Kings and Queens

Monday 19th September, 2022

An unprecedented gathering of heads of state, and people is expected in London, today, for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, who made history and became part of it. Millions of people have waited in a long queue for hours on end to file past her coffin during the past several days. Such is their love for her. The Queen earned the admiration of people across the globe, and it is only natural that the entire world is mourning her death.

While a historic event is unfolding in London, it is time for reflection. The government of Sri Lanka is under fire for having declared a holiday on account of the Queen’s funeral. Its critics argue that the British royal family is a symbol of colonialism, and there is absolutely no reason why the victims of imperialism should make such gestures of respect.

Colonialism cannot be countenanced on any grounds. Former colonial powers have prospered by means of ruthless exploitation, and the wealth systematically robbed from their colonies for decades, if not centuries, constitute the foundations of their current economic empires. The grand plunder provided the colonisers with the capital to leapfrog others, especially during the Industrial Revolution, while their colonies remained mere suppliers of raw materials for their industries. The British monarchy has been a symbol of that ugly past. However, the act of mourning Queen Elizabeth’s death is not tantamount to celebrating colonialism, for two reasons. She presided over the decolonisation process although it may be argued that the UK only made a virtue of necessity by letting go of its colonies, given the capitalist bloc’s fear of the rise of communism, and freedom struggles, especially the one in India. The Queen became a tower of strength for her nation and set an example to the self-proclaimed leaders in other countries like Sri Lanka. Sadly, the only thing our so-called leaders seem to have learnt from her is to cling on to the throne until death!

Monarchism is an anachronism in this day and age. However, the real problem is not the present-day monarchies attenuated by democracy but the fact that some of the popularly-elected leaders try to be monarchs, and ruin their countries, as has been Sri Lanka’s experience.

The British left us in 1948, but the so-called self-rule has made this country a mendicant state, which is begging for funds even from the ‘new states’. Colonialists took away our wealth. Our democratically-elected, patriotic leaders have done likewise; they have stolen public funds to the tune of billions of dollars and stashed them away in offshore accounts, as is public knowledge. People are starving; malnutrition is rampant among children, and the country cannot pay back its debts.

The British destroyed Wellassa (meaning ‘one hundred thousand paddy fields’) in 1818 to crush a rebellion against the empire. They used guns and swords for that purpose. A little over two centuries on, a democratically-elected President, given to wrapping himself in the flag, ruined all paddy fields in the country with a single stroke of his pen! He banned agrochemicals overnight, causing massive crop losses and worsening the pecuniary woes of the farming community. The British built the Trincomalee oil tank farm, but the present-day patriotic leaders who puff out their chests and sing the national anthem with gusto, at the Independence Day celebrations, cannot even effect repairs to these priceless assets, and are shamelessly handing them over to foreigners for a song!

No external powers forced our leaders to undertake the Ozymandian projects which have become huge liabilities and worsened the country’s indebtedness, did they? Former colonial rulers are in no way responsible for the cancerous growth of bribery and corruption, and criminal waste of public funds here.

It is high time the hapless Sri Lankans, who have made the colossal blunder of electing misfits as the rulers and expecting national progress, stopped bashing foreign monarchs and resolved to get rid of their ‘kings and queens’ who have ruined their lives and the future of their children.