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Market flexibility benefits business, strains workers
By Chakravarthi RaghavanGeneva: Globalisation or international production by outsourcing components in a globally integrated production chain in the mechanical and electrical machinery-manufacturing sector, coupled with labour-market flexibility, has benefited business, contributed to productive rise, and reduced the wage share of costs, an ILO (International Labour Organisation) report for a tripartite meeting in October 1998 brings out.
But the flexible labour-market conditions brought increased strain to the work-force - entailing increased part-time work, reduced overtime pay, higher job instability, and a rise in ‘unsocial’ work-hours (that is, night work, weekend work and long shifts).
The shift in employment benefited the low-income countries and high-income non-OECD (HINO) economies (Cyprus, East Germany, Hong Kong, Israel, Kuwait, Macau, Singapore and Taiwan), but at the cost of the high-income OECD countries, and the upper and lower middle- income developing world.
The report shows that as a result of this, the high-income OECD (HIO) economies have been able to increase their share in the value added (in current dollars) in the machinery industry during 1980-1992 from 89.3% of the total to 90%, while those of the middle-income and lower- income countries have been reduced.
Within the machinery sector as a whole, the value added of the HIO increased in the machinery-manufacturing excepting electrical sector from 88.1% in 1982 to 91% in 1992, while in the electrical sector it was reduced from 90.2% to 89%.
As a result of the job displacements, the share of the low-income countries in world employment in 1992 was the largest at 32%. But their share in net output fell from 3.7% to 2.5%.
In terms of employment, the high-income countries lost nearly a million jobs over the 1980- 1992 period, but the industrial restructuring and the strong economic growth since 1992 resulted in stabilising and in some cases even reversing the job losses.
Between 1992 and 1997, the US added some 411,000 jobs, South Korea 117,00O, the UK 85,000 and Canada 14,600.
Total employment in the sector increased since 1980 by 12% - adding some million jobs world-wide as production grew by 113%.
Most of the increased employment resulted from a shift in production to low-income countries - which in 1992 accounted for 32% of the work-force in the industry, compared to 22% in 1980. China accounted for nearly 30% of the world employment in the sector.
The emerging patterns of production enabled the industry to shift lower-skill and lower- wage-paying parts of the production to the developing world and former socialist countries, while retaining or expanding the high-technology and higher value-added production.
The changing patterns enabled business to get flexible labour-market conditions, and strained the work-force.
But while a consensual approach to flexibility through negotiations was achieved in Germany and in varying degrees in other continental European countries, as well as at enterprise level in Japan, in North America, the UK, Australia and New Zealand, a market-driven approach achieved work-force adaptability - that is, by hiring workers with requisite skills and dismissing those with obsolete qualifications.
The term ‘flexibility’ covers a range of practices - flexible organisation of work-place with shifting job designs and boundaries; skill flexibility on the part of the work-force; numerical flexibility or adjustment in number of workers employed, with downsizing and outsourcing work; flexible or varying hours of work - part-time, shift work and annualised work-hours; wage flexibility by adjusting wages to changing economic conditions; and geographical mobility of work to alleviate regional skill shortages and unemployment.
Parallel to the expansion of output, real wages increased over the period 1970 and 1995.
But labour’s share in value added is generally much smaller in the low-income countries - where it reached 25% in 1992 compared to 45% in the high-income countries. In the electrical sector, the labour share in value added in the low-income countries was half the levels in the high- income countries. But in the non-electrical machinery sector they tended to approach the OECD levels.
The ILO report suggests that this difference could be explained by the gender composition of the work-force in the two sectors. In the electrical machinery/electronics sector, a large number of employees are women.
In the world as a whole, labour’s chare in value added tended to decline over l970-1995.
The flexible labour-market arrangements have been promoted by governments as part of the ‘liberalisation’ process and have benefited business: ‘Companies are doing better, productivity is rising and wage costs are falling,’ the report says.
Those hardest hit by these practices, according to the report, are workers in Germany, Japan and the United States, accounting for 15%, 25% and 27% respectively of global production in machinery.
But the ILO report brings out that workers in the developing world too are facing the pressures of this flexibility phenomenon.
