Morning Spice by Ginger
Corruption and crime are rampant

Yet more robberies and other grave crimes were reported over the week end. Newspapers make dismal reading these days as hardly a day passes without some depressing story of the underworld's inflictions on some citizen being reported. There evidently are two reasons for it. The first is that the money god who reigns supreme over us has swept away all decent values from this country. "Money at all costs" is the axiom of the day. Corruption and crime must enthrone themselves as key factors of economic and social activity.

The mad rush to acquire wealth at any cost touches key segments of state activity which includes the police, the customs and so forth. Combine political patronage and the ride to hell is complete even honest police men have little chance against such an avalanche. We come now to the second reason for it all what is the ratio of policemen to civilians right now. That by itself does not tell the real story as the police have to perform functions which were not considered within their purview earlier. In the days when the total strength was less than ten thousand men you could get them to sign a patrol book at home. Now the chances are that you would be certified if you make such a request. What is needed is a special grave crimes unit supervised by an independent body like the Public Service Commission.

Bone inscriptions
There are many ways of inscrbing what you want but few would have heard of anything as bizarre as doing it on human or animal bones. Now archaeologists in China have unearthed evidence that would reveal many facts about the time when Chinese writing really evolved. No definite announcements have been made to date.

According to a Chinese "daily" archaeologist on eastern Shanding province have found 3500 year old sheep shoulder blades which could be the earliest evidence of the Chinese written language. The inscription bear eight characters but the experts have been able to make out only two of them.

Rikka
Those who do flower arrangements here might be able to add a little more variety to their arrangements if they use the Japanese technique of Rikka which actually means "standing flowers". It is really a traditional flower arrangement that is centuries old. It is composed of seven main branches and has much to do with nature.

The seven main branches are supposed to represent such things associated with nature such as a peak, a valley, a hill, water falls, villages and so forth and are arranged to resemble them. This flower arrangement is supposed to date back for five centuries but it evolved even earlier owes its origin to a Buddhist monk who lived in the 7th century.

Proposed educational reforms: re-flections on some aspects

Adverting to a recent media report of an interview with Dr. Sarath Amunugama, M.P., the Education Ministry is reportedly considering implementation of certain reforms - as part of an overall reforms program - pertaining to the admission of an increased percentage of students of different religious faiths to specified long-standing national/ denominational schools.

The earliest form of education in our land was that conducted in temples by monks who attended to the elementary educational needs of the rural community. Of the three R.s reading - writing and arithmetic - the monks imparted more emphatically instruction in reading and writing and not so much in arithmetic as known in its present form.

However instruction was given to those who needed it in numerology and calculations relevant to astronomy, weather patterns and land measurement as required for the general living conditions of the village community.

As time marched on and wants and needs in relation to enhanced living patterns increased and took on a complicated system as opposed to the earlier simple contented life styles, educational - needs and standards heightened and developed to a greater level and that is what we have now to suit our present cosmopolitan, multi-faceted social and economic structure and that too is not static but takes on further dynamic technological development for the fast emerging futuristic needs in our complex society. These developments are timely and called for to meet the ever increasing socio-economic demands.

We have, however, vastly receded in the maintenance of harmony, discipline, morality and qualititatively contented life styles amongst us. The competitive, rebellions and conflicting mood in the societal order has penetrated the educational establishment too, mainly due to the lack or absence of proper religious and literature/ history based instruction that could soften the generally known rough and turbulent human conduct. That is why we need to strengthen and maintain the denominational aspect of national schools which were taken over by the state.

Our dedicated religious and educational leaders of the past - Ven. Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala, Anagarika Dharmapala, Col. Henry S. Olcott, P. de S. Kularatne and Dr. Gunapala Malalase-kara, amongst others - strived, toiled and collected from philanthropists whatever financial - and other assistance they could to build nurture and develop our leading national schools some of which are Ananda, Nalanda, Dharmaraja, Mahinda and Visakha.

In the same manner - with colonial state assistance too - reputed Christian and Catholic schools of the stature of S. Thomas, Trinity, Richmond, St. Joseph's, St. Benedict's and St. Anthony's were established by their founding fathers to give their students a religion based education and to inculcate in them a sense of decency and moral strength.

It is with this same vision and purpose that prominent institutions such as Zahira and Hindu Colleges were established by their founders.

