Following the footsteps of D. A. Rajapaksa

by P. Wanniarachchi

On that memorable day of 20th February 1965, I congregated at our village playground in Kadurupokuna with a view to having a closer look at the revolutionary leader of Giruvaya who stormed into limelight some 14 years earlier by giving strength and meaning to the ground-breaking political cross-over made by S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike in 1951. It was at the height of electioneering in the General Election 1965 that I was able to get a glimpse of D. A. Rajapaksa at our village in the Beliatta electorate. Having entered Government Service thanks to the Revolution of 1956, I was very eager to have a closer look at the man who happened to be the right-hand lieutenant of S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike’s political revolution.

The outspoken and attractive manner of his speech, imposing though innocent personality and the force of arguments presented by him mesmerized my young heart and those feelings haunt me to this day. I consider it a great privilege as a villager born in Giruvapattu in Hambantota that I have been given the opportunity of organising the D. A. Rajapaksa Memorial Oration held in Colombo to mark the 43rd Anniversary of the demise of that great leader from the South, the Great Son of Ruhuna.

I can still remember vividly how I participated in the D. A. Rajapaksa Commemoration ceremonies while serving in Tangalle in my youthful days. The members of the trade union in which I was the Secretary participated in the annual celebrations held in Beliatta. It was mostly as a result of our devotion and love for that great leader that we made it a point not to miss a single memorial ceremony held in honour of that great man. Unique features of his character might have cast a great influence upon us and it still haunts our memories.

The experience and competencies gathered by participating in the commemoration ceremonies held in Beliatta, Tangalle and Medamulana over the years propelled a few of us in forming a D. A. Rajapaksa Memorial Committee based in Colombo to organise a commemorative oration yearly to mark the death anniversary of our hero and idol. This exercise has given us a feeling that we are having a lifelong journey with this noble son of Ruhuna guiding us even in the day-to-day activities like a god father. Those old hands of our Committee enthusiastically devote their time and energy in organizing this Commemorative Ceremony usually held in November, as early as August in the relevant year. It has now become a ritual to be attended to devotedly and dedicatedly.

Even amidst the unsettled security situation that prevailed in our country for nearly three decades we managed to do our duty in holding this ceremony without a break. We left no stone unturned in accomplishing our sacred mission in paying our homage to the beloved leader.

Some salient facts that instigated the likes of us in pursuing a course of action like this could be summarized as follows:

The people of Ruhuna have a great liking about the activities of the Rajapaksa’s. Many fascinating tales about their heroic deeds are told by the older generation even today. The freedom struggle of 1818 in Wellassa has been spearheaded by the ancestors of the Rajapaksa clan. Having fought tooth and nail against the British for the emancipation of the down-trodden in Wellassa they retreated to Weeraketiya in Hambantota when the British imperialists savagely massacred the freedom fighters of Uva Wellassa.

Lion of Ruhuna

The modern heroics of the Rajapaksa clan start with the struggles made by D. M. Rajapaksa in the early 20th century. It is said that the imposing personality and the deep voice possessed by D. M. Rajapaksa made him a unique leader of the masses of the day. He fought for the rights of the common people with the then powerful chieftains called “Mudalis” and “Muhandirams” who had the blessings of the imperialists. The farmers and fishermen of the day were behind him. Many anecdotes are prevalent in Ruhuna even today about the interesting incidents that involved the Rajapaksa family and they are a source of pride as well. The people of Ruhuna called D. M. Rajapaksa the ‘Lion of Ruhuna’. He passed away as a result of a stroke while addressing the State Council.

The political vacuum created by the untimely and sad demise of D.M. Rajapaksa was filled by his brother D. A. Rajapaksa. It was solely because of the fact that D. A. Rajapaksa was the main pillar behind the success of D. M. Rajapaksa as a politician. Being a trustworthy simple villager he was loved by all and sundry. The Ruhuna was a self sufficient region those days and he was always elected uncontested to the State Council. The road network in Ruhuna, the irrigation systems, hospitals, schools and such other infrastructure facilities speak volumes for the services rendered by this great man. Without boasting so much as is the practice today, he endeavoured to render service to the humanity. His attractive personality made him a popular figure. That is why he was able to hold many distinguished posts in the political arena from the days of the second State Council up to the Fifth Parliament of Independent Sri Lanka. There are ample evidence to prove that almost all the development projects in Giruvaya and Magampattuwa were pioneered by this great son of Sri Lanka.

In view of the fact that D. A. Rajapaksa has been following in the footsteps of S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, the leader of the 1956 Revolution resolutely and courageously, he earned the praise and honour of all Sri Lankans right throughout. His acumen and far-sightedness are well displayed in the right decision he took in crossing over to the opposition in 1951 to form the Sri Lanka Freedom Party. If not for the taking of that bold political decision this country would have been going through a completely different path over the past half century. In that sense D. A. Rajapaksa is a towering figure in the political history of Sri Lanka. Leadership qualities displayed by this person are immense and numerous indeed.

