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| Sunday, 31 October 2004 |
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Memoirs of Sirima R.D.Bandaranaike : Formation of UNP and after
Just before Independence was to be granted which was on the cards, D. S. Senanayake was making plans to form a new Party, as he had problems with the National Congress. Some of the members there wanted to bring in the Communist Party members into the Congress to which D.S. would not agree. He was dead opposed to the Left. To him they were like a red rag to a bull! At the time, S.W.R.D. had his Sinhala Maha Sabha which had a rural base in the country. D.S. had got round A. Ratnayake and C. W. W. Kannangara, both members of the Sinhala Maha Sabha to try to persuade S.W.R.D. to help D.S. to form the new Party. They did come to see my husband and talked over with him. After much thought and consideration, he decided to take the plunge with the sincere intention of putting up a United Front to match the challenges that the country would be faced with after Independence. He did so with all sincerity hoping to go through with the newly-formed party to implement the policies to meet the aspirations of the people. He even played a major part in the drafting of the Constitution and the policies for the new Party which was to be called the UNITED NATIONAL PARTY. The most powerful group that formed the United National Party was the Sinhala Maha Sabha. Independence In fact, on the occasion of the opening of the first session of Parliament after the attainment of Independence, where the Duke of Gloucester represented His Majesty the King and Government of Great Britain, he made a speech at Independence Hall where he said:
"We must not, we cannot, allow our newly regained freedom to run the risk of remaining merely a theoretical concept, a thing dead and without real meaning for the vast mass of the people. We must see that it quickens into a life of greater happiness and prosperity for us all. Political freedom comes alive, only when it is utilized to achieve other freedoms - freedom from poverty, freedom from disease, freedom from ignorance, freedom from fear. Nor is that all." It is clear from those words uttered on that occasion what he hoped to achieve for his country and his people. It is to do that and that alone that he joined with D.S. to meet the challenges and make Independence really meaningful. The first Elections after Independence was fixed shortly in 1947. S.W.R.D. contested as a UNP candidate. This was the first time he was contested in his constituency. On the two earlier State Council Elections, he was uncontested. The Left Party candidate contested him and lost his deposit, in 1947. I recall, while addressing S.W.R.D.'s election meeting in his electorate in Kirindiwella, Veyangoda Electorate, D.S. said I will form the Government and after sometime my successor will be him (he tapped S.W.R.D. on the back) and the people all expected that he would stand by those words. But from the time the Government was formed, there were moves to undermine him. When the Cabinet was being formed and D.S. asked what Ministry he would like his request was for the portfolio of Agriculture. Because he had plans for making this country self-sufficient in food. That was his intention, and this was indicated in a booklet he wrote way back in the 1930's entitled 'Spinning wheel and the paddy field' in which he said: "In our opinion, to secure a speedy improvement in the wet zone, two things must be done without delay. "In the first place minor irrigation works of the type indicated above must be put in hand at once. The sum annually allotted out of our revenue for this purpose has been absurdly small. "The powers vested in Irrigation Committees can be transferred to village committees, which can also generally control and supervise the work of Vel-Vidanes, Agricultural Officers, and Irrigation Officers within their respective areas." But DS was not prepared to give him that Portfolio. He had told him that he would like to give that to his son, Dudley, because he would like to keep Agriculture under his control and requested him to ask for any other portfolio. Then he asked for Local Government and Health. That was agreed to. It is an accepted fact that he did a great deal for Local Government and made it meaningful by giving it certain powers and independence. He was known as the 'Father of Local Government'. As Minister of Health too he had plans to improve Hospitals and other aspects of health. One example, the Ridgeway Hospital for Children was in a dilapidated state and Dr. L. O. Abeyratne was chief Doctor there, who by the way was well-known and a friend of our family from the days he was DMA Balangoda during my school days, pleaded with my husband to do something to improve this Hospital, as this was the premier Childrens' Hospital in Sri Lanka. He took him round on a visit to the Hospital and after seeing it, he was convinced it needed a new building. So he after much persuasion and difficulty got funds allocated in the Budget for a completely new hospital. Another Hospital that needed immediate replacement was Ratnapura which is situated on the banks of the Kalu Ganga one of the major rivers which very often flooded and the Hospital used to get inundated. So he got funds with difficulty allocated for it too. Unfortunately, though money was approved in the budget, the work on the buildings never got started. There he was helpless because the construction of buildings came under the Minister of Transport and Works (PWD). The Minister-in-charge (Sir John Kotelawala) was used to obstruct all buildings of the Minister of Health. They wanted to keep my husband down. That Minister was quietly being projected as the likely successor to D.S. Anyway, he was given that hope, and in the end he too got cheated when D.S. had named his son Dudley to succeed him. These are only a few instances I quote to show how S.W.R.D. was being impeded at every opportunity. There were one or two powerful Ministers in the Cabinet of D.S. whose aim was to edge him out by making it impossible for him to do any meaningful work. This showed that the agreed policies of the UNP of which he was one of the main architects was not been implemented and had no intention of implementing either. Though he joined the UNP merging the Sinhala Maha Sabha, he did not dissolve it. It continued as an organisation to foster our culture, language and religion. The Sabha at its Annual General Meeting at Madampe in 1950, decided to move some resolutions with the purpose of urging D.S. to implement the policies promised to the people in the 1947 Election. Mr. Bandaranaike's position vis-a-vis the Sinhala Maha Sabha and the UNP was clearly stated thus: "I gave the Sabha the assurance that I would come to it from time to time and explain the position quite frankly and sincerely in order that any matters that became necessary to be placed before the UNP might be discussed and dealt with. The occasion for doing so arises when the UNP holds its Annual Conference. I explained my views to the Sabha last year