Columns

Indian-born, London-based writer Sonia Faleiro’s latest book, “The Robe and the Sword”, was reviewed by the left-leaning Guardian newspaper in the UK, and it has raised eyebrows among readers not only because of the contents of her tome but also because of her family’s business credentials.

First, about the book. She has relied on a hackneyed theme popular in the West, “the dangerous rise of Buddhist extremism”, that Buddhist monks in Sri Lanka and Myanmar in particular are ‘militant’ and anti-Muslim, and therefore, they have ignored the teachings of the Buddha. She needs some history lessons. Because of the very non-violence preached by the Buddha, Buddhism was overrun in India and other parts of Asia by the invading Moghuls and later by the Christian missionaries who came with the colonial powers, including to Portuguese Goa in India.

She refers only to one monk’s actions in Sri Lanka, viz., Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara and his Bodu Bala Sena movement. Her book should belong to the Modern History section in libraries because she had interviewed the monk some time back when he was ‘playing socks’, no doubt, but is now passé’. He was sent to jail by the courts in Sri Lanka, and yet she maintains a stoic silence on that part of events. Because that would water down her theme for her book.

Her interviews with well-known wallahs in Colombo’s NGO circuit who make a living out of running down the majority community and their religion, and with a Muslim lady she is taken to see, betray her links with the Colombo NGO. In journalism circles, the Sonias of this world are known as the “Running Janes”, those who come with a preconceived notion of what article or book will sell in the West, just to pick up some quotes to justify it.

Married to an American, her husband is reportedly a business partner and member of the social gang of Rahul Gandhi, the Congress party leader in India, according to an article in 2019 in the New Indian Express.

The author is the daughter of a veteran Goan politician and former Union Minister, Eduardo Faleiro, himself a Catholic who was born in Lisbon, Portugal, and has written on religion. Her husband was a business partner of Gandhi when the two reportedly incorporated a company called Backops. The company folded up in 2009 when allegations surfaced that Gandhi was a British citizen and sordid details emerged of defence deals and kickbacks in which the company was involved, says the newspaper. The daughter of Sonia and her husband is named Indira.

The ruling BJP was after a web of companies Sonia’s family is involved in, especially in defence deals, says the New Indian Express.

A leading local politician reading the review of the book was to sarcastically say, “We at least imprisoned the monk (Gnanasara) for hate speech. Nigel Farage’s similar hate speech in the UK is, of course, ‘free speech’.”

Flight diversions: Tharoor lands with X post

While many flights coming into Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) were diverted due to bad weather to airports in the south Indian state of Kerala, including the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport, it has led to some issues at the Indian end.

Shashi Tharoor, the MP for Thiruvananthapuram, took to his X handle to state that he was concerned to learn that five international flights have been diverted from Colombo to the airport there. “The airlines are attempting to accommodate passengers in the city, but with the ongoing Navy Week celebrations, hotel rooms are scarce. Calling on all small and medium hotels in my constituency to rise to the occasion and make space available for the stranded passengers,” he said on his X handle. He also welcomed the prompt Indian relief assistance to Sri Lanka.

President offers VVIP helicopters as Indian choppers join rescue operations

Indian helicopters from INS Vikrant, now anchored at Colombo port, joined the rescue operation

Two Indian Chetak helicopters from INS Vikrant, India’s first indigenously built aircraft carrier, joined five Sri Lankan Air Force helicopters in search and rescue operations as Cyclone Ditwah wreaked havoc across the country.

Given the extent of the disaster, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has stepped in to instruct the SLAF to also use the two VVIP helicopters for rescue work. However, since these helicopters are fitted with special seats, rescue operations in them posed a problem. Hence, instructions have been issued to remove these seats, though the process will take two days. While some in government are in awe of the President’s decision, others question how practical it is to dismantle seats on a VVIP helicopter.

Power-packed charity in times of need

Flood victims' phones are being charged at the Alawwa sound systems shop

Various businesses are also helping affected persons in this time of need.

In a situation where many areas were left without power owing to the adverse weather, a post on social media showed how a sound systems company in Alawwa had made available its plug bases for anyone to come with their chargers and charge their phones.

