Politics in Sri Lanka: changing trends

Politics in Sri Lanka is largely paternalistic and not egalitarian or inclusive as it should be in democracy. At all levels, class and castehierarchies dominate Sri Lankan polity, a fallow ground for the growthof an elitist society above popular challenge and unshackled byaccountability. This paper therefore highlights some of the political trends peculiar to Sri Lanka which make it a unique island on the subcontinent.

This paper provides the following findings:

• Until very recently, Sri Linkan polity was dominated by westernised elites who cared little about ethnic or national values and sent their children to school overseas and lived lavish life.
• The Sri Lankan government remains in full and effective control of the military with the president being the commander in chief of all the three armed forces. The defence ministry holds the power of appointments, transfer and dismissal in the forces.
• The judiciary in Sri Lanka has generally been open and impartial and, more often than not, it has more often than not taken an independent stand.

It is highly unlikely that a massive change in Sri Lanka’s political setup will occur in the near future. This paper provides the following conclusions:

• Everything that the government is doing or not doing indicates that the island nation is headed for a centrist rule in the name of nationalism.
• It is important for the current Rajapakisa regime to realise that even a unitary state has to allow devolution/ delegation of powers if not diffusion.
• The country's civil war may have ended but the country faces an uncertain future. If corrective measures are not urgently taken the possibility of violence recurring cannot be ruled out.