War, Peace and the Manufacturing

of Rajapaksa Myths
Ph
oto courtesy the Daily Beast
by Tisaranee Gunasekara
- on 05/28/2014
Twenty-five years ago, I said there would be a hero-king from Ruhunanow hes the one we believe,
President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Sumandasa Abeygunawardane, Astrologer; Executive Director, National Savings Bank; Director,
Employees Trust Fund; Advisor, Independent Television Network[i]
Lankans in general are distressingly indifferent to the plight of the countrys most majestic mammal, the
elephant. But an unaccustomed wave of public outrage ensued when a plan to send two elephant-calves to
a private zoo in South Korea leaked out. One of the claves marked for exportation was five year old
Dinuda. And Dinuda, it was claimed and believed, was born on the day the Tigers were defeated. Thus the
name, Dinu-da: Victory Day.
Omens, both propitious and unpropitious, occupy a decisive place in the politico-psychological landscape
of Sinhala-Buddhists. According to Mahawamsa, the appearance of an elephant-calf was one of the many
auspicious omens which attended the birth of the baby-prince who was destined to become Lankas
ultimate hero-king, Dutugemunu[ii]. The birth of an elephant-calf on the day the Long Eelam War was won
would have been regarded by the Sinhala-South as an equally convincing sign of divine approbation.
As the Dinuda-controversy mounted, President Mahinda Rajapaksa intervened to cancel the exportation.
An investigation was launched to discover the identity of those who tried to deprive the nation of this
national treasure[iii].
And the truth behind the miracle was revealed.
Dinuda was not born on Dinu-da, the Victory Day or even the Victory Year. He was born eight months
earlier[iv]. Someone, at some point, decided to fudge the truth and create a politico-ideological myth about
a divinely-blessed victory, which would resonate with the Sinhala-Buddhist majority.
The birth of an elephant-calf was not the first miracle associated with the Fourth Eelam War. The unofficial
commencement of the war in 2006 coincided with another miracle. In the first week of August, as the
LTTE-engineered Mawil-aru crisis neared its violent dnouement, a story of luminous rays emanating from
Buddha status spread over the Sinhala-South. For three days, crowds gathered near Buddha statues, in
expectation of beholding this miracle. Live media coverage increased the hysteria to a fever-pitch.
President Rajapaksa was reportedly ecstatic that the first sighting happened in a temple in Hambantota.
The JHU proclaimed that the miracle heralded a victorious war.
Genuine mass-delusion or Dinuda-type official lie, the halo-sightings bolstered the leadership credentials
of and public confidence in President Rajapaksa, at a critical time.
Though the teachings of the Buddha are non-theistic, Sinhala-Buddhism believes in a pantheon of 3.3
billion gods. The special care of these gods-of-faith (samyakdrushtika devas) is to protect Lanka and the
people-of-faith. It is to these gods that ordinary Sinhala-Buddhists turn, in troubled times, for protection and
consolation[v]. Any ruler who seems to enjoy the blessings of these interventionist gods would be
automatically acceptable to many Sinhala-Buddhists.
Joseph Campbell argues that myths serve four basic functions: mystical, cosmological, sociological and
pedagogical. The sociological function consists of supporting and validating a certain social order[vi].
Myths can be extremely effective in creating and maintaining a sense of identification between a political
group and a community of people.
The post-war Rajapaksa meta-narrative is aimed buttressing the connection between the majority ethno-
religious community and the countrys new rulers. It is premised on three main myths the myth of eternal
national insecurity, the myth of miraculous development and the myth of the infallible hero-king. The three
myths reinforce each other; in confluence they create and sustain the socio-psychological soil necessary
for the new Rajapaksa dynasty to take root and flourish.
The Myth of Eternal Insecurity
Ancient Lankas relationship with South India was a complex one, consisting of friendship and enmity. For
millennia, South India was a source of hostile armies, indispensable mercenaries, royal wives and useful
gods. With the advent of European colonialists and the weakening of South Indian power, the cooperative
aspect of this relationship gained predominance. When the last Sinhala king of Kandy died without a
legitimate royal heir, his brother-in-law, a scion of South Indias Nayak dynasty, was invited to mount the
throne a choice which seemed to have been endorsed by monks, aristocrats and people.
