Eighth death anniversary of Dharmasiri Senanayake:

Gentleman politician

by Walter Rupesinghe

Eight years ago on July 24, 2000 the country sadly lost a gentleman politician the like of whom we will rarely see again.

He was a man of the highest integrity, genuine humility and was absolutely incorruptible. He was a rising star in the political firmament which was beckoning him to greater heights and nobler deeds but as the poet John Milton has written:

But the fair Guerdon when we hope to find
And think to burst out into sudden blaze
Comes the blind fury with the abhorred shears
And slits the thin spun life.

Born on March 30, 1933 he had his primary education in a village school and then moved on to Ananda College, the cradle of budding patriots. On completion of his secondary education he graduated from Peradeniya University and later the Law College and passed out as an Attorney-at-Law. That was the platform from which he launched his political career.

Dudley vs Dharmasiri

I first heard of Dharmasiri Senanayake when he contested the Dedigama seat at the Parliamentary General Election of 1970. Over the years Dedigama had been the pocket borough of the late Mr. Dudley Senanayake. In 1970 it required a gallant David to take on Dedigama’s gentle Goliath. It was a fiercely contested election but the two Senanayakes were on the friendliest of terms.

The younger Senanayake always showed great respect and regard for the Prime Minister who in turn treated the brash young man with avuncular affection even teasing him saying that he was in the wrong party.

Although Dharmasiri Senanayake narrowly lost the election he was considered the moral victor because of the great fight he gave the seasoned campaigner.

Defeat did not discourage this aspiring politician. Deep in his heart he felt that the wheel of fortune would turn in his favour sooner or later. He was young and quite prepared to bide his time.

Many prestigious posts were offered to him by the Prime Minister, the late Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike but Dharmasiri Senanayake who was always looking for new and challenging pastures decided to take into his warm embrace the fascinating mistress of Tourism and accepted appointment as the Chairman of the Ceylon Tourist Board. What a Chairman, what a mistress this happy combination proved to be!

I was a Director of the Tourist Board at that time and naturally looked forward to meeting the new Chairman. He breezed into the Board Offices one sunny afternoon captivating everyone with his winsome smile.

We had at that time some pretty unmarried young ladies on the staff of the Board. You could almost hear their hearts twittering as they surveyed the debonair Chairman and soon found out that he was an eligible bachelor with no strings attached.

In an exuberance of affection they described him as the “Ladaru Sabapathy”. While the Chairman no doubt enjoyed their admiration and their wishful interest in him he decided to play a straight bat and concentrate on the work in hand because he was well aware from his university days that Satan never sleeps!

As Director Administration and Travel Trade I had to work closely with the new Chairman. The day after he assumed duties he told me that the staff should know what sort of a person he was. Tell them that the politics of vindictiveness is definitely not on my agenda. That goes against my grain. All I ask for is their loyalty, co-operation and of course hard work.

The staff were relieved to hear this and throughout the seven momentous years during which he graced the office of Chairman he had the unstinted co-operation and goodwill of the staff and indeed of the entire travel trade.

Little wonder then that despite periodical setbacks which the country had to face, the tourist industry developed the resilience and know-how to bounce back into business as soon as the storm abated.

Dharmasiri Senanayake’s greatest asset was that he was not shy to confess that he was a novice when it came to unravelling the intricacies of international travel. With that disarming statement he could draw out the best in the staff and the professionals in the travel industry.

He had the marvellous gift of quick comprehension and receptiveness. He stimulated discussion, sat back and listened intently sifting the arguments and assimilating those ideas which he considered both pragmatic and relevant. He let it be known that tourism and politics were as different as chalk and cheese.

By sheer dint of hard work involving voluminous reading, participation at workshops, seminars and international conferences he worked his way into the hearts of the fastidious international, travel community.

They appreciated his disarming candour and his spontaneous and refined wit. They spoke of him with warmth and affection calling him “Dharmasiri” with an accent that made his name sound pleasing musical.

If he had to disagree with a point of view he did so with persuasive gentleness. Achieving a consensus of opinion was therefore never a problem for him.

Dharmasiri Senanayake’s disposition was such that in all the years that I have known him I have never seen him genuinely angry. He feigns anger at some wrong doing but it was obvious that he was making a great effort to do it.