The various parts of the machinery-manufacturing sector covered in the report include general; and specific-purpose machinery; domestic appliances; office or business machines; electrical machinery and apparatuses; television, radio, video and communications equipment; and medical, precision and optical equipment, including watches and clocks. It does not include the automotive sector.
ln the global market-place, the driving force in the industry is to stay competitive — by searching for greater flexibility and lower labour costs.
Workers on the other hand are concerned with preserving jobs, dealing with problems of coordinating flexible production systems, and coming to terms with the long-term social implications of flexibility.
Unions are focusing on reducing working hours in exchange for more flexible arrangements in order to preserve employment and create new jobs.
As a result of the flexible work-hours and other changes and restructuring, the ILO says the largest gain in competitiveness in recent years have been made by Canada, the USA, the UK, the Netherlands, Japan and South Korea. France and Germany provided a ‘mixed’ picture.
The fastest growth in this sector is among the newcomers - Ireland, Malaysia; the Philippines.
The industry is highly capital-intensive and its need to ensure high rates of capacity-utilisation means the trend towards innovation and flexibility is likely to accelerate in the coming years, the ILO report says.
( - Third World Network Features)
Religion
The address of the Bishop of Colombo Rev. Kenneth Fernando
This is the first Session of the Diocesan Council being held after the passing of the Church of Ceylon Incorporation Act No. 43 of 1998. This Act replaces Ordinance No. 6 of 1885 and after 113 years, the old Act has been replaced with a new one. I shall be referring to this Act in greater detail in the course of this address.National Situation
Year after year in our Diocesan Councils we refer with great earnestness to the ethnic crisis in our country and the suffering of our people in consequence of the civil unrest that we all experience.During the last year there has been very great violence in our country and all of us who call this country our home were appalled by the bomb which caused much damage to the Dalada Maligawa and by the assassination of two Mayors in Jaffna. The loss of life, the damage caused to property and the consequent distress among our people defy description.
I am certain that the entire Christian community in our country is praying earnestly and waiting for the dawn of Peace. We are convinced that a lasting Peace could be won only by negotiation, however difficult that process may be. We must learn from past experience and seek to re- enter negotiations which can end our conflict. We believe that it will not be helpful to discuss whether such negotiations should be based on conditions or whether they should be unconditional but there will have to be some agreement on the ground rules. We would like to suggest the following ground rules:
1. The Unity of Sri Lanka should not be negotiable.
2. We must all agree to make use of the services of facilitators.
3. There should be a commitment on both sides to the process of negotiation for Peace and a pledge from each side that it will not be the first to take up arms again.
4. We urge our political leaders and all who take decisions which affect the life of the nation to come together and lead us all and our country to Peace before the dawn of the new millennium.
As a Christian community we stand ready to do all we can to promote the Peace process and we shall not flinch from this task which we perceive as a clear Christian commitment and duty.
We have celebrated the 50th Anniversary of our Independence with much thanksgiving for what we have been able to achieve as a nation and also with great sorrow at our inability to achieve Peace. We need now to articulate a clear vision statement for our country which will inspire us in the next century and new millennium. May our country be a place enriched by many ethnic communities, cultures, languages and religions with all of us respecting one another and contributing to the common good.
Ecumenism
At the Lambeth Conference - 1998 which was attended by the Bishop of Kurunegala, Bishop Jebanesan of the Jaffna Diocese of the Church of South India and his wife Wimala and my wife and myself, one of the important topics that was discussed was Ecumenism.The entire Lambeth Conference reaffirmed the Anglican commitment to the full visible unity of the Church as the goal of the Ecumenical Movement. The Lambeth Conference also reaffirmed that Anglicans will seek the Unity of the Church on the basis of the Chicago Lambeth Quadrilateral, namely
(a) The Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, as ‘containing all things necessary to salvation’, and as being the rule and ultimate standard of faith.
(b)The Apostles’ Creed, as the baptismal symbol; and the Nicene Creed, as the sufficient statement of the Christian faith.
(c) The two sacraments ordained by Christ himself - Baptism and the Supper of the Lord - ministered with unfailing use of Christ’s words of institution, and of the elements ordained by him.
(d) The historic episcopate, locally adapted in the methods of its administration to the varying needs of the nations and peoples called of God into the unity of His Church.
I am very Glad that a Resolution on Church unity appears on the agenda paper for this session of the Diocesan Council.
