Sri Lanka, May 12 -- Nationalism is never the best word. A Nationalist of the late Dr. Nalin de Silva's sort wanted to be known as a Nation-first patriot, not necessarily a Nationalist as the word is commonly used at its hackneyed worst. When he passed away last week there was an outpouring of grief.

Some of it can be seen as a self-righteous expression of guilt rather than grief, no doubt tinged with genuine sorrow of course, or at least a measure of it. Why guilt? Most of the pillars of the Establishment could not quite see eye to eye with Nalin de Silva because he seemed to question everything and everyone. He was the quintessential enfant terrible of his time.

But who was Nalin de Silva anyway? He was a brilliant man. He was a top-n...