the days gone by we had wealthy and often educated people in the seats of governance. Their main concern was prestige. Power they already had and money too was in plenty for them. Therefore money making and power seeking was not their forte. But today people enter politics only for power and wealth and most of them are uneducated thugs from the underworld or at least people who have active and direct links with the underworld. There may be one or two educated and good men here and there. But as we all know one or two swallows do not make a summer. Even if there are few educated men like that they also become the victims of the system the moment they get in to this dirty cesspit and get soaked neck deep. In other words they are also being dragged in to the very abyss of the “ƒ”¹…”Burmuda Trough’ that is the party system. They lose all their integrity and personality immediately after they join the gang. Such people succumbed to that situation for survival within the system, however unpleasant and stench it may be. But the people within the system never realize it. In any case one does not see his own nakedness. It has to be always an outsider, who does not look through a coloured glass could see it and point the finger at it. As you all know it was only a naked tiny tot who was standing by the way side clung on to his mothers clothe finally said that the king was naked in the story “ƒ”¹…”The Kings New Clothes.” Obviously all kings as the say goes are usually deaf, blind, and dumb. The dumbness, blindness and the deafness is always proportional to the power he wields. Power leads to corruption and absolute power leads to absolute corruption. Similarly it also leads to absolute deafness, blindness and dumbness. Political parties based on ethnicity and religion like Tamil Parties and Muslim parties are the other curse. We have consistently pointed out the need to abolish these parties if we want to have national unity. But all such appeals have only fallen on deaf years of those who are in power. The latest killing spree at Kolonnawa is a classic example of the prevailing political culture in this country. According to paper reports this broad day light killing has taken place between two advisers to the president of whom one is supposed to be a leading dealer in illicit trafficking of drugs against whom a case has been apparently withdrawn due to his political allegiance with the ruling regime. Even if you scan through the lists of those who have von the recent local government elections and got the highest preferential votes you will see the prevailing trend in the voting pattern. So one wonders as to how we can expect democracy or good governance under a system which is controlled by this type of politicians and goons. As such democracy and good governance within the present system is only a misnomer. It was dead and buried for good long time ago. To that extend the form of government we have today is nothing but a corrupted form of oligarchy covered under the democratic garb. In this backdrop what we badly needs today is a new political system, a new political culture where you get statesmen who are dedicated to serve the people and not a set of uneducated rouges that plunder the whole nation and ruin the country with impunity. In short as a nation today we have ceased to be a representative democracy any more. This trend I think was permanently set in late 1970s. Most people have adjusted to live with it as there is no alternative. What an American political scientist once said that “ƒ”¹…”Democracy is a form of government where a set of cunning foxes rule over a pack of asses’ I think has come to stay permanently in this country. The marked decline in the percentage of voting at successive elections is a good indication of the silent protest registered by the people against this trend. It may be we are sitting on a huge dormant volcano. The day it erupts no one will be able to stop it and no one will be safe either. Deeply disappointed and disgusted with this appalling and pathetic situation I have been long since thinking of a system of getting peoples representatives elected without going through the present hassle of election warfare and wastage of national wealth causing untold misery and pain for the people, in addition to the waste of millions of productive man hours which otherwise could have been more profitably diverted for development of the country. If any one takes an account of the number of man days and the enormous national wealth lost as a result of people taking part in political meetings and other activities linked with present day elections like poster pasting, parading, vehicles used and misused, displaying cutouts, TV adds, Paper advertisements, expenditure on liquor, food packets and payments for various other connected activities like crackers burnt and decorations he will see the magnitude of this national tragedy and the irreparable lost to the nation. The root cause of this tragedy is the struggle for power between political parties and individuals. Have you ever heard any politician talking about victory for the people? They only shout for the victory for the party. To that extent they are absolutely honest. Isn’t it? A political system without political parties, a system without election meetings, a system without posters that destroys the beauty of the urban landscape and the country side and send down the drain millions for removing them, a system without bribes , threats, intimidation and violence, a system without murder, a system without noise pollution, a system without environmental pollution, a system without arson, a system without damage to public and private property, and a system where people periodically