Page 15
Roman Catholic Church by the the Mahayana school of Buddhis progressive and attracted to it what is of significance as far a Mahayana doctrine found discip while it was stoutly opposed stronghold of the traditional se
Thus, the Mahavira taug Buddhists of Ceylon, Burma, Abhayagiri monastery taught doctrines of Kashmir, Tibet a Vaituliya.
It is to the heated con this doctrinaire difference betw giri monasteries that we refer accurate interpretation of early course of this furious debate,
wholesale persecution of the the reign of Voharaka Tissa by the Abhaygiri monastery we victory of the Mahavira or t plete and it is their version history today.
Undoubtedly, the greates history was the introduction c nampiya Tissa (250 - 210 B.C. ). to assess the influence of Buddh one cannot pass without pointin of the Buddha influenced the 3rd century B.C. to realize t conquered Kalinga and to fores vote his energies to the sprea India, but also in the surrou. seems to have been felt by t From Duttu - gemunu to Paraki of the Sinhalese kings resorie ambition to ascend the throne
Reformation. Like the Reformists, m was more liberal, and, therefore, s fold the bolder philosophers. But as Ceylon is concerned is that the bles in the Abhayagiri monastery, by the Mahavira, which became the chool of Theravada Buddhism.
it the teachings of the "Southern " | Siam and Cambodia while the the teachings of the "northern " nd China, learned from the Indian
troversy that arose as a result of reen the Mahavira and the Abhayared to as the main obstacle to an | Ceylon History. Because, in the
which sometimes took the form of opposite sect and which began in (215-237 A.D.) the records kept ere burnt and destroyed. Thus, the Ehe traditional school became com
of Ceylon's history that goes as
st single influence on early Ceylon of Buddhism in the reign of Deva- It is not the purpose of this essay ism on Ceylon or its history. But g out the fact that if the teachings great Indian Emperor Asoka in the he folly of violence after he had sake violence thereafter and to deding of the new faith not only in ding countries, no such influence he latter - day converts in Ceylon. Fama Bahu and later on, one and all d to violence in pursuit of their - In almost all cases, they had the
Page 16
blessings of the Sangha. Kings like foreign invasions, too, against India the full blessings of the Sangha !
*S*Have we, therefore, the rigi of Buddhism in Ceylon? Or about of Buddhism in its purest form?
The advent of Buddhism cert than the arrival of the earlier Indo advent of Buddhism that brought tinent to Ceylon — the art of W literature, etc. It is because Ind island along with the advent of
certain circles the talk about a Bu dency to identify the civilisation of That is how, to-day, you hear about " the country, religion and la possible? Is there such a thing a postulate such a possibility is to d who, are not , Sinhalese, or that. Buddhism. Civilisation is the way set of values to which they learn life. Many influences shape this civilisisation in terms of religions cept which does not augur well fo of multi - racial, multi - religious and single nation – which everyone acc
Nor is there a basis for suc basically a revolt of the Kshatriya
minical domination of society. Bus caste and led this revoit. That is Bhraminical and aetheistic aspects o teachings were subjected to many how you account for the appearan even before Buddhism reached Cey an atheistic doctrine was far too a cenury. B.C.
2 Parakrama Bahu undertook a and Burma -- no doubt with
ht to talk about the influence
Ceylon being the repository
ainly had other effects. More -Ariyan settlers, it was the the culture of the Indian conriting, architecture, sculpture, lian culture penetrated to our
Buddhism that there arose in ddhist civilisation and the ten
the Ceylonese with Buddhism. chauvinistic politicians talking anguage". Is such an identity is a Buddhist civilisation? To eny that there are Buddhists they have been influenced by of life of a people, and the
to conform in the course of development. But to talk of is to introduce a divisive conr the development and fusion 3 multi - lingual peoples into a epts should be our aim.
ch a connotation. Buddhism was or princely class against Bhraddha belonged to the Kshatriya
how you account for the antiof Buddhism. But the Buddha's
changes before long. That is ce of eighteen different sects lon. One reason may be that head of the time for the 6th
Page 17
Hinduism fought a reargu the beginning, succeeded in reThat is how Buddhism disappea the influence of Hinduism was fel of the Sinhalese kings, coming thical Vijaya, of going to So latter very naturally brought til the Hindu gods were admitted is how the worship of Vishnu Buddhism as practiced in Cey of the palace of Nissanka Malla ruins of two temples in fron Buddhist temple at which the a temple dedicated to Vishnu, shipped. Later on Vishnu was Today, even such an out and * Kavadi' has become a Buddh Srimavo Bandaranaike dancing Lunawa temple, which is patro sight would have revolted Lo genuine Buddhist !
Thus, quite a few of the i dhist are in reality taken over of most early Sinhala kings, ev where Buddhism was the officia a prominent place as purohitos such as anointing the king on the times for important events
However, there was on which we cannot gloss over. Sinhala kings from the time 89-77 B.C.) introduced the pr. teries for the Sangha to deri complete contradiction to the members of the Sangha were ments. Vattagamani introduced who had helped him while he tinued this practice for the
9 —
ard action, and, though defeated at absorbing Buddhism into its fold. -ed in india. But, even in Ceylon, E. This was made easier by the habit down from the time of the myth India for their queens. The aeir gods along with them. Thus.
into a Buddhist pantheon. That
became an accepted practice in on. If one goes to see the ruins e in Polonnaruwa, you will see the t of the palace. One was the king worshipped. The other was at which his Indian queen Wor
admitted inside the same temple. but Hindu practice as dancing the ist practice. We have heard of
the Kavadi' at the notorious nised by top society people. The -d Buddha and should revolt any
nfluences which we believe are Bud
from Hinduism. In the courts en during the Polonnaruwa period, U religion, the Brahmins occupied ; and performed many functions,
the day of the coronation, fixing , etc.
e negative influence of Buddhism, Very early in Ceylon's history, the Đf Vattagamani (103-102 B.C. and actice of donating lands to monasve revenue therefrom. This is in
principles of Buddhism, because to be free from material attachthis practice to reward the priest
was in exile. Other kings conpurpose of winning the favour of
Page 18
— 10
the Sangha. The bestowal of mate to the increase of its numbers, Sangha began to be assured of a { teachings of the Buddha. Thus, the society -- doing no productive wor! The increase in their numbers wa effect on the economy and this reason for the collapse of the Pe scholars.
This fate did not overtake t priests of this order did manual le
Therefore, it would be mo Ceylonese or Sinhalese civilisation, culture with the pre-Sinhala cultu had been influenced both by later by Christianity -- although the dominant.
The second biggest influence foreign invasions to which it w South Indian invasions of the earli invasions of the later period. The
of water, which could be easily cr India meant that whenever a South ful by subjugating its rivals on th bring Ceylon also under their dom Similarly, whenever there was a stro there were invasions from the is politics of the mainland.
The period in Indian history, threats of invasion, was the time Pandya princes were at the height But South Indian invasions seem dawn of Ceylon's history. The st king, Duttugemunu, is the story o Tamil domination.
rial benefits to the Sangha led
because the members of the good life — a far cry from the ese priests became parasites on k but receiving all their wants. s bound to have an adverse factor has been adduced as a blonnaruwa kingdom by some
he Mahayana sect, because the abour of a productive nature.
re correct to speak about a
which is a fusion of Indian are of the island, and which Buddhism and Hinduism and influence of Buddhism is more
on Ceylon's history were the as repeatedly subjected – the er period, and the European fact that only a narrow stretch ossed, separated Ceylon from Indian kingdom became powere mainland, the temptation to ain was too great to resist. ng and united Sinhala kingdom, and and interference in the
when Ceylon faced the greatest
when the Chera, Chola and of their power in South India. to have been there from the bry of the first great Sinhala f the liberation of Ceylon from
Page 19
The next serious threat the beginning of the Isth cen height of their power. At conquer and occupy Ceylon fo test for supremacy in South II the Chera (Kerala), Chola an
kingdom became a fourth cor The Malayasian kingdom of Sr the Cholas, seems to have i Ilth and 12th centuries, and Ceylon.
An automatic balance of ved between these kingdoms. been kept in check by an allia the same kind of policy that the Napoleonic era. The S these wars, and in the balan Sinhalese armies took part in and supported one or the oth macy. More than one Pandyan as a result of the interventio Ceylon, in turn, was subjecte South India.
It is wrong to conce conquests as between nations. hood involved at that time. after the development of capi these wars were feudal prince same dynasty or were related Jargely fought by mercenary history remembers that the a Kasyappa and seized the thro from India.
These wars between 1 and Ceylon resembled the fet the feudal nobles of France a war. They were not betwee country. The attribution of
IL
of invasion of Ceyion arose during tury, when the Cholas were at the his time, the Cholas managed to
over half a century. The condia seems to have raged between | Pandyan kingdoms. The Sinhalese testant for power in the region. ivijaya, a great sea power as were bined this race for power in the to have become a strong ally of
power policy seems to have evolThe most powerful seems to have nce of all the others. It was much
Britain followed in Europe during inhalese kings participated fully in ce of power game. As a result,
wars of conquest in South India, ter of the rival claimants to supre- prince was placed on the throne on of a Sinhalese army. Similarly ed to invasion and conquest from
ive of these wars, invasions and
There was no question of nation
It is a concept that arose only calism, All the princes involved in s, most of whom belonged to the
by marriage. The wars were also "troops. Every student of Ceylon emy with which Mogollana defeated ne of Lanka was a mercenary army
hese feudal princes of South India dal wars that took place between nd England, like the Hundred Years'
nation and nation or country and national sentiments to what were
Page 20
– 12
simply inter-feudal wars was only to of arousing chauvinism. It is intere wansa can find nothing to say agai therefore the fact that he was not the people against him — something
days.
The fact must be faced that, feudal king or noble felt closer to to a Sinhalese serf or peasant. To a matter of least importance. Wha in a feudal society. That is why
married queens from South India. Bahu, who is considered the greates hardly be called a Sinhalese. His Only his mother was a Sinhalese. E a Sinhalese. The reason why Paral the throne was because the Sinhale matrilineal line of succession. Simil a Tamil prince, Prince Sapumal, Parakrama Bahu VI and married the |
- That was also the reason V were from South India. This w invasion, but by a decision of the
king of the Sinhalese, Sri Wickram neously called a Tamil — was the sc by the Kandyan chieftain Pilimatalaw was Tamil, and it is interesting to vention of 1815 is signed by all th signatories, excepting Keppetipola, naike's ancestor, Ratwatte Dissawa, not a matter that seemed to have united Sinhalese and Tamil nobles peasants.
It was the British rulers w promoting these feudal rivalries to between Sinhalese and Tamil for t and Ceylon apart, and for keeping
serve the latter-day purpose sting to note that the Mahaist Elara and his rule, and a Buddhist is used to rouse almost unimaginable in those
under feudalism, a Sinhalese a Tamil king or noble than them, race or language was t mattered was one's status
many of the Sinhalese kings So much so that Parakrama t of the Sinhalese kings, can father was a Pandyan prince. ven here, her father was not srama Bahu was favoured for se at this time followed the arly, Bhuvaneka Bahu VI was
who conquered Jaffna for atter's daughter.
yhy the last kings of Ceylon as not the result of an Kandyan chieftains. The last a Rajasinghe -- although erroon of a princess from Andhra a. The language of his court
note that the Kandyan Cone Kandyan nobles who were in Tamil. Srimavo Bandaraalso signed in Tamil. It was bothered them. Feudal ties against the people, mostly
ho saw the potentialities in look like national animosity he purpose of keeping India Sinhalese and Tamils divided
Page 21
in Ceylon. In this, they have particularly with the support of
Another point that mus were continuous wars between kings, so were there continua claimants to the throne. Raja often had separate rulers-each ruler over Ceylon. Parakrama war which nearly ruined the c island under his rule.
One result of these cont of a Tamil kingdom in the nor result was the fusion of So
When they were not fighting co-existence and co-operation Sinhalese. In most periods of t South Indians were to be fo purohitas, artisans, mercenary s Polonnaruwa period, there was (Tamil guards) who acted as ! etc.-apart from their invasior these could not have been wit
It was a different story series of invasions by European 16th century. Then it was a
whose habits, customs, language from the Sinhalese and who economy, and had the added a powder which, though discove to subjugate the peoples of th
The European invasions i the steam ships, railways, teleg car and the aeroplane. It also particularly of the sciences.