Church Union
Here in Sri Lanka the Unity of the Church is of paramount importance to us all. We have been planning to form a United Church since 1934 and for 64 years our efforts have been frustrated. I would like to take this opportunity to invite the Methodist Church in Sri Lanka, the Sri Lanka Baptist Sangamaya, The Presbyterian Church of Lanka, and the Jaffna Diocese of the Church of South India, the Churches that have been negotiating for Church Union, to enter into dialogue with us on how we may even now revive our desire for a United Church in our country. I believe that if we are committed to this goal, a way forward can be found.Let us not forget that on the night before His crucifixion, the Lord Jesus did pray that they all may be one that the world may believe. When the Reverend Dr. Peter Stephen, President of the Methodist Church in Great Britain was here in Sri Lanka a few months ago, I took the opportunity to have a discussion with him on how our plans for Church Union in Sri Lanka may be revived. His response was most positive and affirmative. I found this most encouraging. I hope very much that the Churches in Sri Lanka which have been negotiating with us on the Ceylon Scheme for Church Union will accept this invitation from me now and enter into a dialogue with us on how we may go forward.
In April this year His Holiness the Pope summoned a meeting of Asian Catholic Bishops at the Vatican. Four paternal delegates from Asia representing other Churches were also invited. As one of the Presidents of the Christian Conference of Asia it was my privilege to receive an invitation from His Holiness. However, much to my regret a bout of illhealth prevented me at the last moment from attending the meeting in the Vatican.
I deeply appreciate the generosity and graciousness of His Holiness the Pope and of Cardinal Cassidy in inviting me to the Vatican for this three week long Synod. I earnestly request the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church here in Sri Lanka to act in the same spirit and to collaborate with us on matters of common concern here in our country. Such joint activity is bound to bring our two communions closer to one another and am sure that such an attitude will bring much joy to the heart of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Lambeth Conference decided to invite its Standing Committee on Ecumenical Relations "to explore the possibility of conversation between the Anglican Communion and the Pentecostal Churches". Here in Sri Lanka I invite all the Pentecostal Churches to enter into conversation with us and build up better relations among us on the basis that we accept one another as full Christians on the basis of the mutual recognition of Baptism.
The Church of Ceylon (Incorporation) Act
Our Church has been governed since 1885 by an Ordinance that belongs to that age. The main objective of that Ordinance was to set up the Incorporated Trustees and the Bishops as legal persons who could hold property. In the process of doing so, they had placed a number of constrictions on our activities. The Act had been amended from time to time, but it was still an impediment to our progress.The Diocese of Colombo and the Diocese of Kurunegala have been desirous of replacing this Ordinance with a new one which will suit the needs of our time more appropriately. We have been discussing this matter for well nigh 25 years, but unfortunately we had to contend with various obstacles. However, by God’s grace and power, a new Act was passed in Parliament and certified on. August 06, 1998. We must praise and glorify God for this marvellous deed that He has done before our eyes. Our Church is now in a better position to make decisions about our own life and activities. I wish to thank all those who have so graciously helped us with this effort.
The passing of this Act means that our two Dioceses now have a very great responsibility to fulfil. During the 1998 Sessions of our two Diocesan Councils, we will be electing ten members each to the Constituent Assembly. The two Bishops will be nominating ten persons to the Constituent Assembly and the two Bishops themselves will be its members. The 32 members of the Constituent Assembly will be entrusted with the task of drafting the Constitution, consisting of Declarations Canons and Rules of the Church of Ceylon. When they are ready with a draft, all members of the two Diocesan Councils will be provided with an opportunity to make their own observations on the draft. Perhaps, this will have to be done at special sessions of the Diocesan Council. The Constituent Assembly will finally accept the document with the consent of both Bishops. The Church of Ceylon will then have its own Constitution Declarations Canons and Rules which will replace those of the Church of India, Pakistan, Burma and Ceylon by which we are now governed. This new document will be subject to alterations and amendments by the Assemblies and Councils of our Church. When we are operating under the new Constitution Canons and Rules of our Church, in addition to the two Diocesan Councils, there will be a body known as the General Assembly of the Church of Ceylon. This body will be the supreme governing authority of our Church, and there will be representation of both Dioceses, Bishops, Clergy and Laity on that Body.
Copies of the new Act are available now in English, Sinhala and Tamil and you may purchase copies at Rs. 6.75 each. I also seek your earnest help and co-operation in drafting and accepting the new Constitution Declarations Canons and Rules of our Church.