The proposed scheme to increase the percentage of students of other faiths to designated national/ denominational schools needs to be fairly and rationally conceived and implemented without causing any detrimental consequences to the schools concerned.

The role of our educational institutions should not on any account be on the lines of factories manufacturing mass scale automated products but should be of a higher noble humanistic order so as to turn out students imbued with character and decency to take their due place, in society as well -balanced men and women of honour and integrity to keep the societal process rolling for the benefit of all concerned.

To achieve this end it is of paramount importance to emphasise and maintain a curricular system of education replete with religion - oriented humanism. It is absolutely necessary to maintain our designated national educational institutions on the same status and high standards that reflect their traditional laurels.

Their status quo should not be messed up with and down graded and the bulwark of their academic and spiritual levels should not be disintegrated to suit the so-called equalising standardisaction.

Ours is a secular state and no one in his right frame of mind would suggest that the state should excessively and unduly take on and buttress partisan religious instruction only and not foster liberalism in the sphere of education. What is called for is a well defined policy that would permit the status quo to continue and flourish - devoid of bureaucratic bungling and red tapish impediments.

The selection of able and devoted persons of high academic and administrative experience as school heads to run the concerned schools, paying special attention to the character and stature of the institutions should be ensured at all times.

The state should never obliterate or change the extant identity and time honoured names of the institutions and substitute any others to suit the whims and fancies of politicians. If it is absolutely necessary to broad base the denominational structure of national schools and accommodate students of all faiths and liberalise the content of those schools it is equally necessary to create proportionate religious instruction classes in the same schools without obliterating their time honoured-longstanding identity.

By this systematic scheme it would be possible to attend to the spiritual needs of all students.

This, however, should in no way harm the character and the tradtionally maintained identity of the schools.

Our administrators both in the education sector and outside should pay due attention to and take into consideration these vitally important aspects so as to maintain the tranquil order and progress of the concerned schools.

No room should be left to topple the apple carts and allow their contents to irretrievably roll down the precipice.

R. M. A. B. Dassanayake,
Matale.

The death penalty

I had earlier written an article about the urgent necessity for the reintroduction of the death penalty - but I do not think anyone has taken me seriously.

It is most appropriate now that Richard Pathirana MP, has brought up this matter in parliament and that every right thinking citizen who loves his motherland (this does not apply to those narrow minded megalomaniacs) to give priority to this vital matter. I need not reiterate that even during the time of the Sinhalese kings there was hardly any crime in our island paradise Ñ chiefly because the punishments were so severe. So much so that it was a well known boast that any maiden could travel from Dondra to Point Pedro without molestation.

Can that be said of Sri Lanka with all its sordid happenings today? A Dharmishta government abolished the death penalty to what purpose? Today for a harmless citizen to be assaulted by thugs or innocents to be gunned down for the most trivial reason is the order of the day. Life has become so cheap that the judiciary is treated with scant respect.

Yes, we can have all freedom but without the freedom from crime, and respect for the law our freedom will only be a pie-crust. Thank goodness sanity is prevailing at last and that we have a stalwart patriot like Richard Pathirana who has the guts in the midst of an Assembly of Holier-than-thou hypocrites to fearlessly bring forward the motion for the reintroduction of the death penalty.

He sees the writing on the wall and knows that if we do not stem this senseless everyday blood bath, that after this ethnic violence is over, Sri Lanka will be the last place where any peace loving patriotic citizen can hope to live in. Here at last is a real patriot who loves his country to such an extent that he wants to cleanse the judiciary of its embarrassing commitment to having to pass death sentences on murderers when everyone knows that there is no death penalty existing in Sri Lanka.

Therefore I appeal not only to all MPs but to all religious dignitaries including the Maha Sangha to shed all holier-than-thou principles and to support the Richard Pathirana in such a worthy cause which is for the good of Mother Lanka. Tomorrow will be too late.

Capt. L. P. Juriansz,
Dehiwela.

More on the cruel road to sacrifice

Reference Sagarica Rajakarunanayake's letter (March 31) highlighting the cruel treatment of animals taken to various households for sacrificial slaughter as a thanksgiving to Allah during Hadji festival day which falls on April 8th, she divulges that she is not averse to the slaughter of animals but only insists that these animals should be conveyed to the scaffold in a compassionate and humane manner.