But it also brought ab feudal economy then existing in
13 -
had a great measure of successlocal chauvinists on both sides.
t be made is that just as there South Indian kings and Sinhalese
internal wars between Sinhalese |-rata, Ruhuna and Malaya-desha
trying to become the sovereign | Bahu I had to fight a costly civil buntry before he could unify the
inuous wars was the establishment thern part of the island. Another uth Indian and Ceylonese cultures.
each other, there was a lot of between the South Indians and the he history of pre-colonial Ceylon, und in the Sinhalese kingdom as oldiers (during the time of the
a regiment called the Velaikkaras bodyguards to the king ), traders, - of the king's bed rooms. All hout their influence.
when Ceylon was faced with a nations from the beginning of the different civilisation and a people--
and religion differed considerably were wedded to a more powerful dvantage of the possession of gun ced in China, was now being used e East.
ntroduced Ceylon to the world of raph, telecommunication, the motor - brought us advanced knowledge,
but the destruction of the natural
Ceylon, and the introduction of
Page 22
14
a colonial economy based on money. ploitation of the people, and the plu to a degree undreamt of before. people became slavish imitators of their environment and forced on
movement to reverse this trend was modern history.
It is not the intention heret the history of Ceylon, but only to ant aspects, which have had a lasti velopment of the country.
Ceylon history can convenientl ing periods: (1) The Anuradhapura period, (3) the post Polonnaruwa the kingdom of Kotte, (4) the c neo - colonial period.
Early Ceylon history is large of different kings and their attempts rule. We are not interested in the only point out some of the more out:
The first king who deserves n built the first irrigation tank, and
was not only to make Ceylon fame basis of its prosperity for well over that succeeded Pandukabhiya made thus give the name for this period o
It was during the reign of | B.C. ) that Buddhism was introduced of the Indian Emperor, Asoka, who son, Mahinda, and his daughter, S Ceylon. It is reported that Mahi priest should be the head of the Thus was assured a national church spared allegiance to a foreign chur Church.
It brought us increased exider of our natural resources
The upper classes of our n alien culture, unsuited to hem by the conquerors. A to take place. But that is
o give a detailed account of
dwell on the most import1g effect on the future de
| be divided into the followperiod, (2) The Polonnaruwa period up to the period of plonial period and (5) the
ly a repetition of the stories
to unify Ceylon under their list of these kings, but will standing ones.
mention is Pandukabhaya, who thus initiated a policy which pus, but was also to be the - a thousand years. The kings Anuradhapura their capital and
history.
Devanampiya Tissa ( 250 - 210
into Ceylon on the initiative is reputed to have sent his anghamitta, as missionaries to nda insisted that a Sinhalese
Buddhist Church in Ceylon. and Buddhists in Ceylon were h — a la the Roman Catholic
Page 23
The king who is rega was Duttugemunu, who liberat But the king whose reign was of the entire country for de who came to be referred to mentioned already, it was durin took place in the science of i colossal reservoirs were built. 16 tanks and one great canal. Minneriya (4,670 acres), Kavu Mahakanandaravava near Mihi Eiahara—Minneriya—Kavudulu se reign, is considered to be an of irrigation of Ceylon.
Dhatusena (459-477 A.D. son Kasyappa (477-495 A.D. ) the Sigiriya fortress, where t of the most beautiful heritages Sigiriya frescoes. He must hav the culture of different lands Court.
The Anuradhapura period with the Chola conquest of Cey and his death in captivity in I
There follows over hal The king who liberated Ceylon Ceylon under his rule was Vij his capital to Polonnaruwafrom South India. Hence, the 'history. The Polonnaruwa peri point in the development of a Ceylon unified under the g Parakrama Bahu the Great, and both South India and Burma.
It is recorded that Par: for the invasion of Burma. existence of a ship building in
15 --
ded as the greatest of this period cd Ceylon from Tamil domination.
to influence the future prosperity ades was Mahasena (276-303 A.D.)
as the Builder of Tanks. As s his reign that a big leap forward -rigation engineering, and the first
He is credited with having built
The tanks built by him include lulu tank, Huruluwewa, Kanavava, atale, Mahagalkadavala, etc. The heme, which was completed in his epoch-making event in the history
) built the famous Kalawewa. His gained fame by his construction of oday we find what is perhaps one
of Ceylon's ancient past - the e been a great patron of arts and seemed to have flourished at his
| comes to a close about 1000 A.D. vlon and the capture of Mahinda V
029.
f a century of Chola occupation. from Chola occupation and unified 1yabahu I (1055-||10). He shifted robably to be safer from invasions
name for this period of Ceylon's id probably represents the highest ncient Sinhalese civilisation -- with reatest of the Sinhalese kings, Sinhalese armies successfully invading
krama Bahu I built himself a fleet This must have presupposed the dustry at this time in Ceylon.
Page 24
- 16
We have already pointed ou in Ceylon attained its zenith during It is not necessary to re-state thos of any irrigation work of any no death in 1186, the collapse of the even before another ten years had the next century, the great and
which is universally regarded as th Sinhalese people, passed into ruin.
The cause of the desolation Sinhalese civilisation was due to social and administrative organisation construction and maintenance of the that made these regions productive
The local chiefs who were r to maintain the irrigation system They had specialised knowledge and to run the public administrations, irrigation work.
Foreign invasions and inter activities and the kulinas fled to the collapse of the whole system.
The glories of the reign of have been achieved at the cost o people. He seems to have increase service to the state and exacted ha to pay these levies seem to have successors, Vijaya bahu II and Nissank according to the Culavansa, “mai excessive and illegal punishments inf the Great, in violation of the cust
- The Polonnaruwa period ends with a period of internal civil war quest of Ceylon from abroad. Th Kalinga. Kalinga is now identifier
how the irrigation system he reign of Parakrama Bahu I.
facts. There is no record e after his death. After his Sinhalese kingdom had started passed. Before the end of complex system of irrigation, greatest achievement of the
and collapse of the ancient the collapse of the elaborate
that was necessary for the complicated irrigation system and prosperous.
esponsible for supplying labour
were known as "kulinas " experience that were required including the maintenance of
nal discord disrupted these other areas — bringing about
f Parakrama Bahu I seems to f terrific exploitation of the ed taxes and levied more free erder work. Those who failed
been imprisoned, because his amalla, are said to have freed, ny persons, oppressed by the licted by King Parakrama Bahu pms of former sovereigns...".
, like the Anuradhapura period. - culminating in another cons time it was by Magha from 3 as a region in Malayasia and
Page 25
not in India. This invasion a one of the cruellest Ceylon has
When the princes of Dam of Ceylon, they shifted the cap it was later shifted to Gampo
where we find it when the 1505. It is during this period the Kingdom of Jaffna ruled by
was suppressed during the reign existence is again heard of duri
During this time also od a Sinhalese King of Kotte being and taken in captivity to China
wara, king of Kotte, in the Emperor, Cheng Tsu (Yung lo) r to an enuch, Cheng Ho. The c and another king, presumably rule Ceylon under Chinese suz ruled Ceylon between 1412 and in 1416 and 1421. The last in 1459.
The reign of Parakrama been the last one of auy achiev invasion engulfed Ceylon.
17 -
nd occupation seems to have been ; experienced
badeniya liberated the greater part pital to Dambadeniya, from where la, Ray igama and then to Kotte, Portuguese arrive on the scene in I that there came into existence
the Ariya-chakravartis, and which of Parakrama Bahu VI, but whose ng Portuguese times.
Ccurred the remarkable episode of g taken prisoner by the Chinese .. This happened to Vira Alakes
year 1411 when the third King ruled in China. The feat is credited aptured king was set free in China,
Parakrama Bahu VI appointed to terainty. Parakrama Bahu VI, who 1467 is said to have visited China recorded tribute sent to China is
Bahu VI of Kotte seems to have -ement before the tide of European
Page 26
CHAPTER
The Advent of th
* There is in our harbour of fair skin and comely withal. hats of Iron; they rest not a mi here and there; they eat hunks of give two or three pieces of gold lime; the report of their cannon it bursts on the rock Yughandara. gauva and shatter fortresses of gra
This was the report conveye Parakrama Bahu VIII when the Port the 15th November, 1505. Portuga pean countries to make use of the the East to make its presence felt of spices, and Ceylon was the best time. Their superior naval power ar them irresistible to the kingsther their success against native armies i of the above-quoted report carried cannon balls fly many a gauva and shat
But, even so, it was not alto Portuguese encountered stiff resist conquer the whole of the island.
Kotte could not resist the reque
•mission to build a fort in Colombo Kotte, Don Juan Dharmapala, after was to make the king of Portug by other Sinhalese kings and princ period of history that records so by the Sinhalese against the fore most famous of these exploits against the Portuguese carried on singha I. The most famous of these were decisively defeated by Rajasing 9 miles from Colombo, in 1559. annihilation of the Portuguese arm
II
ne Europeans
of Colombo a race of people They don jackets of iron and nute in one place; they walk
stone and drink blood; they and silver for one fish or one is louder than thunder when
Their cannon balls fly many a nite''.
d to the King of Kotte, Vira cuguese arrived off Colombo on el was one of the first Euroe discovery of the sea route to
in Asia. They came in search E source of cinnamon at that nd the use of gunpowder made n ruling Ceylon. The clue to s contained in the last sentence
to the king of Kotte. * Their ter fortresses of granite".
-gether a one-sided affair. The ance and were never able to - Although the then king of st of the Portuguese for per, and although a later king of
his conversion to Christianity, cal his heir in 1580, resistance es continued. In fact, it is this me of the most militant wars ign European conquerors. The
were the wars of resistance by Mayadunne and his son, Rajae battles, where the Portuguese gha, was the one at Mulleriya, . The other was the famous ay by Rajasingha II in 1638, at
Page 27
- 19
Gannoruwa, to which place they Only 38 Europeans are reported to
The end of the Portuguese European Power, Holland, was of great strategic importance to in the centre of the great trade Further, in Trincomalee, Ceylon p in the East, from which the Bay could be controlled. In 1802, a it, it was described by the your
most valuable colonial possession Indian empire a security it had n lishment ". Trincomalee was to till the emergence of the air foi in recent times. In addition, as the fact that Ceylon was one o good quality cinnamon was in Rajasinha II of Kandy signed a ti mised them certajn trading rights the portuguese from Ceylon. T thought that he could use the c great European rivals to his ow
was mistaken.
The superior maritime po defeat of the Portuguese. The las in Ceylon, Jaffna, fell in 1658. the shoes of the Portuguese-des Sinhalese king was duped.
The impact of Portuguese not lasting. They brought with a new religion-Catholicism—and first report of their arrival accura the way for intercourse with th their century and a half rule country (minus the hill country) persecution of the worst order, version as well as the destructio other religions, and intense and na
had retired after sacking Kandy.
have escaped to tell the tale.
rule was not far off. Another now eyeing Ceylon, which was these maritime powers, as it lay routes to the East from Europe. ossessed the best natural harbour
of Bengal and the Indian Ocean fter the British had conquered nger Pitt in Parliament as “the on the globe .... giving to our -ot enjoyed from its first estab
enjoy this strategic importance ce as the most important arm
has already been pointed out, of the world's best suppliers of
itself an attraction. In 1638 ceaty with the Dutch. He pro
in return for help to expel Fhe Sinhalese king undoubtedly ontradictions between these two n country's advantage. But he
swer of the Dutch ensured the it stronghold of the Portuguese The Dutch quietly slipped into bite all treaty obligations. The
rule on Ceylon was great, but them a totally new civilisation, new customs and habits, as the itely portrayed it. They opened e more advanced West. But over the greater part of the was a ferocious one. Religious which included the forcible conn of the places of worship of Iked exploitation of the country
Page 28
-- 20
-- devoid of any of the refinemer particularly the British, were to i They left behind the most reactional in Ceylon today—the Catholic Church them the most popular names used Perera, Silva, Fernando, etc.
The Dutch occupation of Cey was comparatively uneventful. They fime provinces. Their main concer much cinnamon as possible from the of the cinnamon grew wild in the ! that the Dutch had to be on tern The Dutch concentrated on trade. also built up an export trade in shells, etc. It is to be noted that, consumption was being imported fro began to be cultivated. The cultivat had also started.
The Dutch introduced the Ror codified the customary law of th Thesavalamai. Both remain law to t gest contribution to Ceylon.
In several respects, the Dit that the British were to introduce. crops, which the British were to dev also introduced the school system to build. If the Portuguese resorte Dutch resorted to the more subtle n AIL offices under the government w had been baptised. The Dutch also and education effective weapons in t against the people of Ceylon. The The Church and the school becam cultural aggression, just as much a centre of imperialist economic aggre
The British replaced the Du defeat of the Dutch was mainly due
nts which later conquerors, ntroduce—marked their rule. ry of all religions to be found . Ceylon also inherited from I by its inhabitants today --
ylon, which lasted till 1796,
ruled only over the marirn was the extraction of as ! island. At that time, most King's territories. This meant ns with the king at Kandy.
