Guess, what was/is unique to communism in Sri Lanka? When left politics elsewhere merrily adopted the unwritten code of ‘atheism’ written into their very being at the very beginning, here alone it’s different. So, is the question of ‘nationalism’ of a kind unheard of elsewhere.
It is only in this country that you have left leaders queuing up before religious leaders for their blessings before any major move, including annual party congress. Of course, competing with others, they have to seek the blessings of the ‘Big Four’ prelates in the nation’s majority/majoritarian Buddhist religious order.
Then you have them flagging what is another of their unique behaviour, unknown at least to the South Asian neighbourhood. They have had no hesitation in calling theirs ‘Sinhala-Buddhist nationalism’, as different from the larger ‘Sri Lankan nationalism’. At least, none of them, including the present-day ruling JVP-NPP combo had contested or challenged such charges when hurled at them.
To be fair to them, even whatever left-leaning Tamils that were around before the LTTE swept them away too were believers. They have had no problem going to the local kovils in the morning and attending to party work throughout the day. Of course, they too have had their leftist interpretation of ‘Tamil nationalism’ and reservations/opposition to LTTE terrorism.
Sad but true, not many of them were left (alive or otherwise) once the die had been cast. Either they became part of the LTTE bandwagon either directly or through proxy political groups like the erstwhile TNA. Scratch the surface, and most, if not all of not-ITAK, non-CTC Tamil politicians have a leftist past, which they too have forgotten. Some continue to remain in the side-lines, their ‘conscience intact’. Of course, like everything Tamil politics, personal egos and personality clashes did/do matter.
Practised abrasiveness
The question thus arises if the success of the left movement in the country when it was dead or was dying elsewhere in the world has anything to do with their ready acceptance of religion and the calculated adoption of ‘Sinhala-Buddhist nationalism’. Think back to S W R D Bandaranaike’s maiden left government of the country in 1956, the combine could manage to penetrate the last of the villages only through the unplanned network of local monks and ayurvedic physicians, primary school teachers and postmen.
Though rich and elitist, SWRD too needed that ‘leftist’ image when he broke away from the UNP, the nation’s power-house at Independence and which was pronouncedly pro-West in every which way – from English-speaking elitism at the top to faith in religion, god and god men, astrology included. Because there was no palpable ideology when SWRD broke away in 1951 to float the breakaway SLFP, and because he was not a leftist at birth of the politician in him long ago, religion travelled with him into the left combo that he led.
The same applied to the JVP, which presented itself as a vibrant youthful alternative to the ageing leftist politics in the country when across the world, the younger generation was capturing the rural poor’s imagination by citing Russia or China as their ideological parent. Many within national left movements here and elsewhere argued and fought over the supremacy of the Russian and Chinese models, but to date no one has been able to defend the so-called ideological differences between the two to a knowledgeable layman.
It is all in the past. Both Russia (it used to be the Soviet Union, yes, once upon a time) and China are devoid of communist idealism of their birth. What they instead have liberal economies headed by an autocrat, who does not shy away from saying that he is one, even if in so many words and through very many actions.
Many liberal democracies have an in-built system have mind-management through a sophisticated network. They are all subterranean, below the radar. It is part of what US President Donald Trump acknowledged as the ‘deep state’, which he dismantled. There was a good reason for him to say so. After all, he was doing whatever the ‘deep state’ was doing more openly through practised abrasiveness.
Ideological moorings
Whatever that be, you cannot see any politician even from the majority Sinhala-Buddhist community without a religiously sanctified ‘pirith’ thread worn around his wrist(s). The centre-left JVP-NPP rulers, starting with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, are no exception.
They know that without being religious and communicating that commitment to the last Sinhala-Buddhist majority/majoritarian voter, they would not have been able to come to elected power as they did last year. Even ‘Aragalaya’ and the causes that led to the mass-protests would have had to wait, in context.
Thus, no one should have doubted if the leftist rulers would do away with the Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs, as it should have had no place in their ideological moorings, of course, to those outside this country. After all, their political ancestors had adapted global communism to local identities and successfully so.