On one occasion an employee of the Tourist Board who had committed an offence was hauled up before him. He tried to look very angry and when it came to admonishing the offender words came to him with difficulty.

After the employee had left his office he asked me to give him a bit of my mind and let him off leniently because he said “These chaps are poor and sometimes yielded to temptation. In their battle to make ends meet, who whouldn’t?”

That was the true measure of the man: a warm heart, deep compassion and a genuine sympathy for the less fortunate. No wonder everyone who had experienced his kindness loved him and held him in the highest esteem.

Steadfast friend

He was not only a wonderful superior and brilliant administrator but also a steadfast friend. I had personal experience of this when he went out of his way to espouse my cause for an overseas appointment which was legitimately due to me. He said he was doing this as a matter of principle because a deserving officer should not be unfairly treated on frivolous allegations.

He left no stone unturned in his efforts to help me although he had known me only for a few months. All his efforts failed. As in this case, destiny had far bigger things in store for me. He shared my feeling of utter disappointment and helped me to eradicate the bitterness that was trying to get hold of me.

He was absolutely fearless in his convictions because he had nothing to fear. Being a politician of outstanding integrity he had no skeletons in his cupboard. He was never dogmatic and was always a robust champion of healthy change.

After seven eventual years as Chairman of the Tourist Board he decided to contest the Dedigama seat once again at the Parliamentary General Election of 1977. Victory eluded him on this occasion as well.

There was a change of Government and Mr. Senanayake reverted to a very lucrative legal practise. Nevertheless he kept his sights firmly fixed on the political firmament. Such are the ways of an inscrutable destiny that he had to wait until 1989 to achieve his long cherished dream of being a Member of Parliament.

He became the Opposition’s spokesman on tourism and Civil Aviation matters (Shadow Cabinet Minister) and his contributions in the House were always treated with great respect. Often his ideas were adopted by the Government of the day.

When I was the Sri Lanka High Commissioner in Canada in 1991 I was called up on to represent Sri Lanka at the General Assembly of the World Tourism organisation held in Argentina.

There were several hard boiled professionals who had known Dharmasiri Senanayake in the days when he was Chairman of the Tourist Board. Although some fourteen years had elapsed since he relinquished office, they spoke of him with an affection that is reserved for a good friend. Such was the fragrance that he always left behind him wherever he went.

One lady who was obviously enamoured with him even wanted to know whether he was still a bachelor. This was understandable because the elusive, affable and amiable bachelor had the knack of leaving behind him a trail of aching hearts!

After the General Election of 1994 he was appointed Minister of Tourism and Aviation in the Government of Mrs. Chandrika Kumaratunga. In this capacity the Hon. Dharmasiri Senanayake led the tourist industry to heights which were hitherto thought to be beyond its reach. He brought into this vital portfolio a fund of knowledge garnered over the years, a balanced judgement and a penetrating insight into the future of the international travel industry.

He was easily the most popular Minister in Parliament. His astute wisdom and his spicy wit coupled with his innate graciousness endured him to all sections of Parliament regardless of their political affiliations.

When the votes of the Tourism Ministry was taken up for discussion during the budget debate everyone without exception paid a glowing tribute to him and exhorted him to continue his efforts to add a new meaning and purpose to this important industry. He accepted all this with a boyish blush of gratitude.

In December 1998 he was unanimously elected to the highly prestigious post of Chairman of the Executive Committee of the World Tourism Organisation.

The WTO benefited immensely from his mature wisdom and his proven ability to hold a team together despite divergences of opinion and ingrained beliefs. He was an unrelenting advocate of the view that tourism development should be consonant with the social, cultural and environment priorities of a country.

The World Tourism Organisation unanimously endorsed his view. He was one of the finest Chairmen of the Executive Committee of that prestigious body.

Writing about one of his illustrious contemporaries Sir Winston Churchill has said, “His manner was so gentle, so sweetly reasonable, so matter of fact and so clothed in sensitivity that there was always in him the glow of conviction and an appeal that was instinctive and priceless.

He believed that healthy debate was the flame that brought great ideas together. It required fuel to feed it, motives to excite it and a true leader to brighten it. He provided all that and much more.”

Well could those words have been written of the great gentleman politician and administrator whose untimely death eight years ago we commemorate today.