Apart from cinnamon, they arecanuts, elephants, chank
by this time, rice for local, pm India. Pepper and coffee tion of coconut in a big way
man Dutch Law to Ceylon and e Tamil country, called the his day. This was their big
ch foreshadowed many things
They introduced commercial elop into an economy. They , on which the British were ed to forcible conversion, the method of material incentives. ere open only to those who showed how to make religion heir aim of cultural aggression British perfected this system. e the centre of imperialist s the plantation became the
ssion.
tch in Ceylon in 1976. The - to the decline of their sea
Page 29
power in the Atlantic. With were the first and only Europe of the island, we come to a p many radical changes in the econom
The first twenty-five years which period they ruled only th been under the Dutch, were rel 1802, Ceylon was administered E East India Company. It was in Colony and administered directl change the system of collecting bances during the first year of Br a return to the former system, as
The British Government with the Napoleonic wars in attention to conquering the who nors were very ambitious, and t intrigues of the Kandyan chiefs ambitions.
Almost coinciding with th British Governor, Frederic North was the accession to the Kand king of Kandy, Sri Vikrama Raja by the Chief Adigar, Pilimatalaw ing been his father. But Rajasin pliable instrument in the hands latter started intriguing with the
What is referred to as t in 1803, when the British army been evacuated by the Kandyans, Swamy, on the throne. But th Kandy. Handicapped by lack of ted by ill health and the mor to withdraw. The Kandyans unle cepted the British Army on th the sword on the banks of the M of the disaster that overtook N:
Moscow.
the coming of the British, who man power to conquer the whole -eriod which was to bring about
y and institutions of the island.
s of British rule in Ceylon, during e maritime provinces which had atively uneventful. From 1796 to by the Madras government of the 1802 that it was made a Crown y from England. An attempt to
revenue brought serious disturritish rule. As a result, there was
it obtained under the Dutch.
at home was too pre-occupied - Europe to have paid much le of Ceylon. But, local goverche almost continuous rivalries and against their king prodded these
ne arrival in Ceylon of the first , appointed directly from England, yan Throne in 1797 of the last sinha. He was put on the throne ra, who is also suspected of haviha did not prove to be such a
of the Chief Adigar. So, the | British against the king.
je first Kandyan War took place
marched up to Kandy, which had and installed their puppet, Muttu he British were unable to hold
communications, and badly affecnsoon, the British were forced pashed guerrilla tactics and intere 24th June, 1803, and put it to lahaveli. It was almost a replica apoleon on his famous march on
Page 30
- 22
Though the Kandyans warde British to subjugate them, their from within. In 1811, Pilimatala his head, and was succeeded as a soon followed in his predecessor': treasonable negotiations with the civil servant, D'Oyly, who was w the king suspected treason, Ehelepo the Sabaragamuwa against the kin crossed over to the British on the his active help, the British launch which led to the conquest of the
Thus, treachery and intern role in the downfall of the Kandy 2nd of March, 1815, Brownrigg Kandyan chiefs at the Audience Ha enacted the signing of the farce There are those who still try the Convention was an agreement be Kandyan Chiefs transferred allegien King George III. Such pretentions was a treaty dictated by a conqueror
There is no doubt that the Convention declared that “ Buddhisn of the Devas were inviolable and worship, shrines and ceremonies was no doubt an attempt to plac to be the target of attack by C rebellion gave the British cause to r
It was nothing surprising th the Sinhalese kings had to go unde economic and fire power of the B put a feeble resistance, as in the But the result was foredoomed. is usually referred to as the Wel one of the Chiefs, who had signed pola, was the last flicker of this
off this first attempt by the nal doom was to be brought ja paid for his intrigues with hief Adigar by Ehelepola. He
footsteps, and entered into British through the English ell versed in Sinhalese, When I tried to raise his people in , but failed. He, thereupon, 23rd of May, 1814, and, with ed the second Kandyan War, Kandyan Kingdom.
al dissension played the major an Kingdom in 1815. On the eceived the surrender of the II of Kandy. A week later was called the Kandyan Convention. ir best to pretend that this tween equals, by which the te from Rajasinha to the British have no legs to stand on. It and forced on the conquered.
opportunistic Article V of the a and the Agama (the religion )
that the sangha, its places of were to be protected". This cate local feelings. But it was cristian Missionaries. The 1818
egate this promise. at the ancient feudal order of - when faced with the superior itish conquerors. Feudalism did first and second Kandyan wars. The rebellion of 1815, which assa rebellion, spearheaded by the 1815 Convention, Keppitidying flame. The Matale rebel
Page 31
lion of 1848, associated with ( David from Peliyagoda ) and Sinhalese) was a tame affair i without the loss of a British make Keppetipola out to be whether such a claim could b a national hero in the sense not fight on behalf of the Sin invaders, because he thought t people of their cherished indep people having any rights would chiefs. When Keppetipola rebe pation of the traditional power British. The chief had though representative would merely t Rajasinha, and had hoped that continue as of old.
In this, they were in for to be the real rulers. It was of the chiefs to rebel. They w the old feudal order. Independ into their calculations. With Kandyan feudal class reconciled although there were to be a soon, they became active collabo and joint oppressors of the A base for foreign rule – a role ever afterwards.
This supine and servile feudal chiefs, to foreign imperial
When Bandaranaike began his c he did not have the support o either from his father's side ( why he never trusted them an he formed his government in I the Bandaranaike band wagon because they felt reassured status quo.
23 —
the names of Gongalagoda Banda
Purang Appu (both low- Country I comparison, and was put down ife. Today, attempts are made to a national hero. It is doubtful e sustained. Keppetipola was not
we understand it today. He did halese people against the foreign hat the latter had deprived the pendence. The conception of the
have been alien to the Kandyan lled, he did so against the usurs of the Kandyan chieftains by the it that the British king or his ake the place of Sri Wickrama | the rest of the set-up would
! a rude shock. The British meant this realisation that made a section sere fighting for the restoration of ence for the people never entered the suppression of the revolt, the
itself to British over-lordshipfew more minor uprisings. Very rators with the British conquerors, people. They provided the social which they have consistently played
attitude of the decadent Kandyan ism has persisted till modern times. rusade against the U.N.P. in 1951, f any of these feudal chieftains -- or from his wife's side. That is 9 kept them at arm's length when 956. If some of them later joined (after 1959) it must have been about the continuance of the
Page 32
- 24
The Kandyan provinces were at vince, but later amalgamated into a whole island. One of the first ta conquest of Kandy, was to link K malee and Kurunegala by military decided advantage that the hill capita lack of access by good roads. Th of compulsory labour ‘Rajakariya' o Ceylon had again been unified — this pean power.
With the unification of the new chapter in Ceylon's history beg duction of the colonial plantation e nomic fate of the country is linked the fundamental nature of the ch essential to trace, at least in a bare economy that prevailed in Ceylon u nearly two thousand years.
The economy that prevailed conquest destroyed it can be de: economy. It was a self - sufficient e little or no role. People produced and exchanged their surplus for th the outside world existed in artic for which Ceylon had always been
A most remarkable descripti economy as it existed in the Kand. famous book on Ceylon by Rober prisoner in the Kandyan kingdom 1660 and 1679, and wrote his boo island.
Here is an extract from his is here very scarce. And they fre changing commodities. They have a occasioned from the nature of the part of the Country affords, will in one part or other of this land
| first ruled as a separate pro
united administration of the sks of the British, after the landy with Colombo, Trinco
roads -- thus removing the I had enjoyed, because of its e roads were built by means r work in the king's service. } time under a foreign Euro
island under British rule, a gins. We come to the intro!conomy with which the eco
to this day. To understand ange that took place, it is e outline, the features of the under the Sinhalese kings for
n Ceylon before the European scribed as a feudal, natural economy, with money playing,
all the things they needed ings they lacked. Trade with les like gems, pearls, spices, famous.
on of this kind of a natural yan kingdom is given in the -t Knox. Knox had been a for over 19 years, between ok after his escape from the
book ; "All sorts of money quently buy and sell by exsmall traffic among themselves, Island. For that which one not grow in the other. But they have enough to sustain
Page 33
themselves, I think, without from any other country; excha and carrying what they have i
with what they want ".
Here is a perfect descr feudalism by an eye witness. itself, Ceylon would have de own time. But this was not invasion smashed the backward existed in Ceylon and set up nomy. This was basically a capitalism in the full sense o local capitalism would not hav imperialism, which wanted Cey and a market for its manufac turn, it stifled every attempt it permitted and nurtured
drained vast profits made out island to enrich the metropolit
One result of foreign C and decay of the vast irrigat pride of the Sinhalese kings a for the prosperity of the Sinl its height. Tanks were left sacrificed for the new roads, tank bunds. Gradually, the f they remained till they were from Dutch times, the staple to be imported.
As has already been introduced the plantation econ had already begun under the a commercial crop started i the place of coffee, when th The planting of rubber also b
These plantations needed labour force. From where di
25
he help of commodities brought nging one commodity for another ; o other parts to supply themselves
ption of a natural economy under
There is no doubt that, left to veloped towards capitalism in its to be. Instead, foreign imperialist and stagnant feudal economy that
the new, colonial plantation econoney economy. But it was not f the word. The development of e been in the interests of British lon as a producer of raw materials tured goods. Therefore, at every at capitalist development. What was a colonial economy, which
of the natural resources of the an country.
onquest was the final abandonment Lion system, which had been the nd which had provided the basis nalese civilisation when it was at unrepaired to go to ruin, or were
some of which were built over orest ciosed over them, and thus reclaimed in this century. Starting food of the Ceylonese-~rice—began
mentioned, the British imperialists omy into Ceylon. Coffee growing
Dutch, but its development as n British times. Later tea took e latter was destroyed by a pest. egan on a big scale.
I large extents of land, and a large d the British get them ? Like in
Page 34
26
all cases of primitive accumulation primitive accumulation of capital ( land) took place through large scale the Waste Land Ordinance of 1897 an
When the British came to C legal system to the maritime pro People who owned land had some | Not so in the Kandyan provinces. H cally to the king. Through his not lands to the peasants. This tenure ferred only if the peasant lost the generally it was held in perpetuity to generation. This was well und title deeds to prove it.
By means of the Waste Lan clared all lands to which the peop to belong to the Crown. Even if a ce prove ownership of their paddy field no ownership to the communal foi where their cattle grazed, and whic village economy and without which fields was impossible. Large number to sell their fields and emigrate. were declared to be crown pro planters at ridiculously low prices - less than fifty cents per acre. La were allowed to buy Crown land. still left in ownership of the land, them. This was a particularly od was aimed only at the peasant, whil temple lands, etc. Unable to pay th of peasants, who were still left, so of them are reported to have died o
In much the same way, the B lands under the Temple Lands Regi 1856. In effect, this, too, affected lands had always been given to the Land Commissioners, appointed to
of capital, in Ceylon, too, the in this case in the form of = plunder. It was done through
d the Grains Tax of 1878.
eylon, the Dutch had given a vinces over which they ruled. Kind of title deed to prove it. ere, all land belonged theoretiples, the king farmed out his
was secure and could be trans- confidence of the king. But
and passed from generation erstood. But there were no
ds Ordinance, the British dele could not prover ownership ertain number of peasants could s they tilled, they could prove -est and the common pasture Eh was so much a part of the
the cultivation of the paddy is of peasants were thus forced
These lands and the forests Þperty and sold to British - sometimes, it is reported, at iter, Ceylonese planters, too,
If there were any peasants the Grains Tax looked after ious piece of taxation, which e it exempted the land owner, is onerous tax, a large number Td their lands and left. Many | starvation.
ritish also expropriated temple stration Ordinance No. 10 of
the peasants, because these n on service--tenure. On the } administer this Ordinance,
Page 35
declaring the absence of lega acres of temple lands were se
It is necessary to report the lands from the Kandyans, tt of the feudal chiefs. In the selves to large tracts of land. the present big nindagams. G was, " The speculative work villagers was for the most par men".
