Stories of the Wind

As I observed in one of my earlier posts ‘Ghosts from Our Past’ (1) a new wave of anti-minority tide is sweeping across Sri Lanka. This phenomenon is led by Buddhist monks, in the name of preserving Buddhism and the ‘chosen race’.

I came across a YouTube video titled ‘Buddhist Extremism’.(2) The person who made the video, I am certain, is well intentioned and wants to contribute positively towards resolving the extremist juggernaut spearheaded by the Bodu Bala Sena.

However, I was deeply disappointed when I finished watching the video. Sadly, the film-maker fails glaringly short of dealing with the actual problem.

The video-maker, to his credit, at the beginning of the film, acknowledges that religion is a ‘tool’. Today, in Sri Lanka, Buddhism is merely being as a tool to channel further an anti-minority political project. As far as my knowledge goes, there is nothing in Buddhist teaching that even condone hatred, let alone ‘inspire’ or ‘cause’ it. In fact, Buddhism speaks of valuing diversity and ensuring equality.

I am unsure as to what kept the film-maker blind to the logical incoherence in asserting that religion is a tool and also framing the extremist project as a ‘failure’ of Buddhism (a failure, he claims, that is inherent in all religions).

Alan Strathern, a fellow in History at Brasenose College, Oxford, managed to explain the complex relationship between the state and the Sangha in simple terms. In a recent article on the BBC, titled ‘Why are Buddhist Monks Attacking Muslims?’ he writes:(3)

“Buddhist monks looked to kings, the ultimate wielders of violence, for the support, patronage and order that only they could provide. Kings looked to monks to provide the popular legitimacy that only such a high moral vision can confer.

The result can seem ironic. If you have a strong sense of the overriding moral superiority of your worldview, then the need to protect and advance it can seem the most important duty of all.”

Thus, we may conclude that the relationship between the state and the Sangha is built upon a shared goal – survival. The state needs the Sangha, and vice versa. It is within this historic framework that we must attempt to understand the rise of the new militant political phenomenon.

Dr Vinoth Ramachandra, a well-respected public intellectual, writing for Groundviews, listed the following as the questions the Sri Lankan public must ask:(4)

Whom does the Police come under, and who has the power to silence them?

Who has the power to use the Attorney General to overturn due process and the rule of law?

Why does the Bodu Bala Sena only protest about animal slaughter and not about anti-Buddhist practices like casinos and the money-laundering, prostitution and human trafficking that always comes with casinos? Could this be a clue as to who is actually behind them?

Ramachandra, then, goes on to state the following:

‘I disagree with most Groundviews commentators who have described these acts of mob violence as manifestations of “religious extremism”. They are more plausibly acts of political manipulation. Those who claim to have liberated Tamils from “terrorism” (a terrorism which they had helped inflame) are now waiting to liberate Muslims, Christians and perhaps Buddhists themselves from the forces of “religious extremism”. A grateful public will welcome the liberators with open arms.’

Furthermore, the video completely ignores the history of the Sinhala-Buddhist nationalist project. By failing to place the new wave of anti-minority hatred within Sri Lanka’s historical context of post-independence nation building, the film-maker gives the impression (unintentionally, perhaps) that this is something ‘new’ to Sri Lanka.

Tough political problems, by nature, require nuanced analysis that appreciates the complexity of human conflicts.

In tough times like this we need sound analysis, constructive discussion and meaningful action. The last thing we need is simplistic (and convenient) socio-political analysis that diverts the attention of the dialogue from the actual problem and, thereby, prevents meaningful action.