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by Chandra Edirisuriya

The human race is one. The present divisions are the results of individual acquisition of private property and rulers assuming power in regions demarcated by them.

Colombo - a cosmopolitan city

The only valid division is that caused by climatic variations, from region to region due to distance from the equator and altitude.

The physical features and mental capacities of man are solely dictated by climate and nutrients in his diet, according to whether he lives in the polar regions, the temperate zones, the tropical or the equational regions, in the deserts or in the high mountaineous areas like, for instance, the Andes or the Himalayas, in the coastal areas or in the interior.

Just as the food, clothing and type of shelter of the people inhabiting these different areas differ their language and the manner of speaking are also distinctive. The availability or lack of sunlight determined the pigmentation of their skin.

George Bernard Shaw, the great Irish writer, once said that those who take chemicals for medicine while living in the tropics, where medicines derived from herbs are abundant, are like those who eat dried fish while living on the sea shore.

My father used to say that those who live in cold climes have a peculiar accent when they speak because they don't open their mouths fully like those who live in the tropics, for fear of letting in the cold air.

Nevertheless, the blood that runs through the veins of all humans is red irrespective of where they live or to which racial stock they belong. There are god-like, exemplary human beings belonging to all countries and races. Humankind is marching towards a super human race. Buddhism predicts this to happen during the age of the Maitreya Buddha.

All god-centred religions have arisen deifying exemplary human beings. Buddhism is anthropo-centred and has shown the way to emancipation by the mental development of all human beings in their Sansaric existence. Some human beings can be born as animals and vice versa in their Samsaric sojourn.

All that human beings can do to avoid being born as animals is to attain a higher mental plane in the present life. This is the message Buddhism gives to the whole of mankind. Buddhism does not exert pressure on anyone to follow its path.

Anyone can become a Buddhist and follow its supreme path to emancipation, through conviction. At the rate Buddhism is accepted in almost every part of globe the whole of humanity will follow the path of Buddhism by the time of the Maitreya Buddha.

The path of mental development shown in Buddhism is the surest way to foster and promote friendship and harmony among all. The Maha Sangha or the Buddhist monks are in the vanguard of the movement to create friendship and harmony in society.

Buddhist monks throughout history have protected the Buddhasasana and spread the message of the Buddha. They do not influence anyone to change faith. They do not take revenge even from their enemies or those who assault them, emulating their Supreme Master Gauthama Buddha.

Just as they play a predominant role guiding the people they come forward to show the correct path to rulers. Their participation in creating friendship and harmony among all cannot be belittled or under estimated.

The people of the Sinhala, Tamil, Moor, Malay, Burgher, Parsee and other races have been living in friendship, harmony and brotherhood in this country for a long time. During the days of English medium education students of all these races attended even the premier Buddhist educational institution in this country, Ananda College, Colombo.

Even today, professionals like doctors, lawyers, university teachers, administrators of different races rub shoulders at their places of work and in society at large.

Every Government before and after Independence in 1948 had Ministers, Senators and Members of Parliament of all these communities. Even today it is so. In addition, a large number of people of other races live in areas where the Sinhala people predominate. So the thesis that communal discord is prevalent in this country is untenable.

What is lacking is an adequate distribution of resources radiating from the centre to the periphery. Remote areas, whether they be in the Southern, the North Western, the Central, the North Central, the Uva, Sabaragamuwa, the Northern or the Eastern provinces, are underdeveloped.

Even in the Western Province development is concentrated in the Colombo district with outposts still underdeveloped. On the other hand, we cannot say that the main cities in the other districts in the Western Province and in the other provinces are underdeveloped, especially, educationally.

The entirety of the country cannot be developed for human settlement and activities. A fair percentage of the land area has to be conserved forests for climatic reasons and for the endemic flora and the fauna to flourish. Furthermore, the inland water bodies have to be preserved in their pristine state for the supply of water for drinking and other needs.

So it's a fallacy to say that all areas of the country should be uniformly developed. But when development is extended to the developable areas in all the provinces the disparities among the people of all communities will disappear.

This will effectively remove opportunities for politicians to create discord among these communities. If development was allowed to progress, undisturbed by violence, during the last three decades, the basic reason for the climate capable of creating disunity, which is economic and the absence of opportunity, wouldn't have been there today.

Communal eruptions which are even unpleasant to mention today were there from about the year 1958. Reprisals and backlashes were inevitable. But the Northern militancy taking cover under the aforesaid reasons started in the mid-1970-80 decade.

By 1983 the country's armed forces, comprising members of all communities were called the invading Sinhala army in Jaffna and 13 soldiers were killed by a claymore mine explosion which triggered off one of the most tragic, unfortunate and massive back lashes that ever took place in this country. This was followed by nearly two decades of war with immense loss of life and limb.

It is of paramount importance today to strengthen the friendship, harmony and camaraderie already existing among the people of this country. Man to man, there is no animosity, whatever, between any two members of these communities.

All are proud to be brothers and sisters sharing our beloved Motherland. Even the aboriginal inhabitants in the jungles of Mahiyangana are our brothers and sisters.

When we travel in long distance buses and trains we see the Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim, Burgher and other people fondling and feeding one another's children. We are all one nation although the Sinhala Buddhists are in the majority.

If all individual members of society in this country follow the basic tenets of Buddhism there will be unity among all. Such friendship and harmony among all is highest achievement we can aspire to.

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