The equivalent in India would probably
be singing the national anthem in English too. This gesture of the President Maithripala Siresena is a call for unity after a 37-year long civil war which ravaged the northern part of the
island nation. The Sri Lankan government emerged victorious from that war but not unscathed. There are very strong allegations of war crimes and the president has promised to investigate, but by allowing the national anthem to be sung in both languages he has proved that the majority community can be gracious in victory.
The Tamil community is sufficiently large and cannot be discounted or kept out of the mission to re-build the nation. Siresena is aware of this and is willing to pursue a more inclusive
agenda. However, he will have to go beyond symbolic
gestures and ensure that the nation takes up the issue of
war crimes seriously and heals the wounds of a long, grueling,
brutal and devastating war. In this respect he may have to look
towards South Africa for its time-tested model known as truth
and reconciliation.