Thus was the Kandyan British conquerors. Though car legal fiction, it was nothing bu well in mind. Because, whil peasants had been robbed of t vinist tends to forget who ra even tend to substitute the inn origin, who himself was a vict place of the real culprit-the the greater part of the lands
The evictions of the K parallels a similar eviction of t landlords on the eve of the I the change from wheat farming the great majority of the Englis established towns to work in t up, and thus became converted awaited the evicted Kandyan pea them in any big scale in the E Could probably be two reasons 1818 and 1848 rebellions, the Sinhalese. Secondly, they may whom they could have at their work right throughout the year
Thus, the evicted Kandya death, or, at best, to eke out was so is borne out by the re
27 -
| title to the lands, thousands of ized by the government. E that in the task of expropriating ne British were helped by a section process, these chiefs helped them
This, in fact, is the source of all overnor Clifford's cynical comment
of buying up doubtful titles from t conducted by their own country
peasant robbed of his land by the -ried out under the semblence of et plunder. It is good to have this Ce remembering that the Kandyan their lands, the present-day chauobbed the Kandyan lands. They nocent plantation worker of Indian cim of imperialist exploitation. In
British imperialist, who still owns his forefathers robbed.
andyan peasants from their lands he English peasants by their feudal ndustrial Revolution, as a result of | to sheep farming. But, whereas ih peasants wandered to the newly he factories that had lately sprung
into the proletariat, no such luck Isants. The British did not employ plantations they opened up. There
for this. One was that, after the ! British were suspicious of the have preferred immigrant labour, beck and call, and who would
n peasants were left to die a slow
a miserable existence. That this port of the 1935 Land Commission,
Page 36
28
which states that, in Ceylon, the class. In order to stop this pro mended that all alienation of Cro or to companies be stopped and be given only to peasants. Thus of the nineteen thirties. This la governments up to the 1965 UN reversed, and Crown land again a and companies.
From where did the British They looked to South India, who despoiled, and where there was people. With the help of Indian were inveigled by false promises t the plantations—first to open ther them. Hundreds died because of 1 portation. The conditions under v must have been so unhygienic that out. Things must have been prett of India had to intervene and the Ceylon (both governments were enact certain minimum regulations sanitation and other conditions of workers. Even the worst exploited they could continue to be exploite
Thus, it came to pass that I middle of the last century, brough immigrant workers, and dumped Kandyans, and thereby left for pos to be-devil Ceylon's politics to clearly understood that it was the responsible for bringing Indian Further, from the time of the 1 like the State Council, this policy labour for the plantations was supp geois politicians. Every year, the subsidise this immigration. AIL D. S. Senanayake to S. W. R. D. The latter-day anti- Indian heroes ne
peasantry was dying out as a tess, the Commission recomn lands to private capitalists that, in future, Crown lands irose the colonisation schemes d policy was followed by all
government, when it was lienated to private capitalists
planters obtain their labour ? se economy they had already 1 large body of unemployed kanganies, these poor workers > come to Ceylon to slave in n up, and then to work in he inhuman methods of trans(hich they were forced to live diseases such as cholera broke y bad, because the Government force of the Government of British, though separate) to to govern the housing, health, f living of these immigrant
need to be kept alive so that
he British imperialists, in the E a large population of Indian them in the midst of the Ferity a legacy with continues this day. Thus, it must be British imperialists who were mmigrant labour into Ceylon. rst representative institutions, of importing immigrant Indian orted by the Ceylonese bour
State Council passed funds to the bourgeois leaders, from Bandaranaike, acquiesced in it. ed to be reminded of this ! •
Page 37
Along with the Indian money lenders and the rest o Indian and Ceylonese alike. whereever the British Imperial pocket. It certainly seems 1 Ceylon. It is to the rapa Indian traders and money - lei source of much of the antiately, been cleverly turned b
workers of Indian origin.
This background to wh problem, or alternatively the several hundred thousand wor understood, if we are to co are our enemies, who are our or lack of a proper understa enabled the reactionaries, both revolutionary ranks in Ceylon and to alienate the plantation incidentally form a substantial from the rest of the Ceylones
This division has cost t That is why it is essential to of Indian origin and the Sinh same British imperialism, and, and not enemies. A lasting sc an approach.
Thus, as has been seen, by the British developed on th from the Kandyan peasants and
worker. The entire economy the business of growing, mar rubber. Everything else was been the pattern of imperial complete dependence of the crops makes it extremely vulne imperialists are able to man their will.
- 29 -
worker came the Indian traders, f the parasites, who were to exploit
There is a saying in Africa that ist went, he took an Indian in his Eo have been true in regard to
y and inhuman exploitation by the nders that we must look for the - Indian feeling which has, unfortuny designing politicians against the
at is now called the Ceylon- Indian
problem of the statelessness of kers of Indian origin must be fully orrectly answer the question : Who - friends ? It is general ignorance nding of this background that has a foreign and local, to divide the
by sinister anti-Indian propaganda, - workers of Indian origin, who | section of Ceylon's working class, se population.
he revolutionary movement dearly.
point out that both the workers alese peasants are victims of the
therefore, constitute natural allies lution can proceed only from such
the plantation economy introduced e basis of the land (capital) robbed the labour of the Indian immigrant
of the country was built around ufacturing and exporting tea and dependent on it. This has always st exploitation, because the near
economy on one or two export able to imperialist pressure. The pulate the economy according to
Page 38
Thus, it wiil be seen that established themselves in Ceylon tion industry out of the profits. imperialist exploitation in Asia. T like the Hongkong and Shanghai
where their profits had originate Walker & Sons, Commercial Co., maintain and keep in repair the and rubber factories. Having con cars as a sideline. The engineerin and repair the cars.
If one looks at the roads, those that lead to the plantatio Badulla -- because it is along t the tea and rubber exports have The reason, why so much foreig pansion of Colombo harbour wa doubled tea production during th and these have to be shipped abroa
A lot of profit was extract plantations, particularly tea. Vas British planters. The original doubled several times over in m world famous. In fact, Ceylon a that there was a time when Ceyl tea garden.
But the opening of the P where the tea grew best, had te --other than the exploitation of h the foreign conqueror. One of rated by the British was to cut our hill tops to make way for tl logist would tell us, forest trees function. They cool the rain-la into rain. Secondly, the strong ti from rushing down all at once, colate under the soil and flow dow
! all the foreign banks that same here to finance the plantathey had already made out of he names of some of the banks,
Bank Ltd. even suggest from d. The engineering firms, like
originally came here to instal, ! machinery needed by the tea le here, they started to import ng workshops came up to service
or the railways, the best are is—to Kandy, Nuwareliya and hese roads and railways that | to move down to Colombo. 1 aid was granted for the ex; because we have more than e last three or four decades, -d expeditiously.
sed out of the tea and rubber t fortunes were made by the capital that was invested was any cases. Ceylon tea became and tea became so synonymous on was referred to as Lipton's
lantations in the hill country, errible repercussions for Ceylon ser resources for the profits of the most barbaric acts perpetdown the forests that adorned he tea plantations. As any bioon hill tops perform a useful den clouds and transform them ree roots prevent the rain water and instead enables it to peren as perennical streams.
Page 39
The cutting down of th water would now rush down round the tea bushes had to b of fertilising, the loose sub-soil, of the soil, was washed down There is no river in Ceylon muddy. This is the problem v number of years, as a result o into the rivers, the river beds they could not hold the rain this caused flooding. Floods in
-this was the result of the cutting down the forests on ou irrigation tanks were reclaime Could not get sufficient water as water was wasted as floods befo British created the main obstac cient in food, because it is to sufficient irrigation facilities t entirety of the aswadamised lan Ceylon would be well on the
Along with the intense ec the British also resorted to div against the people, in order In this connection, the Dutch h the establishment of schools, an work. The British built on the
The attempt to European English language and the Christia of English not only because The British also wanted an ar man the lower rungs of their a produced through the new scho like in England, were run by m and the English language maro Soon, an Academy was started f the natives'.
BI BI
forest trees meant that the rain | at once. Further, as the soil e loosened by forking for purposes
which is the most fertile portion py the rain water into the rivers. which does not run brown or -e know as soil erosion. Over a f the soil that has been washed started rising. The result was that water during heavy showers and one season, and draught in another barbaric policy of the British in r hill tops. Even when the ancient d in the nineteen thirties, they of old, because a lot of the rain re it reached the tanks. Thus, the Ele to Ceylon becoming self-suffiday accepted that, if there were » enable the cultivation of the ds for both seasons in the year, way to self-sufficiency.
>nomic exploitation of the country. erse forms of cultural aggression to consolidate their political base, ad already laid the foundation by 1 the encouragement of missionary se.
ise the native by means of the i religion was begun. Knowledge mportant but also remunerative. 1y of English-educated clerks to Iministrative services. These were »Is that were set up. As schools, ssionary organisations, Christianity ned forward side by side. Very or imparting higher education for
Page 40
-- 32
The English were very farthe most experienced of the imper use of brute force whenever they 1848 or in 1915, they also knew ho used education, especially higher ed as an instrument for cultural subv brown Englishmen who aped the habit, and whose one ambition was
little bit of England". It is r Maitland left Ceylon in 1811, two went with him for higher educatio procession had begun.
These University educated me were to influence Ceylon's politics to fashion it on the model of wha Their influence persists even to t was an unimaginative and slavish ii which could not possibly thrive in such ludicrous sights as the judges
wigs--disregarding the fact that Cey -or the attempt to transplant the and the theory of one man — one almost rigidly on the basis of cast
But some good also resulted responsible, in the period after the duction of the seed of revolutionar education in English also meant t only a small minority-now had particularly scientific learning.
A reaction to this worshippi bound to come: and when it did movement for Buddhist revival an past of the Sinhalese. This moven of the more vigorous literary ra arisen in India (particularly Bengal) watte Gunananda Thero, Anagarika samy and Arumuga Naval ar with tt
sighted. They were probably ialist powers. Along with the felt it was needed, as in 1818, Dw to sweeten the pill. They
ucation in British Universities, ersion—to produce a tribe of master in language, dress and E to transform Ceylon into a eported that, when Governor o sons of Mudaliyar de Saram en in English Universities. The
en who returned from England for a considerable period, and at they had seen in England. his day. For a good part, it mitation of alien institutions,
the local setting, it produced of the Supreme Court wearing lon has a hot, tropical climate;
English parliamentary system e vote into a society divided 2 and race.
1, since this inter-change was first world war, for the introy Marxism into Ceylon. Higher hat the Ceylonese-even though access to modern knowledge,
ng of everything English was come it was in the form of a H glorification of the ancient gent, which was a pale parallel naissance movement that had
was led by men like MigettuDharmapriya, Ananda Coomarae help of foreign theosophites,
Page 41
like Oldcott and Annie Besant. into the activities of these n progressive content inasmuch associated with the conquerors and nationalistic feelings.
Inasmuch as the forei policy of cultural aggression church, those connected with used the same media for the the Buddhist Theosophical Soc cation were formed, and thes
with the Christian missionaries schools, and to impart an edu with nationalism and thus laid could thus be said that in Buddhism and Hinduism were s nings of the people and a desin
At the same time or a dhist revival, there also ar Ceylon-a movement, which, i anti - British political slant. TI a monopoly of trade in arrac revenue, the right to sell ar established taverns in every interior. The purpose sought the same as that which was s of opium into China by the E who made big money through temperance movement, havin plantation industry. Some of bourgeois leadership for Cey
world war.
At the same time as out their policy of cultural a they were also busy introducir which were aimed at winning slavery. The British knew th
Although we cannot read too much nen and women, their work had a as any opposition to the religion was bound to rouse anti-imperialist
gn invaders had carried out their
by means of the school and the the movement for a Buddhist revival counter-attack. Institutions such as iety and the Hindu Board of Edue organisations started to compete s by establishing Buddhist and Hindu acation, which was necessarily tinged
the basis for anti-imperialism. It
the movement for the revival of seen the early anti - imperialist year-e to assert their national pride.
long with the movement for Budose the temperance movement in n the eyes of the British, had an he British government had established <, and in order to increase their rack was farmed out to men who village of any size throughout the
to be achieved seems to have been Bought by the forcible introduction British. In any event, some of those
arrack renting emerged to lead the g moved their capital into the
these men were to provide the lon in the period after the first
when the British were carrying ggression through school and church, ag into the colony political reforms, the consent of the slaves to their ne art of exploitation with refine
Page 42
— 34
ment_unlike the Portuguese. They ing the Ceylonese into the work o administration of the island. Retain they gave, little by little, the illusio For this purpose, various reforms time. The process was set going legislative council and an executive tions of the Colebrooke- Cameron published in 1831-32. First, the i later the introduction of the princi then an unofficial majority and so executive Committee system under
—these were some of the semblen conceded to the Ceylonese, while their reign over the armed forc finance--safeguarded by the veto pon
The British had no difficulty Ceylon side, who were willing to the British rules. Men like E. W. palam Ramanathan and Ponnampal pleaded and demanded more and mot petitions and went on successive formed associations like the Reforr Ceylon National Congress to keep al
They were all able bourgeo better deal for the Ceylonese wi They never raised the question imperialism. In this sense, it woul as men who fought for the free aspirations seldom went beyond the 1907 in the "Twentieth Century I eminentiy loyal people, deeply sens rule, the Ceylonese are aspiring to citizenship. A freer constitution, fl the poll tax, systematic colonisatio and southern districts to the res educational vote and a wider field in the higher branches of the puł
set about the task of drawf assisting the British in their ing real power in their hands. n of power to the "natives". were introduced from time to
with the establishment of a Council on the recommendaCommission, whose report was nclusion of unofficial members, ple of elected representatives, to universal franchise, and the the Donoughmore constitution ces of power which the British they themselves held tight to es, public administration and rer of the British Governor.
