The developments in Sri Lanka should act as an eye opener for all democracies across the world. After the French Revolution, the Industrial Revolution and a chain of freedom struggles by natives against foreign rulers, human intellect devised democracy as the supreme method of governance. The idea was that individuals could choose who and how they shall be administered. The concept of royalty ruling over subjects was turned upside down by the slogan of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity of the French Revolution. It was considered the Age of Enlightenment. The three words indicated the importance of an individual in any socially well meaning governance system. Wars were continually fought in different parts of the world to restore or strengthen democracy. However, towards the end of the 20th century, the concept of democracy has been questioned and its strength tested everywhere every time. The results of all those tests have boiled down to the impasse that the world is observing in Sri Lanka. There is absolutely no doubt that Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his family was supported by the people who also voted them to power. Obviously, the larger number of Sri Lankan citizens voted the Rajapaksa family because they were upset with the previous leadership. The very same supporters have now turned against those whom they had so fondly elected to govern. It would be unwise to isolate the cause of disenchantment of the average Sri Lankan with her government to only the economic distress currently seen in that country.
There is no doubt that food and fuel shortages kicked off the anger which has now resulted in people forcibly entering and occupying the Presidential palace and the home of the Prime Minister. Although economic collapse is probably the major cause yet the reasons for this uprising are many. Intense personalization of the governance system added with apathy and callousness are usually the strongest reasons for the failure of a nation’s economy. To label it as corruption may only make the malaise lightweight. Financial collapse does not usually happen only due to corruption. Although corruption eats into a system like termites, it is motivated policies and economic favouritism that break the spine of the financial system that requires decades of hard work to be built.
Today’s images show the citizens of Sri Lanka swimming in the Presidential palace pool and running on the treadmills of the President’s own gym while the Prime Minister’s personal residence has been gutted by an angry mob. This proves that Sri Lanka is in the grip of mobocracy. It may not be difficult to imagine that a day is not far when democratically elected, with a landslide margin, leaders like Vladimir Putin, Viktor Orban and many others who are driving their respective countries on a path of frenzied mobocracy to reach the breaking point. Sri Lanka proves that such a situation is very possible across the globe. Putin starts a war and gets thousands of young men killed to reinvent himself. There are others who are using religion and social divides to hold on to power, no matter what the cost.
In today’s times, democracy seems to be failing to protect people’s aspirations. Let it be understood that aspirations and benefits are two very different things. While violent changes like the one happening in Sri Lanka may indicate the process of evolution at work yet it should not to be assumed that the countries going through such a process will evolve to have a better system of governance. Recent history proves that uprisings in Egypt or foreign interventions toppling dictators like Saddam or Gaddafi have failed to usher in a newer and better administration. On the contrary, those nations are still going through extremely difficult times.
In spite of all hardships and difficulties that invariably follow, change is the only static truth of the universe.