Western Province Governor Alavi Mowlana:

Veteran trade unionist turns eighty

by M. Mousoof, Executive Principal, Beacon Hall International School

In an era where Sri Lanka’s politics is known for switching allegiance on a whim for political benefits or material mileage, one name, Alavi Mowlana stands out as a beacon of political sincerity. The very name Alavi Mowlana is synonymous with the Sri Lanka Freedom Party itself with the same token as the honourable Bandaranaike family themselves.

The lives and times of Alavi Mowlana is a paradox. In fact, he has gone through challenging and difficult times in his political career whilst at the same time he has held political office without any controversies. Alavi Mowlana’s family traces its ancestry all the way back to the Holy Prophet (SAL) just like in contemporary terms, the King Hussein dynasty which has ruled Jordan and the Prince Mohammed of Morocco are all distant cousins of this extended family. In the context of Sri Lankan politics Alavi Mowlana is much more than a mere Muslim politician. Hailing from such a noble family dabbling in politics is a strange phenomenon; though the Quraishi’s, are the rulers by their birth right, Sri Lanka could not have a Muslim as a ruler by default.

The name and life of Alavi Mowlana has gone through a political spectrum from being a trade unionist, member of the Municipal Council, Member of Parliament, Deputy Minister, Minister and finally as the Governor of the Western Province. He learnt the art of Labour politics under the able stewardship of Comrade Pieter Keunemmen. Naturally, he had to join the Party which stood for progressive reforms and social welfare, thus he joined the Sri Lanka Freedom Party during the formative days when the patriarch, SWRD, himself was at the helm. He felt it was his moral obligation to stand and speak for the downtrodden working class without any assumption of political office. Remember this was at a time when Sri Lanka, or as it was then called, Ceylon, not a capitalistic economy but a semi welfare State. He dedicated himself to their cause. If you were to describe the life of Alavi Mowlana in a nutshell, it would be to say that he felt as comfortable travelling in a limousine with the movers and shakers of politics or with the common labour union leader in a tuc tuc three-wheeler without any show of emotion or degradation to his cause.

Alavi Mowlana’s political career has gone through ups and downs. If I were to recall specific instances of such, I should not fail to mention that while campaigning for an increase in wage of a mere Rs. 10 for the workers, he was severely beaten up and stabbed by the UNP goons in 1980 and losing his brother to the JVP insurrection in the late 80s are some of the better examples of the political life of Alavi Mowlana. When the SLFP was in disarray due to internal struggle for power, in the 80s Alavi was the enlightening force in stabilizing the party and foreseeing that Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga was the best possible choice for taking over the SLFP mantle to oust the UNP which had been in Power from 1977 onwards. Such is the capacity of the stewardship, sincerity and personal touch of this erstwhile politician. Because of the pursuit of the welfare of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, he had to face the brunt of anger from certain quarters within the Bandaranaike clan, yet Alavi did not retract nor did he relent, but pursued the correct path for the betterment of the SLFP which resulted in the unanimous victory for the People’s Alliance in 1994.

If I were to recall the personal suffering of his and his family were innumerable. Alavi Mowlana toiled for the SLFP during the 80s when the UNP had a very strong foothold in Sri Lankan politics and economic landscape. If anyone were to ask in the 1980s, if the SLFP had any chance of coming back to power, any political observer would have said a resounding ‘No’ and that SLFP had no chance of coming back to power in the future because the UNP had established such a strong foothold in Sri Lanka’s bureaucracy.

But Alavi stood steadfast through thick and thin with the SLFP during those difficult days. Despite all these achievements, Alavi’s personal life was not a bed of roses. He lost all his belongings and his houses, property and the means of livelihood in the 80 s. His sons also could not foresee a future with their father clinging onto SLFP which was devoid of leadership at that time. Such is the strength and resolve of Alavi Mowlana. If he had decided to switch allegiance to the UNP, at this time he could have gotten a cushy political office with the perks of a Mitsubishi Pajero. But Alavi was far above all that, he still preferred to drive around in his 1959 Opel Kapitan.

During Alavi’s time, the SLFP went from being thrashed in the 1977 General Elections, reduced to a mere 8 seats in the Parliament, to the resounding emergence of the SLFP in 1994 under the banner of the People’s Alliance, 17 years later, of which Alavi was an architect to this remarkable transformation. If at all there is a name synonymous with SLFP other than the Bandaranaike family, one person who has been standing tall is none other than Alavi Mowlana.

It was under the able leadership of President Mahinda Rajapaksa that saw that Alavi’s vast talents and political acumen should not go waste and he saw to it that Alavi is retained in political office by continuing as the Governor of the capital of Sri Lanka.

This article would not be complete if I fail to mention, that Alavi has stepped out of his political domain by seeing to the welfare of the Muslim community and the preservation of the correct Islamic doctrines.

He keeps himself accessible for any emergency right throughout the day. If any person, seeks help, rest assured Alavi’s phone line is open for any distress call.

In summation I take this opportunity to wish him a long life with robust health so that he can continue, with what he loves doing-serving people.

Lastly, though he was not the original architect of the founding of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, it is safe to say, that Alavi certainly laid the coping stone on the edifice.