S. Thomas’ College - Mt. Lavinia
Mr. Neville de Alwis who has been the Warden of S. Thomas’ College, Mt. Lavinia for 15 years, retired after a long period of distinguished service to the college. He has done much to build up the institution both in the academic field and in the field of sports. The excellent Sports Complex at Mt. Lavinia will be a lasting tribute to the great work that he has done for this institution.The Board of Governors had to appoint a successor to Mr. Neville de Alwis but unfortunately this endeavour has proved to be an extremely difficult one. Although the Board after advertising, interviewed applicants and chose Mr. Eksith Fernando, this decision has been challenged in the courts. Since this matter is now before the courts, I will not be able to make any comments about it. However, I assure our Church that I shall do all I can to ensure that S. Thomas’ College remains an institution of the Church of Ceylon and that the Governing Board will be enabled to retain its control over the four schools. The pending legal action has already cost a large sum of money which the Board has had to meet.
In the meantime, it has been necessary to support the Warden designate with an allowance and with transport facilities since he resigned his employment in the private sector to come to S. Thomas College. As the Bishop of this Diocese I have had to support him during this inter-regnum with a monthly allowance from the Bishop’s Discretionary Fund, and the use of one of my vehicles. I consider this a right use of my Discretionary Fund. I repeat, that they are my Discretionary Funds and can be used and must be used at my discretion. These monies will be reimbursed to me in due course.
My discretionary funds and properties are managed by me in consultation with the Bishop’s Trusts Advisory Committee consisting of Diocesan officials, representatives of the Standing Committee and my nominees. They meet every month and the accounts are professionally audited each year.
Ladies College
I would like very specially to thank Ms. Sirancee Gunawardane who has been the Principal of Ladies College for over 25 years and who retired in the course of the year. She has rendered outstanding service to this institution and we welcome her successor Ms. Sriyani Mithrapala who brings many gifts to her new appointment as Principal of Ladies College.Human Sexuality
One of the important topics that we discussed at the Lambeth Conference was the question of Human Sexuality. We passed the following resolution at the Lambeth Conference. I am very happy that this resolution reaffirms the Christian view regarding the life long nature of Christian Marriage.Resolution 1.10
Human Sexuality
This Conference:(a) commends’ to the Church the subsection report on human sexuality;
(b) in view of the teaching of Scripture, upholds faithfulness in marriage and believes not called to
(c) recognises that there are among us persons who experience themselves as having a homosexual orientation. Many of these are members of the Church and are seeking the pastoral care, moral direction of the Church, and God’s transformation power for the living of their lives and the ordering of relationships. He commit ourselves to listen to experience of homosexual persons and we wish to asure them that they are loved by God and that all baptised believing and faithful persons, regardless of sexual orientation, are full members of the Body of Christ.
(d) while rejecting homosexual practice as incompatible with scripture, calls on all our people to minister pastorally and sensitively to all, irrespective of sexual orientation and to condemn irrational fear of homosexuals, violence within marriage and any trivialisation and commercialisation of sex;
(e) cannot advise the legitimising or blessing of same sex unions nor ordaining those involved in same gender unions;
(f) requests the Primates and the ACC to establish a means of monitoring the work done on the subject of human sexuality in the Communion and to share statements and resources among us.
(g) notes the significance of the Kuala Lumpur Statement on Human Sexuality and the concerns expressed in Resolutions IV.26, V.1, V.10, V.23 and V.35 on the authority of scripture in matters of marriage and sexuality and asks the Primates and the Anglican Consultative Counsel to include them in their monitoring process.
In our Diocese under the Rules of our Church, we do not marry in Church, persons of different Religions. This issue has been discussed by all our clergy and in accordance with instructions issued by me, we say a prayer and bless such mixed marriages. On some occasions, I may consider it appropriate to impose some personal discipline in order that the couple concerned may be aware of the gravity of the action they take.
Divorced persons are not married in our Churches, but at my discretion, clergy may be permitted to say a prayer and bless them. In such instances, in accordance with instructions issued by me, both clergy and laity will be required to refrain from celebrating or participating in the sacraments for a period of time determined by me.
