National ID

A Burgher friend recently asked me if he was considered fully Sri Lankan, he was welcome here. I found it curious that someone more travelled, invested and bilingual than me would feel that doubt, but I think it’s a legitimate question. Is he welcome here? What exactly is a Sri Lankan?

The Sri Lanka I know from Colombo is diverse, multi-ethnic and cosmopolitan. However, travelling through the south and the north I find many people that are largely monolingual (either Sinhala or Tamil) and somewhat culturally distinct. What is it that these places all have in common, what makes them Sri Lankan?

Land and hospitality

What we have obviously is the land, this island. It is difficult to visit this country even once and not fall in love with it, and to travel in it is a ‘small miracle.’ Sri Lanka is an island and any inhabitants will invariably have to live and trade with each other. That, however, is not exactly enough.

Another thing I have noticed in common in my brief travels is that people everywhere are hospitable and kind. Also curious. You can strike up a conversation with almost anyone anywhere in Sri Lanka and they’ll be interested and helpful. Even if there’s no common language people will often smile and communicate via food and experience. But I’m not sure that’s enough either.

Imagined community

What really defines a nation is a real or imagined common history and culture. A binding story. They are, in essence, an imagined community. When I imagine my Sri Lankan experience, however, what I get is as much Sinhala Buddhist as anything. I remember Anuradhapura, family danes, though also Christian ceremonies and events. The one real commonality I can think of is cricket.

When I read Tamil writers and diasporas online I find that they’re talking about a common culture I don’t quite understand. Bird sanctuaries I haven’t been to, food I find exotic, idioms and jokes I don’t quite get. So, on the superficial level, I wonder what it is that we have in common.

Nation Vs. State

The more I think about it, that common Sri Lankan identity is not yet formed. That story is not yet written. Sri Lanka has a state in the sense of governing institutions over territory, but that’s not necessarily a nation. And perhaps that’s OK.

Personally I don’t believe in nations or states that are defined along racial or ethnic lines. For one thing, those lines change, and they tend to leave a lot of people out. However flawed the Sri Lankan state is, it is not explicitly Sinhala. There is equality within the Constitution and laws, though it is not always evident in action.

There are benefits that flow from being under one state. We will have better economic growth and a wider pool of possible cricketers, among other things. With rule of law, equal opportunity and proper government service in the major languages perhaps everyone would be happy while retaining their own ethnic identities.

Statutory Communion

However, a part of me also hopes that we would also feel something for each other. That there is a Sri Lankan identity that Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims, Burghers and all could share. I feel it, but in a vague, cosmopolitan way. That national connection is not yet fully imagined. In effect, the history of this country has only now just begun.

We now have a united state. There will be government services, education, healthcare and roads throughout the country. In time, hopefully the Constitution will be followed and all races will have equal protection under the law. Perhaps, like Singapore, we could be different communities living under one economic and security raj.

Imagination creation

I told that to my Burgher friend, that he was definitely Sri Lankan under our laws and institutions. But that didn’t quite answer his question. He seemed to want a better story, something with some emotional weight. In time — as travel and communication flow between all parts of this country. I hope this story will write itself. Our story. Not of a coincidental independence from the British, not of years of violence, nor of the crushing of one terrorist group. A common story of when we came together as a nation, as something more than a state. That story, of course, is yet to be told.