This multifaceted relationship was interpreted and depicted as a straightforwardly inimical one by Anagarika
Dharmapala. He and his fellow religious nationalists believed in and popularised a clash of civilisations
worldview, according to which Lanka, the only haven of the true-faith, and Sinhala-Buddhists, the chosen
people, are perennially threatened by the far more powerful Christian/Catholic, Islamic and Hindu worlds
and their local agents, the minorities.
This phobia of being encircled and undermined by far more powerful and numerous alien forces became a
leitmotiv of Sinhala-Buddhist supremacism. The Rajapaksas plucked up this politics of paranoia from the
margins and placed it at the very heart of the state.
Post-war, there is a constant attempt to reinforce the belief that Lanka, the only home of Sinhala-Buddhist
civilisation, remains under constant threat from a host of inimical Others. Only a mystical union of
religion, race and the armed forces, under a leader rooted in people (Janamula Nayakaya), can save
Lanka and Sinhala-Buddhists from inundation/subjugation/extinction.
The myth of eternal insecurity is indispensable in providing a patriotic aura to a host of post-war measures
actually aimed at protecting familial rule maintenance of a mammoth defence establishment, militarization
of the economy and society, absent political solution, changing North-Eastern demographics, violation of
basic rights, media censorship, extra-judicial murders.
The Rajapaksa refusal to accept the existence of an ethnic problem dovetails perfectly with this clash of
civilisations outlook. If there is no ethnic problem, if the war was an outcome of a regional/international
conspiracy by enemies of Sinhala-Buddhism, ranging from Tamilnadu Tamils to the White House and the
Vatican, then the military defeat of the LTTE does not end the existential threat. A key purpose of
organisations such as the Bodu Bala Sena is to stoke these phobias and to keep the pot of suspicion-cum-
hatred boiling.
How can permanent heroes and permanent saviours be, without permanent threats and permanent
enemies?
The Myth of Miraculous Development
If keeping fear alive is the main ingredient of the myth of eternal national insecurity, keeping hope alive is at
the core of the myth of miraculous development. Irrational hope can become as delusive as irrational fear.
And dazzle is the way to create/sustain the myth that under Rajapaksa rule, Sri Lanka is reaching First
World Status, by leaps and bounds. Keeping this prosperity-mirage alive is one of the most salient
functions of the often economically dysfunctional projects prioritised by the regime.
Imposing the superstructure of a developed nation on a cash-strapped and indebted base is not
sustainable, but it has a perverse logic seen from the perspective of familial rule. Hungry people cannot be
assured that they have full stomachs. But they can be assured that soon, their hunger will be over. That is
the expected psychological effect of these projects. They are not just megalomanic projects; they are also
razzle-dazzle projects. Their beneficial effects on surrounding communities might be miniscule to non-
existent. But for the majority of people who live away from this reality, these mega-structures indicate that
the Rajapaksas are busy winning the development war, just as they won the war against the LTTE.
Only Tigers died in the Humanitarian Operation. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa claimed that most victims of white
van abductions were rapists, murderers.underworld people[vii]. In his May Day speech Mahinda
Rajapaksa dismissed Rathupaswala protestors as dupes of economic conspirators. In his Al Jazeera
interview, he stated that the only Muslims attacked by Sinhala-Buddhist mobs were child rapists.
The hapless victims of the development miracle, from Colombos poor to Ragamwela peasants are being
repackaged. There are no victims. There are only happy beneficiaries or economic traitors impeding
Lankas rapid march to glory.
The Myth of the Infallible Hero-King
The hailing of Mahinda Rajapaksa as the High King of Sri Lanka began soon after the war was won.
Since then, state propaganda has made a persistent effort to depict Mahinda Rajapaksa as a divinely
blessed and infallible hero-king. Creating a mythical pedigree for the Rajapaksas, which connects them not
just to King Dutugemunu but also to the Buddha, marks the nadir (or apogee, depending on ones political
position) of this endeavour.
