Satyajit Ray in his film ‘Ghare Baire’
(Home and the World) based on the novel by Rabindranath Tagore, offers a
comment not just on women’s lives and roles but a thoughtful observation on
nationalism. Set in early 20th
century India, the story is framed by the movement to boycott foreign goods, a
position articulated by the ‘radical’ nationalist Sandip. The Bengali noble, Nikhil, who is not given
to noise-making and chest-beating patriotism offers the view that boycotting is
not enough, there has to be local production too.
In a world where nations depend on one
another, there are some who can dictate terms and some who have to submit. It’s all based on interdependencies and
dependencies underlined by relative economic strength and to a lesser degree the
dignity of peoples and political strength of relevant governments. Flag-waving, anthem-singing and chest-beating
nationalism makes no sense without on-the-ground activity that insulates a
nation and a people from dictates originating outside the country and made to
further interests of others.
There is no point in burning the US flag,
for instance, if we are all ‘Americans (of the USA)’ in spirit, culture,
outlook and philosophy of being’. It’s
odd to salute ‘Americanism’ by way of living ‘Americanism’ while decrying the
USA for its many crimes against humanity and machinations against Sri
Lanka. That ‘Americanism’, let us not
forget, can be and is to a large extend embedded in economic policy which affirms
and further entrenches dependency.
Patricia Butenis has gone on record, for example, observing that for all
the China-friendly rhetoric we hear Sri Lanka’s exports are essentially tied to
European and North American markets.
It is in this context that efforts such
as entrepreneur Ariyaseela Wickramanayake’s foray into the dairy industry make
a point and show a way out of what appears to be endemic dependency. Sri Lanka spends Rs 43,000 million every year
on importing milk products.
Wickramanayake believes that Sri Lanka has the capacity to save this
entire amount and boost per capita income to US $ 5000. Australia and New
Zealand have banned milk imports while India levies a stupendous 167% import
tax, all to protect the respective local industry.
One of the biggest myths around is equating ‘foreign’ with ‘good’
and ‘local’ with ‘inferior’. What is ‘good’
about most things foreign is packaging and advertising. Not so much ‘good’,
actually, as ‘effective’. There’s a lot in the small print and a lot
that doesn’t even come in small print.
As Ranjith Page of Cargills once said, most ice creams in the market are
made of powdered milk which is not necessarily made of ‘fresh milk’ and
therefore are referred to as ‘frozen deserts’ and not ‘ice cream’ in other
countries. Stories about contamination
and ingredients don’t make the news or are played down or obliterated by aggressive
ad campaigns.
Now it would be folly indeed to claim that we can become
some kind of idyllic, self-sustaining and self-sufficient island paradise. Our ancestors were not averse to international
trade. What is important is to be
intelligent about policy and smart about what we take and what we say ‘no’
to. The war against terrorism was not
exactly won without any help from outsiders.
What is important to understand, however, is that the design and execution
of strategy was home-grown. The same
principle can be applied to other areas of activity, especially the economic
sphere.
We are not in a position to demand, but neither should we
assume that we will never get out of this dependency rut. Getting out of the rut requires vision,
energy, determination, courage and a strong sense of national dignity. We cannot turn things around overnight, but
we can take little steps on all fronts that expand the range of options.
‘Api wenuwen api’ was and is an excellent slogan but one
that need not be limited to the welfare of those who rid the country of the
terrorist menace. Our enemies are many
and are multi coloured as well as ready to operate on multiple fronts. It is
good to identify and condemn them, but that’s doing the ‘necessary’ but not the
‘sufficient’. ‘Sufficient’ includes the
kind of thinking and operationalizing of thought in the way Wickramanayake has
done. If the government helps with
policy it is certainly a boost, but it is up to the individual or collective to
do what is necessary even if state support by way of policy adjustment is
lacking.
In this, the words of the Buddha offer an
excellent thinking frame: ‘atta hi attano nato. Kohi nato
paro sia’ (one’s solace lies in oneself; what other master could there be?);
what is true for the individual in struggles of emancipation is also applicable
to the collective in struggles to win true independence.