The formation of MEP and the 1956 Revolution

by W.T.A. Leslie FERNANDO

With the split in the LSSP in October 1953, except for Dr. N.M. Perera and Robert Gunawardena, all the leaders who remained in the party like Dr. Colvin R. de Silva, Leslie Gunawardena, Doric de Souza, Edmund Samarakkody and P.B. Tampoe were former members of the Bolshevic Lennist Party. Dr. Perera was the leader of the LSSP. Robert at that time had a fervent faith in a Revolution.

Dr. Colvin R. de Silva	Dr. N.M.Perera	Edmund Samarakkody

On the other hand except for a few like William de Silva, Henry Peiris and L.W. Panditha, most of the others in the breakaway group like T.B. Subasinghe, Reggie Perera, D.F. Hettiarachchi, K.P. de Silva, V.A. Samarawickrema, K.A.E. Britto, Sagara Palansuriya, Saviman Gunatilleka and M.S. Bakmiweva were former LSSPers before the merger of the LSSP and BLPI in 1950.

During this time Philip Gunawardena gravitated from subscribing to basic Marxist tenets of the need for a dictatorship of the proletariat to a position which recognised to go beyond the working class and rural labourers and ally with other social formations in rural Sri Lanka. At the same time the Hela Havula members of the VLSSP like Santiago Fernando, W.M. Perera and Saviman Gunatilleka along with patriots like Sagara Palansuriya and Prins Gunasekera, directed the party towards a national outlook.

In late 1954, there was a strong agitation in the country led by the Maha Sangha, that Sinhala should be made the State language in Sri Lanka. At the Hela Havula conference held in December 1954, Santiago Fernando, a central committee member of the VLSSP moved that Sinhala should be made the official language in place of English. This was given wide publicity in all the journals.

The Communist leader who saw the news item complained that the move by Santiago Fernando violated the policy of the CP-VLSSP United Front. The CP at this time stood for parity for Sinhala and Tamil. Philip Gunawardena maintained that the policy of the VLSSP was to make Sinhala the official language while making Tamil the regional language in the North and in the East. This controversy led to the break down of the CP-VLSSP United Front.

Even before that the differences were brewing between the VLSSP and the CP. The VLSSP alleged that the CP was trying to get members of the VLSSP, especially the harbour workers to its fold by various inducements. Accordingly the beginning of 1955 saw the end of the CP-VLSSP United Front.

In the meantime some like Stanley Tillekeratne, K.P. de Silva, K.A.E. Britto and V.A. Samarawickrema who broke away from the LSSP and joined the VLSSP embraced the CP. However, majority of the breakaway group like William de Silva, D.F. Hettiarachchi, Sagara Palanasuriya, Saviman Gunatilleke and M.S. Bakmiweva remained in the VLSSP. So VLSSP was a force to reckon with.

At this stage Philip Gunawardena tried to form a united front of the VLSSP and the LSSP. In fact, the LSSP and the VLSSP held a joint May Day Rally in 1955 on a grand scale. The CP did not like both the LSSP and the VLSSP gaining ground by such a unity. It published an account of the properties and shares owned by the leaders of the LSSP in 'Mavubima' the official organ of the CP with the title 'Baduth Ekka Horu' (The rogues with stolen goods).

What the Communist Party attempted to indicate was that though the LSSP leaders talked big about socialism, in reality they themselves were capitalists who exploited people. Anyhow the unity between the LSSP and the VLSSP did not last long because of the conflict in the language policy. The LSSP stood for parity for Sinhala and Tamil. The VLSSP advocated Sinhala as the official language with Tamil as regional language for North and East.

Robert Gunawardena	Reggie Perera

By the latter half of 1955 there was a Buddhist resurgence in view of 2500 years the Buddha Jayanthi in 1956. At the same time there was a movement among the Maha Sangha to regain the legitimate rights of the Buddhists that have been lost. It was in this background that the Buddhist Commission Report was released.

The combined effect of all these set the background for a renaissance in Buddhism and revival of the Sinhala language and culture. At this time Sir John Kotelawala made a declaration at the Delft Island in the North, that he would make both Sinhala and Tamil official languages. This evoked protests from the Maha Sangha who insisted that only Sinhala should be made the official language. The LSSP and the CP that advocated parity for Sinhala and Tamil elicited some harassment, from some Sinhala people.

In this situation by the end of 1955 the LSSP entered into a no-contest pact with the SLFP conceding majority of seats to the SLFP. the LSSP leaders later justified this step indicating that according to the language and religious issues prevalent at the time LSSP could hardly face the Sinhala masses without rousing hostility and it had no chance to bid for a government.

At this time the SLFP adopted Sinhala Only as its language policy. The VLSSP too deviated from Marxist polemics and joined the non-Marxist parties like the SLFP, Basha Peramuna and some independents to form the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna. The MEP pledged to implement the proposals of the Buddhist Commission Report and got the blessings of the Maha Sangha.

With these developments the UNP too adopted a resolution to make Sinhala only as the official language. As a result the Tamil MPs left the UNP. Nevertheless Sir John Kotelawala decided to go to people for a mandate and dissolved parliament to hold a general election.

In the 1956 general election, the MEP was the main rival of the UNP. The 21 point programme of the MEP aimed at a socialist state while reviving our spiritual and cultural values. S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike was the leader of the MEP. He was a charismatic leader who appealed to people more than Sir John Kotelawala, the leader of the UNP. Philip Gunawardena, the well known socialist was another protagonist of the MEP and he gave a progressive outlook to it.

At the 1956 election, the combination of Maha Sangha, native doctors, teachers, peasants and workers known as the 'Panch Maha Balavegaya' rallied round the MEP. In this election for the first time the candidates were alloted symbols according to their political party. The UNP got the elephant and the MEP selected the hand. The key was the symbol of the LSSP and the CP obtained the star. Although the MEP and the LSSP campaigned separately, at the meetings Dr. N.M. Perera, the leader of the LSSP promised that the LSSP would give the key to the hand of S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike to form the next government.

The general election of 1956 was held spread out for 3 days. On the first day UNP could win only 8 seats out of 41 electorates it contested. It could not win a single seat on the next two days. The UNP which contested 76 seats in 1956 could win only 8 and suffered a humiliating defeat.

The MEP won 51 out of 60 it contested and recorded a convincing victory. The LSSP contested 21 seats and won 14 out of them. The Federal Party which contested 14 electorates won 10 seats. The Communist Party which contested 9 electorates could win 3 seats.

Leslie Gunawardena	Sagara Palansuriya	W.M.Perera

On April 12, 1956 S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, the leader of the MEP formed the government and became the Prime Minster. His cabinet comprised 14 Ministers. The two VLSSPers, Philip Gunawardena the leader of the party was made the Minister of Agriculture and Food, and William de Silva became the Minister of Industries and Fisheries. As the LSSP got the majority of seats in the opposition Dr. N.M. Perera was made the Leader of the Opposition.

Although Sri Lanka became an independent country in 1948, morally and culturally it did not appear to be a free nation. The rulers at the time followed the British in their ideas and ideals, way of life, dress, economic structure and the outlook. It was said that the country changed hands from the white Sahibs to the brown sahibs.

It was only after 1956 that Sri Lanka appeared to be an independent nation. The Ministers of the MEP took their oaths in the national costume at the request of the Maha Sanga. There was a social and cultural revolution all over the country that generated a national outlook.

Martin Wickremasinghe identified the 1956 Revolution as the fall of the Brahamin regime. S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike claimed himself as the midwife of the 1956 transition.

S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike was the person who understood the pulse and the aspirations of the people in Sri Lanka and directed them towards the 1956 Revolution.