‘Sinhalisation’ continues, not only in Jaffna, but also in Colombo
From http://transcurrents.com
I went to sleep last week living down Havelock Road and woke up in the brand spanking spruced up renamed SSJ Mawatha. The Sinhalese are a minority within the city limits of Colombo. Those who are Buddhists among them are even a smaller minority. No one had consulted the residents of Havelock road about the change of name of their road. They had no voice. Within the last few months we had witnessed Dickman’s Road becoming Lester James Pieris Mawatha, Guildford Crescent to Premasiri Kemadasa Mawatha etc. The residents of these roads also had no choice on the matter. It was imposed from above. Under the present regime, “Sinhalisation” continues, not only in Jaffna, but also in Colombo. The masses, climbed into an array of vehicles, some parents had kids sitting in the boot of cars as they toured the country viewing the many Vesak spectacles and queuing up outside the generous dansala’s. It took me six hours to drive from Kandy to Colombo. As I observed the thousands of children, grannies and entire families taking their lives into their hands by travelling at the back of tractors, half trucks, etc the police looked the other way. The law is an Ass, they say. But here in Sri Lanka, not only the law, the entire law enforcement system, seem to be braying Asses. What amazed me was the site of adults, presumably parents, sitting inside a car, while their children were sitting inside the boot with their legs hanging out. They were travelling on the crowded Colombo-Negombo Road. Sri Lankans seemed unaware or unwilling to recognise the dangers to themselves and to others. For this great majority, Havelock Road becoming SSJ Mawatha was a cause for celebration. They saw nothing wrong in not consulting the residents of the street, where their majoritarian “identity” was being “imposed” without consultation.