Two eloquent speakers and what they said
From the time we heard that Rishi Sunak was to be the next Prime Minister of Britain and read all the wondrous things about him, I wanted to know what Sashi Tharoor would have to say about this
momentous-for-Indians turn of events in the biggest colonial country the world had seen. I had two friends sending me the video clip of an interview when Tharoor commented on the matter. I report not verbatim but as I remember what he said.
Tharoor was all for the success of an Indian second-generation British citizen becoming the PM of Britain. He marveled first about the fact that Sunak came to politics and entered Parliament in 2014. After just five years he held the second most important position in government – Chancellor of the Exchequer. Within seven years he had risen to the highest. Tharoor was very emphatic in saying that it was a remarkable success due to merit of the contender, his ability and the recognition he earned for himself.
Speaking about colonialism which to him was all evil and exploited India, its resources and people, he said that Britain seems to have “outgrown” centuries of discrimination. It had recognised ability outdoing racial and religious sensitivity, if not bias. He added Sunak was completely frank about his Hinduism and allowed photographs of him at poojas to go viral.
Tharoor quoted PM Modi who commented on newer affinity and thus easier dialogue with India’s former coloniser, which facilitated Sunak’s phenomenal rise to power. Tharoor commented on Indian’s narrow attitude that Indians would not tolerate a Muslim Prime Minister, although much earlier a Sikh was PM.A question was posed to him – whether India would benefit from the fact an Indian was PM of Britain, meaning given preferable treatment. He emphatically said it would not be so. He added Sunak was British and had been all his life, though he gratefully acknowledged Indian descent. He added that this happening in UK was a lesson to India to cut down on its biases and conflicts due to religion, race and caste,
Tumultuous life
Sashi Tharoor is a meteor that still flashes in the Indian sky after high flying internationally. He was born in 1956 to Indian immigrant parents in London, who returned to India after his birth. He got his BA from the University of Delhi and then at age 22 earned a PhD from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, Massachusetts – the youngest ever to receive this qualification. He served in several posts in the UN, UNHCR and was India’s choice for Secretary General of the UN. He lost to Ban Ki-moon. He returned to India and contested from the Congress Party for a seat in the Lok Sabha from an electorate in Kerala, and won.
Controversy has swirled around him always. He severely criticised the BJP and its leader Modi. In 2018 his third wife died in a hotel room. He was accused of marital cruelty and abetting a suicide but was cleared of charges. He is an international civil servant, diplomat, bureaucrat and politician, writer, and renowned public speaker. Cass listened to a recording some years ago of a debate of the Debating Union of Oxford University where Tharoor gave the closing remarks. He was fast, furious and extremely fluent in his bashing of the coloniser Britain.
Second speaker
The next public speaker Cass sheds her searching light on is a Sri Lankan and totally unlike Tharoor but shares his skill and excellence in eloquence and matches Sunak in brilliance and intellect. Added to which he has an appearance of endearing simplicity.I speak of Dr Rohan Pethiyagoda, whose latest address to graduating students of a Faculty of the University of Sri Jayawardenapura, has gone viral like many previous addresses, most of them scientific and some debunking other ‘experts’ in what they said. I got the video of the address from a Sri Lankan in the US and three living here.
His address to the students was just what had to be said, with no preaching or advice whatsoever. I thought he might advise on not protesting but helping the country. Nothing so plebian for him in his address! He spoke to the audience one to one, as it were, with apparent empathy and as one of them.
The gist of his address to graduating students was on sensibility or sensibleness. He said this day was an outstanding one in their lives and even more so to their parents who had undergone much to get them into university and then have them graduating. And then came the punch line: the sensible attitude, decisions taken and guiding given them by their mothers. This led to his referring to the messes caused in the country by lack of sensibleness. (I use this term since sensibility is often mistaken for sensitivity. This comes mostly from its old meaning which Jane Austen used in her novel Sense and Sensibility. To her and at that time sensibility meant “an understanding of or ability to decide about what is good or valuable, especially in connection with artistic or social activities.” It connoted emotional receptivity. The meaning of the word sensibility now is reason, rational wisdom and common sense. That is the meaning I take).
Rohan went on to elaborate how almost irreparable and long- term harm was done by printing trillions of Sri Lankan rupees with CB Gov Nivard Cabraal announcing printing money did not bring on inflation – a basic tenet of money economics. He cited also the criminality of banning chemical fertilizers et al consequent to bad advice followed, with no common sense used to evaluate advice nor giving an attentive ear to scientists’ advice. As I said, he did not once descend to the mundane of advising the graduands to work hard, do well, contribute to improving the welfare of the country and its people. Not the usual for this brilliant son of Lanka.
The nth protest march
So, Wednesday November 2 saw another protest march in Colombo of trade unions with major parties – SJB, SLFP and TNA supporting it. We applauded the several chambers of commerce who advised no more marches. We Ordinaries are sick to the skull (since we have no gills to be sick to) with these marches and protests, especially now since it’s a cocking a snook at the police who have been ordered from on high to disallow marches and use any tactic to abort mass protests. It’s a testing of muscles: police against protestors. The police have potent tools for aborting marches: permitted use of excessive criminal force and shooting into crowds, backed by the PTA. We say enough is enough because we know the ulterior motive of Stalins and Samarasinghes and ex male nurses and others: carving political niches for themselves, and also, if possible, feathering nests. Actress Damitha prove this though she denied any wrong doing while shouting loud at the earlier Aragalaya in Gotagogama.
We in Sri Lanka – everyone – must contribute in whichever way to get us back economically. Protests send photographs worldwide, which will surely dissuade tourists from coming over with a hundred countries to chose from. This land like no other is derogatively thus; damned by its own people; not rapacious politicians in power alone but even by the ordinary man or woman. It is most apt to recall John F Kennedy’s words which were a genuine wake up call to the USA: ask not what the country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country. This must be the cry of the farmer stretching his hand out with complaints, the mass of vociferous protestors, the sophisticate pining for exotic cheeses… and all else.