1 in finding able men on the
play the game according to Perera, James Pieris, PonnamLam Arunachalam alternatively se reforms. They sent regular deputations to Whitehall, and ms League and, ultimately, the ive their agitation.
eis reformists, who wanted a thin the existing framework. of independence from British d be wrong to think of them edom of the country. Their ose stated by E. W. Perera in mpressions of Ceylon": "An ible of the benefit of British
win the full measure of British pod relief works, abolition of n from the crowded western stored tank regions, a larger for the people of the country olic service, are some of the
Page 43
reforms which have been ea needed, and which alone will administration, which a Cen raised in Ceylon ".
In contrast to the revolut national independence which gr of India, one peculiarity of the was entirely reformist in chara walls of petition writing and ɛ reformist leader-—from E. W. S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike — e independence. The cry of nat in Ceylon by the left movement
The first world war hi except for the excitement ca of the German gun boat, Emd most important event of this gic racial riots of 1915. The
was some religious ill - feeling Coast Moors in the Kandy - Ga
The dispute arose ov permit a Buddhist perehera to g invoked the rights allegedly P Convention. The District Judg upheld the plea of the Buddhi: by the Supreme Court consisting fuse was ignited. But the Br the hand of the newly emerged movement, which had earned ment. They panicked and resol The Country was placed under and brute force in the form o the Sinhalese. The number of mated. Several suffered impriso
The Governor was rec Sinhalese had helped to deepe
35 —
gerly awaited and are urgently crown the splendid monument of ury of British statesmenship has
ionary nature of the movement for ew in the neighbouring continent
movement in Ceylon was that it cter, and confined to the narrow oing on deputations. No bourgeois Perera to D. S. Senanayake and rer raised the demand for national ional independence was first raised
ad very little impact on Ceylon, ised by the report of the arrival len, off the coast of Ceylon. The
period for Ceylon was the traimmediate provocation for the riots ! between the Buddhists and the
mpola area.
er the refusal of the Moors to O past their mosque. The Buddhists rotected for them by the Kendyan e of Kandy, Dr. Paul E. Pieris, sts. But his decision was reversed
of two English Judges. Thus, the itish officials in Ceylon suspected
Buddhist revival and temperance the odium of being anti - governted to the most extreme measures.
martial law for three months, - Punjabi soldiers was used against
those killed has never been estiament for varying periods.
alled. But the sufferings of the n the anti - imperialist feelings of
Page 44
-- 36
the people, as well as their hatres in turn, spurred forward the moven But the immediate beneficiaries we had found themselves in jail during cades could pass, they found them Ceylon—of course, as loyal servitor had sent them to jail!
for the foreign rulers. This, tent for constitutional reform. re some of the leaders, who the riots. Before two deselves as political leaders of 5 of the very imperialism that
Page 45
CHA
THE FIRST WORL
The years following the changes to the world, and in under foreign imperialist dom centuries or more. The salvo found their echo in many cour volution were lit in that great of the oldest civilisations in t country in the world. Indone: Dutch domination. The move independence, gained impetus
unaffected.
Men and organisations r labour. Ponnamplam Arunachalan Perera had formed the Worke Ceylon Workers' Federation w fluence was restricted. Among ment of this time, the best k Natesa lyer. The former cha workers, while the latter tool workers. The two worked toge Victor Corea and others had fo September, 1922. The first gene were involved in Ceylon, took that catapulated Goonasinghe into
A. E. Goonasinghe, a for tating British institutions, forr Congress and its correlary, the British Trades Union Congress sessions he attended, dressed i case of a slave imitating his n reformism and the bourgeois li end up in the lap of the U. I the employers ) Goonasinghe i British as a dangerous Bolshevi
PTER TIL
-D WAR AND AFTER
e first world war brought many
particular to Asia, which had been sination during the previous two es of the Great October Revolution atries of Asia. The flames of reE country of China, the seat of one Ehe world, and the most populous sia rose in abortive revolt against ment for " poorna swaraj'" or full in India. Ceylon was not left
Fose up to champion the cause of 1, C. H. Z. Fernando and Martinus ers' Welfare League in 1919. The as founded in 1920. But their in
the pioneers of the labour movenown are A. E. Goonasinghe and ampioned the cause of the urban
up the cause of the plantation ther for a time. A. E. Goonasinghe, ormed the Ceylon Labour Union in eral strike, in which 20,000 workers
place in 1923. It was this strike - position as a Labour Leader.
mer school teacher, faithfully imined his All Ceylon Trade Union e Labour Party, on the lines of the and the British Labour Party, whose n a top hat and tails. It was the naster to perfection. Despite the mits of his movement ( he was to . P. and as the greatest friend of
his day was considered by the
k!
Page 46
| 38
The excesses of the British the 1915 riots had spurred the ref it continued to keep strictly within This movement also did not enjoy mass participation as in India, w movements ensured popular backing ence. The reason for this differenc that, unlike in India, in Ceylon a r replace imperialism had not yet bee
In 1927, the British Govern more Commission to report on th The importance of the Donoughmor it granted adult franchise to Ceylor of some of the advanced Europea Switzerland, did not even have the asked for it, with the exception Labour Party.
Why did the British grant this stage—at a time when it was altruistic motives to the British im tive) is to beg the question. Some of adult franchise was a progressive the other reforms that followed. Th
Elections and adult franchise British bourgeoisie to subvert the ment and to deflect it from the ! direction it once seemed to be devel famous Chartist movement. This we to divide and distract the unity of powerful anti -- imperialist movement of the masses, to spread the illus peaceful transition through parliame tion of the people from the real the armed forces. It was an atten by words for the struggle by arms
When one looks back over elections in Ceylon were based
bureaucracy in Ceylon during orms movement on, although the bourgeois reformist limits.
popular support, or evoke here mass civil disobedience to the demand for independe is to be found in the fact national bourgeoisie wanting to 'n born.
ment appointed the Donoughe reforms needed in Ceylon. e Constitution is the fact that | at a time when the women In countries, like France and vote. Nor had the Ceylonese of A. E. Goonesinghe and his
adult franchise to Ceylon at la British colony? To suggest perialists (Labour or Conservapeople suggest that this grant step and paved the way for is is a doubtful claim.
had already been used by the
British working class movepath of revolution in which oping during the days of the apon was now used in Ceylon
the growing and potentially , to blunt the fighting spirit ion about the possibility of nt, and to distract the atten
seats of power, which were opt to substitute the struggle
the past forty years, when on adult franchise, one must
Page 47
concede that the British succ an accident that it is with t politics begins to rear its knight'' Ponnambalam Ramana the torpedo- infested seas i British authorities in London jailed during the 1915 Martia the support of the Sinhalese S. W. Jayawardene respective Educated seat in the Legislati Sinhalese voters, now resigne he and his brother Arunachala and Tamil leaders could not of office that was being grant power. The British governme among the Ceylonese leaders.
The precise dispute ar Tamil leaders for a separate The Sinhalese leaders rejecte communal demand. They then territorial representation, whi In fact, both approaches were the majority, territorial rep number of members of th
minorities, communal represe bers of their race being ele respective merits of these tv one can say is that it was i and the minority to have co front against their common e ary wisdom, however, was la
who therefore triumphed. basis of caste, race and reli lorded it over all. All t Ceylon's economy continued indirect.
But the Donoughmore C a protest. Perhaps influ nced
- 39 --
eeded beyond their hopes. It is not he Donoughmore era that communal
ugly head. Even the “venerable than, who had risked the perils of n an attempt to plead before the
on behalf of the Sinhalese leaders | Law, and who had twice, with , defeated Sir Marcus Fernando and ly in the elections to the Ceylonese ve Council, which had a majority of 9 from the National Congress, which m had helped to found. The Sinhalese agree about how to divide the spoils ed to them by a cunning imperialist ent had thrown an apple of discord
ose over the request of the Ceylon Tamil seat in the Western Province. d this on the ground that it was a mselves put forward the demand for ich they claimed was non-communal. e communal in different degrees. For resentation - would result in a larger eir race being returned. To the entation would result in more memcted. It is impossible to judge the vo standpoints. The only thing that n the interests of both the majority
me to terms and present a united enemy and oppressor. This elementcking. It was the British imperialist Ceylonese fought Ceylonese on the igion, while the foreign imperialist he while, imperialist control over in one form or another--direct or
Constitution was not accepted without
by the more revolutionary national
Page 48
- 40
movement that was sweeping the movement arose, which criticised t as falling far short of real freedom Youth Congress came into being, the elections scheduled under the support had been promised from the successful only in the Northern P four seats for the Northern Provin Northern Province Tamils remained u Council for four years. Some peo measure of success achieved by the the boycott of the elections in the N it received from the more conserva different reason, namely the rejectio mission of the demand for communal There could be a measure of truth
For this time, the Youth Con imperialist and non-communal organis only in one part of the country. But in the Communal politics let loose in t! and his All Ceylon Tamil Congress. in Ceylon's politics was due, as wa inability of the Sinhalese and Tamil selves about how to share the illusio
were willing to transfer to them. situation by supporting one side o at another, and managed to keep end.
The Donoughmore Constituti Council and an executive committee had more say in matters of legisla untrammelled by inhibitions such a sibility. The leader of the Board almost autocratic powers of a Prin But the constitution was careful to including in the Board of Ministers State-the Financial Secretary, the L Secretary - who were promptly dub
neighbouring sub-continent, a he Donoughmore Constitution m. An organisation called the and called for the boycott of
New Constitution. Although South also, the movement was rovince. Elections to all the ce were boycotted, and the nrepresented in the first State iple have suggested that the
Youth Congress in organising North was due to the support tive elements for an entirely n by the Donoughmore Comrepresentation for the Tamils. in this.
gress was a progressive, antiation, although it had support
it was soon to be submerged he North by G. G. Ponnampalam The emergence of communalism s already pointed out, to the leaders to agree among themon of power that the British The British skilfully used this
one occasion, and the other the Ceylonese divided to the
on had provided for a State
system, under which members ation and the Ministers were Es Cabinet collective responof Ministers did not enjoy the me Minister with a Cabinet. safeguard British interests by three non-elected Officers of Legal Secretary and the Chief bed by E. W. Perera as the
Page 49
Three Policemen in Plain Cloth responsible only to the Gove inevitable conflict ensued betwee and the elected Ministers.
The British had made it further reforms would be cond reaching unanimity about the pr put a premium on communal situation. D. S. Senanayake, the reactionary of the Sinhalese bo unanimity not on the basis of Sinhalese and the Tamils, but of Ministers. Ironically, the m a formula to ensure the elec Ministers after the elections to was a Tamil, the Mathematics F Colombo – the controversial C. adviser to Senanayake!
The setting up of an All further sharpened communal d Tamil Congress under G. G. Pon for fifty - fifty or balanced rep paralleled by the formation in sabha under S. W. R. D. Bandaran
Sinhala communalism fed versa. The plea of Bandaranaya halese must first be achieved, could be brought about. This P later on. But the question that what purpose ? If it was to o must be the unity of all th If it was to be directed against the Sinhala Maha Sabha was ju then it was a communal move, mon anti-imperialist objective. Sinhalese with the Ceylonese n legitimate rights of racial and
es. They were irremovable, and ernor who appointed them. The en the nominated Officers of State
; clear that any consideration of litional on the Board of Ministers oposed reforms. Thus, the British unity and thereby worsened the ! most astute as well as the most urgeois leaders, sought to achieve unity between the leaders of the by producing an All-Sinhala Board an who helped him by producing tion of an All - Sinhala Board of | the second State Council in 1936, Professor at the University College, Suntheralingam, then a friend and
- Sinhala Board of Ministers only ifferences. The formation of the
nambalam and his strident campaign presentation, as he called it, was
the South of the Sinhalese Mahaayake.
on Tamil communalism and viceke was that the unity of the Sinbefore the unity of all the races lea was repeated by R. G. Senanayake E must be answered is; Unity for ust the foreign conqueror, then it e conquered races—not just one !
the Tamils, then the formation of stified. But if it were the latter
which detracted from the com
This tendency to identify the ation and to be unmindful of the
linguistic minorities has been a
Page 50
- 42
common weakness of all bourgeois S fact, the only non-communal parties even the L. S. S. P. and the Keuneman non-communal after 1964, and inore possibility of any of these parties - I
M. E. P., or the Keuneman revisionis in the Tamil areas is as remote as the moon. There can be no quest direction taken by Ceylon politics Each of the warring factions placed
master than on each other. It was cess of the imperialist policy of div that the British - owned Times of backed G. G. Ponnampalam and his simple terms, this demand meant th delimited that in a Council of 100 be Sinhalese while the balance 50 s the minorities (25 to the Ceylon T other minorities ). The Tamil minori in this "tragic conflict. Having held the Tamil minority, ultimately - unde tances prevailing at the end of the s imperialists decided to come to termis leaving the Tamils out in the cold. have been for the Tamil leaders to Sinhalese brethren in a common dema But that would have been statesman the bourgeoise leadership of neither names of G. G. Ponnampalam and Chelvanayagam would go down in h led the Tamils into political wilde groping. This is not to absolve the Sinhalese. But being a minority, a Tamil leadership should have been seeing.
