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PEOPLE AND PLACES

SRI LANKA — THE DARLING OF NATURE

Zillur Rahman Siddiqui
THE call that came to me to be in Sri Lanka as a state guest was qylle explicit tn its purpose: to observe the Local Authorities elections to be held throughout the country on a single day. 11th May. The observers' team, as it finally emerged, consisted of sixteen members, eleven from the SAARC countries, one (rom Australia, one from Canada, one from the Philllpincs and two from the United Kingdom.
We from Bangladesh had started off with the notion of a SAARC group, and ended up with a broader insignia, the International Observer Group. SAARC. according to my per ceptien. fits in easily within the wider scope of the Commonwealth. How The Philllp-ines. which is neither SAARC nor Commonwealth. Joined the group. 1 never thought proper to enquire. One thing was clear from the start: none of us represented his or her country: each was a member of the group in his or her personal capacity.
Speaking personally then. I was delighted to have the Invitation. This was to be my first visit to Sri Lanka and though I knew that most of my ten days' stay — May 5 to May 15 — would be taken up with activities carefully programmed. I also hoped to see much and lo hear much beyond the prescribed requirements.
The Local Authorities Elections. which means. In more precise terms, elections to Municipal Councils. Urban Councils and Pradeshlo Sabhas. have come to be regarded as an important exercise in the nation's political life. For an average Sri Lankan, ft is a matter of pride that the nation lias enjoyed universal adult franchise for about 70 years now. Record-wise this may be slightly longer than in the case with Bengal (undivided). The story, however, of how well and how unhindered the right
has been exercised by the two peoples, will be different For Sri Lankans, the Local Authorities have come to mean a lot and being a highly literate people—in fact the most literate people tn all South Asia — they have come to experience democracy working at the grass roots level. The same can hardly be said about the majority of SAARC countries, and certainly not about Bangladesh. Tlie institutional framework exists, but we have failed to infuse life Into the body.
The elections are over, results have been published, the matter is ended, at least as far as wc are concerned as a group of observers. Our report, finalised and ceremonially submitted to the Commissioner of Elections by the evening of May 14. virtually signalled the dispersal of the group. I would have loved to sit under the shade of a tree sitting round the fire would be grossly Inappropriate for a country always warm under a tropical sun — and to exchange notes with other visitors. Most of us were first- timers, and each one of us could very well contribute something entirely individual, while agreeing on some common observations.
Taken together, the resultant picture would have looked more authentic. As it is. mine would be not only personal. Incomplete and superficial, but overly impressionistic also. But this perhaps I cannot help.
Sri Lanka is a beautiful country but there was nothing exotic about It. not much that was unfamiliar to me. I am used to greenery but the way Sri Lanka is green excited me. The contribution of the trees almost invariably forming woods, was much higher than would be the case here. I told my friends tliat I can Imagine Bangladesh to be as green and as densely wooded as Sri Lanka is now but that would be a hundred, may be two hundred years ago. This country has enacted laws which requires a permission to be obtained before a tree could be felled. We have laws restricted tn their scope, perhaps operative only to so-called reserve forests; no such laws which would apply to most cases. Sri Lanka Is a country where laws appear to be generally obeyed. They have preserved their forests, we have systematically destroyed ours. Cynics would say that, in recompense, we have created new Jungles - traffic Jungles -in our towns and cities.
Driving along or being driven along hundreds of kilometers of Srl Lanka's highways and byways. I never came across anything resembling a traffic Jam. Even in the countryside, we didn't have to negotiate a road that was not metalled, no cows or goats or mules and hardly any slow-moving cart Obstructing our drive.
I was assigned to a southern district, Galle. Much of the countryside consisted of ' plantations, tea and rubber mostly and my eyes feasted on what seemed to be an endless panorama of green.
In retrospect. 1 wonder if the sights I saw was the normal sight since it was a holiday. being an election day-
Wayside clusters of men. little gossiping crowds, small groups of young women, of elderly ladies on way to polling stations or returning, no sign of hurry or bustle anywhere except perhaps in vehicles carrying partymen, out in their patrol to see how things were going-such were the sights that greeted our eyes throughout the election day. The absence of conflict and commotion which I witnessed, the climate of peace and participation which marked the election suggested not only a nationwide election managed efficiently but also a people politically mature and emotionally stable.
Turning to the social scene, this predominantly Buddhist country appeared to be refreshingly free from the kind of communalism that has vitiated politics of our subcontinent. Terrorism which only the other day haunted Srl Lankan minds has been successfully quelled. This mack: a free and fair election possible In the summer of '91 which kept the voters away from election booths only three years ago. The ethnic troubles in the north and part of the cast still persist. A political solution is widely advocated, more particularly by the main opposition but the party in power appeared to be rather close-lipped on this question.
With the return of peace in most parts of the country, tourism and garment industry, badly affected in recent years, have both recovered to a great extent. The country had its share of the Jolt in its economy due to the Gulf War but looking through the advertisement columns, agencies dealing with manpower export are now doing a brisk business. I find nothing comparable In this country.
A Srl Lankan can be easily mistaken for a Bengali, as far as appearance goes. The Island. however, is greener than the delta, less crowded, more varied though smaller in size, and much, much more favoured by nature. It could without exaggeration be called the darling of nature. And when I remember those lovely houses, brickbuilt and with red-tiled roofs, many of them almost hidden behind a thick grove of coconut trees '— shanties and mudhouses are a rarity — and when 1 keep only this in consideration, the beauty of the average house and the standard of housing. I am tempted to say that Srl Lankans, tn respect the quality of life they have attained, are perhaps the first among South A3*311 ' peoples. ;
•A ' rated educationist of the count ry the author is a former Vice-' chancellor of Jahangima-9^ University and a former Adv isor to the erstwhile can ?taker government of Bangladesh