Sri Lanka Cricket promoting religious discrimination?
Let me first declare my interests. I am a Colombo Tamil with nothing to do with LTTE. My parents and grandparents made Colombo their home long ago during the time of the British.
I am an old boy of St. Thomas’, a prestigious school in Colombo. I always supported the SL cricket team. I now live in South Harrow. I am here on holiday to see my parents who live in Colombo. I shall post this letter on my way to the airport so that I shall be safely in the plane in case you publish the verifiable contents of this letter.
As you may know the Sri Lanka cricket team consists of majority Buddhists, a Hindu, a couple of Muslims and a couple of Christians. In short it is a multi-religious and a multi-racial team and on that score alone it should be admired. Over the last few years the ugly head of religious discrimination has started to emerge from the woodworks of the HQ of the SL Cricket Board. It first appeared positively when Chaminda Vaas, a Catholic, was about to be appointed as Captain of the team. He declined the post due to malicious criticism by some fellow cricketers and a virulent religious press.
Before the above incident the SL Cricket Board has introduced a wholly irrelevant Buddhist religious ceremony before the departure of the team for any international match. If you look at the SL’s national TV footage of 15 Sept.09 you will find a Buddhist monk conducting a Buddhist ceremony for the team, where the non-Buddhists team-mates were forced to partake. According to the Constitution and the President all are supposed to be equal and no minority exists. Yet this blatant disregard to respect the religious beliefs of non- Buddhists in the team is sheer arrogance and chauvinism on the part of the SL Cricket Board and the Minister in Charge.
I have previously written to the authorities concerned. Therefore they cannot pretend ignorance. This is religious discrimination requiring as much publicity as other atrocities you have given current publicity. You know how Britain treated the South African cricket team in the days of apartheid. Sri Lanka by its own arrogance is now a strong candidate for boycott by the ICC and the English Cricket Board.
I hope you will realize the gravity of the situation after having seen the SL state TV (Rupavahini and ITN). At a minimum the ICC and ECB should let the SL Cricket Board know that they are aware of the religious discrimination and the future consequences of such a course of action if persisted by Sri Lanka.
Buddhism has nothing to do with the British invented game of cricket. Further Buddhism has no God or gods to plead for divine intervention in their favour. The Gods in Buddhism are all from the Hindhu pantheon and therefore a Hindhu priest should conduct this ceremony and not a Buddhist monk.
I am for secular cricket with no trappings of any religion. On the other hand if one wants to have religion then they can have it on their own the day previous to their departure in their own temples, kovils, mosques and churches. If religious ceremony is a necessity then all religions should be allowed to conduct their short ceremony in public NOT just one religion (Buddhism) at the deliberate neglect of other religions.
I hope you will give publicity to this matter as just now cricket is still a force that unites the people in this country. If Sinhala Buddhist chauvinists and fanatics are allowed their way, soon there will only be Buddhists in the SL team and division in the country on religious lines. I hope you will kindly consider this earnest request. My home address in South Harrow will be revealed to you once I get home.
V. Seneviratnam
dailymirror
