By Prof. Samitha Hettige

Diwali or the festival of light is seen as celebrating a bumper harvest following the arrival of the monsoon. It is celebrated for few days during the last weeks of October mainly by Hindus, Jains and Sikhs (by illuminating their places of association). Some sociologists   interpret the celebrations as "victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and wisdom over ignorance" (South Indian sources). Light will ensure more visibility to any person or society in periods of darkness. Sri Lanka is going through darkness since Sri Lankans didn’t use light of wisdom for the past 74 years. Its right time they focus, change attitudes and connect with the world to come out of the crisis. China’s Belt and Road coming from a reliable source is one beam of light available.

The crisis should give wisdom and light to the population to attempt progressive moves. The constitutional and fiscal reforms passed in parliament may indicate the willingness of progressive citizens to sacrifice to build a better land. Especially those who may find it hard to face the challenges that comes with fiscal reforms should remember that selfish forces specialized in rewinding peace and growth may rebrand and launch in the coming months probably with new faces never seen before. Thus the average citizen should use the little light, energy and wisdom left to keep the country on track.

New Sun in China

Unlike SL, China comparatively had only little light and energy in 1949 but it was fortunate to have visionary leaders and a dedicated population. They managed to create nuclear fusion like the sun by December 2021. China’s new generation artificial sun (Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak – EAST) HL-2M Tokamak is designed to replicate the natural reactions occurring in the sun using hydrogen and deuterium gases. The nuclear fusion process that happens inside the core of the sun emits energy as heat and light. Fusion energy is considered to be an ideal energy for mankind due to abundance of the raw material needed and safety. The "artificial sun" was first used in 2016.  The ultimate goal of China is to create nuclear fusion, using deuterium in the sea to provide a continuous supply of clean energy. It is estimated that deuterium contained in one liter of seawater can produce the amount of energy equivalent to 300 liters of gasoline (Chinese sources). China is expected to continue developing fusion energy considered the "ultimate energy" under the leadership of President Xi Jinping. New knowledge through science, strong focused leadership and the dedicated population has the potential to make China stronger while being carbon neutral.

Almeida’s Moons and the Seven Suns

Sri Lankans should learn from progressive friends on energy management for sustainable development. They heavily depend on fossil fuels but couldn’t stabilize the economy using them. Still they learned new skills such as being patient waiting for such and found many new friends while waiting at the fuel lines. They must further develop such skills to prevent conflicts rather than firing energy to burn Almedia’s seven moons. If they continue the conflicting attitude they would perish as a nation long before the rising of the seven suns which legend says would mark the end of the world.

Photo: China’s new generation artificial sun HL-2M Tokamak

(Writer is an academic and a broadcaster, views expressed is personal)