Democracies have citizens. Kings need subjects. Absolutist monarchs need absolutely servile subjects.
Mahinda Rajapaksa is hailed as the Lion in the Lion Flag, Father of the Nation, Wonder of the World and
the Universe, Golden Sword which defends the nation, Golden Thread which unites sundered hearts,
Leader who conquered the World and The Sun and the Moon to a country which defeated Terror. He has
been proclaimed by the Sangha as the Universally Renowned Lord of the Three Sinhala Lands.
Words can be like tiny doses of arsenic, cautioned Victor Klemperer[viii]. The unceasing outpouring of
servility which is Rajapaksa propaganda aims at transforming critical and irreverent citizens into mindlessly
obedient good subjects.
Days after the Presidential election of 2010, the victorious Rajapaksas attended a state sponsored musical
show, Jaya Jayawe. The final panegyric of that evening of panegyrics was dedicated to the Presidents
mother. As the songstress crooned, Mother, are you watching from heaven, as the Son, whom the gods
and the Brahmas sent to your womb from golden palaces, is protecting the Nation? state TV showed the
said heaven-sent son, President Mahinda Rajapaksa, listening with manifest complaisance. His matter of
fact demeanour indicated that he considered such idolatrous outpouring to be his due. It was the attitude of
a man who sincerely believes that absolute power and lifelong rule are his right and will do anything to
prevent anyone from interfering with this destiny be it ordinary citizens, the war-winning army commander
or the chief justice.
The Shape of the Future
In June 2009 Chandrasiri Bandara, a popular astrologer, was arrested by the CID for predicting the
imminent ouster of President Rajapaksa[ix].
Most Sinhala-Buddhists have an abiding and implicit faith in stars. And until the Rajapaksa-era dawned,
Lankan astrologers predicted for and against incumbent regimes without suffering any ill consequences.
Given the local belief systems, stars can play an important role in creating or debunking myths. The
Rajapaksas are determined to ensure that only those astrological predictions favourable to them are
available in the public domain. The carrot and stick method, which had been used successfully to tame
politicians, entrepreneurs, militarymen, media personnel, judges and bureaucrats, is used with astrologers
as well. Astrologer Sumanadasa Abeygunawardane predicted a half-a-century of Rajapaksa rule, soon
after the war was won: President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the Rajapaksas will rule this country for a long
time. The Rajapaksas will become beloved leaders of this country. The next chapter in Sri Lanka is
reserved for the Rajapaksas.[x] Today he is the countrys foremost astrologer[xi], a man of wealth,
positions and influence.
The Rajapaksa state is benevolent to the faithful, malevolent to opponents and neutral/indifferent to the
vast majority of ordinary people in between. This neutrality will be affordable so long as the Rajapaksas can
maintain their hegemonic position in the Sinhala-South. But the waning of economic hope can erode,
undermine and eventually destroy this hegemony. And economic hope is waning, as the CPAs Top line
surveys demonstrate. To mention just one example, in 2011, a mammoth 70% of Sinhalese thought that the
general economic situation will get better in the next two years. In 2013 only 38.5% of Sinhalese thought
that the general economic situation will improve in the next two years a decrease of 45%, in just two
years.
Presidents Rajapaksas speech at the CICA meeting of May 2014 indicates that the Siblings are aware of
this danger and plan to respond to it with increased doses of racism obscurantism and repression. .it is
imperative that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our nations are secure. Sadly, we have watched
this fundamental right of States, being violated. Creating domestic disharmony is their start point. We
have witnessed the corrupt use of social media including the internet, to create domestic unrest and cyber
crime. Youth have been targeted, and they have become pawns of the misplaced agendas. These are
dangerous trends that need to be arrested, and addressed. We should also place youth, centrally in our
policy priorities, in a bid to inculcate correct value systems in accordance with their indigenous cultures,
and take on board their requirements.[xii]
The myth of the reincarnated Tiger does not seem to be resonating with the Sinhala South. Consequently,
the Rajapaksas may resort increasingly to religious-racism. And that is an extremely dangerous game to
play in a religiously pluralist country. If we want to save the nation state from fracturing along religious
lines, we need to keep politics as separate as possible from religion. This necessary demarcation is
impossible so long as the Rajapaksas rule.