However, I do not consider it appropriate that such discipline should be for an unlimited period of time. Consequently, such persons will be restored to the normal sacramental life of the church after some time has elapsed. These matters are often discussed by the clergy and we take decisions together regarding the practices of our Diocese and I have issued written instructions accordingly to all our clergy. In our church, we do not act judge mentally but pastorally, always bearing in mind the well being of the people concerned.
Inter-faith Relations
At the Lambeth Conference we felt that the whole relationship among different Faith communities was too important to be assigned to any particular section for discussion. It was our view that inter-faith concerns, should permeate and influence all the discussions of the Lambeth Conference.The Lambeth conference issued a most useful document entitled "Inter-faith report". This Report is of great relevance to the church in our country and I invite all those who are interested in this important subject to join with me in an in-depth study of the issues involved in inter-faith relations and inter-faith discussions. I hope that such an in-depth study will enable us to face up to this question with sensitivity and faithfulness to our faith.
Inculturation
The Lambeth conference was extremely clear about the importance of the Gospel being fully inculturated in the various countries in which the church is at work.The Resolution we passed, reads as follows:
Resolution I I I . 1 4
This Conference, rejoicing in its own experience of multi-cultural worship, reaffirms resolutions 22 and 47 of the 1988 Lambeth conference encouraging the inculturation of worship and urges each province to seek the best ways of inculturating its forms and practice of worship.At the Conference itself, our worship was greatly enriched by the fact that different countries led the worship on different days in accordance with their own music and culture. The 1998 Liturgy presented by us with our own cultural contributions and music one morning at the Holy Eucharist was greatly appreciated by the entire conference.
Here in our own country, it is of very great importance that our Church should be and appear to be a Church of our own nation and people. Not only must we use our own languages, but we must also incorporate the cultural symbols and music of our nation if we are to preach the gospel in a manner that will be attractive and intelligible to the people.
I urge all our clergy and people to lend their fullest support to this endeavour and also to study at depth how the process of inculturation has gone forward already in the history of the church.
While we engage in the task of inculturating our worship, we must be careful to ensure that such inculturation enriches our worship without in any way compromising the great truths of our faith. It is the special responsibility of the Bishop to authorise forms of worship for use in his Diocese and to guard the faith.
Spiritual Crisis
We often speak of the spiritual and moral crisis of the nation. It is most regrettable that every one seems to be acting vindictively and with great hostility against every one else. We plead for a kinder and gentler society. Indeed we must contend with one another for achieving what is in the best interests of our country, but contention must be free of bitterness and personal animosity.It is my hope and prayer that the church in our country will be an example to the nation in this regard. The suffering and death of Jesus Christ are an ever present reality and it is inevitable that Christians will always be called to much strife and suffering. Our clergy and people carry on their work of witnessing to the Gospel amidst very great challenges and difficulties; but our Diocese has continued to progress.
I ask all our people not to be discouraged by the treachery of Judas, the betrayal of Peter, the heartlessness of the Chief Priests and Sadducees, the self-righteousness of the Pharisees, and the murderous violence of the soldiers.
The ordinary people stood loyally with Jesus and the power of God was always with Him. Let us find strength in the words of Scripture and continue to bear witness to Jesus Christ and His Gospel in the context of our troubled nation knowing that our labour will not be in vain, and that in the end victory will be ours.
May God bless you all clergy and people as we continue to be the people of God in Sri Lanka today.
Obituaries
Rt. Rev. J. J. Gnanapragasam
During the last year we were saddened by the death of Bishop Jabez Gnanapragasam, my predecessor. He will be long remembered in our Diocese for his devoted service to the Church and to Jesus Christ whom he loved dearly. He was a man of discipline and of very simple ways. He felt deeply for the people among whom he worked.Bishop Jabez was ill for a long time and he bore his infirmity with great patience. His service to our Diocese has been described in the report of the Standing Committee and I would only wish to add my own personal tribute to his memory.
We convey our deepest sympathy to his wife Gnanakani and their son Thayalan.
