For better for worse, whose decision was worse

In our history we have innumerable instances of politicians making pre-election promises which they have never kept after coming into power.

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Perhaps they never intended to keep those promises or were forced into the realisation that implementation of the same would be detrimental to the good of the country.

In the run-up to the 1956 general election, Bandaranaike, the leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, (the SLFP), promised to make Sinhala the national language of the country within a period of 24 hours of coming into power. The slogan roused communalism in the country. The race hatred preached by Bandaranaike’s followers led to an equally racist counter campaign by the Tamil politicians.

The United National Party (UNP), the then ruling party followed the lead of Bandaranaike and his followers. They too campaigned along similar racist lines. The racist forces unleashed by that campaign and the Tamil political parties counter-campaign effectively divided ordinary Lankans along communal lines.

A majority of people began looking at themselves not as Lankans, but as Sinhalese, Tamils or Muslims.