He died on 06th November 1967. At the vote of condolence held in Parliament on his death the great qualities and the yeoman service rendered by him were enumerated by the leading politicians of the day including Maithripala Senanayake, C. P. de Silva, Dr. Colvin R. de Silva and Peter Keuneman.

The sudden demise of D. M. Rajapaksa, has pushed a reluctant and almost unprepared D. A. Rajapaksa into active politics. Though he closely associated with his brother and national politics and also with the newly emerging national political leadership, which helped him in his social development activities, he preferred to pursue a quiet, familied life as a contented person, pursuing his righteous and religious life closely associating with the people and helping the downtrodden in their pressing needs. He reluctantly entered politics not to fulfil any of his ambitions, but to oblige the request of the venerable Mahasangha and common man of Giruwa-Magam Pattuwa, who pleaded with him to accept nomination to fill in the vacancy in the State Council created by the demise of his elder brother. But his heart was in the tranquil, but socially and economically handicapped village setting and in the paddy field and with its downtrodden peasants and tenant farmers and certainly was not in the high stratum of politics. That was why the people themselves had to prepare nomination papers and rush to him while he was in the paddy field, enjoying his daily routine work.

He was elected uncontested to the Hambantota seat of the State Council at the by-election held on 14th July 1945

Political landscape

If, for some reason, the entry of D. A. Rajapaksa into national politics had not happened, the last 7 decades of political history that has progressively changed, forever the political landscape of the country could have been invariably different from what it is today.

The charismatic personality inherited from his birth, his resilience, honesty and coupled with his desire and willingness to help the downtrodden peasants of entire Ruhunu-Magam Pattu region has made him so different and unique even from his own brother, the late D. M. Rajapaksa.

Further, he has commenced his long political journey with great sense of optimism and believing in and aligning with the newly emerging national progressive leadership, led by social democrats and socialist and Marxist leaders and others. He was more and more getting closer to S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike than others and when it came to the 1947 election for electing the people’s representatives to the first Parliament of independent Sri Lanka, he opted to contest Beliatta Parliamentary Electorate under the United National Party banner, but from the Bandaranaike faction and D. A. Rajapaksa had chosen his own symbol, hand or atha as his campaign logo. He won the election convincingly and was elected into the first parliament of Independent Sri Lanka. The political journey that he embarked reluctantly in 1945, which lasted over the next 20 years uninterruptedly till 1965, and holding of Deputy Ministerial portfolio (1956-1959) and the post of Deputy Speaker (1960-1964) and he had remained consistent in regard to his policies and principles, allegiance to national political leadership that he had chosen.

Moreover, he had played a key role and taken unprecedented and very important decisions which paved the way for achieving far-reaching, progressive, irreversible changes in the political landscape and socio-economic and cultural spheres of the country.

D. A. Rajapaksa, reluctant politician by character never looked for positions and prominence but quietly and silently contributed unparalleled changes that occurred in all spheres of Sri Lankan society. His aim was to serve the oppressed and downtrodden people of his region.

He was not much impressed with the UNP led first parliament and the government in addressing pressing needs of ordinary masses, and particularly the failure of the government to give required priority for development needs of the deep South.

As recorded in the Hansard, during his two-year tenure as a legislator of State Council, he presented many important proposals at the State Council that resulted in Public Works Department acquiring many rural roads from Village Councils and in establishing rural industries such as coir and handlooms as a means of creating employment for rural youth in Giruwa-Magam Pattuwa.

Moreover, he brought a proposal at the State Council in November 1945 to extend the railway line from Matara to Tissamaharama. As a key member of the 1956 administration, he along with his nephew, the late Laxhman Rajapaksa were instrumental in convincing Philip Gunawardena, Minister in-charge of Agriculture and Land Affairs to expedite the formulation and speedy implementation of the Paddy Lands Act which was hailed by many political analysts as one of the most progressive pieces of legislation that were implemented by the Bandaranaike Administration.

He worked hard to implement Muruthawela Irrigation Scheme and in constructing Chandrika Reservoir under the Walawe Ganga Scheme which fed water for hundred thousands of acres of paddy lands. The minority communities, particularly the Muslim communities’ pressing needs were provided and problems such as education and land shortages were rectified.

Many of dilapidated Buddhist temples had been renovated and religious activities and programmes at village level were promoted.

Exemplary personality

Another extraordinary trait of D. A. Rajapaksa had been his exemplary personality and gentleman’s politics. It is well-known that he rejected the kickbacks made from capitalist clans of politics in 1947 to get his support at the election held for electing the chairman for the Senate.

He campaigned to convince the leadership of the newly formed SLFP to join the “hartal” organised in protest against the unpopular measures that were introduced by the UNP regime in 1953. He played a crucial role to convince S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike to invite and accommodate all progressive and independent social democrats and Marxists and socialist parties to form a unified front and hence forming Mahajana Eksath Peramuna as a political front against the UNP and this move unquestionably led to the resounding, historic win in the 1956 election.

