The Leftist Movement and the Catholic community in Sri Lanka:

The first split in the LSSP

W.T.A. Leslie FERNANDO

Leon Trotsky	Joseph Stalin	Adolf Hitler

By the end of 1930s the LSSP became a well established force to reckon with in Sri Lanka. Its leaders like Philip Gunawardena, Dr. N.M. Perera, Dr. S.A. Wickremasinghe, Dr. Colvin R. de Silva, Leslie Gunawardena and Robert Gunawardena were much respected personalities who inspired and attracted people towards the LSSP. The party organs Samasamajaya in Sinhala Samadharmam in Tamil were popular journals with a wide circulation.

In addition the LSSP was able to organise a strong trade union base in the plantations sector and in the public sectors. The LSSP was the only movement that championed the cause of the commoner. Despite the opposition of the Catholic Church, it was gaining ground among the Catholics as well.

By September 1939, global events were brewing towards World War II. In this situation an ideological conflict in the LSSP came to the surface and as a result a powerful section had to leave the party. This was the first ever split in the LSSP.

When the architect of the LSSP, Philip Gunawardena was in USA and UK, there was a power struggle in the world Communist Movement. Leon Trotsky was organising an ideological campaign against autocratic and atrocious regime of Stalin in Soviet Russia. Philip at that time found that the criticisms by Trotsky were valid and he sided with Leon Trotsky against Joseph Stalin. In due course Philip became a Troskyite.

S.A. Wickremasinghe	Philip Gunawardena

Among the Sri Lankan students who were studying in UK in 1920s the first to return to Sri Lanka was Dr. S.A. Wickremasinghe who in a way could be considered as the forerunner for the formation of the LSSP the earliest socialist movement in our country.

On his return in 1928 Dr. S.A. Wickremasinghe got involved with the youth league, the main outlets at the time for national agitation. From England, Philip corresponded with Dr. Wickremasinghe and urged the latter to pursue a more militant policy. Although he considered himself a socialist, Dr. Wickremasinghe joined the Liberal League that elicited a sharp rebuke from Philip. In the 1931 State Council elections Dr. S.A. Wickremasinghe was elected member for Morawaka. Since the departure of Dr. S.A. Wickremasinghe from UK, the Sri Lankan students in England formed a study circle known as the `T' group. T was meant for Trotskyite and according to the police reports, Philip was its ringleader. It was a covert organisation and they often met at the British Museum library which was considered a safe place.

The LSSP was set up in 1935 as a broadbased progressive movement to attract people. The strategy of Philip Gunawardena was to form a single party that would lead both the anti-imperialist struggle and espouse socialism. Nevertheless the LSSP was firmly in the hands of the T.-group formed earlier in England and all the important positions in the party were held by Trotskyites.

In 1930s there was some confusion in the Communist movement. Joseph Stalin ordered the Communist Party in Germany to help Adolf Hitler to come to power. Hitler after attaining power with the assistance of Communists annihilated the Communist Party in Germany. Nevertheless just before the World War II Stalin entered into a non-war treaty with Hitler in Germany.

In this background a resolution condemning the policy of the 3rd International led by Soviet Russia was brought before the politburo of the LSSP. At the same time Leslie Gunawardena issued a pamphlet condemning the action of the 3rd International. When the resolution was brought, it was adopted by a majority vote and those who opposed it were expelled from the LSSP.

Among the expelled from the LSSP were Dr. S.A. Wickremasinghe, a founder member of the party, M.G. Mendis, a co-secretary of the LSSP and trade union leader, K. Ramanathan, the editor of Samadharmam, Ariyawansa Gunasekera, a leader of farmer organisation, A. Waidyalingam and Ven. Udakandawala Saranankara Thera. They were all active and powerful members of the party and their departure was a drawback to the LSSP.