electing men and women of their own choice without contestants asking and begging for the vote, people electing men and women of high caliber, character, education and some means who do not enter politics for the sole purpose of making money and robbing public money. Today even to be a sanitary labourer one needs to have some basic qualifications. But to be a politician, a Minister, Chairman of a corporation, a Director General of an important institution, a Governor of a Province or even an Ambassador you don’t need to have any, other than the right connection. People who are elected to govern the country and those holding public positions therefore should posses the best qualifications. They should be both acceptable and respectable among the citizens and they should be always above board. But how to think of a system like that? What about a system of village level sabhas to elect village leaders and then Janasabha for each electorate comprising village leaders like Chairmen of VCC and few selected men of standing in the area set up to nominate the prospective candidates who are prepared to serve the society without ruining the country within the framework of a National Policy which should be prepared by a Supreme National Planning Council. Who will form the SNPC? The elected President, Prime Minister, Speaker of the House, Chief Justice, Head of the Public Service, the Head of the Treasury, Auditor General, the Head of the three forces, the Mahanayaka Theros of the three Nikayas, the Heads of the other major three religions and few other intellectuals whose credentials are accepted and respected by the whole country for some distinguished service rendered to the nation. National policies formulated by this Council should be debated and ratified by the Parliament before it is accepted as the National Policy of the nation. Once the lists of candidate are published people vote purely on merit of the individual concerned. Whoever gets elected should strictly conform and adhere to the policies of the SNPC. The elected will get together and elect their leaders. And an electoral college of the district leaders in Parliament elects the Prime Minister and the Ministers. The Parliament will form into few Committees to form the Ministries like what we had in the days of the State Council. All take part in debates and bills passed by majority votes in the house. There will be no opposition party; only opposing viewpoints of independent individuals. There will be only one party all agreeing by general consensus. A bill so passed becomes law after the President who will be the Head of the State subscribes his signature to it. Candidates should be men of high character, education, of standing and of substantial means, of proven record, permanently resident within the electorate in which they are expected to contest and proven ability in the fields of Administration, social service business and commerce, finance or any other relevant field where they will be able to contribute for the development of the country. The President elected by the people of the whole country, subjected to control by the parliament and the people, will be the Head of the State. He like any other citizen should be equal before the law. No one should be above the law of the country. Once the nominations are accepted for Parliamentary elections, elections should be held on one day. The Commissioner of Elections should have the final word on all elections. With regard to the political and administrative institutions we should have the minimum number. The Provincial Council system should go and all superfluous government Ministries, Departments and Corporations and Authorities that are a big burden to the nation also should be closed down. That alone will save about hundreds of billions of public funds annually and could divert more people to some productive activity. Also the present practice of allocating public funds to politicians on the basis of electorates and their control over allocations and public contracts whereby they are openly allowed to bribe the voters on the one hand and misappropriate public funds on the other should be done away forthwith. Once the budgetary allocations are annually made by Parliament as the supreme body of financial control politicians should never be allowed to meddle with public expenditure other than in cases of misuse by public officials who are entrusted with the power to spend public funds according to the law and accepted procedure laid down in financial regulations. While the Ministry Secretaries should be held solely responsible to Parliament as the Chief Accounting Officers the Auditor General should be the watch dog of all public expenditure. No politician should be allowed to do politics with public funds as it is done today. The final goal of all this should be the good of the people and the good of the Nation and not be the good of the politician as it has come to stay at present. When the good of the people and the good of the nation are achieved naturally the good of the politicians too will follow. This of course is only a view point of one individual. I have no doubt that many more will share this idea with me. I invite those interested to join this forum. Dr Sudath Gunasekara retired Ministry Secretary (SLAS) 3.10.2011.Stan Cox writing to the Sri Lanka Guardian on the 14th of July 2008 under the caption “ƒ”¹…”Fixing a Broken Agriculture’ has made a stunning revelation on the present state of American Agriculture. While doing so he has also warned the entire world on the ecological destruction in progress all around that arise out of “ƒ”¹…” the human economy’s unvarying tendency to over produce what is profitable while at the