True, there was communism in the country before SWRD wore the mantle of a centre-left politician who was not formally a communist. But only SWRD’s middle-path and reach, including his unabashed religiosity, made the difference. Did it have any link to a young monk shooting him down, accusing him of drifting away from Buddhism and the Sasana?
Next big thing
Now comes the news of the Buddhasasana Department, for months under the centre-left JVP government, wanting to correct the ‘auspicious times’ for the Sinhala-Tamil New Year, beginning 2026. Thank the good god, they are not rushing anything any time soon, for the Sinhala-Tamil New Year, which anyway generally coincides this time round. So much less last-minute confusion, this time, yes.
Hiniduma Sunil Senevi, the minister concerned, is a PhD holder, and the scientific temper that higher academics instils in men, has not corrupted either his political philosophy or sociological beliefs, even if it goes beyond pure religion and spirituality. He has since discussed the matter with individual astrologers and associations of astrologers, nearly a full year after what is indicated as a faux pas in the calculation of the ‘auspicious times’ for the Sinhala New Year the last time round.
One of the basic problems, now being pointed out, is that some astrologers fixed the ‘auspicious times’ at night, which was just not on. Because not every astrologer agreed, there is now a need for devising an official system to fix these ‘auspicious times’, which is what the department now seems to be seeking out.
When finalised, who knows, like the official Kazi who fixes the commencement of Islamic religious events, based on the timing of the sighting of the moon, as ordained, who knows, you may have a ‘state astrologer’ who may announce the ‘auspicious times’ for Sinhala New Year, to begin with. Who knows, he or they may slowly come to dominate fixing the time for the swearing-in of a President, or a Cabinet or an individual minister.
The list may include judges, bureaucrats and police officials, going down to the last man. After all, in a nation where local religious heads of Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims are around to bless not only official functions involving politicians, and where Buddhist monks get the pride of place (and naturally so!), who knows, having an official astrologer fixing the official timings for official functions at all levels could become the next big thing.
But then, ask fellow Hindu astrologers in the country and they would tell you that every day, the inauspicious ‘Rahu Kalam’ has both a day time and night time component, of one-and-half hours each. It is not so in neighbouring India, the home to the world’s single largest pool of Hindu population with different and diversified denominations. There, the Rahul Kalam is calculated only for the day-light hours, 6 am-6 pm.
Self-proclaimed powers
Talking of astrology, it is common knowledge that every politician in the Sinhala-South especially have their favourite astrologers, whether here or in neighbouring India – just as some of them have favourite Hindu temples to visit and Hindu god men to seek blessings from. Though none of them wears it on the sleeve, no one bothers to keep it secret, either.
Remember, how in January 2015, President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s personal astrologer, Sumanadasa Abeygunawardena got admitted to a Colombo hospital, reportedly following pre-poll indications that the incumbent would lose re-election bid after fixing the poll-date as per the latter’s prediction. It is not known if the astrologer did not want to embarrass himself after a section of the local media, starting with the infant social media, began pointing a finger at him. It all depended on which side of the Rajapaksa clan they were in.
More recently, Minister and Chief Government Whip Nalinda Jayatissa told Parliament how the predecessor Ranil Wickremesinghe dispensation had given (away) LKR 28 m in compensation to ‘Gnana Akka’ after Aragalaya protestors burnt down her property. For the uninitiated, Gnana Akka, whose official name is Gnanawathi Jayasooriya, was/is a business woman, with self-proclaimed psychic powers and visitations by Goddess Patni and/or Goddess Kali, was said to be the court sooth-sayer of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
Gnana Akka was only one of the many local politicians and others whom the previous government had paid LKR 1,121 million as compensation for Aragalaya-related arson across the country. Of course, Rajapaksa MPs and Ministers of the time got another LKR 1,221 million in compensation. That’s saying a lot for the astrological or predictive powers of all those who gazed at other people’s stars but forgot their own!
The writer is a Chennai-based Policy Analyst & Political Commentator. Email: sathiyam54@nsathiyamoorthy.com
