The allegation about an attempted military coup in Sri Lanka is hard to believe considering the grace and speed with which Mahinda Rajapaksa handed over power, which the world witnessed (Jan.12). Mr. Rajapaksa might have accumulated negative credits, of being corrupt, guilty of indulging in nepotism and of glossing over alleged rights violations during the civil war, including the killing of Balachander. President Maithripala Sirisena must probe the “coup bid” allegation in a transparent manner.
N. Visveswaran,
Chennai
Though Tamils and Muslims voted for change in unison, the primary factor behind Mr. Rajapaksa’s ouster is the rallying of the peace-loving and secular Sinhalese population behind Mr. Sirisena. While Mr. Sirisena has to address the problems of Tamils at the earliest, he could do this by securing a national consensus and seeking the advice of moderate leaders like Chandrika Kumaratunga and Ranil Wickramasinghe.
K. Sivaraman,
Gummidipoondi, Tamil Nadu
The minorities can now expect better governance and devolution of power to the provinces. How Mr. Sirisena overcomes the alienation of the Tamil and Muslim minorities remains to be seen. After all, the verdict was more of a reaction against high-handed governance.
Anuj Bansal,
Nabha, Punjab
As Professor Jayadeva Uyangoda argues (“ >For a fresh beginning in Sri Lanka ”, Jan.10), the outcome of the Presidential election was a clear manifestation of the resilience of Sri Lankan democracy. The voters have taught the world an indelible lesson — that authoritarian and family-centric style of governance will not be tolerated for too long.
National integration will be the real challenge that Mr. Sirisena is going to face, especially as in this case it involves conflict resolution and consensus generation. There should be no confusion over the political system needing to be firm and tough in handling unreasonable demands. In this connection, the article, “From Explicit Contradictions to Implicit Unity: The Trajectory of National Integration in India” in the book, Perspectives on National Integration provides an interesting perspective. About the future of Mr. Sirisena’s coalition government, Professor Uyangoda shares the scepticism of many political scientists and observers.
K.C. Sreekumar,
Kollam
The recent turn of events in Sri Lanka reminds one of the India of 1977 when the Janata Party came to power riding a pro-democracy wave after the period of the Emergency. The vote of Sri Lankans in favour of a stance that promises more democratic state administration shows that populist authoritarian regimes have a short shelf-life. It also affirms that the aspirations of ethnic minorities cannot be neglected or suppressed for long. The coalition NDF may have won the election but its worries are not yet over. The stitched-up coalition needs to be maintained in favour of a collective responsibility towards strengthening Sri Lanka’s polity and economy, else it will meet a fate similar to that of the Janata Party.
Siddhi Bangard,
Jaipur
