It is not uncommon therefore for ‘ethnic’ and ‘religious’ to
be painted on things that are not necessarily ethnic or religious. One of the outcomes of this state of affairs,
interestingly, is a marked aversion by some to point the ethnic or religious of
ethnic and religious things respectively.
Indeed when the ethnic and/or religious does assert itself/themselves
they are downplayed or ignored altogether.
There are holy ethnic cows and holy religious cows, apparently.
Now it can be argued that such things are left alone because
there’s been so much fire that adding more fuel cannot help douse. If that were the case, then it would be
hands-off for all communities, all faiths, all ethnicities. There are people who are like that, i.e.
those who don’t feed the rabble-rouser and who, even if reference to identity
cannot be avoided will employ reason and responsibility so that the
rabble-rouser will not benefit but the public will be better informed.
The politics of selectivity in these matters is interesting
in and of itself. Take the fiasco
regarding the Law Entrance Examination (LEE).
Statistics show a steady increase in the intake of Muslim students. Does that indicate a ‘Muslim Hand’? No. We
cannot conclude this. It can be argued
that Muslim candidates have got more serious about exam preparation than
Muslims of an earlier generation.
Nothing wrong there. This year’s
intake shows Muslin-intake not as ‘improvement’ following recent pattern but a
veritable jump. ‘Muslim-hand’? No evidence, as of now. Better to presume ‘none’.
What is being questioned is the integrity of the entire
process. There are allegations of ‘leak’
as far as the Tamil Medium papers are concerned. The Law College, Ministry of Justice (Rauff
Hakeem, a Muslim who is a leader of a ‘Muslim’ party, is the subject minister,
but that could be coincidence) and the Examinations Department are playing
toss-the-ball. That’s not a ‘Muslim
thing’ but a general response to problem common to all departments and
ministries. The ‘Muslim-hand’
allegations come with reference to the ports recruiting Muslims in numbers not
corresponding to ethnic percentages when a Muslim was subject minister and the
foreign service likewise being ‘Muslim-loaded’ under A.C.S. Hameed. Relevant? No.
Separate issues.
If the Tamil language paper has leaked and if the majority
of Muslims took the Tamil version, then it is natural that they would perform
better. If this was the case it could be
because whoever was guilty of leaking wanted Muslim candidates to perform
better (the ‘leaker’ could have been a Muslim) or because the ‘leaker’ wanted
to make a fast buck (in which case his/her ethnicity, religious faith etc., is irrelevant).
The jury is out on all these matters and as long as the jury
remains out, those who want to pain ethnicity to the story will only become
stronger. From a purely rights point of
view, it is a serious matter, especially since it is all about the law, law
students and lawyers. We can envisage a
situation several decades down the line where some (let’s say ‘deserving’)
individual is made Chief Justice but is found to have entered Law College after
sitting an examination that remains under cloud. That individual need not be a Muslim, let us
remember. This is not an O/L paper
leak. It is a competitive exam and far
more important than competitive examinations such as the Grade 5 Scholarship
exam. Foot-dragging is not just unfair
for the candidates (including those who ‘passed’) but dangerous for
post-conflict harmony among communities.
Be that as it may, what is strange is the total silence on
the part of many who treat even the slightest error on the part of exam-holders
as though it were a national calamity.
Why? Is this issue a touch-me-not
because there is suspicion that some group other than Sinhalese or Buddhists
might be up to hanky-panky? Is it a fear
that calling out minority groups would make the callers-out being identified
with those who are routinely called ‘Sinhala Buddhist Extremists’? Is it
a similar ‘fear’ that stops the otherwise vociferous political commentariat from
saying anything negative about the Saudis even as they lambast the Foreign
Employment Bureau and the regime over Rizana’s execution?
Ravaya has been silent for the most part. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, Jehan Perera, J.C.
Weliamuna and other anti-regime hawks haven’t found this juicy enough an issue
to chew on. Such people focus on the
protests led by Buddhist organizations.
That’s fair enough, but it doesn’t warrant silence on what appears to be
serious flaws in the process as evidenced by contradictory and vague statements
issued by the relevant authorities of the relevant institutions.
Standing for minority rights does not mean giving minorities
a blank cheque. Neither does it warrant silence when minorities benefit from
error, simply because they happen to be a minority. Whenever foul mouthed people calling
themselves ‘Buddhists’ or racist Sinhalese indulge in racism, there are many
(mostly non-Sinhalese and non-Buddhists) crying foul, as they should. If they
are asked ‘Are all non-Buddhists and non-Sinhalese saints?’ or ‘Would you ever
or have you ever criticized racism on the part of non-Sinhalese or
fundamentalism on the part of non-Buddhists?’ they are silent.
There’s something wrong here and it doesn’t help. There’s a monster waiting to get out of a
box. There are errors of commission and
errors of omission. We are seeing
both. From all quarters.
3 comments:
Not all 'world press' are equally interested about seeing problems along the ethnic divisions all the time.
For example, when it comes to scandals like credit card or identity theft, majority of 'world press' prefer to omit any reference to the ethnicity of the people involved other than identifying the culprits as Sri Lankans.
See the link below, for example, about a 'Sri Lankan' charged for credit card fraud (thank got he has requested an interpreter).
http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2011/07/09/sri-lankan-jailed-after-517-cards-cloned-in-wallasey-petrol-station-chip-and-pin-fraud-100252-29022178/
As for credit card fraud, it was well known (and in many cases proven) that majority was carried out by Tamils for the purpose of raising 'funds' to LTTE. So even though they were labelled 'Sri Lankans', everybody know the ethnic group involved.
- Tania
Tamil examiners cheat. Where have we heard that before?
From Cyril Mathew and many others in the 1970's. Investigations apparently cleared the examiners.
http://books.google.lk/books?id=3V2xRnKcOEAC&pg=PA156&lpg=PA156&dq=tamil+examiners+cheat&source=bl&ots=62G3mew9qY&sig=1tQ4NHSVFGPg21Yz9pNQGM_J9S8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=-Rz9UNLbCcLlrAeUnIHIBA&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=tamil%20examiners%20cheat&f=false
Now the same claim, made against the new enemy.
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