It is well conceived that the 1951 and 1956 events had altered the political history of the country forever and indisputably had brought sweeping changes in social, cultural, economic and political landscape of the country that had empowered indigenous people, and promoted indigenous culture, indigenous religions and invigorated post-independent upsurge for creating a truly Sri Lankan literature, art, music, drama, theatre and cinema. He openly opposed S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike for expelling Phillip Gunawardena from a cabinet portfolio and flatly rejected the subsequent offer to accept the ministerial portfolio that was left vacant with the expulsion of Philip Gunawardena.

He left the SLFP with many others as a protest after the assassination of its leader S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike but rejoined Sirimavo Bandaranaike for the 1960 July campaign.

He flatly refused and rejected the bribing attempts made by capitalists and reactionary groups that toppled the SLFP-led government in 1964.

He sacrificed whatever the modest wealth that he inherited and never had a greed for money and power. As cited in literature, by the time of his death, his assets were reduced to his house and a few acres of land around the house and had to dispose his motor vehicle to pay his creditors. Though, he lost the parliamentary seat in 1965, because of unfaithfulness of his constituents, like what happened in 1947 to Dr. C. W. W. Kannangara, he never left social services.

He spent time, money and sacrificed his health for serving the people of Ruhuna even after he lost the electorate until his untimely death at the age of 65 years.

Parallel to all those things mentioned above, D. A. Rajapaksa had made another contribution to the Sri Lankan political arena by introducing and promoting his sons to venture into diverse pursuits while retaining greater interest in social work and politics.

His deeper insight and perceptions on the future, and his intuition prompted him to provide them the best possible education in good schools, while raising them in a very cultured, religious, homely environment, exposing them liberally to ordinary folks of rural Giruwa Pattuwa.

His eldest son, Chamal Rajapaksa chose a career in the police service, his second son, Mahinda Rajapaksa ventured into the legal profession while closely involved with his father’s social and political activities. The next son, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa opted to pursue a career in the armed forces. One of the youngest sons, Basil Rajapaksa chose to follow his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa and after completing his studies he too ventured into social and political pursuits. With the untimely demise of his father in 1967, Mahinda Rajapaksa at the age of 18 years came forward to fill the gap and contested the Beliatta electorate and was elected into the Parliament in 1970 and became the youngest parliamentarian of that constituent assembly. Mahinda Rajapaksa’s entry into national politics is considered as the beginning of the current phase of the story of the Rajapaksas.

The political career of Mahinda Rajapaksa, has close resemblance to that of his beloved father, D. A. Rajapaksa. His contribution to the Sri Lanka Freedom Party is closely comparable to that of D. A. Rajapaksa’s pioneering role in the creation of the SLFP in 1951 and the progression of SLFP. that has dominated the political arena of the country since 1956.

Reviving the Party

Mahinda Rajapaksa, commencing his political life in a low key, took the leading role to revive the defeated SLFP over the 1980s and early 1990s.

He too consolidated the socialist democratic elements within the party, stood against internal rightists, opportunist groups who were working for their personal gains rather than forming a common front to defeat the ultra-capitalist party which had been ruling the country for well over one and a half decades.

He worked hard to bring socialist elements into the common front and attracted youth into the SLFP movement. Though, he was very pessimistic of his chances of gaining the leadership of the party, as he was not a Bandaranaike he never left the party even though inheritors of the Bandaranaike legacy abandoned the party for different ventures.

Although the revival of the SLFP in early 1990s after the 1977 defeat was largely due to efforts led by Mahinda Rajapaksa, the newly formed SLFP led People’s Alliance Government in 1994 was reluctant to offer a key cabinet portfolio to Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Yet from whatever was offered, he made into very visible enterprises and finally he succeeded in becoming the Prime Minister of the 2005 Government and then secured the party nomination for presidential election. All these deserving victories for him, were unquestionably secured through his sheer determination and patience, good judgement and political wisdom that he inherited from his father.

D. A. Rajapaksa, though he had non formal training in politics or in an allied field, was a unpretentious, accessible, perceptive, and extraordinary statesman worthy of emulation by generations. He had an intrinsic knowledge about inevitable socio-cultural and political shifts and trends that are very likely to sweep across the post-independent Sri Lanka over the coming few decades.

He took extraordinary, sometimes very risky decisions and contributed to landmark changes that had brought irreversible but progressive shifts in the political landscape of the country. He liberated the oppressed and down-trodden people of Ruhunu-Giruwa-Magam Pattuwa and empowered them to be the saviours of Sri Lanka as heroes of the past from ancient Ruhuna had done. He prepared his children to be the leaders of the future.

Most importantly, he reluctantly started politics, but charmingly performed his legendary role as a patriotic Southerner and died gracefully as an ordinary person leaving behind a great treasure; that is honest, dedicated and patriotic sons who now have liberated the country from the shackles of brutal terrorism and neo-colonial interference and ensured our nation’s self-determination and sovereignty.

The writer is the Hon. Secretary of the D. A. Rajapaksa Commemorative Committee, Colombo branch and Assistant Secretary, Office of the Chief Government Whip of Parliament.