In the five years since the war ended, the Rajapaksas have caused more harm to Sri Lanka than Vellupillai
Pirapaharan did, in thirty years. There is no reconciliation, forgetting or forgiving; instead there is more
hatred now, more suspicion, more fanaticism and more violence, less common-ground, less kindness, less
humanity and less ordinary decency. Bunker mentality is becoming normal, and ethics and morality are
not prized qualities in bunkers.
Perhaps it is unsurprising that Sri Lanka is one of the saddest places on earth, according to the latest (UN-
sponsored) World Happiness Report. Of the 156 countries rated, Sri Lanka ranks 137[xiii].
***
The well known Mahawamsa story about Dutugemunus conscience can be read as the contestation of two
antithetical worldviews. The king is saddened by the human costs of his victory. How shall there be any
comfort for me.since by me was caused the slaughter of a great host numbering millions? he
laments[xiv]. And the deaths he is mourning are of enemy combatants.
The monks response is to dehumanise the mostly non-Buddhist enemy-dead: Unbelievers and men of evil
life.not more to be esteemed than beasts[xv], they assure the king. Killing such sub-humans is of no
consequence.
The war against the LTTE was a necessary war, given the nature of the LTTE. Had the Rajapaksas
responded to the victory in the spirit of Dutugemunu, with humanity and humility, many of the problems the
country is encountering nationally and internationally could have been avoided. Instead the Rajapaksas
opted for the path advocated by the monks; they succumbed to Sinhala-Buddhism and wallowed in
merciless triumphalism. They dehumanised their victim, and in doing so, they dehumanised themselves,
made reconciliation impossible and created conditions for new conflicts.
The electoral playing-field today is far more unbalanced than it was in 2010. The Rajapaksas have
managed to turn almost every arm of the state into a tool of familial rule. In such an inimical terrain,
opposing the Rajapaksas, during and in-between elections, will be truly a labour of Sisyphus. But it is an
effort which must be made, given what is at stake. Like Sisyphus, we are powerless; but like Sisyphus, we
must be rebellious[xvi].
###
[i] http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2001/pix/PrintPage.asp?REF=/2009/09/06/spe03.asp
[ii].by the power of his merit an elephant of the six-tusked race brought his young one thihter and left him
here and went his way. When a fisherman named Kanduala saw it standing in the jungle on the shore
opposite the watering place, he straight-way told the king He was named Kandula Mahawamsa.
[iii]http://www.dailynews.lk/?q=local/dinuda-stay
http://www.dailynews.lk/?q=local/special-committee-probe-dinuda-issue
[iv] http://www.dailymirror.lk/news/46884-dinuda-not-born-on-victory-day.html; according to other accounts
Dinuda was born a few weeks after the war was won, and happens to be a she.
[v] According to Sinhala Buddhist beliefs any living being can be born a god/goddess in the six heavens if
he/she/it accumulates enough merit. But gods/goddesses themselves cannot accumulate merit. Therefore,
to continue their heavenly existence, they need pious humans to transfer merit to them. In return they
protect these pious humans from harm and promote their wellbeing. This quid-pro-quo relationship also
explains the occurrence of miracles, because gods are expected to upend nature in favour of the pious.
[vi]The Power of Myth
[vii]The Sunday Leader 27.5.2012
[viii]The Language of the Third Reich
[ix] http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8120859.stm
[x] Silumina 7.6.2009
[xi] http://sri-lanka.theglobalmail.org/brothers-grip
[xii] http://lankamission.org/index.php/front-news/929-let-us-work-collectively-to-create-a-peaceful-and-
stable-new-asia-president-rajapaksa-calls-on-cica-leaders
[xiii]http://issuu.com/earthinstitute/docs/worldhappinessreport2013_online
[xiv]Mahawamsa
[xv]Ibid
[xvi] Sisyphus, proletarian of the gods, powerless and rebellious. Camus (The Myth of Sisyphus)