Apropos the response to Izeth Hussein by Prem Rodrigo (The Island - Opinion, Dec 22, 2008), I would like to add that Izeth Hussein had also brought up the caste issue among Sinhalese and stated that just as the majoritarianism of the Sinhalese in Sri Lanka made it less likely for a person of a minority community to be elected President, majoritarianism of the Govigama caste, being a comparably large segment of the Sinhala majority community would make it impossible for a member of one of the other castes to be elected President.

On this latter issue, one wonders why the case of Mr. Ranasinghe Premadasa, well known to be a member of one of the ‘minority’ castes, but who had been elected President seems to have been so readily forgotten.

It seems likely that people are so irrationally and hurriedly anxious to accuse the Sinhala community of majoritarianism, that they will neglect any evidence to the contrary.