This split in the LSSP affected the party activity in Catholic areas as well. Cecil de Silva was an active member of the LSSP in Negombo. The group expelled from the LSSP formed an organisation called the Socialist Circle and later changed its name as the Communist Party. Cecil de Silva in due course left the LSSP and joined the Communist Party.

As a result in places like Kurana-Katunayake and Seeduwa areas in the suburbs of Negombo, Communist Party became stronger than the LSSP as they were domains of Cecil de Silva. At one time de Silva became the Chairman of the Andiambalama Village Committee that included those areas. In March 1960 general elections, Cecil de Silva contested the Katana seat from the Communist Party and polled considerable amount of votes. His wife Nanda de Silva was elected to the Western Provincial Council in 1988 from the Gampaha District being a member of the Communist Party.

The expulsion of the Communists from the LSSP was a significant event. Everywhere in the world, the Communists were able to expel the Trotskyites from the Marxist parties. It was only in Sri Lanka, that the things happened the other way about. Although when the LSSP was inaugurated in 1935, it was not a Trotskyite organisation and once the Communists were expelled, it took a turn towards Trotskyism. According to Dr. N. M. Perera the LSSP was the strongest Trotskyites mass movement in the world.

What is the difference between Communism and Trotskyism? Leon Trotsky was a Soviet leader who with Lenin led the Russian Revolution. However, after the death of Lenin, Joseph Stalin got into the saddle and became a dictator. He branded Trotsky as a counter-revolutionary and expelled him from Russia. Stalin was accused of putting Trotsky to death in Mexico and also killing some other leaders in the Russian Revolution like Sinaview and Kamaniev.

Leon Trotsky in his books like `The Betrayal of the Revolution' and `The Permanent Revolution' criticised the autocratic rule of Stalin. Although Trotsky endorsed the dictatorship of the proletariat, he respected personal liberty, right of criticism and the rule of law. He propounded the theory of `Permanent Revolution' and argued that Communism should not be confined to one country but should be a worldwide movement.

The Trotskyites branded those in the 3rd International controlled by the Communist Party in Soviet Russia as Stalinists. Stalinists accused the Trotskyite Movement as a counter-revolutionary spectrum inspired by the imperialists. Although there could be reasons to suspect that in later years Trotskyism has become a movement backed by reactionary elements, at the beginning it could not have been so. The criticisms made by Leon Trotsky at that time that Stalin was leading the USSR down the path to ruin has become true in the hindsight.

There were organisations of the Trotskyites known as the Left Opposition in UK, USA, France and other European countries. But in those countries, they were never so strong to outrival the Communist Party. In Asia too Trotskyitsm was never a force to reckon with. It is said that the strongest organisation of the Trotskyites with mass support was only the LSSP in Sri Lanka. Then how come that some young, educated, intelligent and brilliant Marxists in Sri Lanka, who had their education abroad embraced Trotskyism? There were so many reasons for it.

The main reason was that Philip Gonawardena, the architect of the LSSP had become Trotskyite. Philip organised young students in UK who formed the nucleus of the future LSSP in Sri Lanka on the lines of Trotskyism. It is evident from police intelligent reports on India found in England that Philip had been the ring leader of the circle that propounded Trotskyism.

Besides young brilliant students from Sri Lanka detested the autocratic dictatorship of Joseph Stalin in Soviet Russia. According to the liberal education they received in UK, they respected personal freedom and the rule of law.

As such Trotskyism that advocated democracy and the right of criticism within the dictatorship of the proletariat appealed to them. In addition it was not easy to organise a revolution in India and in Sri Lanka without some external assistance. Trotsky's theory of Permanent Revolution too attracted them.

It is true that those who were expelled from the LSSP in 1939 appropriated the name Communist Party only in 1943. Nevertheless the conflicts in the party proved that the LSSP was not a branch of the Communist Party in Soviet Russia. Most of the Catholics were not scared of the LSSP to the extent they feared the Communist Party. In a way the expulsion of the Communists was advantageous to the LSSP to propagate the party among the Catholics.