India: a great country; one of the biggest economies in the
world; has acquired nuclear capabilities, has one of the largest standing
armies in the world; aspires to become a Permanent Member of the UN Security
Council; got big dreams and thinks big.
When it comes to delivering and distributing, however, India comes a
distant second to countries like Sri Lanka.
Maybe it is the small-mindedness.
Here’s some relevant data regarding Sri Lanka. Sri
Lanka’s Per Capita GDP stands at US $ 5000 (India’s is US $ 3500). Sri Lanka’s unemployment rate is half that of
India. Sri Lanka’s inflation rate (5.6%)
is half that of India. Infant mortality is at 9.7 deaths per 1000 live
births. Literacy stands at 90.7%. All this, let us not forget, was obtained and
maintained through two bloody insurrections (the second precipitated by Rajiv
Gandhi’s attempt to turn Sri Lanka into another Bhutan or Sikkim through the
Indo-Lanka Accord) and a 30 year long struggle against terrorism
(Indian-instigated, Indian-funded, Indian-armed and Indian-trained, let us not
forget). ‘Sri Lanka Shining’ sounds a
more believable proposition, one might say.
India is not a bunch of statistics which shows a country of
vast contrasts with a privileged few exploiting and living off millions who are
not. It is a country which despite all appearances
of opulence and national wholesomeness, is falling apart at its many
seams.
There are presently 123 independence movements in
India struggling for rights of self-determination. Apart from these movements there
are sort of on-going struggles for social and economic justice and they are
spread over 220 districts in 20 states covering about 40% of India’s total
geography. Murmur names such as Kashmir, Tamil Nadu,
Assam, Sikhs and Nagaland and worry lines will appear on the most stoic of
Indian officials and politicians. India,
moreover, indulges in what is almost like a national pastime: that of engaging
in faith-related pogroms that leave tens of thousands dead every 5-10
years. Keeping India ‘intact’ has cost
hundreds of thousands of lives and requires systemic torture, assassination and
genocide (in Kashmir for instance).
How about Sri Lanka? Well, we had a problem. Yes, ‘past
tense’. Took us time to sort it out, but
sort it out we did and no thanks to India, let me add.
India exists courtesy those who invaded the
subcontinent. It is a recent amalgam and
one that would not have materialized had the Europeans not arrived. Indeed, the
name ‘India’ is a convenience coined by the colonial powers and it is to the
lasting shame of that country that it is yet to unshackle itself from that
strong (indelible?) symbol and reminder of a violently subjugated past.
Not so Sri Lanka. We
suffered 500 years of colonial rule, yes.
This island, however was not a hodge-podge of petty kingdoms at war with
one another or describable as glorified fiefdoms, which is what much of what is
now called ‘India’ used to be (and still is, one might argue). India does not have a ‘national’ history. There was never ‘national’ coherence in its
past, except on a few occasions when warrior kings subjugated neighbouring
regions. It is diverse, yes, and that’s
not a bad thing. Diversity, however, is
pulling India apart, i.e. into her constituent elements.
So when India wants to prescribe ‘reconciliation’ to Sri
Lanka, it is in a sense laughable. A far
better idea would be for Indians to come to Sri Lanka and learn how to be a
nation, how to overcome the challenges that life and living naturally throw up
including those related to identity-based anxieties. Not perfect, sure. Far less imperfect though than our
neighbor.
India is THE sick
country in South Asia. Perhaps it is this sickness (described above) that makes
for delirious and self-satisfied ranting and raving about how her neighbours
ought to sort out their little problems.
It is this sickness that perhaps makes India want to interfere and mess
up her neighbours in the ‘Suffer Like I Suffer’ kind of logic. That’s screwed-up logic when it comes to
bilateral solidarities but India will not see it that way. We can put it down to delirium.
India is suffering from a terrible cancer that has struck
the core of its foundational lie. It is not a ‘nation’ but a
hastily-pieced-together something that is coming apart because the colonial
glue is no longer sufficient to keep things together and coherent, never mind
the fact of the horrendous citizen-anomalies that describe it. Sri Lanka had a tumour too. It was duly
removed. What remains are wounds which
are eminently curable with home remedies.
India does not need Sri Lankan experts to tell her how to
sort things out. All India needs do is
take a look at Sri Lanka, or better still, take a look at herself. India would then looks at others, especially
Sri Lanka, differently.
*Written 3 years ago. Still 'fresh', I feel.
A good article Malinda.
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