In Remembrance Of Adhil

By Sachinda Dulanjana –OCTOBER 7, 2021

I strongly believe that it’s not the number of years that someone has lived, but the things which he or she did during their lifetime while touching the hearts of other people which makes an extraordinary human being. One of the best examples that I could think of is the child hero Madduma Bandara, who fearlessly stood in front of the king’s executioner. Throughout our history, it is evident that heroic deeds have always been celebrated regardless of the age of the person who committed them. Along the same line of thought, I don’t see any fair reason which restrains us from celebrating Adhil Bakeer Marker, whose exemplary leadership skills and level of integrity can be regarded as a heroic deed in our contemporary society.

Even though Adhil unexpectedly departed from us five years ago, I believe that his legendary life story gives us a powerful message on leadership behaviour and the responsibility of youth.  I also believe that the example set by Adhil is the need of the hour for our society. However, I should confess that I would not be able to paint the full picture of Adhil’s exemplary life story in this short piece of writing, but I will try my level best to give you a glimpse of it based on my personal connection with Adhil as a friend.  Having started to read this article if you are still trying to figure out who is Adhil and why I am so keen to showcase his character as a legendary one, you can do your own research about him after reading this article. Nevertheless, the couple of minutes you will spend on this article won’t be a waste of time as I sincerely hope that it will light a small spark in your mind if you are someone who still wishes to see a positive change in our society, because such special life stories such as Adhil’s one can restore our faith in humanity.

As a proud product of Royal College, Colombo 07, Adhil was an exemplary young leader who was outstanding among many other young people out there. I don’t think that anybody would disagree with my claim on Adhil’s leadership abilities and human qualities if they have ever interacted with Adhil in their personal or professional life. Most importantly, many people remember Adhil for what he indeed was because he was a humble human who treated everyone equally and with kindness, regardless of their social status. Even though he was raised in a political family, being a grandson to one of the former Speakers of Sri Lanka Parliament and a son to a well-respected former minister and current parliamentarian, Adhil always made sure to maintain himself as a down-to-earth person. I don’t think that anyone else in our country with a similar family background would act the same. As Sri Lankans, we have seen more than enough the arrogant sons and daughters who misuse their parents’ political power and public property for their own gains. In such an atmosphere, it’s not surprising how Adhil’s humble nature was admired by everyone who had even a minor interaction with him. So, I do not think it is wrong to say that Adhil was a symbol of humility and humanity.

In our country it is not rare to see stories where some young people with political family backgrounds try to enter politics solely relying on their family connections, wealth and power. Some of them don’t even have a clue about the ground reality or policymaking processes. In an era where a young person with political aspirations does not have a clear path unless he or she is from a political family background, Adhil chose a different path completely even though he had the same privilege. According to my knowledge, it’s not a secret that Adhil also had political aspirations. However, he never wanted to use his family background to fulfil his desire. Instead, he chose to shape his character whilst equipping himself with the necessary political knowledge and experience. Upon the successful completion of his LLB degree and Attorney’s examinations, he was admitted to the bar as a junior lawyer. Also, he managed to secure the prestigious Chevening Scholarship, which is awarded to a handful of extraordinary individuals who wish to pursue higher studies in the UK. It nicely demonstrates how Adhil was trying his best to empower himself with political knowledge. He selected to study a master’s degree in Comparative Politics at London School of Economics (LSE). Having the privilege of becoming a Chevening Scholar, I would also like to gratefully remember how Adhil wanted me to apply for the same scholarship some years back. I would say that’s another excellent quality of Adhil’s because I rarely meet people who are willing to share this type of opportunity with others. I have noticed that many people would love to help you as long as you don’t surpass their achievements. Nevertheless, Adhil always had pure intentions of seeing the growth of others too.

Being a young leader, Adhil made sure to gain experiences that would help him understand the ground reality at the grassroots. He gathered these experiences by working closely with people from different walks of life. One day, if he were to have ever entered politics, I have no doubts that he would have become a brilliant policymaker as he had a great sense of awareness of the ground reality and the policy-making process. I hope that the Bakeer Marker family would not get upset with me if I mention that Adhil was the best fit to heal the severely ill Sri Lankan political culture – not just because he was raised in the Bakeer Marker family, but also because he was a person who tried his best to equip himself with all the necessary knowledge and experience before entering politics. I would not ever hesitate to mention that Adhil was a classic example to any young person who had aspirations to enter politics. I personally believe that Sri Lanka already has more than enough politicians but not enough Statesmen. If Adhil was alive, he could have filled that vacuum as he got what it all takes. Without exaggeration, one could claim that Adhil could have become the first Muslim national to become the Sri Lankan Prime Minister with the majority vote from the citizens of all other ethnic groups. Although unfortunately we live in an era where we don’t see many young people with potential who are willing to take over the political leadership of the country, I still believe that Adhil is a lost opportunity for all of us.  Most importantly, Adhil never had to portray a public image which is completely different from what he truly was, as he was a person who lived by his own set of principles and values.

When I recall memories about Adhil, there is one particular incident that I really want to mention here, as it carries great significance in my life journey too. Even though it might be a bit controversial to reveal in a public document like this, I would like to share it with you nevertheless, because such bold action by someone should not go unnoticed. It should be added to the records. Before Adhil left to the UK to pursue his postgraduate studies, he was working in the capacity of the board director for international youth affairs of the National Youth Services Council (NYSC) of Sri Lanka. In a country where some public officials abuse their positions to gain inappropriate advantages, Adhil was voluntarily carrying out the duties of his position as a NYSC board director, without even taking any allowances to which he was officially entitled. In 2013, Adhil was privileged to get selected as one of the two official youth delegates who represented our motherland at the 68th United Nations General Assembly. Being the NYSC board director who was in charge of the portfolio of ‘international youth affairs’, the same UNYD programme came under Adhil’s supervision few years later. As a person who continuously applied for the same programme for four consecutive times, I witnessed how Adhil tried his level best to make the application process fair and transparent in both years in which he handled the UNYD programme and I have no doubts that other applicants would agree with me in this regard. He also took some revolutionary steps to reform the foreign pool of NYSC in order to make the selection process more systematised and transparent. In addition to all of the above, Adhil added a public speech round to the UNYD selection process so that the general public and youth could actually see who was going to represent them at the UN General Assembly.

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