Meanwhile, another communal The world economic crisis of 1929 Ceylon, too. Rubber prices slumped tunes were lost. And for the first
inhalese political leaders. In
were the left parties. But revisionist clique ceased to be
particularly from 1970. The J. N. P., S. L. F. P., L. S. S. P., t clique ever winning a seat
a Ceylonese setting foot on Eion but that the communal
was tragic in the extreme. more faith in the imperialist again a question of the sucide and rule. It is significant
Ceylon' at that time fully cry of fifty-fifty. Reduced to hat electorates should be so
members, 50 members would hould be distributed between amils, and the balance to the ity was to emerge as losers
out all sorts of promises to er a changed set of circumsecond world war - the British
with the Sinhalese majorityHow much better would it have joined forces with their nd to the imperialist master ! nship of a stature to which
community was equal. The eis later day disciple S. J. V. istory as two men who misrness, where they are still
communal leaders among the and having more to lose, the - more responsible and far
factor had entered the scene. - 31 had its repercussion in to their lowest. Many fortime, unemployment among
Page 51
the Sinhalese became a serious lese looked with envy at th tions, who were guaranteed fu was the first man who saw the this situation. He set on foo which was to assume tidal pre triation of Indian workers. W Ceylon - Indian problem had a debated and passed a resolutio section of the Indian workers ting to note that the Samasan that time, N. M. Perera and résolution despite their Party's class had no national boundari important factor in Ceylon's
D. S. Senanayake in the postto beat the left movement.
When the Indian Natio government on the eve of the came to Ceylon in 1940 to question. But he failed. Bef. the Indian community in Ceyl Ceylon - Indian Congress - a ret of advice. Had the workers { led into forming separate or cutting themselves away from progressive movement of Cey into Senanayake's hands and them from the Sinhalese worl of whose extent and magnitu made.
The importance of the spring from the fact that it Indian origin, but from the of these people constitute t and moreover, those working ponsible for the prosperity C left movement did not, D. S
43 —
problem. The unemployed Sinha| Indian workers in the planta| employment. A. E. Goonesinghe
xplosive potentialities of exploiting | a wave of anti - Indian agitation, portions. He demanded the repahat was to become known as the rived. The Second State Council 1, calling for the repatriation of a employed in Ceylon. It is interesajist twins in the State Council at Philip Gunawardene, voted for this
official position that the working s. Anti - Indianism had become an olitics. It was to be fashioned by war period into a convenient stick
nal Congress agreed to form a ! second world war, Pandit Nehru
try to settle the Ceylon - Indian ore leaving Ceylon, Nehru advised on to organise themselves into the rograde and most deplorable piece of Indian origin not thus been misganisations of their own, and thus - the main stream of the left and lon, they would not have played his attempts to divide and isolate ers and peasants. It was a tragedy de no proper assessment has been
Ceylon - Indian problem does not involves over a million people of act that the overwhelming number e bulk of Ceylon's working class, in the industry that has been res
modern Ceylon. Even though the Senanayake correctly saw this as a
Page 52
class question, and not as a national these plantation workers of Indian ori tionary force, and, therefore, his ener
His understanding was confirm mentary elections, these workers, th Ceylon Indian Congress, returned si who stayed anti - U.N.P. and also he ber of anti - U.N.P. candidates, espec constituencies. The die was cast wh Kandy, which took place immedia elections, the marginal Indian vote the U. N. P. candidate, and the victor D. S. Senanayake swore that it should
In 1948, he introduced the ( cribed rigorous tests for all those p origin, who wanted to become Cey so designed that only a few could
was decreed that only citizens shall one fell blow, the workers of In citizenship and their right to vote, category of stateless. They were cit Ceylon. The Ceylon Indian Congres any effective protest beyond a token shame, the left movement stood par scored a bloodless victory for reaction
To go back a little. The pe saw the spread of Marxist ideas in to Ceylon by students, who had st and had there come into contact impetus given to it as a result of Russia. Under the impetus of these
Mal movement in 1934. This broug meration of nationalists, anti-imperial The sale of poppies on Armistice | open pro – imperialist activity. The the Suriya Mal movement organised by selling seriya mals on the same yearly right up to the first years of th
question. He understood that gin were a potentially revolu
nies.
ed when, at the 1947 parlia
rough their organisation, the even members of their own, elped to victory a large numially left candidates, in other en, during the by-election at tely after the 1947 general brought about the defeat of y of Mr. T. B. Illangaratne.
never happen again.
Citizenship Acts, which preseople of Indian and Pakistani lon citizens. The tests were pass. At the same time, it
have the right to vote. At dian origin lost both their
and were relegated to the izens neither of India nor of 5 was incapable of organising satyagraha. To their eternal Llysed. D. S. Senanayake had
riod between the two wars Ceylon. These were brought udied in British Universities, with Marxism following the
the October Revolution in ideas was started the Suriya ht together a loose conglosts, socialists and communists. ay, November. Tlth, was an efore, those associated with
a campaign to counter this day. These sales continued e second World War.
Page 53
In the meanwhile, the y Lanka Samasamaja Party (LSSP ised in Ceylon. Most of the from abroad after their univ advanced radical views. Many
while abroad. Some of them seems to be no doubt that Trotskyists inside the leaderst fact that they did not form ther
However, at the begint the Communist Parties of Gre latter Party lent some of its Tamil Plantation workers in C Soviet Union and the speech Colvin R. de Silva, during the miration for the U. S. S. R. D on mass propaganda for anti-ir of its leaders, N. M. Perera themselves elected to the 2nd s
But their sectarianism while under the British yok government and in their con as reformist. In fact, most of tionaries at all, as they clai Their sectarian and ultra left to the slavish and absolutely
by the Ceylonese bourgeois P leadership of D. B. Jayatileke the vacuum caused in Ceylon ist section of the bourgeoisie. of Ceylon. They were in tune National Congress. Kamaladev brands of the left wing of t Ceylon as a guest of the LSS LSSP at a public meeting at Ceylon in 1940. Today, in posed itself, it is easy to leaders. They were not Marxi
45 -
ear 1935 saw the formation of the I, the first left party to be organleaders were men who had returned ersityl education. All of them held claimed to have embraced Marxism | were hidden Trotskyites. There there was a hidden hard core of hip. This probably accounts for the mselves into a communist party.
ning, the LSSP worked closely with at Britain and that of India. The Tamil cadres for work among the eylon. The LSSP also supported the les of its first lawyer - President, ! first few years were full of aduring this time, the L.S.S.P. carried nperialist and socialist ideas. Two
and Philip Gunawardene, had got State Council.
was exhibited in their call, even se, for a workers' and peasants' demnation of all trade union work
these gentlemen were not revolumed, but petty - bourgeois radicals. slogans were in reality a reaction
pro-imperialist mentality exhibited politicians at that time under the
and D. S. Senanayake. They filled by the absence of an anti-imperial
They were the Nehrus and Boses e with the left wing of the Indian i Chattopatoyaya, one of the firehe Indian National Congress, toured P. Even Nehru was hosted by the
the Galle Face, when he came to retrospect, when the LSSP has exunderstand the role of the LSSP st revolutionaries. They were petty
Page 54
- 46
bourgeois radicals masquerading as re same time, they succeeded in fooling first split in the LSSP occured in Soviet - Finnish war. The anti - Soviet imperialists and reactionaries at that ti Trotskyism of the LSSP leadership. T Central Committee a resolution conde International and the Soviet Union.
move were expelled from the party on
It is necessary to point out th artificial grounds, and had nothing to concerning the movement in Ceylon. openly announced its allegiance to philosophy of Trotskyism. It is neces that all groups of Trotskyists that counter - revolutionary end. The so-ca Ceylon, Philip Gunawardene, ended h of the U.N.P. Tha main body of Tro ship of N. M. Perera, surrendered t and became open traitors to the wor backs on everything revolutionary. group that split from the LSSP in 196 Fernando-voted with the U. N. P. in down the coalition government, and t return of the UNP in 1965. The pr tive of the Fourth International, E American Embassy-sponsored Asia Fou the U.S.A., while simultaneously his wif tion scholarship to West Germany.
The expelled communists first United Socialist Party, which in 1943 munist Party. Although differing in cl ship of the LSSP, who were mostly wea classes, the leadership of the CP was top leadership had come to Marxism Party of Great Britain, which they university days in England. The Comn was revisjonist even before Khrushc
volutionaries. But, at the ! a lot of people. The 1939 - 40 at the time of the
hysteria unleashed by the me brought out the hidden hey rail - roaded through the mning the Third Communist All those who opposed this various pretexts,
jat this split was foisted on do with policies or tactics
From this time, the LSSP the counter - revolutionary sary to put on record here appeared in Ceylon had a lled father of Trotskyism in is political life in the lap >tskyites, under the leader-o the national bourgeoisie, king class and turned their The two M. P.s from the 54—Samarakoddy and Merryl
December 1964, to bring hus paved the way for the esent accredited representaBala Tampoe, accepted an ndation Scholarship to visit e went on an Ebert Founda
formed themselves into the
became the Ceylon Comass origin from the leaderIthy men from upper middle no more revolutionary. Its a through the Communist
had joined during their munist Party of Great Britain nov. The result was that
Page 55
these communists brought ov and styles of work, which
" comrades".
The C. P. reacted to LSSP by taking up right-win in many ridiculous positions. and the CP had degenerate the S. L. F. P. It is true the elections to the State ( use the Council as a platfor these good intentions were re the corruption engendered b mentary politics by the leader slide parliamentary victory of I revolutionary potential that
mation of both parties into plete. Both parties also de and taking over the commun of 1965 of the right wing both god and man, the lea taking part in religious obser graphed while offering flowers
It is not the intention splits as well as the twists inside these parties. That is necessary to note here tł ments inside the CP re-form munist Party based on Marx while the Keuneman clique of ering to the SLFP and forming
The Second World direct consequences for Ceylk of Japan into the war, Ceylo operations. Although it was Japanese air attack, it becam South East Asian Command, stationing of Commonwealth perial military expenditure
- 47 --
er to Ceylon the revisionist policies they had learned from the British
the left sectarian Trotskyism of the g reformist positions that landed them | But, before long, both the LSSP ed into parliamentary appendages of that, when the LSSP first contested Council, it proclaimed its intention to
m to popularise their policies. But elegated to cold storage as a result of y several decades of bourgeois parlias of these two parties. The 1956 landMr. Bandaranayake put paid to whatever might have remained. The transfortame parliamentary parties was comgenerated to the level of endorsing al slogans (e.g. the masala vadai line of the SLFP). In an attempt to foo! ders of these parties now started rvances and delighted in being photo
to statues of Lord Buddha.
of this booklet to detail the various E and turns of policies that occured
deserves separate attention. But it nat in 1964, the revolutionary elesed themselves as the Ceylon ComEism - Leninism - Mao Tsetung Thought, revisionists joined the LSSP in surrendg a United Front of these three parties.
War, unlike the first one, had more on. In the first place, with the entry n moved right into the theatre of war
lucky to escape with only a single e the headquarters for Mountbatten's
which was located in Kandy. The troops in Ceylon, and the vast imin connection with the war effort
Page 56
– 48
directed from the island, produced employment disappeared. Most peo mostly connected with the war. 1 prices, particularly the latter. S slaughter - tapped in the interests o fits. But Ceylon did not gain the produced. Britain bought most of credited to our account in London was to be known as the Sterling bal was to foolishly run down in a food items.
The Board of Ministers co-o government. The LSSP and the U cessor to the C. P. ) were banned, . prosecuted in 1941. The LSSP le escaped to India-- presumably to lea dissolved the LSSP, and with some formed the Bolshevik-Leninist Party a highly ambitious title, no doubt, divorce from reality. They were brought back to Ceylon and relea when they resurrected the LSSP. V under the leadership of Philip Guna Bolshevik-Leninist Party continued to of Colvin R. de Silva and Leslie G effected in 1951, but Philip Gunawa the VLSSP. In the meantime, the situation created by the entry of and its successes against Hitler Ge munist Party in 1943.