State media as an essential service

In the special gazette notification promulgated under the Essential Public Services Act, No. 61 of 1979, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake included, among many others, all services connected to the media as an ‘essential service”.

While it’s heartening to see the media recognised as an essential service, it is important to note that the media is an essential service 365 days of the year, natural calamity or not. And of course, the President was meaning the state media, please.

Flood-hit prisons shift inmates to makeshift facilities

Amid the downpour and gusty winds, inmates from the flood-hit Anuradhapura prison are being moved to safety

Heavy floods forced North Central Prison officers to move all the inmates of the Anuradhapura Prison to temporary detention centres set up in a school in the area.

The inmates were lined up and taken in prison buses to the makeshift prison. Inmates from the Dehiattakandiya prison were also moved to a safer location due to flooding.

Making the most of a disaster

With several roads left submerged in the aftermath of Cyclone Ditwah, residents in some areas were seen wading through floodwaters to catch freshwater fish turned into rainwater fish on main roads, disregarding repeated warnings issued by disaster management officials.

Crowds also gathered at various locations to witness and take videos from their mobile phones of the rising flood levels and the force of water gushing from waterfalls, despite appeals from authorities to avoid unsafe areas.

In other parts of the island, people were spotted on bridges fishing out even coconuts drifting down flooded rivers, trying to make the most of a bad situation.

After Black Friday blues, now comes Black Monday

As Cyclone Ditwah barrelled across the island on Friday, several retailers pressed ahead with flashy ‘Black Friday’ promotions, despite repeated warnings issued by authorities for the public to remain indoors and
exercise caution.

From apparel and electronics to household items and even hotel stays, businesses continued to bombard customers with discount alerts, many accompanied by messages with “hoping you are keeping safe”, even as adverse weather conditions intensified.

Amid the marketing blitz, a handful of establishments took a different approach, offering temporary safe spaces with limited network connectivity for those grappling with power outages and flooding in affected areas. Talk of marketing. Eventually, with many ‘no shows’, some have extended their Black Friday to a Black Monday.

Anti-drug campaign: Singer’s critical post ends on a positive note

In singer Sangeeth Wijesuriya, a staunch supporter of the NPP, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake found an unlikely adviser on the disposal of illicit drugs.

Mr Wijesuriya, who was often seen on the NPP stage during last year’s election campaigns, had written a post critical of the government’s ongoing anti-drug programme. Soon, he was invited to the President’s Office to attend the second session of the ‘A Nation United’ National Steering Council, on Tuesday (Nov. 25). Mr Wijesuriya, a former policeman who had served in the Police Narcotics Division once, had suggested to the President that all seized drugs must be destroyed immediately and a law should be enacted to do so. The President welcomed the suggestion and agreed to expedite the formulation of such a law. After the meeting he was heard singing praises of the president, saying his earlier posts critical of the government were misinterpreted.

Jeevan’s wedding: Kotagala reception put off, Colombo celebration held

The wedding reception of Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) stalwart and United National Party (UNP) Parliamentarian Jeevan Thondaman, scheduled to be held today (30) in Nuwara Eliya, has been postponed owing to inclement weather conditions in Kotagala and other parts of Nuwara Eliya and surrounding areas.

In a note to all invitees, supporters and party cadres, Mr Thondaman, who tied the knot last week in Chennai, said this was done with the intention of avoiding discomfort and difficulty for those who would have had to travel, especially in uncertain conditions.

However, a separate reception held for almost a thousand invitees in Colombo did go ahead on Friday night at a leading hotel in the city. Many MPs from opposition parties were present, though neither President Anura Kumara Dissanayake nor any MP from the government was in attendance.

Also absent was Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, though a number of current and former Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MPs were at the reception. Former Presidents Maithripala Sirisena, Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Ranil Wickremesinghe, however, did attend and were observed speaking to many of the attendees. The UNP leader had time for a quip for former Kandy District MP and Minister Lakshman Kiriella, telling him that he should be in Parliament to represent the opposition, in what could be seen as a not-so-subtle dig at the current SJB leadership.