It would, therefore, appear that the Satva Mitra Association is on the same wavelength as that of Islam on this matter.

Allah Ta'ala while allowing the consumption of the flesh of many animals has prohibited cruelty to all animals. The all-wise law given wants to teach people to be kind to the animal and to protect it from harm. One should not neglect it, so that it can get strangled, fall from a high place or be gored in a fight with other animals, nor torture it by severe beating, possibly resulting in its death, as vicious herdsmen sometimes do, even goading animals such as two bulls or sheep to fight each other until one wounds or gores the other to death.

It is solely for this reason that Islamic jurists have prohibited the eating of the flesh of an animal which has been gored to death, even if it is wounded by the horns of the other and its blood has flowed; this prohibition holds even if the blood flowed from a wound in the usual site of slaughter, the throat. This law is imposed to penalise the owner of such animals who has left them unattended to gore each other to death. He is not to be rewarded for this negligence by being permitted to make use of their flesh for food.

The wisdom of the Islamic rules of slaughtering is to take the animal's life in the quickest and least painful way; the requirements of using a sharp instrument and of cutting the throat relate to this end. It is forbidden to rend the throat by using teeth or nail since this will cause pain to the animal and is likely to strangle it. The Prophet recommended sharpening the knife and putting the animal at ease and to sharpen the knife prior to laying down the animal to be slaughtered.

Islam insists that the manner of slaughter should be least painful to the victim and also requires that the knife should not be sharpened in front of the animal. Islam also prohibits the slaughtering of one animal in front of another. Butchers hardly comply with these laws.

Once Umar saw a man dragging a sheep by its leg to be slaughtered. He said, "Woe to you! Lead it to its death in a decent manner." Thus the main intent here is to be kind to the unfortunate animal and spare it unnecessary suffering. The people of Jahiliyyah were fond of cutting off the humps of live camels and the fat tails of live sheep in order to eat them.

In order to put a stop to this barbaric practice, the Prophet forbade the eating of any part obtained in this fashion, saying, "Any part cut off a living animal is dead flesh". By prohibiting the flesh of a dead animal to human beings, Allah in his mercy provides a source of food for animals and birds in view of carcasses of animals lying out in the open are devoured by birds and animals.

Instead of fighting tooth and nail and leaving no stone unturned to save the very lives of their friends, it is the height of irony that the aim of the Satva Mitra Association, who call themselves "the friends of the animals" is to deliver their dump friends safe and sound on soft cushions at the abattors to be subjected to a horrendous death when they will be trussed up prior to their throats being slit and suffer the trauma of being skinned alive in the most barbaric manner in our slaughter houses where they are a law unto themselves.

A. R. M. Zarook,
Colombo 10.

The three wheeler race

Most three wheelers have become a menace on our roads, as they are driven recklessly and break all road rules and regulations, which is a great threat to motorists and pedestrians.

More fuel has been added to this burning problem by a leading importer of three wheelers by conducting a racing event for three wheelers, which is likely to become an annual feature.

A good number of these young and carefree three wheeler drivers are already obsessed with racing fever, and practise to race on our roads and by-roads which are already crowded, at times with passengers who look shocked, clinging onto the body framework, to avoid being thrown away.

Many wonder why the importer of three wheelers, who has been in the trade for years and well aware of the driving standard of many drivers did not launch a 'safety driving' program and offer rewards which would educate them on road safety and encourage them drive with care.

It is also rather strange that the police, who are so much concerned about an increasing number of fatal road accidents did not object to such an event being held.

However, it is certain that future racing event will be conducted even at the cost of many innocent lives. It will increase the profit of the spare part importer and medical professionals.

Naheer Taip
Wattala.

Ombudsman
Still no telephone directory!

I have not been issued a telephone directory in spite of numerous telephone calls to various numbers given to me although almost half the year is gone.

I have been directed from one telephone to another eventually to be told that the delivery has been entrusted to a courier service and probably that my house would have been closed at the time the courier called over. I do not leave the house unattended.

May I suggest a method to overcome this eventuality?

If any house happens to be closed at the time the courier calls over let them telephone the party to call over at a given address and collect the directory. Why this simple remedy has escaped.

These are the rewards the ordinary folks receive as a result of privatisation.

S. R. A. Jayasinghe,
Battaramulla.