Independence is a process since colonialism is a process that has evolved over five centuries. The colonialism that is experienced by us is not the same as what Seethawaka Rajasinghe experienced in the sixteenth century nor what Anagarika Dharmapala experienced in the latter part of the nineteenth century and in the first two decades of the twentieth century. In the twenty first century we may have partial political independence but economically and culturally we are dependent now more than in any other period. Even in the political field we have to depend on the western political structures. The three components of western Christian colonialism, which is a result of Greek Judaic Christian Chinthanaya, cultural, political and economical are interdependent and not mutually exclusive. Though some think that we reduce everything to culture it is not so, but during this epoch of western Christian colonialism the cultural component plays a very important role. Also the cultural component is neglected by the western intellectuals who deal with colonialism from their point of view and hence very often we have to make a special emphasis on culture.
Apart from UN and its various subsidiaries western Christian colonialism has established the IMF, the world bank, etc., to deal with our economies and the NGOs, universities and schools to propagate their ideology. The latter essentially are complementary to the missionaries of the early period of western Christian colonialism and work against the native cultures of Asia and Africa. Unfortunately neither the Buddhist culture nor the Hindu culture has been able to effectively counter the western Christian colonialism as most of the so called intellectuals could not produce anything original in their cultures challenging the knowledge created in the western Greek Judaic Christian culture. The politicians were and are as hopeless as the intellectuals and as a result India has now become one of the agents of western Christian colonialism in spite of its Hindu culture. Nehru dynasty depends so much on western Judaic Christian culture the Hindus had to come out with its own party in the form of Bharatheeya Janata Party (BJP). The name of BJP itself suggests that it is the party of the Bharat people implying that the Congress named in the western Christian culture using western political structures is not the party of the Bharat people. Perhaps Subhash Chandra Bhosh had other ideas but he was displaced by Gandhi Nehru Mountbatten combination. The BJP also does not have a theory to counteract the western Christian colonialism and seems to depend on alien knowledge created based on Greek Judaic Christian Chinthanaya.
In the Buddhist world the five Theravada countries were ruled later by the English, French and Americans. Sri Lanka and Myanmar came under the English, Laos and Kampuchea were ruled by the French while Thailand has become an unofficial colony of the Americans. Myanmar and Kampuchea under Pol Pot challenged western Christian colonialism but did not take into consideration the human cravings for sensual pleasure. People who have been exposed to the consumerism of western Judaic Christian culture cannot be forced to live without what they consider as essentials and the westerners had no difficulty in ousting Pol Pot in Kampuchea and make way for Suki in Myanmar. Even in Sri Lanka Mrs. Bandaranaike’s government had difficulties with Rice bar (Hal polla) and Bread queue (Pan polima) and JR Jayawardhene had no difficulty in ousting the SLFP promising eight pounds of cereals (eta ata). Any move against western Christian colonialism is resisted either “democratically” or through insurrections as Mrs. Bandaranaike had experienced in 1962. If we are to believe the “information” given in a series of articles published currently in the “Sunday Island”, even Dudley Senanayake and Kotelawala had been involved in the conspiracy of the mainly non Buddhist uniformed “gentlemen”. The series of articles if true also reveals how judges in the Privy Council could be influenced, and so much for the independence and impartiality of the judiciary we have inherited from the English. They talk of prejudice as something that has to be discarded but those who become judges are not people who do not have any acquaintances or those without political inclinations. One does not have to be a member of a political party to have political inclinations and some of the ex judges in their utterances reveal where their political affiliations were. The western intellectuals will vouch for separation of powers (duties), and independence from political convictions while in service but the uniformed “gentlemen” and ex judges have shown that they are first of all human beings and not machines working according to the “laws” of western intellectuals.
The western Christian colonialism was successful in using Tamil Hindus against Sinhala Buddhists with the creation of Tamil racism. In this connection it is mainly the cultural component of western Christian colonialism that is at work against Sinhala Buddhist culture as illustrated by the western media, NGOs, intellectuals etc., more than the political component. For example “The Independent” newspaper in England on Monday the 18th February 2013 came out with the headlines “Revealed: UK sells arms to Sri Lanka's brutal regime” and wrote an editorial on the hypocrisy of their government. The politicians may be prepared to sell arms to Sri Lanka but the cultural component of western Christian colonialism is all out to oppose it calling Sri Lankan government a brutal regime! It is the so called left of centre media such as “The Independent”, “Guardian”, BBC Channel four, human rights vendors, NGOs etc., that is hell bent on defeating the Sinhala Buddhist culture. It is interesting to find that in the present phase of western Christian colonialism the more one is so called left of centre one is more an ardent defendant of western Christian colonialism as the cultural component is dominant in this phase.
There were only three cultures and Chinthanayas that have been able to challenge somewhat successfully the western Christian colonialism and Greek Judaic Christian Chinthanaya in the last hundred years or so. They are the Greek Orthodox Chinthanaya, the Catholic Chinthanaya and culture, and the Muslim Chinthanaya and culture. The Greek Orthodox Chinthanaya was infiltrated by Marxism and the westerners were able to defeat it with the help of Pope who now serves not the catholic Chinthanaya but the Greek Judaic Christian Chinthanaya. The catholic Chinthanaya inspired by Fascism was defeated in the so called second world war. The Muslim Chinthanaya is still challenging the western Christian colonialism but unless it becomes careful it would also be defeated.
A good example in this connection is the Halal controversy. Whether the Sinhala Buddhists realize it or not what we have in Sri Lanka is a western Judaic Christian food policy, if I may call it a policy. The Sinhala Buddhist have become meat eaters Whisky Arrack or Kasippu drinkers within a space of hundred years or so. My family was vegetarian but was advised by a western doctor who was a Christian to add meat to our menu. I have now become a vegetarian through my “rebirth” but for more than few decades I was dominated by the cultural component of western Christian colonialism. It is clear that the Muslim culture and Chinthanaya is challenging the world domination of western Christian food patterns, culture and even law through their Halal certificates, dresses and Sharya Law. I am in principle not against it but they have to do it without antagonizing the Buddhists, Hindus and others in the world. I do not want to be dominated by Muslim culture instead of western Christian culture. In Sri Lanka it is not only the Buddhists who are affected by “Halal” policy. The Hindus and Christians are also affected. However the Christians and Hindus are not seen among the protestors as if they are prepared to consume Halal products. I fear that the Buddhists are being used (kade yaveema) in this regard. The Muslims in Sri Lanka should not force the non Muslims to consume only Halal products and they should device a scheme in consultation with the government to supply Halal products only to the Muslim community giving the freedom for the others to consume non Halal products. It is not something difficult and unless the Muslim and the Buddhists are careful, the western Christian colonialism would use Muslims against the Sinhala Buddhists presenting both communities as “pariahs” to the so called international community. We have an experience of Hindus being used against Sinhala Buddhists and we do not want a similar encounter again. Let us all unite to defeat western Christian colonialism.
Copyright Prof. Nalin De Silva