The war years also saw the union movement in Ceylon. This the advantageous position in which of a labour shortage experienced other, because of the leadership g leading position, which A. E. Goon field, was effectively challenged an himself was exposed as a class collat
an artificial prosperi:y. Unple found themselves a job — Pea and rubber, fetched good o much so that rubber was f the war and immediate proe real value for the rubber it it at a fixed price, which was
against future payment. This ances, which D. S. Senanayake short time against import of
perated loyally with the British United Socialist Party (predeand their leaders detained or aders broke jail in 1942, and
d the revolution there. They - Trotskyite, elements in India,
of India, Burma and Ceylon but one which displays their
arrested in India, and were sed after the end of the war, While the LSSP was resurrected awardene and N. M. Perera, the
function under the leadership unawardene. A re - union was rdene once again split to form communists used the favourable he Soviet Union into the war, many to emerge as the com
emergence of a strong trade Nas, on the one hand, due to labour found itself as a result uring these years, and, on the ven by the left parties. The esinghe held in the trade union
overthrown and Goonesinghe orator of the worst kind.
Page 57
The communists organise tion in 1940. It was the ma during the war years. The L the end of the war, took ove and developed it as their trade CTUF. In doing so, they tu Samasamajist theory about the r
In the plantations, the on the advice of Nehru, follow the Ceylon - Indian problem du gration of Indian labour to C sation of plantation labour i could not now repatriate reca fresh labour at their will, as Labour of Natesa lyer, and th Union were the main contestar the Ceylon Workers Congress, a split, and a section broke off Congress. The divisions were not because of any recognisabl of both groups were bourgeo problems affecting the plantatio a national group.
49
| the Ceylon Trade Union Federan force among the urban workers SP leaders, after their release, at
the Ceylon Federation of Labour, union centre in opposition to the rned their backs on the original »le of the trade unions.
action of the Madras Government ing his abortive attempt to settle ring 1939 - 40, in banning all emieylon, gave a filip to the organi - ito trade unions, as the planters Icitrant labour to India, and bring of old. The Indian Federation of 2Ceylon Indian Congress Labour its. The latter, which later became won the day. But it, too, suffered
to form the Democratic Workers' on the basis of personalities, and e policy differences. The leadership sis, and had no solutions to the on workers, both as a class, and as
Page 58
CHAPTER
Emergence of Neo
Meanwhile, in pursuit of furt} Council, whose life had been pro adopted a reforms resolution moved nayake, calling for transfer of still In retrospect, it is interesting to no for the replacement of English a Sinhalese and Tamil.
The British, however, appoint to inquire into the demands for mo officially boycotted the commission, his views in private. The recommen Commission must be viewed in the ditions that had come into existence world war, which had so radically world. The defeat of German, Itali the emergence of the socialist Sovi had given tremendous encouragemen movements in Asia. British imperial Jonger continue to rule its colonies to arrive at a compromise with colonies who had also begun to be liberation movements were to be al volutionary a way, it, too, would b perialism. Thus was laid the bas imperialism and the native bourgeoi of the people, with the native bo partners of imperialism. British impe semblance of power in return for investments in the colonies.
The same old colonial exploit continued. In some cases, it was eve imperialists remained in the backgrou while the native bourgeoisie was g The puppets that danced on the le the invisible strings that manipulat from Whitehall or Washington.
IV
-Colonialism
er reforms, the second State longed because of the war, by Mr. S. W. R. D. Bandaragreater measure of freedom. te that this resolution called s a State language by both
ed the Soulbury Commission re reform. D. S. Senanayake
but gave the Commissioners dations made by the Soulbury context of the changed cone at the end of the second
changed the history of the an and Japanese fascism, and et Union as a great power, t to the national liberation ism realised that it could no
in the old way. It decided the native bourgeoise in its | alarmed that, if the national lowed to develop in too ree swept away along with imis for a compromise between sie for the joint exploitation irgeoisie functioning as junior erialism agreed to transfer the he guarantee of its economic
ition, with slight modifications, 1 strengthened. But, now, the nd. They took the back seat : iven the front driving seat. cal stage wera natives, but ed the puppets were pulled 'his is the method that U.S.
Page 59
Imperialism had already perfec American countries. The latter tries, and were even member under the firm control of th dictates. This is the classical f came to be known as neo-col modity that was passed of as like India, Burma and Ceylo colonial to neo - colonial rule.
In order to work the p granted by the Soulbury Consti the bourgeois parties – the Na Sabha, the Muslim League (all form a new party, the United ship, in 1947, The subsequent likened to a game of musical the Bandaranayake families. De 1947 to 1956, the country was (father, son and nephew). to 1965, it was the turn of and wife). From 1965 to 1 Senanayakes ( son ) were in the swung back to the Bandaranayak
ft is not suggested that the Senanayakes and the Banda the SLFP. There was a differ enough to make a difference i lems of the people. The sa unsolved, and further aggrava parliamentary rule by the Sen The same remedies, couched by both sides, with the same the common man has continue
The UNP represents tl pro - imperialist, pro-western an the West in language, dress, F the continued imperialist domir
51 - ted in its dealings with the Latin
were nominally independent couns of the UNO. But they were all e almighty dollar and obeyed its orm of economic domination, which pnialism. This is the sham comindependence in 1948 to countries . In 1948, Ceylon passed from
arliamentary system of government tution, D. S. Senanayake united all ational Congress, the Sinhala Maha except the Tamil Congress) — to
National Party, under his leaderpolitical history of Ceylon can be chairs between the Senanayake and uring the first nine years, from s governed by the Senanayake clan For the next nine years, from 1956 the Bandaranayake family (husband 970, for another five years, the saddle. In 1970, the pendulum had
es (wife).
E there was no difference between ranayakes or between the UNP and ence, but it was not fundamental n the solution of the basic probme fundamental problems remain ated after 23 years of bourgeois sanayakes and the Bandaranayakes. in different words, had been tried
lack of success, while the lot of d to deteriorate.
he comprador bourgeoisie, which is ad anti-national. Its leaders imitated nabits and culture. They stood for nation of our economy. The SLFP
Page 60
- 52
represented Ceylon's bourgeoisie, a separate class during the first war, due to the accumulation of result of business undertaken dur national bourgeoisie desired to rep national capitalism. To that exten But, as a class, it, too, was bourge tions that flow from its class char that the national bourgeoisie has able development has taken place them have graduated to the status is no longer to be found exclusi UNP. Beside this, there has also talists as a result of the multiplica
—a class of capitalists, who hav their own capital. These are the
who have made good on their fat sa by selling trade licences, earning con the government in power, because existence. For this reason, it is the SLFP a socialist party in the abolition of capitalism. Although socialism in order to fool the peop ure of agreement between the UN United Front) about the continuat
Without such a common understandi is impossible to work the bourgeois
With this general understan closer look at political development elections in 1947. That was the yea of May–June, led by the C. P. and that officially led it through a joint Trade Union Federation (led by the of Labour (led by the LSSP) and th Union Federation (then led jointly ! its height nearly 50,000 employees to samy, a government clerk, was shot That strike represented a high wate revolutionary movement, surpassed
which developed in Ceylon as Decade after the second world apital in Ceylonese hands as a ng and after the war. The lace imperialism and develop E, it had a progressive outlook. bis and exhibited all the inhibiacter. This is the third time asted power, and the inevit
within its ranks. Sections of of comprador bourgeoisie, which vely inside the ranks of the grown another group of capiEsion of the State Corporations ve become capitalistic without new State Corporation bosses, aries, on corruption and graft, amissions, etc. They all support e on that depends their very
completely unscientific to call sense that it stands for the both sides keep talking of ple, there is a common measP and the SLFP (and now the ion of the capitalist system Eng on fundamental matters, it
parliamentary system.
ding, let us pause to take a Es since the first parliamentary r of the famous general strike
the LSSP. The Trade Unions - committee were the Ceylon
C. P. ), the Ceylon Federation e Government Workers Trade by the CP and the LSSP). At ok part in the strike. Kandae dead during a demonstration. er mark in the history of the only by the Hartal of 1953.
Page 61
But it was put down by bru State, ably aided by a lying bour in all sectors were dismissed government and the capitalist o
This strike was to be us Sananayake and Oliver Goonetile hall during the same year. The by pointing to the general strike - the red alternative — if the granted, and power transferred
But there was no doubt by the strike were responsible ber of anti - UNP candidates. | is frequently and conveniently
mentators is that D. S. Senana majority in the first parliament the vicious anti - Marxist campai such as "Save religion from 100 seats, the UNP won only ting separately, won 20 seats ( CP 5), while the Tamil Congre won 7 seats each. The Indepe that the Independents held th wooed them. The famous " Ya forces took place at the resis failed to agree. The situation Colvin R. de Silva, the BLP le by castigating them as three - succeeded in luring sufficient nu in order to enable him to form that his party had polled only a m
An incidental fact that election is the one in which of a total of 100 elected sea seats. In 1952 the figure wa 17. In 1969 and 1965, in a the number won by the left
53
ce force at the command of the geois press. Hundreds of workers from their jobs by a revengeful lass.
ed as a bargaining weapon by D. S. ke in their negotiations at Whitey frightened the British imperialists e as a portent of the things to come reforms they asked for were not
to them.
that the militant feelings aroused for electoral victories of a numn any event, an important fact that overlooked by most political comyake and his UNP failed to win a ary elections held in 1947, despite ign—with posters screaming slogans the flames of Marxism '". Out of
46. The three left parties, fighLSSP won 10, the BLP 5 and the ess and the Ceylon Indian Congress ndents won 20 seats. It was clear e fate in their hands. Both sides muna" conference of all anti – UNP dence of Mr. H. Sri Nissanka, but
was made easy for the UNP, when ader, antagonised the Independents headed donkeys. D. S. Senanayake mber of Independents into his camp a Cabinet. But the fact remained inority of votes at the elections.
deserves mention is that the 1947.
the left parties fared best. Out .ts, the three left parties won 20 Is reduced to 13, and in 1956 to parliament expanded to 150 seats, parties declined percentagewise.
Page 62
Only in 1970, because of the SLFP did they improve their p of the one fifth level reached
In February 1948 was sta independence to Ceylon. The lence of power has already bee that even this semblence of po Senanayake, acting without pri had signed a Defence Agreeme agreement has never been subse from being a colony to a neoindependence-the national flag, in Queen's House, etc.—were imperialist exploitation continue
D. S. Senanayake was d he had not been accepted by his policies were, therefore, majority at the general electio systematically bribing the electo sterling balances held in Londo Had that money been invested the country's benefit would have did not believe in industrialist de
But that was not to be regime that the practice of su body recognises the intolerable has surpassed the Rs. 600 milli economy. But now subsidised n point to any single measure ta which has contributed most to it is this action to subsidise Future generations will live to o
Before the end of 1948 hitherto implacable opponent, of a portfolio. It must be defeated Senanayake's nominee, A
54 -
united front agreement with the erformance, but not to the total
in 1947.
ged the farce of granting so-called basis of this transfer of the sembn described. But let it be noted ver, was not granted before D. S. or consultation with parliament, nt with Britain. Incidentally, this equently abrogated. Ceylon passed colony. The outward trappings of Ehe national anthem, a brown man
all there. But the essence of
d.
eeply conscious of the fact that the majority of the people. All aimed at winning an absolute ns. He set about the process of prate. He soon ran down Ceylon's on through imports of foodstuffs. in import of industrial machinery, e been immense. But Senanayake velopment.
his worst fault. It was during his bsidising rice began. Today every
burden that this subsidy, which on mark annually, imposes on the ice has become politics. If one can ken consciously by a government, the economic ruin of the country,
rice taken by D. S. Senanayake. urse his name.
D. S. Senanayake won over his . G. Ponnampalam, with the offer emembered that Ponnampalam had . Mahadaveda (son of Ponnampalam
Page 63
- 5
Arunachalam ) at the 1947 election this coming together was an utter of both. But it broke up the nayagam left to forin the Feder with communal politics in the N not eschewing communalism, cea Tamil or Ceylon politics after 194 to retain his seat till 1970. E fifty -fifty and went back on his supporting D. S. Senanayake's I Plantation VYorkers of Indian ori to vote.