The Rev. Canon Titus Refuge and Rev. Gerald St. P. de Alwis
The Standing Committee Report also refers to the deaths of Reverend Canon Titus Refuge and Reverend St. Gerald Paul de Alwis, both of whom were very senior priests of our Diocese who served in various parishes. Their contribution to the life of the Diocese has also been described at greater length in the report of the Standing Committee.The Rev. Mathew F.G. Peiris
In the course of last year, we also laid to Rest Rev. Father Mathew Peiris. He was Ordained Priest in the year 1954 and served as an Assistant Curate from 01.12.56 to 22. 04. 59 and as Incumbent from 23.04.59 — 31.12.1979 at St. Paul’s Church, Kynsey Road.He was a Pastor who cared deeply for the people and took much pains to help those who were ill in the General hospital where he served as Chaplain. He was a staunch Anglo Catholic and stood up stoutly for the principles in which he believed.
We convey our sympathies to his children Mihiri, Manilal and Malrani in their bereavement.
Mr. Cyril H. Gunawardane
Among the laity whose deaths we mourned during the course of this year was Mr. Cyril Gunawardane, one time Principal of the School for the Blind at Ratmalana.He also served as Lay Chaplain to the Bishop of Colombo and helped to reorganise the work of the Bishop’s Office under Bishop Swithin Fernando and Bishop Jabez Gnanapragasam. He was a faithful layman who gave of his best to the work of the church. He was also a member of the Standing Committee for many years. We offer our deepest sympathy to his wife Dolly and their children in their sad loss.
My thanks
I wish to thank all those who have helped me to fulfil my duties as Bishop of the Diocese, to the Clergy and laity, the Standing Committee for the help they so willingly offer, to the Board of Governors of S. Thomas’ College, the Governing Board of CMS Schools, the Governing Board of Bishop’s College and the Governing Board of Trinity College, Kandy for the services they render so faithfully to the cause of Christian education in our country.I also wish to thank the four Archdeacons who with great enthusiasm look after their respective Archdeaconries and they relieve me of much work. My Chaplain Reverend Perry Brohier has helped me in many ways and when he leaves me at the end of this year I shall have to look out for another part time Chaplain
Mr. Mervyn Canagaretna continues to serve us with great diligence as Registrar of the Diocese and we owe a great debt of gratitude to him. We have many lawyers who so willingly help us with their talents and time whenever called upon to do so. I thank them most sincerely for their able and ready help.
The Diocesan Office led by the Secretary of the Diocese, Manager, Property Secretary and Accountant, render very great service to our Church and look after the affairs of our Diocese most efficiently. I wish to thank the entire Diocesan Office Staff for the work they do so willingly.
My grateful thanks go out to Mrs. Surani Fernando my Personal Secretary and also to Mrs. Ruth Wijesinghe who assists me with so many duties in the Bishop’s Office. My finances are looked after by Mrs. Watson and Miss Vijitha Kulasegaram, and my thanks go out to them too.
I am looking out for a new person for the post of office aide. Appuhamy who served four Bishops as Driver left us in the course of last year on retirement and that vacancy also we have not been able to fill.
Finally, I wish to thank all members of our Diocese, Clergy and laity for the great courtesy and graciousness with which they work with me. So many members of our Church continue to bear witness as Christians amidst many problems and difficulties and my Prayers and Blessings are always with you all.
- Bishop of Colombo
Collective identities and Tamil separatism
by Kamalika Pieris( Continued from yesterday )
The group of anthropologists working on various aspects of Sri Lanka which reflect Tamil separatist anxieties, are also engaged in developing some sort of new methodology and new perpsective on the examination of Sri Lankan phenomena. A sort of epistemological leap. This is based exclusively on western philosophy and western literary theory, regardless of whether or not it is relevant to contemporary Sri Lanka. One visible feature on this ‘school’ is its high dependency on one another. ‘Collective identities revisited" reflects this in the acknowledgements given at the end of its essays.
I give below excerpts from these acknowledgements. Due to space restrictions the excerpts are very selective, and I have preferred to mention names which have already come in my own articles. It must be kept in mind that names and institutions listed are intended to prove an academic point. No disparagment is intended, and none should be construed. I also give references to funding, as the Sri Lankan intelligentsia may be interested in that aspect as well.Patricia Lawrence researching into bereavement in the Batticaloa District, acknowledges funding from SSRC-MacArthur Foundation Program on Peace and Security in a Changing World. Among others she thanks Michael Roberts, D. P. Sivaram, Jonathan Spencer, S. J. Tambiah, and Mark Whitaker. She cites Valentine Daniel and Gananath Obeysekera. (Vol 2 p 287) Mark Whitaker thanks Jonathan Spencer and Michael Roberts. (Vol 2 p 265) Pradeep Jaganathan states that he presented earlier versions of his paper on the 1983 riots to the International Workshop on July ‘83 at the International Centre of Ethnic Studies, Colombo. Among others he thanks, Quadri Ismail, Kumari Jayawardene, Michael Roberts, Darini Rajasingham, David Scott and S. J. Tambiah. However he also thanks McKim Marriott. (p. 242). The same sort of pattern could be found in some of the articles in ‘Unmaking the Nation’.
