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| Hoisting the Lion Flag at Independence Square in 1948 |
65 years
ago, today, hands were shaken, the ink dried on the paper and one flag fell as
another was raised. Proud smiles, excited smiles, smiles of relief for some -
this was not going to be another nightmare of partition, countless lives
wouldn't end dramatically as one country became two. No, that was for another
time, another age. And the men of 65 years ago could not foresee the future.
Lucky them. They got to make the decisions. We got to suffer the consequences.
The fate of millions decided by a few men, as always.
'Ceylon' - 'free'?
Yes. At last! Her people no longer colonized. No longer othered.
No longer demeaned? After 400 years she believes that she is free.
65 years later Ceylon is no more. She has evolved. She has grown.
She has scars - she can show you. Some say she is more beautiful than ever,
paradise regained - paradise found. Others say - she is in ruins. She has
failed the expectations of 65 years ago.
Sri Lanka, full of new roads and highways, hotels and ports.
"Every verdant village" and "every palmy coast", milked for all it is worth. Her people have betrayed her. They look alike but are mostly
divided. They speak of justice but practice injustice. All that is right has
become wrong. The wise have made way for the mad.
Sri Lanka robbed, pillaged and plundered. This was not what they
envisioned 65 years ago.
65 years ago, Independence was celebrated but today, 65 years
later, her people are still in chains.
