• On Learning...
  As we know it, learning has become a means of earning a living; no — much worse. It has become a means of achieving personal ambitions, a method of becoming somebody in society without the question ever being asked whether it is necessary to become anything or anyone at all to lead a life free of conflict.
• Jaffna Revisited: Gloom amidst Hope

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Right way round the roundabouts The origin of the Tamil aspirations Rethinking the role of the army Those were the days - The Giridara Mill

On Learning...
by Stanley Jayaweera

'Mr. Sunil Siriwardene in his wide-ranging and perceptive analysis of the situation in the country in the 50th year of independence ("The Island" of May 25) refers to the pre-eminent role of learning in the task of reconstructing our country. He says that for this task, the whole nation has to become an all-learning society.

An excellent idea, if such a wish can be actualized. It would suffice, however, if those at the commanding heights can be persuaded to "learn". Indeed if at least a small segment of that section which Susil refers to as the "elite", had "learnt" anything at all these last 50 years, we would not have been burdened with the horribleness we are in today.

Susil's view
The question arises then, "what is learning?" In Susil's view, learning means "self-critically and collectively reflecting on one's actions as a matter of conscious habit." For my part, I would prefer to call learning pure observation — not only of what is outside oneself but more so, of what is happening within oneself, i.e. to observe without the observer. This exercise leads to discovery which is awakening, which in effect, is learning. The eclipsing of mediocrity which Susil correctly points as being necessary for giving content to independence is effected by this kind of learning, which transforms a person and should not be confused with the accumulation of knowledge i.e. information which is what education has come to mean today.

As we know it, learning has become a means of earning a living; no — much worse. It has become a means of achieving personal ambitions, a method of becoming somebody in society without the question ever being asked whether it is necessary to become anything or anyone at all to lead a life free of conflict.

Awakening
If to learn is to awaken, what is it that we awaken to? It is to the nature of things-as-they-actually-are. Put differently, to learn is to awaken to the facts of life.

Now, one of the facts of life is that all the paths of glory lead but to the grave. That is a universal truth. One can, however, glibly mouth such propositions at school prize-giving, temples and churches, without ever awakening to or learning the truth behind them. The fact that we have enough and more "learned" men who articulate such truths but yet continue with their serpentine ways, fragmenting society, is proof that they have learnt nothing. At best they have merely memorized cliches. It is the hollowness and vacuousness of that type of learning that has led to the enthronement and triumph of mediocrity in our society today which Susil complains of.

Speech
In her recent Wesak Day message, the President extolled the virtues of the Spartan lifestyle of the Buddha and commended that way of life to all of us and called upon us to emulate His example. But when one considers the manner in which the President, leading members of her cabinet, and prominent members of the opposition and members of high society in the city lend their patronage to the strikingly vulgar lifestyles which are the order of the day both in Colombo and elsewhere todays and that too when the country is literally a graveyard, sensitive people have a right and indeed, a duty to ask "Have our leaders "learnt" anything at all"

Ego
Because, if to learn is to awaken, than the man who has "learnt" will soon discover that his ego which is at the bottom of his selfishness, ruthlessness and vulgarity, is but an illusion — a bubble that will soon be pricked. The fact is that each one of us, in different ways is trying to become something not only in the outer world, but primarily psychologically and this psychological inward movement affects the outer completely.

It is for this reason that I too despair with Susil when he bemoans the "opportunism that pervades our whole society from top to bottom". He says this opportunism is vibrant both among the elites as it is among the masses.

Our experience
From our experience in Avadhi Lanka which was founded two years ago to promote public morality and civic accountability, we find that it is more among the elites that the fear of coming out openly against the rottenness in our society is most appalling. This, we find is principally because of their decisive to curry favour with the authorities and obtain personal benefits. They will boast of their academic, professional entrepreneurial and other qualifications but have "learnt" nothing despite the millions the state has spent on their "education"

Jaffna Revisited: Gloom amidst Hope
Professor S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole
The Open University of Sri Lanka

It was a return to Jaffna after some eight years. The 175th anniversary celebrations by St. John's College meant that the MoD clearance and ticketing would be done by the OBA. There would be no queuing through the night at Lion Air. Indeed, Lion Air's services had significantly improved after the entry of its new rival

Monara Air and they were even offering seats the same day if MoD clearance was there. It was all so easy. Several years' lethargy and fear about going to Jaffna melted before the VIP treatment offered on the OBA charter flights.

So there we were, my family and I, peering down at the ground as our flight landed at Palaly. As expected, it was devastation all around. The first three miles or so from Palaly to Jaffna showed a wasteland with houses on either side of the road gone and no people. As we moved into Urelu, there were some, and Urumpirai and thereafter there were a good number, but not the bustle that we were once used to.

