‘1948 And All That’; or, from democracy to kakistocracy

In their vastly entertaining satire ‘1066 And All That’, presented as “A memorable history of England”, coauthors W.C. Sellar and R.J. Yeatman argue that “history is not what happened – it is what you can remember”. 

At the end of each chapter, there is a mad quiz... to discern what their readers have sadly learned (“comprising all the things you can remember”). 

And in one memorable test paper, they ask: “What can you remember?” To which, they suggest, the answer is: “Nothing!” Ergo, their conclusion: “History is now at an end...”

No such luck for another island-nation. 

We, having singularly, collectively, and repeatedly failed to learn the lessons of history, are doomed or condemned to repeat (by memory – or its failure) its distinctively memorable bits, which we’d all rather forget. 

In lighter (‘1066’) vein today, we present a studied – yet, mercifully brief (1948–2023) – history of Sri Lanka. 

We focus on its models of state, to argue that the most memorable thing about it is how many sea-changes in civics and governance we’ve undergone, while remaining decidedly a riches-to-rags story, and strange at that...

1948–1956 

Bliss it was that dawn to be alive, to be young and free was very heaven. Sadly, it was not to last 10 years! But in the full first blush of self-governance, the Dominion of Ceylon was demonstrably “this other Eden, demi-paradise”. 

Is there anyone alive today, who can remember that heady feeling? Or more importantly, guide our destiny to profit from such a gift again?

That we were debt-free and determined to fulfil the potential of becoming a model Crown Colony – the envy of Singapore – made our new democracy a toast of the Commonwealth town. 

Now we remember (those of us who do or can) those halcyon days with nostalgia-fuelled bittersweet tears.

It was an under-represented democracy at best, however, for a polity that was granted universal adult franchise in 1931 while more ‘advanced civilisations’ withheld the grant.

The elite dominated the upper echelons of state, as well as administrative and civil service ranks: a legacy of colonialism. 

These constituted the shackles and trappings, from which the landed gentry who ruled the land did not desire manumission – either for themselves as the lords of all they surveyed after 443 years of bending the knee under the yoke of imperial mercantilism, or for others who continued in neo-feudal servitude.

Sea-change: from colonialism to native elitism 

Most memorable: being an island in the sun in a postwar Commonwealth straddling fading Empire  

1956–1965 

There was a serpent in our socio-politically tiered Garden of Eden. No democratically-elected government has forgotten to deploy that venomous creature in the pursuit of its own ends for 75 years. 

That is the serpentine slithery-ness of ethno-nationalism, ethnic exceptionalism and party-political particularism, whereby a majoritarian ethic was propagated and perpetuated. 

And that it undermines the general well-being of the polity didn’t seem to bother the elites – in the UNP as much as the SLFP – too much. 

Do you remember that even back then, the UNP – originator of the ‘Sinhala Only’ policy courtesy JR in the House in 1944, to the consternation of its initial egalitarian ethos (‘freedom from the fetters of imperialism’ was one of its founding tenets) – was not very much different from the SLFP, with its eventual Official Languages Act of 1956?  

Sea-change: from inclusive pluralism to state-sponsored bigotry 

Most memorable: ‘assassination of an anarchist’

1965–1972 

An era in which coalition politics reached its zenith – or nadir, depending on whether you won or lost the hotly-contested elections of the time. 

It was also a recipe for executive overreach and the responsorial rescinding of the civil rights of socialist matriarchs.

As well as the emergence of presidentialism following the new republic’s only referendum to date – under an autocrat at home, and a democrat abroad: JR, whose Caesarism inspired a slew of successors to the most abused political office in the land – there were the countervailing moves towards political balance between the Old Left and the New Right Wing.

Do you remember the division, separation and balance of powers? (2 out of 3 is a pass-mark!)

Sea-change: from seesawing bipartisan duality to multi-party coalition politics 

Most memorable: 2nd Republican Constitution 

1972–1989 

Not satisfied with making a shambles of newly-independent democratic status as Ceylon, the erstwhile Commonwealth flag-bearer, our coalescing nation went on to become the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. 

But despite its feeble attempt at fancy nomenclature, civic life was 

hardly democratic; 

only nominally socialist, given the then administration’s determination to experiment with free-market economics; 

and slowly but surely transforming from a republic once defined by values into a regime now driven by adventurers.

Sea-change: from closed to open economy

Most memorable: Accelerated Mahaweli Development Project showcases ‘Growth, Development, Progress,’ as the new GDP  

1989–1994 

Into the milieu of dynastic elites, inroads were made in the name of elevating the status and security of the lower common denominators. 

“About time,” sighed the hoi polloi in their respective vernaculars, while the vulgar – and violently armed – mobs breathed fury... 

