I remember how President Sirisena was constantly ridiculed for his lack of English skills, and also how SP was ridiculed both in the inner elite power circles as well as among the public for using English that was "too heavy." Man, the Brits really did a number on this country.

We like to believe Colombo is too metropolitan for this nonsense. But class politics toppled every election in my lifetime. The treatment of others (non-elites) by the Bandaranaikes was/is known and felt by old SLFP/PA insiders. When MR won in 2005 it was a win against the elite.

MS made many mistakes in his Presidency. But his class was not one of them. People constantly treated his roots and lack of cosmopolitan exposure as a major disqualifier. He got called a "gamarala" often in private behind his back and sometimes even publicly.

The break up between RW and MS had everything to do with class. It was a shame to watch RW's "you can't sit with us" attitude towards MS. MS felt like an outsider in his own government. His insecurities intensified until it came to breaking point in 2018. It cost 250+ lives.

The treatment of SP within the UNP had everything to do with caste. If walls could talk they would list out the daily dog whistles and not so subtle jabs people threw at him on a daily basis. I've heard people say out loud "Anyone can get a degree but never pedigree."

KaruJ is almost 30 years older, has a history of crossing over, talks human rights now but never uttered a word during the war, and hasn't delivered a fraction of the development work SP has. So, when people said "But Karu is more presidential," you know exactly what they meant.

When talking to MS,I had to water down what I wanted to say.I'll find myself on Madhura dictionary looking for simpler synonyms.But talking to SP I often noted down new words. He uses a lot of words, it's a quirk for sure but you just know why people feel the need to dwell on it.

We talk about a "harmonious" time when DS, Arunachalam, Lebbe et al., worked together despite racial differences. You know what brought them together? Class. A century later we still worship their descendents. "Good people," we call them. We implicitly think power is heredetory.

Props to the Rajapaksas for managing to successfully break away from the Colombo elite power circle and build their own. In an ironic sense they've made our political landscape a little more plural. It took being aware of the problem to do that, a skill the other camp lacks.

The progressive camp won't get out of this pit untill they call this spade a spade. Ignorance is bliss and that bliss has gotten them through many decades of political loss. They'd rather lose an election than fix their own implicit prejudices.

We talk equity & equality but keep our old boys circles tight; we talk women's rights and cheer on big matches & trucking.We laugh privately at the classist dog whistles thrown at underdog politicians.This is a major reason why the nationalist wave caught on and will continue to.

The state is a reflection of it's people. We get what we root for. We get what we believe. And if we refuse to let go of the petty divisions (be it class, gender, race, or caste) and be driven by these prejudices, so will our political system.