Our own house was in ruins like many others. After the adversaries had done their job, the locals had picked the switches, the sinks and commodes, the windows and doors, and then the door-frames, leaving behind an empty frame. And yet it was home, a feeling reinforced by the fragrance of the tens of jak on our trees, insultingly ignored by the now numerous thieves who clearly had richer pickings and are said to be in league with some army sentries.

As on previous trips, once we got into the community and started talking and living with them, life seemed almost normal, despite the ruins that surrounded us, especially along streets by which the Sri Lankan army had moved in. Indeed, as we entered St. John's College, it was like moving into hope from darkness, appropriate to the school's motto: The Light Shineth in Darkness. The school had been in ruins, having been bombed by both sides. But now, all spruced up for the occasion, the school looked even better than the best of the Colombo schools, rebuilt with generous donations from the President's fund, the Norwegian and British governments, and old boys, besides others. Even some of the dining room furniture had been recovered – found abandoned in the Central College grounds where the army had camped using the Johnian furniture to eat from. St. John's was a Phoenix risen from the ashes. St. John's epitomised the hopes and aspirations of Jaffna.

Like all normal folk, a quick return to normality was everyone's wish, especially to have one's children growing into mentally wholesome and physically secure adulthood, uninterrupted by death. Normality was, in this sea of devastation, to rebuild one's little house from which one could shut out the sadness that lay outside. Slowly, people are recreating this normality of sorts. Thus, slowly, reminders of the old days are being created, like the landmark clock tower being repaired in the midst of the ruins of the public library, the municipal council and St. Peter's Church. But it will be ages. Take for instance the trees with foliage that lined either side of the street (poovarasu), shaded the pedestrian from the hot sun, and stood as plot boundaries. These were removed by the army to give a direct line-of-sight and now have been replaced by returning owners here and there. For all trees to be replaced and for them to grow and give shade will take several years. Once non-existent electricity is also being provided in increasing hours of service (now every other night, limited by a 5 A fuse)

But can all this add up to a normal normality? The challenges are many. At one extreme, we have the old communal bureaucracy that ruined this country now applying the brakes on any development in Jaffna. For example, RRAN, charged with rebuilding Jaffna, recently ordered one of its foreign consultants not to contact embassies for funds. RRAN apparently is into making grandiose plans, but not into implementing them. Likewise, the mayor of Jaffna, having risked all to participate in the democratisation of Jaffna, finds that her promised funds are blocked. Just as the TULF was undercut earlier in the DDC fiasco, those Tamils who have thrown their lot behind the reconstruction effort saying "there is no other sensible way for us to go", are in real danger of having their credibility before the Tamil people eroded. Grouped with the same Sinhalese bureaucrats blocking funds, is the armed opposition to the government, summoning Tamil government officials to Pungudutivu and telling them not to push Jaffna's development work too far. That it is not only communal bureaucrats who do not want development became evident with the murder of Brigadier Wijeratne who, perhaps more than any other soldier, made life comfortable for the people of Point Pedro. At the Open University, he is remembered for the several visits he paid, insisting that our Regional Centre in Jaffna be opened right away to help the people.

At the other extreme, we have the ordinary soldiers at check points who, meeting civilians everyday, strike up friendships, a few even with lasting unions in mind! Such men, reflecting the better side of the state, will sadly be left holding the bag, should the antics of those who hold up development lead to the re-emergence of Tamil militancy in Jaffna.

Few Tamils in Jaffna want war. There is visible democratisation as people express their opinions more willingly than before. For this as well as for the absence of war in the peninsula and the opportunity to get their children out, there is gratitude. There is also resentment and scepticism against the government for talking of development and devolution and not doing much. As the mayor's predicament worsens, the army's role of handing over to civilians just is not seen to happen. As other stories like that of the consultant at RRAN emerge, it will not augur well for the normality that people want. In the south, the UNP campaigns against devolution offering meaningless alternatives. The press that was silent during massive frauds in a previous era, now appears to join the UNP, with little evidence, in accusing the PA leadership of fraud in every deal. Increasingly weakened, the government is unable to pass the package, and trapped into relying more and more on the military option. It would appear that communalist forces who cannot enlist reason to their side to argue against the package the only rational way out for us have taken to making any kind of attack against the government to undo the package. The strategy is clearly working. Even the TULF especially and many NGOs are adding to the misery by criticising only those whom they can safely blame and by being silent on matters they cannot be silent on if they are true leaders. They waffle and make it difficult for ordinary folk to gauge the situation accurately. The Tamils who do not wish war, appear destined to live with it.

Those who returned to Jaffna in hope, no longer expect the president to pass the devolution package. Tamils who cooperated with her in hope, some at the highest levels, are disillusioned and are seen distancing themselves. Storm clouds are gathering. It bodes ill for all.

The president has shown courage in the past in talking of a settlement and making that her electoral stand. The goodwill that was generated has now been dissipated through prevarication, indecisiveness and waiting for the UNP. The only way out is to somehow pass the package. And the only way now, is to break with the constitution. It is either that or to face the deluge that will come with the storm.