In the south, at emerging statism in policymaking, for all its social democratic lip-service; in the north, at authoritarianism and a refusal (despite that friendly neighbourhood army of occupation to help us make up our minds) to bow the knee to devolution! 

Caught, between a rock and a hard place, the tyrant state responded with an iron fist... ironically, referred to as the ‘welfare state’ – although ‘warfare state’ suits it better; for those who remember the era of bombs in buses and trains, assassinations at political rallies and failed putsches in a deeply-divided parliament.

(Who is he? What is he doing? – remember?)

Sea-change: a power shift from elitism in national leadership to open socio-economics

Most memorable: the Democratic Social Republic beginning to earn its social democrat stripes 

1994–2004

A new hope for cooperation between the major party-blocs in a nominally bipartisan electorate was sabotaged by a deadly cocktail of one-upmanship. 

There was also a clash of egos as much as ideologies, and the souring of a political marriage of convenience. 

Which – perhaps for a first time since independence – harboured a chance for ‘peace with justice’ among the island’s melting-pot of castes, creeds, communities and contesting ideologies.

Who remembers ‘cohabitation’?

Sea-change: executive-legislature nexus and negotiated politics/democracy

Most memorable: Ranil and Chandrika showing how it takes two to tango, tangle and come untangled 

2005–2009 

Tolling the death-knell for genuinely bipartisan politics, came that man and his machine which had swept everything in its path from Medamulana to Mullaitivu (politically), and from Kataragama to Kilinochchi (religiously). 

The dynastic political movement that was the Rajapaksa regime proved a heady mix of majoritarianism, paternalism, patronage politics and emergent ethno-nationalism that would set the nation ablaze in the next decade.

Sea-change: from bipartisan to unipartisan

Most memorable: ‘I have the files on you’ 

2009–2015 

A cardinal opportunity to shape a sincerely inclusive and pluralist society that eschewed petty, party-political and narrowly partisan governance was lost. 

It was when demonstrably the most popular leader to emerge since independence chose, cynically, to define – and divide – a nation along ethnic, cultural, linguistic and ‘loyalty-to-race-and-religion’ lines... again.

What price populism, O ‘Father of a Nation’, and at what costs? (‘Mathakada?’ ‘Daeng saepada?’)

Sea-change: from republicanism to Caesarism

Most memorable: ‘There are no races, only those who love the country’

2015–2019 

Ambition to rule – note: not govern, or administer; but utterly dominate a cowed and suitably impressed polity – led the Master of the Realm (MR) to make a false move. 

Early polls opened up the electorate to a rare (and later, as it came to be recognised, maleficent) conjunction of political stars. 

The planetary alignment of the UNFGG and an SLFP-breakaway brought a mixed bag of results – from the good (democratic institutions, checks and balances, law and order safeguards); to the bad (cronyism/nepotism à la ‘the old boys’ network’); and the ugly (white-collar crime, insidious coups). 

Who remembers defending the democratic rights of a poor ousted prime minister now? How has his ethos changed from then?

Sea-change: from democratic-republican virtues to virtuosity at realpolitik

Most memorable: Hora Deal – by almost all card trick players, from kings to knaves to jokers in the pack 

2019–2022 

Widespread frustration with wasted opportunities to restore faith in so-called ‘good governance’ – fuelled by the administrative and security disasters of the Easter Sunday bombings – led to an unprecedented majority of the electorate placing their faith in a supposedly efficient and technocratic candidate. 

Emergence of elitism (vide. Viyathmaga, and that brand of favouring hand-picked professionals and academics for top governmental jobs) and growing militarisation of state institutions paved the road – with not-so-good intentions and worse policy decisions. 

Fertiliser fiasco, disastrous fiscal policies leading to defaulting on sovereign debt repayments due first, then bankruptcy being declared – these among other push-and-pull factors led to the Aragalaya, and people’s sovereignty ‘voting with their feet’.

Where were you when the people stormed the palace? Remember, remember, the 9th of July...

Sea-change: into a tyrannical yet incompetent pseudo-technocracy

Most memorable: ‘I am the law’; ‘I am the state’; ‘After me, the deluge’

2023 And All That 

Despite what was smuggled past a strongly united nation as being ‘regime change’, the policies of the government – and the ranks of the legislature at least – remained the same... 

This entrenched the status quo and consolidated the consociational democracy that favours elites, serves high-powered vested interests, socialises losses to state coffers, privatises profits for big business, and forfeits safeguards for the marginalised. 

Sea-change: from constitutionalism to the exercise of popular sovereignty in the absence of right-of-recall

Most memorable: people’s “struggle” 

2023–2048 

Quo vadis, O undemocratic consociational regime? Continuing kakistocracy?

(Editor-at-large of LMD | Satirist of the 1066 vintage)