and I did so again this year. I do not see that there is anything wrong in my having done so. Indeed I consider it my bare duty, in the interests both of the UNP and the Sabha, that I should have done so. It was not possible for the Sabha to send suggestions or resolutions for the consideration of the UNP without discussing the reasons which necessitated such suggestions and resolutions. Presumably any Electoral Association of the UNP would have the right to do it, to say nothing of a Party like the Sabha whose position is higher than that of a mere Electoral Association." The Madampe resolutions were unanimously passed. A delegation was sent to meet D.S. and urge him to accept these resolutions. But they were turned down without giving any thought to the consequences. It was obvious that he had no intention of implementing the policies promised to the people at the Elections. It was at this stage, S.W.R.D. realized there was no purpose in remaining in that Government just for the glory of office enjoying the benefits attached to it. He was naturally frustrated. In the meantime, his friends and well-wishers urged him to leave the UNP. The longer he remained there, the more he will be undermined. In fact some of his friends who were reluctant to tell him directly urged me to persuade him. They said that he was like the elephant who did not know his strength in the country. I must say I was only too willing to convey that to him and in doing so, I added my two cents worth to urge him to leave. If he delayed, the UNP would have done everything possible to weaken his position. They (the UNP leaders) were determined to destroy him politically. They were prepared to go to any length for that. The Lake House papers played a big part in this game. The Proprietor was powerful and was almost a king-maker. It was under D.S.'s control and he had already won over two or three of his men who were members of the Sinhala Maha Sabha. Strangely enough, the two of them who persuaded S.W.R.D. to help to form the UNP were the first to let him down. Two of them were even sent as Ambassadors, namely Messrs C. W. W. Kannangara and R. S. S. Gunawardena, and the Minister was Mr. A. Ratnayake. Finally, S.W.R.D. decided to resign from the portfolio he held and leave the Government and go over to the Opposition. On July 12, 1951, he resigned and made a statement in Parliament in which he said: "I do not intend on this occasion to indulge in any recriminations or personal bitterness - the issues involved are far too important for that. When I assisted originally in the formation of the United National Party and persuaded the Sinhala Maha Sabha to join it, and when I myself agreed to serve in the present Government, I did so in order to ensure that stability of Government which was needed particularly at the beginning of the new era of freedom. I also hoped that as time went on there would be increasingly manifested a greater tendency towards progressive policies and a greater readiness to deal effectively with the many important problems that face our country. The former purpose of securing stability was achieved, but I regret to say that the latter hope flickered and has finally faded away now. I quite admit that differences of opinion on policies and programmes can well be held bona fide and sincerely. In my personal view what has been happening in this country has been nothing short of a tragedy. I fully realize that the difficulties and troubles that will face me in the future will be considerable, but I shall be sustained by the feeling that in accordance with my own conscience I shall be doing my duty by the people of my country. I go, in the words of Abraham Lincoln, "with malice towards none and with charity for all", not only in regard to those who have honoured me with their friendship, but even in regard to those who have honoured me with their enmity. I am myself solaced on this rather melancholy occasion by the thought that personally I have at last achieved the most difficult conquest of all: I have conquered myself. Now I shall place my services at my country's disposal, freed, I hope, even of this infirmity which I mentioned. I shall do my duty in whatever capacity it will be possible for me to do it best, whether it be as Prime Minister of this country or out of this Parliament altogether. I am only too well aware of the forces that may be arrayed against me. Pride and power, influence, money and even misrepresentation and distortion are all weapons that might be used against me. Against these, the weapons that I possess are humility and sincerity in the service of my people and all the high principles for which I shall humbly seek the confidence of the people of this country." With him seven other UNP MPs who were members of the Sinhala Maha Sabha resigned. When the news got round that S.W.R.D. was resigning from the UNP Government and crossing over, crowds gathered outside Parliament to welcome him with garlands. As he came home, crowds gathered there too. He addressed them and said that he would carry on the struggle and asked the people not to be disheartened. People were jubilant far from being disheartened. My parents happened to be at our home on that occasion and I remember my mother making a remark, "Daughter, some day the truth has to prevail, and it will prevail". How correct she was. As Prime Minister As S.W.R.D. himself remarked after he was sworn in as Prime Minister in 1956, he told the large crowds who gathered to greet him at his home in Rosmead Place. "Well, I fought the hard way which is the better way", he said. He did really have to fight the hard way to overcome the obstacles put in his path from the time he resigned. In 1951, D. S. Senanayake, Prime Minister died of an accident in March 1952 Dudley was appointed Prime Minister as requested by D.S. to Lord Soulbury, who was Governor-General at the time. He was away on holiday in the UK. The country was without a Prime Minister for 2 days till he came back to appoint Dudley because that was D.S.'s instructions to him. Apparently, this created a lot of dissension in the UNP because there were other aspirations who had and were given hopes of becoming successor to D.S. So there was scheming and plotting within the UNP. In 1952, Dudley called for a General Election and S.W.R.D. who had formed the Sri Lanka Freedom Party on September 1, 1951, won 9 seats and other Opposition Parties won 9. After the elections, S.W.R.D. was made Leader of the Opposition. The end result was that Dudley resigned when the people revolted against the increase of the price of rice. During the 1952 Elections campaign they promised not to raise the price of rice. Sir John Kotalawela took over as Prime Minister and Dudley remained a back-bencher in the Government ranks. In the meantime, the harassment of S.W.R.D. never ended. Various obstacles were put in his path even after he resigned from the UNP. To be continued Reproduced with the kind permission of ANCL Editorial Consultant Malalgoda Bandutilleke custodian of the manuscript and pictures. |
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