This trend of Martin Luther King jr., was clearly visible after Sri Lanka turned a Republic, when the silent majority left public space for a select few to grab the agenda and control the terms of public debate.
Bitter Truth is it provoked the disadvantaged minority Tamils into action with their non-violent protests against the state. They demanded all discriminations be stopped and all their grevances be resolved. It caused many ripples of unrest across the country, the worst unrest was the Black July 1983 riots. Many Tamils were impacted in the riots and a large number fled the country for safety. That led the Tamil Youths to wage a civil-war against the state and the rest is history. Though the most distructive bloody and cruel war was brought to finish in 2009; the grievances of the minority Tamils are still left unresolved by the state.
Today the situation is made worse with the coronavirus pandemic stagnating all the trading activities in the country; the majority has gone back into its shell. This is causing concern among the deprived Tamil minorities in all corners of the country who fear that the present development cannot protect their interests in representative democratic bodies such as legislatures. They sense that direct democracy with the present constitution does not offer them any protections. Under these circumstances, the minorities are seeking protection in a non existing new constitution that is yet to be drafted by the government.
In this scenario the silent majority in the country should rise to the occasion and direct these disillusioned legislatures to follow the campaigning of late Martin Luther King Jr., who as a non-violent activist in the Civil Rights Movement in the United States of America, who told:”May I stress the need for courageous, intelligent, and dedicated leadership… Leaders of sound integrity. Leaders not in love with publicity, but in love with justice. Leaders not in love with money, but in love with humanity. Leaders who can subject their particular egos to the greatness of the cause”.
Northern Breeze 