Abiding by Sri Lanka. On Peace, Place, and Postcoloniality

321 Pages·2006·2.115 MB·English

by  Qadri Ismail

A b i d i n g b y
S r i L a n k a
PUBLIC WORLDS
Series Editors: Dilip Gaonkar and Benjamin Lee
VOLUME 16
Qadri Ismail, Abiding by Sri Lanka: On Peace, Place, and Postcoloniality
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Q I
A D R I S M A I L
A b i d i n g b y
S r i L a n k a
O n P e a c e , P l a c e , a n d P o s t c o l o n i a l i t y
PUBLIC WORLDS, VOLUME 16
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA PRESS
MINNEAPOLIS LONDON
Copyright 2005 by the Regents of the University of Minnesota
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a re-
trieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the
publisher.
Published by the University of Minnesota Press
111 Third Avenue South, Suite 290
Minneapolis, MN 55401- 2520
http://www.upress.umn.edu
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ismail, Qadri.
Abiding by Sri Lanka : on peace, place, and postcoloniality / Qadri Ismail.
p. cm. — (Public worlds ; v. 16)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8166-4254-0 (hc : alk. paper) — ISBN 0-8166-4255-9 (pb : alk. paper)
1. Sri Lanka—Ethnic relations. 2. Ethnology—Sri Lanka—Philosophy.
3. Political violence—Sri Lanka. 4. Sri Lanka—Social conditions. 5. Sri
Lanka—Politics and government—1978– . I. Title. II. Series.
DS489.2.I84 2005
954.9303'2—dc22
2005017713
Printed in the United States of America on acid- free paper
The University of Minnesota is an equal-o pportunity educator and employer.
12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
≈
For Appa
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction: Abiding by Sri Lanka xi
1 Better Things to Do: (Dis)Placing Sri Lanka,
(Re)Conceptualizing Postcoloniality 1
2 Majority Rules: Reading a Sinhalese Nationalist History 34
3 M inority Matters: Reading a Tamil Nationalist History 104
4 What, to the Leftist, Is a Good Story? Two Fictional
Critiques of Nationalism 169
Conclusion: Does Democracy Inhibit Peace? 224
Notes 247
Bibliography 261
Index 271
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Acknowledgments
If a project like this has a beginning, then it began with my grandfather.
Every Saturday morning he would take me to Cargill’s. We would buy
two books, three if I was lucky, to be followed by steak and kidney pie at
Pagoda. Eventually, Appa introduced me to the canon.
Many years later, Ian Goonetileke made me aware that there were other
books. At the University of Peradeniya, Thiru Kandiah showed me how one
could love the canon and learn from it without succumbing to it. Kumari
Jayawardena—h er middle name is generous—a lways encouraged me intel-
lectually but insisted at the same time that there were things to be done. If I
know anything about politics, it is because of her. Edward Said, at Columbia
University, powerfully reinforced that message about doing while warning
me never to lose sight of the canon. He will always be an inspiration and
I am grateful he gave me some of his time. Gayatri Spivak, quite simply,
taught me how to read—o r tried. It’s a lesson I’m still learning.
Just about every statement here, though they may not recognize it,
bears the trace of exchanges, meals, and maybe a drink or four with Sanjay
Krishnan, Milind Wakankar, Ajay Skaria, and Pradeep Jeganathan. I also
owe immeasurably Newton Gunasinghe, Aamir Mufti, John Archer, David
Scott, Ram Manikkalingam, Tony Anghie, Anne McClintock, Joe Cleary,
Rob Nixon, Zaineb Istrabadi, Mala de Alwis, Vasuki Nesiah, Tim Watson,
Fenella MacFarlane, Mazen Arafat, Neville Hoad, Arjuna Parakrama,
Ramani Muttetuwegama, Mangalika de Silva, Dayan Jayatileke, Chandan
Reddy, Colleen Lye, Sonali Perera, Bruce Robbins, Sumi Kailasapathy,
≈ ix ≈