This set of thinkers is not part of an amorphous group of modern thinkers. They are a well identified network. It appears to be a sort ‘closed’ network, because the same names are repeatedly mentioned. Researchers are perfectly entitled to form research groups if they so wish, and it must be clearly understood, once again, that no disparagement is intended. However, closed networks are not desirable in this type of research, because it will eventually lead to repetition and stultification. It could perhaps be argued that this is overcome by presenting this research in the public domain as in the case of ‘Collective identities revisited’’.
It is heartning to note that there is some internal criticism of this approach. In his introductory essay in the first volume of ‘Collective identities visited’’ Michael Roberts makes some very pertinent critical observations. He points out that these thinkers are not sufficiently equipped to function as critics of ‘Orientalism’ and therefore cannot constitute a "Post-Orientalist’’ school of thinking. He points out that some of this group lack any knowledge of "pre-eighteenth century Sri Lanka’’. They cannot therefore comprehend the pre-British and pre-colonial circumstances in Sri Lanka. He indicates the weaknesses in R. A. L. H. Gunawardene’s ‘’People of the Lion’’. He further recognises the need to know Sinhala to comment adequately on Sri Lankan events (Vol 1 p 22, 23, 30) Roberts also points out that Orientalism need not be a one way process. The British thinking was moulded by indigenous forms of thought and indigenous categories. (p 25)
Another interesting feature of this network, is their communal sort of approach to ideas. It is quite common for researchers to show their manuscripts and drafts to a few trusted colleagues, to obtain a second opinion. But in this case, these re-searchers readily absorb each others imaginative vision. Several of these essays carry notes which state that the text was improved by ideas from a coterie of commentators, who listened to its presentation at a semi-private airing. Despite all this, these researchers produce essays which flop. They lack the training, the skills, most important, the restraint and discipline in handling and interpreting data.
Both Michael Roberts and Quadri Ismail have examined the ethnic issue as reflected in the current passion for international cricket. Cricket in Sri Lanka they argue functions as a unifying symbol for the nation, because, according to this school, all Sri Lankans, irrespective of ethnicity, gather round and watch the matches, either at the ground or on television. Muslims have a problem of divided loyalty when it comes to Sri Lanka versus Pakistan. Burghers apparently get into difficulties when supporting Sri Lanka. We repeatedly hear the observation that the only thing that unites Sri Lanka today is cricket. The example of cricket can be intelligently woven into a sociological discussion of socio-economic changes in present-day Sri Lanka, but this group are not equal to the task. They have written two utterly silly essays on the topic.
Let us conclude by looking at two of the articles in volume two of ‘Collective identities revisited.’’ Mark Whitaker has written an "intellectual biography on Taraki." "His essay is titled "Learning politics from Taraki’’. The essay deals with Taraki’s approach to intellectuals and the university, when Taraki and Whitaker were both in their twenties. Whitaker sees Taraki’s remarks as illustrative of the eastern Province Tamil intellectual. ‘’Here was the subaltern speaking’’ (p 248). "Whitaker felt that Taraki was able to ‘mix together local and translocal discourses into a devastatingly corrosive critique of Western, university—based epistemological pretension.’’ (p 248) Whitaker was in Batticaloa in 1984, when, as Whitaker and Taraki talked, ‘the Sinhalese army was occupying Batticaloa town, signs of an increasing guerilla and political mobilization among the Tamils were taking place’’ (p 249).
