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| Sunday, 8 January 2006 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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The river
that never flowed back
by S. Alavi Mowlana, Governor, Western Province, Senior Vice President of SLFP Today the country celebrates 107th birth anniversary of its great son S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike. In the pages of recent history it is impossible to recall any other to match his calibre and who has done so much within a short span of time. He was like a river that never flows back. It contained life giving water to parched lands and minerals to humans and animals alike. His emergence into the political scene gave a new impetus to the political, cultural and social spectrums of this country. He was a son of an aristocrat who had wanted his son to continue with the great tradition scrupulously and jealously followed by the family and be the flag bearer of such elitism in the next century. He was a typical offspring educated at the exclusive public school in England and finished his University education at the Oxford University. Nothing was denied to him nor was anything without his reach. Yet his spirit never relented to worldly pleasure. He was conscious of his duties and obligations towards the downtrodden masses. He was never a crafty politician. His sincerity of purpose and his zeal of public welfare earned him a niche in the minds of the people. He was welcomed to the higher echelons of Sinhala Mahajana Sabha which was the forerunner to the indigenous political party. Orator of great skill, he was not a demagogue. He didn't want to burden the masses with catchy but empty slogans. He was never a communalist. He was never allowed to deliver the goods and his true potential was not allowed to flower by the entrenched few who controlled the party. So he had to leave the UNP which was in power and established a truly a people's party. The new party, a beacon of hope of the ordinary and simple citizens had obstacles, obstacles and obstacles. Yet the great patriarch of Sri Lankan politics ushered in a new era where everybody was equal. In 1956 true independence dawned in the country, and it reverberated in all four corners of the world. In the international fora, Ceylon began to have its own agenda irrespective of whether it hurt the raw nerves of powerful nations. He was the first to condemn the British invasion of Suez, thus leading the other nations to see the follies of Western imperialism. Until his assumption to the Premiership, there was no coherent foreign policy. He laid the firm foundation of foreign policies that safeguard the permanent interest of the country. His wife Madam Srimavo Bandaranaike who took the reins after his demise, continued his initiative to fruition. The impact of the duo was so great Ceylon came to be known as Bandaranaike country. He had great expectations and confidence in the UN. He never wanted to align with any power blocks since he was a free thinker. His standings and utterances at the International fora were the pathfinder for organisations such as the Non-aligned Movement. When he took the podium to address the General Assembly of the UN, the audience never took him seriously for he represented a third world country. His silver tongue with the natural oratorical skills delivered a star studded speech with polished diction that amazed everybody. They had to hide their embarrassment for they knew not what stem stuff he was made of. Ceylon did not produce a Gandhi. But there was SWRD. Leaders of his standing are born not made. In the final analysis of Sri Lanka and Sri Lankan politics the Bandaranaikes will be known as true saviours of the Nation. "Here was an SWRD once Whence cometh such another" |
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