Don’t underestimate power of common man

Be it the ouster of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in 2022 or the recent ouster of the Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina, some have pointed the finger at foreign powers being behind the youth-led movements that brought about such dramatic change. 

In Sheikh Hasina’s case, she had been in power for 15 years before the frustration and anger of the people spilled on the streets and she was sent packing. In Rajapaksa’s case he was barely halfway into his first term in office when he had to flee but when you add up the years under his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa’s administration of nearly 11 years, it was 13 years of one family running the country.

Conspiracy theories are nothing new where political assassinations and sudden changes in administration are concerned. Till today there are varying theories on who was behind the killing of Patrice Lumumba, the first prime minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo, killed in 1961. Fingers have been pointed at Western powers for his execution while closer to home, there is no lack of conspiracy theories relating to the killing of Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike who was shot dead in 1956.

One cannot rule out the hand of foreign or hidden forces behind any of the incidents that take place in countries that were once boxed together as belonging to the “Third World” but countries such as Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have come too far to keep blaming foreign forces for their failures instead of taking responsibility for the failures of their rulers.

In the case of Sri Lanka, which has been under self-rule since 1948, successive political parties that have ruled the country since independence should collectively share the blame for the present plight of the country.

Sri Lanka’s population is well under control, and we are today around 22 million people. The country is bountiful in natural resources, has a high literacy rate and some good basic infrastructure but the life of the average person is one of hardship because their rulers have failed to address their basic needs with the same enthusiasm as they have had in building vanity projects that bring with them massive commissions.

The Rajapaksa administration spent billions on building highways, airports, ports, convention centres, towers, and many other extravagances that the country can ill afford but no doubt gave massive commissions to those involved in these projects. The ordinary person of this country has not benefited from these projects because however many highways you build, the average person travels in packed buses and trains, waits for months to see a doctor at a government hospital and not get the medicine he/she urgently requires, pays exorbitant fees for private tuition even though education is supposed to be free, pays unfairly high prices for essential goods because trade is riddled with corruption and continues to live hand to mouth.

Take a look at the country’s main railway stations Fort and Maradana for example. Thousands of commuters make their way daily rushing up and down reeking stairways, broken platforms, and leaking roofs. An old person or a disabled person struggles when using such places because the politicians who robbed the country did not see any comw missions in modernising the station, installing escalators and better facilities for the old and the disabled to use a public space with convenience and safety. Similarly in government hospitals, people sit on walls and on the road as politicians could not get big commissions for putting up sheltered waiting areas for the public. Children have to brave leaking roofs and the heat, because the politician could not get big commissions in building decent classrooms for them.

Given these conditions, the people don’t need to be prodded on by any foreign conspirators to oust those in power. The appalling conditions on the ground are more than enough for an angry and frustrated public to take to the streets and chase away the rulers, some of whom think it’s their birthright to rule over the people so they, their families and cronies can live a life of comfort, leisure and pleasure. As the famous line uttered by Indian movie star Shah Rukh Khan in one of his movies goes, no politician should make the mistake of “underestimating the power of the common man.” Sooner or later, they have to face public wrath.