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An enlightening
journey
Course of Separatism (Bedum Wadaye Gamanmaga)
by Ranjith Ananda Jayasinghe. Reviewed by Premachandra
Alwis.
The recently-released book "Course
of Separatism” by well-known journalist Ranjith
Ananda Jayasinghe is a detailed account of the separatist
struggle which has led to a war that has dragged on
for more than 20 years, and claimed thousands of lives
of people of all communities in our country.
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| Ranjith Jayasinghe presenting
his book to President Rajapaksa |
By presenting this account the author
has made a commendable effort to enlighten the present
generation on the historical background from which the
separatist struggle originated.
Although some seek to ascribe the
national crisis to one or two measures such as the implementation
of language policy, it is obvious that the course of
separatism is marked by different milestones and it
is on these that the author bases his account. Beginning
with the chapter “Past of the Crisis” the
author describes how various changes in the country
contributed to the crisis, the history of which goes
back to the period when the East India Company ruled
several parts of the island from 1796. The author also
points out how the three constitutional changes effected
here by the British rulers who followed a divide and
rule policy in our country led to a gradual hostility
between the Sinhala and Tamil communities. In 32 chapters
the author details almost all the significant issues
such as the policies of S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, the fifty-fifty
demand by G.G. Ponnambalam, the Bandaranaike-Chelvanayagam
pact, the Sirima-Shastri pact, July 1983 riots and the
emergence of the Tamil Tigers etc., that have contributed
to the conflict. In his “Conclusion” the
author points out that all the political parties that
came to power sought to manoeuvre the North-East crisis
for their political advantage. There are several examples
of the duplicity of our politicians who said, “Aye”
when they were in the ruling party, to proposals brought
in to solve problems and “No” to similar
proposals when they were in opposition.
The foreword to the book is by Bradman
Weerakoon.
Course of Separatism is worth reading
for all who seek a clear and unbiased picture of this
long drawn-out crisis.
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