Srilankan Buddhist monks, “Great King of Chola, we would be happy to offer you our support. You may soon take over the Sri Lankan kingdom. We are happy to stand with you and do the swearing-in ceremony as our King”.
“Thanks for your support, but I have to decline. Sorry”, replies “The Chola King”.
Srilankan Buddhist monks state “We expected this from you, it’s ok, take 1 year time to think, we will meet again next year at the same time”.
The Chola king then leaves the premise after thanking Srilankan Buddhist monks.
Vandhiyathevan then asks Chola king – “But my king, you came here to take over the Sri Lankan kingdom. The battle is getting harder day by day. These Buddhist monks are offering you their support but you declined it… May I ask why??”
The Chola and the Pandya invaders from South India attacked Sri Lanka several times and finally in 993 Chola empire under the leadership of Rajendra Chola I became successful in conquering the Anuradhapura Kingdom. Soon almost the whole Northern part of the island became a part of the Chola Empire ruled Sri Lanka from 1017 until 1070. Vijayabaahu I in the year 1070 succeeded in conquering the Cholas and became the king of Sri Lanka.
Fast forward a few thousand years later….
The worst recession in Sri Lanka since its independence in 1948 has triggered sheer hardships for its population that approximately counts for 22 million people, with acute shortages of fuel, medicines and food along with customary blackouts. The president of the country along with his family has already fled the nation and allowed the four Buddhist chapters including Asgiri, Malwathu, Ramanya, and Amarapura exert a lot of power in the political landscape of Sri Lanka. In the words of an opposition lawmaker and economist Harsha de Silva, “The pendulum has swung from ‘it’s all about the Rajapaksas, they are the people who saved this country,’ to ‘it is because of the Rajapaksas that the country is now ruined”.
No matter whether Rajapaksa was seen as a protector of the nation’s 70% Buddhist-Sinhalese majority, the Buddhist monks were compelled to urge Rajapaksa to create an interim government under the leadership of a new prime minister amidst the ongoing massive public outrage.
Sri Lanka crisis through kaleidoscope eyes
Suicide bombings on Easter Sunday that killed 290 people in 2019 were perhaps an occurrence that triggered a chain of reactive events leading to a disastrous fate of a glorious nation. And it all started with a visible drop in tourism and Rajapaksas’ return in the power based on the successful tapping of disillusionment and outrage of the public.
To boost revenue, a few wrong fiscal decisions such as obtaining a slew of foreign loans involving Chinese money paved the way to reel under the burden of heavy debt.
To make the matters worse, a considerable tax cut further did shrink the government financing resulting in a fall in the tax base of Sri Lanka by almost 30%. This led to the downgrade in the ranking of the nation by creditors belonging to the global market as when foreign exchange reserves continue to dwindle, it becomes almost impossible for creditors to borrow money. De Mel commented, “When you do something like that, you have some kind of internal analysis or document that shows why these cuts could help the economy. There was nothing of that sort”.
The entire pandemic crisis was perhaps the final nail in the coffin crushing tourism beyond imagination leading to the worsening of already an economic crisis hit the economy.
Sri Lanka crisis and the role of the Ethno-religious clash
While the entire world is blaming the faulty policies of the past Sri Lankan government for the collapse of Sri Lanka a few people have been able to look at the large picture of the ruin of Sri Lanka. According to a revelation, “The finding of Buddhist places in the Jaffna peninsula today has created tension in the minds of both Sinhalese and Tamils because of its political implications.”
Interestingly, the majorities of Tamils were Buddhist in the past and Sinhalese Buddhism, had, and still has, several elements of Tamil Hinduism. Hindus and Buddhists both co-existed peacefully and there was never a gigantic division between the two religions as practices and beliefs were shared. However, the situation began to change in the last two decades and with the findings of Buddhist places in the Jaffna peninsula created further ethno-religious tension in the minds of Tamils and Sinhalese due to its political implications.
Apparently, Sinhalese and the Tamils have been putting flawed claims on religion, language, and ethnicity, mudding Sri Lankan politics since the post-independence era. The Sinhalese proclaim that Buddhism is a “Sinhala” religion. On the other hand, The Tamils claim with equal intensity, that Sinhalese have always been “Pure Hindu” who never had to do anything with Buddhism and hence identifying the Sinhalese with “Sinhala hegemony.”
Sinhala-Buddhist radicals assert that Buddhist archaeological sites found in the Tamil-dominated Eastern and Northern Provinces are remnants of a Sinhala-Buddhist past. Therefore, Sinhala’s ownership belonging to those lands should be retrieved. On the contrary, the Tamils perceive the discovery of these relics as a potential threat to their existence.
Sri Lanka crisis: Inside a domino effect that led to political and social unrest.
There is no denial of the fact that the constant interference of the influential Buddhist monks has also played some role if not a prominent role in the ongoing economic and political turmoil going on in Sri Lanka. When Rajapakse began pushing Sri Lanka into destructive ethnocracy in 2005, Buddhist monks began designating themselves as the defenders of the Sinhala majority. They would just storm into any religious place be it temple or mosque and demand its instant closure claiming that it had been constructed on territory that is sacred to Buddhists.
The government would then be left with no option but either bulldozes it or order the mosque or temple to relocate to another place. Buddhist monks did not stop there. A few of them started searching for other targets under an agenda of “civil policing”. A group named Bodu Bala Sena, also known as the Buddhist strength force organized rallies against the halal system related to the meat certification in Colombo. The Buddhist monks would often address public gatherings commenting, ‘“Christianity and Hindu polytheism are responsible for the vulgar practices of killing animals, stealing, prostitution, lying and drunkenness.
The constant endeavour on the part of the insecure majority of Buddhist monks to seek validation of its superiority by making other communities feel inferior led to political consolidations in Sri Lankan government. Rajapakse being a supporter of Buddhist monks ended up holding an important post. A lack of far-sightedness of Rajapakse that was possessed by the Chola king eventually led to constant interference in defence, political and economic decisions of government by Buddhist monks ultimately resulting in religion-based nationalism. This not only led to the negative disruption of the food chain and an unthinkable unemployment crisis but also led to a negative impact on the flow of international tourists due to repeated violence and riots. A vicious circle of combined events then resulted in abnormal inflation leading to an ultimate collapse of the economy.
Today amid the ongoing chaos, the future of a beautiful country remains uncertain as they continue to struggle to buy basic goods, medicine and fuel.
So here comes a million-dollar question, “What can India or any other nation learn from Sri Lanka’s ruin?
The answer lies in the profound words of none other than one of the most powerful kings of the Chola empire “Raja Raja Chola” who commented a few 1000s years ago…..
“If I accept their support, then I will have to listen to their demands later. Administering a kingdom is a huge responsibility for a king. It has to be non-biased and not favour any portion of the society. Yes, battle is hard, but we will win one day. I would rather defeat the king all by myself and take over the kingdom rather than with support of monks. Religion should never interfere in governance”.
Share in the comments what is your take on mixing religiosity with politics. Do you believe that it is an ultimate outcome of the nation’s bankruptcy just like the recent Sri Lanka crisis?
