Colonial mentality lingers on

Ravi Perera

ROYAL INCLINATION: Royal College, Majestic City, Regal Cinema, Empire Bakery, the Monarch, Prince Charles Court the list of Sri Lankan institutions and buildings suggesting titillating regal connections is truly impressive.

It seems that a well-placed Sri Lankan, if he is so inclined, can lead a life from birth to death at a flirting distance from the Kings Court. One might conclude thus that from Point Pedro to Dondra and Colombo to Batticaloa the inhabitants of this island are gripped by the regal aura.

But then like most Sri Lankan experiences we know this is all make believe. The illusory regality we love to drench ourselves in is really lese-majesty. The Court of St James’s, the royalty we readily draw references to, is a continent away and was forsaken by our Republican Constitution of 1972.

Even when we were flying the Union Jack our loyalty to the distant crown was tenuous. When the Crown badly needed from its far-flung colonies ready and willing defenders of the realms the unwarlike islanders of Ceylon did not obviously occur to them as good prospects. They went instead to the ferocious Gurkhas, hardy Fijians and the faithful Africans to fill their military ranks.

Having done precious little to advance the Empire’s cause then, why do our people, now independent for over half a century, anoint themselves all over with the smear of an alien power, a gradually diminishing one at that?

While the social scientists may offer various explanations for this clearly irrational national inclination, it maybe useful to bear in mind the common human inclination to claim virtues and attributes one is most deficient in. The cowardly take up brave poses, the least virtues spend much time in places holy while the intellectually poorest avers great thoughts.

What is regal about these people and their institutions, which flaunt its name? We are a poor country hugely in debt. Our main foreign currency earnings are the remittances from Middle Eastern countries where Sri Lankans are employed mainly as unskilled workers.

Even within the country we see very little regal bearing or conduct. A nation, which in their own country is routinely subjected to abject humiliation by visa officers of foreign embassies, cannot walk with the pride that Royalty is wont to.

Even in transactions among themselves there is little respect or concern accorded to each other. A punctual meeting is a courtesy undreamt of. Furthermore, the corruption and general misconduct that we observe in our society is far removed from the dignity and decorum usually associated with royal courts. Then why in this very prosaic society the proliferation of royal references?

It perhaps points to a certain unreality in the collective mental make-up of the inhabitants of this island. The same psychological impulse that chose as our national symbol an animal whose wild roar has never reverberated within the shorelines of this island, drives us towards announcing all kinds of regal connection knowing very well there is nothing of the kind here.

Men of a very different timbre built the powerful empires and sturdy kingdoms we love to be associated with, at least in name. Examining the various chapters of the epoch defining European conquests of the 17-19 centuries, some of the attributes that come to fore are bravery, loyalty, discipline, dedication and of course the intellectual daring of the empire builders.

Not only did they occupy large areas of the world but also developed and introduced systems of government which more or less found general acceptance among the subjects. On the negative side, we see wickedness, contempt towards the weaker people and avarice, which are perhaps basic impulses of any conquest. And although we have not accomplished any of the feats of the empire builders can we honestly declare ourselves free of these vices?

What we need now is not more and more schools and buildings named after some spurious concept of royalty, but a reasonable appreciation of our own national strengths and weaknesses. By having a realistic assessment of ourselves, perhaps we can build on a sounder foundation.

“Know then thyself, presume not God to scan, the proper study of mankind is man.”