same time under producing what is needed’. He also goes on to say that there is no better example of that than American agriculture, quoting his latest work Broken Agriculture 2008. For bringing agriculture, what he calls “ƒ”¹…”into line with ecological reality’ he presents two prescriptions, namely a short term and long term one. The first he says includes some efforts that can be started today that will help to get humanity through mid-century and the second, (which also must be accelerated and soon- in his own words)’will take longer to complete but will be necessary to sustain agriculture to the end of the century and beyond’ This introduction I think is both a revelation on the present state of world agriculture and also a stunning prediction on the future facing sustainability and perhaps a grim warning on our survival on this planet earth. Among other things he highlights the following as the salient points in American agriculture. 1 The American agriculture is not a food system. It generates food only as a by-product where the by-product is wealth to support companies that produce seed, machinery, fertilizer, pesticides, diesel fuel and other inputs that feed on the food leaving the farm. 2The present system is ecologically devastative. 3 It consumes more energy to market food items than to produce and the actual cost to the consumer is over four times the farm gate cost. 4 Agriculture (may be as he sees it there) is the planet’s chief cause of soil erosion, bio-diversity loss and creation of costal hypoxic This process he sees as a major threat to sustainability in agriculture and human survival. To overcome this danger he prescribes two causes of action; one a short term and another a long term one as he has said His list of short term recommendations is given below. 1An end to the feed lot and animal confinement and a reduction in meat consumption 2.Replacement of grain cropping with ecologically well managed perennial pasture and range. 3 Removing more of the most erodable land from production and establishing tree and grass buffers 4 Using biological nitrogen fixation rather than industrially produced nitrogen 5Reversing rural-to-urban human migration to help to return the fertility in human and animal waste to the soil. These he argues are only palliative changes which will allow us to do no more than put a tourniquet on agriculture, in a grim attempt to slow the hemorrhaging of soil, water, nutrients, chemicals and biodiversity. Long term recommendation His long term recommendation is a return to diverse perennial vegetation. Under this he “ƒ”¹…”entails the replacement of annual grain monocultures, with polycultures of perennial grains and oil seeds etc’. (how they are going to replace a crop like paddy one has to wait and see-although he says that attempts are already being made to develop a variety of perennial upland rice by a group of Chinese scientists of the Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences from crosses between standard Asia rice (Oryza sativa) and two wild perennial species (O, longistaminata and O. rufipongon). However it may be pointed out that such a possibility cannot be completely ruled out. What does all this mean? As I understand it what Cox argues for is that we should give priority to agriculture which he considers as the root of all economies (doesn’t this display the acceptance of the Buddhist concept of Sabbe Satta Aharatthika- all beings subsist on food), replace greed with need (Doesn’t this agree with what Mahatmaganadhhi said and what Schumacher reproduced as Buddhist Economics in his Small is Beautiful 1974 P.51), go back to nature that will protect the natural ecology ( what Rachel Carlson argued for in 1962 in her Silent Spring and Richard Thornton Smith so eloquently argued in 2001), preserve the watersheds, reforest denuded land and go back to experience and tradition that is closer to nature and that will preserve energy and thereby reduce cost of agricultural products (what I advanced as my own thesis for the PhD on Sustainability of Peasant Agriculture in Sri Lanka 2006). Richard Thornton Smith (2001)makes the following observations on indigenous knowledge systems (IKS). “There is a need to “ƒ”¹…”go back to our roots’ for a more sustainable way of agriculture which will support the life of the planet-soil, plant, animal man- in perpetuity”. “Agriculture is in crisis. Both small and large scale farmers are not making a living through these modern agricultural practices since the cost of input fertilizer, pesticides and seeds are comparatively high to what they actually get for their produce”. “Large multinational companies who reap in the cash and offer just a pittance to the farmers and modern chemical farming practices have made farmers bankrupt”. “These trends should be reversed and rethink, since these intensive agricultural trends trap farmers in a vicious cycle of poverty, destroy the soil, pollute the environment, while adversely affecting both the soil and the farmer. The link between the deterioration of soil and the need for more and more chemical fertilizer to maintain high yields is causing havoc in the environment.” “This is the harm that we are doing not only to ourselves but to the future generation as well. Our own health and that of our children, our environment, our very future depends upon the health of our land where we grow our food.” “To practice bio””‘dynamic farming methods one has to have an understanding of health, cause of disease, and not just treating the symptoms. Modern day agricultural developments such as genetic engineering and biotechnology are an extension of the industrial, symptom driven systems where a deficiency is treated with fertilizer, a