Cultural Genocide – Sinhalese Right to Identity at stake: Sinhalese are not prepared to give up Sinhale Identity for the sake of becoming a Sri Lankan

Shenali D Waduge

The fundamental right to a historically held identity is being incrementally usurped. There is a plot to usurp the Sinhale Identity. It must be opposed. The Sinhale identity is in our blood and the Buddhist identity is also in our blood. This has been so for over 2600years. Even the colonials did not attempt to remove it completely. Traitors who are now in power led by non-Sinhalese are agreeing to do everything possible to make Sinhalese rootless people. Non-Sinhalese cannot define who Sinhalese should be. Non-Sinhalese who had no role in building up this island-nation cannot determine what the history or future of this island nation will be or should be. Sinhale identity cannot be substituted with the Sri Lankan identity which is just 45 years old. If Tamils nor Muslims will ever give up their identity why should the Sinhalese? Every nation has a majority, simply because minorities do not like the majority, majority rule cannot be replaced and substituted with minority rule! The fundamental right to protect and preserve the Sinhale Identity cannot be denied to the Sinhalese. This is what all Sinhalese should now fight for.

No one can remove the fact that the island was known as Sinhale and the State religion was Buddhism followed by all Kings including the Chola invader Elara. That national identity is over 2600 years old.

No one can dispute that fact that the Sinhalese evolved in the Sinhale nation while Tamils and Muslims evolved in other foreign climes. To claim homelands people, have to evolve in it.

The Sinhale state name and the State status to Buddhism changed with the invasion and occupation of Western Christian rule and hegemony. The present efforts cloaked under various vessels in the form of secularism, multiculturalism, plural society, inter-faith are all sinister attempts to usurp the sacred place Buddhism has had for over 2600 years and deny the Sinhale majority who built this island nation their heritage. Like it or not Tamils and Muslims cannot show any historical artefact to claim civilizational existence except destroying what the Sinhale Buddhist kings and their citizens had built.

The history books need to clearly correct that the 1956 Buddhist Commission Report sought the rectification of historical injustices to the Sinhale Nation/ Buddhism and the Sinhale people. The Report covered the atrocities committed by the Portuguese, Dutch and British with the objective to denationalize natives, remove their local heroes and replace them with foreign ones and slowly uproot the historical links is exactly what is being done through the lackey government now in power.

Today, Non-Sinhalese are being tasked to define what the Sinhale nation should be, who Sinhalese are and how Sinhalese should live. Non-Sinhalese cannot be tasked to write the history of Sri Lanka or the Education syllabus removing elements of history that is unpalatable to them. Incrementally efforts are afoot to remove important parts of history and heroes from the history texts to give a notion that we must be appreciative of colonial invasion and occupation. None of the horrific crimes of the colonial rulers or the South Indian invaders are highlighted with examples. Every attempt is being done to remove all elements that are associated with the Sinhalese and the Buddhist identity of Sri Lanka. The foreign funded campaign to remove Perahera Elephants was exposed in time. Similarly, subtle attempts are taking place targeting every area associated with the Sinhalese to be destroyed or tarnished by sponsoring lackey Sinhalese who have chosen to function as rootless people to do the dirty work of humiliating all aspects of Sinhalese culture, traditions and history. Many of these have been given powerful positions to facilitate that overall aim.

Western Christian nations and their leaders pledge to uphold the Christian ethos of their countries while majority Muslim nations will not budge from giving non-Muslims any status in par with Islam, why should these entities demand that we give up the Sinhale Buddhist heritage, our cultures, traditions & our historical identity? Even the Vatican refuses to be plural or secular!

The new constitution, being drafted by people who do not represent the majority Sinhalese in any way are being tasked to achieve the objective of bringing in clauses that would usurp the national identity of the Sinhale nation, sacred place afforded to Buddhism and the Sinhale people.

We have watched this circus enough.

This cultural genocide and the denial of our historical fundamental right to continue our identity is sacred to us. Sinhalese need to now unite discarding all other divisions and realize the dangers of the overall objective under the camouflage of bringing reconciliation and peaceful coexistence. These concepts are being used to deceive us into compromising and giving up what our ancestors had proudly held together.

Let us not be fooled any more.

Tamils and Muslims do not give up anything associated with them so why should it be only the Sinhalese.

In compromising as we have over the years – we have lost much.

Our goodwill and compassion has been manipulated and we have been taken for fools.

We have very little to lose now, our pride should not also be taken away from us. When that happens we will end up rootless people with no history and nothing to feel proud of. As an example just take the people of the Caribbean Islands. These people were originally slaves transported from Africa. They do not have any ties to their proud African heritage. All they have is music and dancing. We have a history of over 2600 years that none of the countries plotting to remove ours can match. Possibly jealousy inspires their intentions to remove our identity. Whatever the reasons, we must protect what is ours. It is our culture, our identity, our history, our heritage that is now at stake and being taken to the gavel. The Sinhala people, the Maha Sangha, Sinhala Organizations/Associations and even Sinhala politicians must all wake up.

Quoting Senaka Weeraratna “The primordial national identity of this country is Sinhale and religious identity is Buddhist. These two historical identities should not be allowed to be dispensed with in order to embrace an artificial secular identity (Sri Lankan) that has neither roots to the soil of the country nor been shaped either by history, common values, heritage or destiny”

He advocates that all Sinhalese establish their primordial national identity by writing ‘Sri Lankan (Sinhala)’ on all national forms (NIC, Passport etc) This is an excellent idea that all Sinhalese must take up.

The problems all former colonies suffer are all part of the divide and rule policies adopted by the colonial invading nations. Sinhalese must refuse to erase their national identity and heritage to rectify problems that were created by the West & India.

Let us not moan when the task of making us rootless is complete but resolve to unite and stop the efforts to usurp the Sinhale cultural identity and make the Sinhalese rootless people and servile to the minorities.