Taraki has gone to university and thereafter dropped out of his own accord. He has been a voracious reader. The writers mentioned include: Gramsci, Althusser, Chomsky, Frazer (‘’Golden Bough’’) Foucault, Derrida, Habermas, Wittgenstein. Also Marx’s ‘’The eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Napoleon’’. There is also a discussion of the poetry of John Milton and his concept of Satan. (p 263m 264) Taraki has also got his bearings on French philosophy from Dscombe’s ‘’Modern French Philosophy" from where "he drew a lot of his thinking about French philosophy’. (p 267). Taraki had educated Whitaker on the University Intellectual’’ and the ‘’University Anthropologists’’ (sic. p 261) Taraki has told him about ‘knowledge’ held by ‘repositories’ (p 261). This is a neatly written article. We are familiar with the seventies and eighties approach to western ideas by our young people eager to find out and to think things out on their own. Because of their lack of familiarity with western history or western society, they generally tend to pull ideas out of context and also to make literal interpretations of complex ideas. For example, to many of them, ‘Absurd theatre’’ was what it meant in the English term ‘’absured.’’ What is more interesting in this essay is the education of Mark Whitaker. who has been receptive to the intellectual approach of a person of similar age. But with different background. This article belongs to a new genre of writing, which examines in close detail, the militant Tamil movements of Sri Lanka.
Lastly let us look at a piece of comic relief in this collection. Pradeep Jaganathan’s ‘’All the Lord’s men: recollecting a riot in an urban Sri Lanka community’’. Jeganathan has been living and ‘practising anthropology’ (p 221) in a low income area which contains, or contained, a walauwwa, a factory, lower middle class housing, slums and thugs. Apparently the area had earlier been a coconut estate. The walawwa owners were a Sinhala Christian family. There was a Tamil family called Joseph living there in 1983. The Josephs had been well-to-do and had owned the only television in the area. They had permitted the neighbours to come in and view TV. However, Mrs. Joseph had accused the neighbour’s son of stealing their clock and had slapped the boy. During the 1983 riots, thugs had smashed up their house. Jeganathan had managed to elicit this information during the flood of 1992.
Jeganathan ‘anthropologizs’ this event. (sic p 221) His method of participant observations is interesting. He and his wife have lived in this area. They gave the children in the area mathematics and English tuition free with a treat of plantains. There was a painting session on Saturday as well. The author also accompanied some thugs to the marshes to find a medicinal herb for a wound. Apparently the usual remedy for this was Nescafe. (p 232). The writer has also clashed with his neighbours. (p 238) Despite all this, Jeganathan says that he was able to obtain the snippet of information regards attacking the Josephs, only from different conversations. ‘’Discontinuous and diffuse, it took a great deal of work, of shifting and sifting to get at them. They are the work of an anthropologist looking for material in a particular way’’ (p 232). However, the writer continues very acceptably, ‘these are not easily told tales, nor are they told with pride. They represent a local instance of a common occurrence, the unwillingness or inability of many Sinhala people to acknowledge the atrocities of collective violence’’ (p 232). The fact that author was Tamil would have contributed to this. At one stage of a promising conversation, Gunadasa, one of the thugs had asked Jeganathan for tobacco. ‘’And I, recalling Evans-Pritchard in Nuar country, handed him his well earned cigarette’’ (p 236). Writer has looked at the recollections of the 1983 events as an ‘anthropological object’ (p 240).
This essay includes some of the perspectives of the Tamil separatist movement. Jeganathan refers to ‘a particular Sinhalaness that is simultaneous with these recollections’’ (p 240). ‘This is a respectable Sinhalaness..’’ (p 240). The essay is also full of Marxist and philosophical asides. ‘’Bourgeois families who lived down the road got ‘real’ addresses, numbers and street names, marking the privatization of space’’ (p 222). Mudalalis and police are referred to as ‘extortioners’ (p 233). The TV and the clock belonging to the Josephs is referred to as ‘luxury commodities’. This cannot be disputed. ‘’The luxury commodity returns to these recollections, in its abstract form. Gone are references to clocks or TVs or the property of the Josephs. The appreciation of the overarching ‘regime of value’ of the luxury commodity signals a regret over its destruction, for the authority of such a regime of value transcends ‘Sinhalaness’ or ‘Tamilness’ (p 234). "The commodity form, Marx had argued, is a very queer, mysterious thing’’ (p 230). It is not my wish to dispute the use of this type of philosophical perspective. But it does not seem appropriate to the incident discussed. There is also the observation. "The quietness of the police dissolved property". (p 236) What actually happened was that since the police were keeping quiet, it became easy to break up the Joseph house. ‘The lord, was Sinhala, so was his men, they were united against the usurper Tamil.’ (p 236)
(Concluded)
