Choosing Our Imaginary Communities and Identities

In June 1983 I arrived in Sri Lanka with a starry-eyed commitment to grassroots Buddhist social change, and a lot of romanticism about national liberation movements and Asian Buddhism. The Sri Lankan civil war that started five days later forced me to confront how dangerous all identities and communities are unless we understand that they are fundamentally imaginary. My two years in Sri Lanka convinced me of the desperate need for a new project of global citizenship.

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Posted by Kevin  on  05/18  at  10:23 PM

Great post James,

I would be interested to hear your take on the death of the Tigers http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/may/18/sri-lanka-rebel-chief-has-been-killed/ and how you think it will impact long-term peace in the region.

Posted by jhughes  on  05/19  at  10:37 AM

Thanks Kevin. I think there are a lot of unresolved issues in establishing pluralism and Tamil rights in Sri Lanka, but there are a number of Tamil political parties, and human rights groups on both sides, to work on those issues. The war waged by the Tigers did not advance pluralism or Tamil rights, it set them back for twenty five years. They were a murderous and suicidal terrorist group led by megalomaniac trying to establish a pointless, inevitably impoverished, state, responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of people, including their own. Their defeat is an enormous relief. That said their are still quite few racial-nationalist Sinhala groups that now need to be confronted anew, starting with the Buddhist monk's party, the Jathika Hela Urumaya (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jathika_Hela_Urumaya). Even in a Buddhist country it is important to have a separation of church and state, and the rise of monastic fascists has made this very clear.

Posted by Mario Perera, Kadawata  on  04/14  at  08:40 AM

Dear Dr.Hughes,
Thank you for your very impartial article written with ill-will to none. I have a question for you. The ideal of a separate State for the Tamils existed even before Independence and was later couched in the demand for federalism. This snow-balled later into the separatist war.
A very strong feeling among many here is that the Tamil mono-ethnic population in the North will invariably lead once again to the claim for a traditional homeland for the Tamils comprising the North-East. Tamil Nadu politics in South India and its pressure on the Indian Central government will as always exert their own pressures in this regard, i.e the demand for a separate State. The Tamil diaspora is at this very moment continuously fostering and promoting this idea. What is your opinion please.
Thank you
Mario Perera, Kadawata

Posted by sr  on  08/28  at  11:18 PM

No war, no peace: the denial of minority rights and justice in Sri Lanka, Report by Minority Rights Group International, 19 January 2011: With the end of the conflict between Sri Lankan government forces and the Liberation Tigers for Tamil Eelam in 2009, for members of the country’s two main minority groups – Tamils and Muslims – living in the north and east of the country, harsh material conditions, economic marginalisation, and militarism remain prevalent. Drawing on interviews with activists, religious and political leaders, and ordinary people living in these areas of the country, MRG found a picture very much at odds with the official image of peace and prosperity following the end of armed conflict.
Add this to the list of grievances that prompted the conflict in the first place and remain unaddressed – lack of access to land, lack of political autonomy and failure to implement existing legislation relating to the use of the Tamil language – and it is easy to see why those interviewed for this report spoke of their despondency, fear and lack of hope for the future of minority rights in Sri Lanka.
In light of the findings of this report MRG calls on the government of Sri Lanka to respect the economic, cultural and political rights of minorities living in Sri Lanka and to ensure that they gain from post-conflict reconstruction and development projects in the areas where they live. Failure to do so may have long-term repercussions for peace and stability in the country - http://www.minorityrights.org/10458/reports/no-war-no-peace-the-denial-of-minority-rights-and-justice-in-sri-lanka.html

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