disease with fungicide without ever trying to identify the underlying imbalance. This imbalance causes further chain reactions in the social and economic environment as well.” “In order to grow healthy plants a healthy soil is needed. The health in the soil is provided by life from the animals and plants and through diverse organisms in the environment. They don’t come through synthetic chemical substances, but through the environment’s bio””‘diversity. This is the idea behind the organic farming concept which makes it sustainable and ecologically sound”. The above argument by Thornton Smith I think makes a very strong case for indigenous technology as an instrument of sustainable agriculture. Cox is an American scientist and Smith a British: both from two giant Western industrial countries who have faced the real brunt of modernization in agriculture. Therefore it is more authentic and reliable than something coming from a solitary man in a so-called third world country which would have definitely looked down upon as anti-colonial or anti-western and unscientific rubbish by “ƒ”¹…”enlightened academics and intellectuals’ who worship the western corpus of knowledge as universal and sacrosanct. I am particularly happy that Cox has highlighted four factors I have advanced in my thesis that is the need for protecting the watersheds, need for going back to tradition and endogenity and the need to replace greed with need. Cox appears to reject large scale agriculture as it is presently practiced in the USA and many other countries that destroys the ecology, the use of chemical throughputs to agriculture that again destroys the entire eco system including bio diversity, genetic diversity and the natural process of nitrogen fixation and high cost marketing processes like packaging, transport and advertising etc that increase the cost of food items. Since all these items comprise the hallmark of modern agriculture, doesn’t this also mean a total rejection of modernization of agriculture as it is conceived by the west and also marks a clarion call for endogenity and eco friendly approaches as the basis of sustainable agriculture? Doesn’t this also dispel the so-called globalization myth, at least in the field of agriculture? Those who advocate the blanket approach in applying western knowledge and technology to agriculture the world over should at least now try to re-asses their stand and open their eyes to see the stark reality. It is true that the world is one. But one must realize that the countries are different and the regions and localities are still different. They have their own and distinctive geographical characteristics like soil, climate, physiography and socio-cultural and even religious ethos that more or less determine the nature of their agricultural systems. Isn’t universality in this context a big humbug? When we think of the ecological and genetic devastation that followed large scale use of insecticides and pesticides etc with the inauguration of the Green Revolution in countries like Sri Lanka where practically all the farmer friendly paddy insects, frogs and even fish in the village streams have been virtually destroyed, one can imagine the destruction modern technology has done to local agriculture. Another example is the dependency on imported seed materials. The Monaragala Indian corn case, where thousands of acres of corn, were affected and the tragedy of local papow cultivation due to its total dependence on imported seeds at exorbitant cost as the imported varieties do not produce seeds that germinate could be cited as two good examples of technological bungling by our so-called agricultural scientists who have nothing else in their heads other than what they have learned from the book and the greed for commissions, but the love for the country? I think what Cox has high lighted is an eye opener for all our agricultural scientists, both in the universities and allied institutes, and policy makers who just blindly follow the western knowledge corpus as the panacea for our problems in the agricultural sector without making any effort to look inside and try to understand how our people sustained their agriculture over a period of two millennia in this Island and also without discarding our knowledge base as inefficient, unproductive, primitive, backward and outdated. The widely accepted notion among many of them that all what is western is modern and universal, I think should be rejected at least now. No knowledge base more particularly on agriculture is universal for that matter. It varies with time and space and all indigenous knowledge is specific to a given place and time. It is generated from within making regular adjustments appropriate to a given climate, soil and even cultural practices and ethos. Sri Lanka has been a unique example which has considered the protection of watersheds, the ecological balance and socio-cultural ethos for many thousands of years as crucial ingredients to maintain sustainability in agriculture and that has developed a unique irrigation and land use technology to meet these requirements. It is perhaps the only country where the concept of protecting the total environment not only for humans but also for the benefit of all living beings on earth alike was accepted and the Ruler was designated as the guardian and protector of the forest and the land for the benefit of all beings. Not only these norms were legalized by royal decree but they were also accepted and practiced by the people under both social acceptance and ethical compulsion. |
AuthorDr Sudath Guansekara Forermer Secretary to Mrs Siirimavo Bandaranayaka PM Archives
August 2020
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