In 1951, crisis struck the to affect the future political dev of the House and the most tale surrounded D. S. Senanayake an pro-imperialist and aristrocratic Kandyan feudal family, was S. W received a liberal education at himself as the heir-apparent. Bu Senanayake had other ideas. Se rivalry between S. W. R. D. Kotalawela, his nephew – while a on his son succeeding him. Banda and crossed over to the Oppositio
In the same year, Band Freedom Party (SLFP). Whatev to leave the UNP, he quickly all the anti-UNP forces, and of cultural aspirations of the commo
more Buddhist--the reverse of the the national dress. Later, he t language, although he himself w In doing all these, he showed h popular feeling, and this was to was opportunism, it was of a ki for the time being, he remained i
5
Is for the Jaffna seat. Therefore, ly opportunistic move on the part Tamil Congress. S. J. V. Chelvaal Party, which was to continue lorth. The Tamil Congress, while sed to play any effective role in
8, although Ponnampalam managed le himself gave up his fight for
past principles to the extent of neasures for depriving the Tamil gin of their citizenship and right
UNP. It was an event that was elopment of Ceylon. The leader nted man from among those who d the scion of one of Ceylon's : families, and married into a J. R. D. Bandaranayake, who had Oxford. He had always fancied t now it looked as if "old man " nanayake skillfully promoted the
Bandaranayake and Sir John Il the time he had set his heart ranayake left the UNP in disgust,
aranayake formed the Sri Lanka er the reason that impelled him saw the potentialities in uniting
catering to the nationalistic and n man. He had been a Donough= rice Christians. He had adopted egan to champion the Sinhalese as steeped in Western culture. mself uncommonly responsive to
stand him in good stead. If it and that could be excused. But, n the wilderness.
Page 64
- 56
Then, on March 22nd, 1952, his horse, while riding at the Galle immediately followed the most uns
which has been so inimitably record the contestants, Sir John Kotalawela Premier Stakes". But then the "ole his grave. It would appear that h General, Lord Soulbury ( then on le event of anything untoward happen should call his son, Dudley, to fa precisely what Soulbury did on his claim of the most senior colleague who sulked about for a little while, under Dudley.
That Dudley Senanayake was real dynastic fashion, and that Mr. Ba tion was succeeded by his widow, one had become the Prime Minister Sinhala, Goigama, Buddhist, reveals th feudal ideas in the country. This views can best be interpreted only widow can best interprete her dead not a democratic one. It is a feudal he, at least, had the consolation of in his father's cabinet. In the case even been in the political confidenc are we enmeshed in feudal traditio already talk that the one aim of to stick to the reigns of power I succession to her son !
Victory at the general elect easy for Dudley Senanayake, as he emotional feelings generated over his were held ahead of time, because of the Central Bank, had warn nomic crisis, and had advised gett elections before resorting to harsh budget spelt out the measures by }
D. S. Senanayake fell from Face green, and died. There zemly wrangle for succession, ed by a supporter of one of in the widely popular : " The
man" decided the issue from e had advised the Governorave in England) that, in the ng to him (D.S.) Soulbury rm the government. This is hurried return — ignoring the of D.S., Sir John Kotalawala--
but, finally agreed to serve
made to succeed his father in ndaranayake on his assassinaand the fact that hitherto no - of Ceylon, who was not a
e depth of the prevalence of idea that a father's political by his son, and that only a
husband's political legacy, is idea. In the case of the son, having served as a Minister
of the widow, she had not 2 of her husband. So much 1s and ideas that there is the present Prime Minister is ng enough to manoeuvre the
ions of 1952 was relatively
exploited to the full the father's death. The elections John Exter, American head d of the impending econg a fresh mandate through | measures. The 1953 UNP hich the burdens of the eco
Page 65
nomic crisis were to be transf people. The rice subsidy was a from 25 cents to 75 cents per
were increased, and the mid - school children.
But the people were no The leadership of the left parti reformism of later years. On parties, and the trade unións u called for August 12th, 1953. stupendous. All sections of the tion workers, answered the refusal to join in issuing the o tirety of the anti - UNP forces test. Buses and trains could
work ceased, and the governme was reported to have met in th of Colombo. It was the highes far seen in Ceylon. It was an
were willing to go, if they we ary leadership.
Unfortunately, the grand the reformist leadership of the government. The former calle noon of the 12th itself, whil emergency, and resorted to ma were shot dead, while hundreds Hartal was that the Prime Mi and faded out of politics till his
Sir John Kotalawalan followed a policy of absolute subservience to the imperialist to be used as a cat's paw by famous Bandung conference, and nist speech, which was intended latter ignored him with the re
57
erred on to the shoulders of the bolished – sending the price of rice measure. Railway and postal rates day bun was snatched from the
>t willing to accept the burden. es had not yet degenerated to the the united call of the three left nder their leadership, a hartal was
The response of the people was 2 working class, except the plantatall. Despite Mr. Bandaranaike's all for the Hartal, almost the enjoined in the mighty wave of pronot run. Shops were closed. AIL nt was paralysed, while the Cabinet e safety of a ship in the Harbour st pitch of revolutionary action so
indication of how far the masses ere given a united and revolution
response of the people frightened left parties as much as it did the d off the movement on the aftere the latter declared a state of Ss scale repression. Twelve people
were jailed. One outcome of the nister got cold feet, and resigned,
re-entry in 1960.
Dw became Prime Minister, and
reaction at home, and complete s in foreign affairs. Ever willing the imperialists, he went to the made a provocative anti - commuto nettle Chou-En Lai. But the mark: “I have not come here to
Page 66
58
quarrel". His tenure as Prime Mini his refusal to permit entry to a s of Soviet scientists to observe the contempt of the religious and cultura as demonstrated by the barbacue contact with popular feeling was fi sion to hold elections prematurely the UNP had never had it so good
ster was equally notorious for
viet soccer team and a team solar eclipse, as for his open I susceptibilities of the people incident. His total lack of nally illustrated by his decion the mistaken ground that
Page 67
CHA
The Band
But before the deluge o trumental for queering the P arisen over the language issue. welcome accorded to him on o he was adorned with a crown, for Sinhalese and Tamil. The the Sinhalese in the South. Stu Sir John tried to appease Sir Kelaniya sessions of the UN the decision that the official I only.
The patent insincerety to deceive any one. While it port, this decision did not
wonder that S. W. R. D. Banda that he would introduce Sinh within twenty-four hours. TI 1956, the question at issue parties was not whether Sinhala but who could be trusted to John was bound to lose. He thing that was anti-national and in Bandaranaike he had an op and able agitator.
But it would be wrong was the only issue that affect doubt, this issue cast its long But there were other issues Bandaranaike had rigged up ar called the Mahajana Eksath P4 constituents an organisation of called the Eksath Bhikku Per and used the influence of the S in the rural areas, to turn 1 Never before or after in rec
PTER V
iranayake Era.
vertook him, Sir John became instch of the controversy that had
Apparently overwhelmed by the ne of the islands off Jaffna, where Sir John promised parity of status result was a violent reaction from befied by the storm he had created, ihalese sentiment by holding the P where the party switched to anguage of Ceylon shall be Sinhala
of the volte face was too obvious | lost the UNP all its Tamil supdeceive the Sinhalese. It was no ranayake countered with the slogan alese only as the state language nus, during the election of April
between the two main Sinhalese . Only would be the state language, implement it. In this contest, Sir represented to the Sinhalese every
pro-western in their life. Besides, ponent, who was a clever orator
to suggest that the language issue ed the 1956 election results. No E shadow over the whole election. . The loose united front that Dund his SLFP, and which now was erumuna (MEP) had as one of its young and radical Buddhist priests,
muna. Its members went all out angha over the people, particularly he scale in favour of the M. E. P. ent times had the Buddhist priest
Page 68
– 60
hood played such a decisive role il the key figures in this organisation { later to be found guilty and jailec an accomplice in the assassination of B
If Bandaranaike had learned fra and trimmed his sails to suit the e away with some of the radical slogans by the left movement. Even the e the nationalisation of foreign planta
MEP election programme. Of course Immediately on coming to power, nounced this demand by announcing for ten years. Perhaps the slogan w mented. But the point is that this any subsequent election programme -- Programme, which was drafted by th the LSSP and the Keuneman revisionist
Bandaranaike further emphasisec cluding in his united front a splinter
was led by Philip Gunawardena, one of LSSP. He also came to no-contest ag the C.P. The result was that, for 1 faced with a near-united Opposition, From their former position of 54 sea duced to 8 seats. The MEP won 51 vote. It was a landslide victory.
It has been claimed by some th a sort of peaceful peoples' revolution. exaggeration. It is false. There was from the comprador bourgeoisie tot the western oriented, English speaking tions of the bourgeoisie. But there y that the class structure of society was election victory in any way affect the perialism on the economy of the cou continued as formerly.
O Ceylon's politics. One of of priests, Buddharakitta, was = (he died in jail) for being andaranaike.
om the mistakes of the UNP Popular wind, he also walked
which had been popularised
Page 69
It is correct that severa during the MEP regime. The b were nationalised. The Paddy law, was passed ; British bases and Katunayake. Workers were The Employees Provident Fund B age and the Buddhist religion
matic relations were establisher countries. In foreign policy, C described as a non-alligned role line up automatically with the i still do not add up to revolutio what Bandaranaike did was to
middle way policies the potent to blunt its revolutionary edge less channel of bourgeois parl greatest influence was on the The desire to emulate the 19 robbed the leadership of the L volutionary pratences they mig into faithful worshippers at th democracy. The further tamir was to be left to Bandaranaike
Looked at from this pe mentators that Bandaranaike he not exaggerated.
But the best proof that not solve any economic proble porters had to rouse commune Sinhalese to maintain their occured the worst communal experienced. Since this event as well, at this point, to sti arose at this time.
The rejection of commi special representation for mi Soulbury Commissions had left of minority in the legislative b
61
radical measures were carried out us service and the Port of Colombo Lands Bill, a mild agrarian reform
were evacuated from Trincomalee ! given greater freedom to strike. ill became law. The Sinhala langureceived greater attention. DiploI for the first time with Socialist eylon began to play what has been | This meant that we did not always mperialists as of old. But all these In-peaceful or otherwise. In fact,
contain behind what he called his ially dangerous anti - UNP current,
and to divert it into the harmiamentary democracy. May be his |leadership of the left movement. 156 election victory of the MEP .SSP and the CP of whatever reht have had, and converted them me shrine of bourgeois parliamentary ng of the one-time revolutionaries e's widow.
erspective, the claim of some comIped to avert violent revolution is
the election victory of 1956 did em was that the MEP and its supI and language feelings among the support. During the MEP regime holocaust that Ceylon has ever deserves a detailed study, it is just udy the communal problem as it
nal representation or any form of horities by the Donoughmore and the minorities in a permanent state dies of the country. The formation
Page 70
62
of the All-Sinhala Board of Ministe Citizenship Acts, which discrimina plantation workers of Indian origin, and the right to vote ; as well as irresponsible attitude of the leader national issues (e.g. opposition to bases, flying black flags on national communal bitterness.
The communal cancer that was out into the open in 1955, in the fo From the time of the reforms resolu Council by Bandaranaike and even accepted that both Sinhala and Tamil replace English as the official lang agitation broke out among the Sin be the State language.
Straight away, one peculiar f noted. In most countries, the comm an agitation by a minority to safegua from being trampled under foot by
was the majority that spear-headed language against what it feared wa of the minority. The peculiar rea majority behave and act as if it was appreciated, if we are to arrive a of this complicated problem.
The reasons that make the in the land where they are actuall first is the memory of the ancient T The Sinhalese are never allowed to has not read of the epic battle be Every time one goes to view th Polonnaruwa, he is reminded tha Sinhalese civilisations were brough Tamil invasions.
Secondly, the British impe million Tamil workers from South to work in their plantations and
rs in 1936, the passage of the ted heavily against the Tamil and deprived them of citizenship I the unimaginative and almost 'ship of the Tamil minority on the evacuation of the British day) had contributed to further
; festering inside suddenly came rm of the language controversy. ition moved in the Second State earlier, all political parties had
( called the swabhasha ) would guage. Suddenly in 1955, the halese that Sinhala only should
eature of this agitation must be iunal problem takes the form of ird its linguistic or other rights u a majority. But in Ceylon it
an agitation to safeguard its s encroachment by the language Sons, which made the Sinhalese
a ininority must be studied and nywhere near an understanding
Sinhalese behave like a minority y a majority are many. The amil invasions from South India. e forget this. What schoolboy tween Duttu Gemunu and Elara? se ruins at Anuradhapura or t all these ancient glories of t to destruction by successive
rialists brought over nearly a India during the last century dumped them in the midst of
Page 71
Kandyan territory. Thereby, tl lem, another cause for commur
Thirdly, the increased e the Tamils in the North as a re imperialist policy of divide and higher percentage of jobs in go sions than their population figur - 31 world economic crisis--unen among the Sinhalese middle clas service under government for already entrenched there.
Here, it must be pointed bottom of the language crisis. B language had been the passport As a result, the Tamil was able terms with the Sinhalese. Compe the Sinhalese wanted Sinhala On giving them the best chances fo in a non-industrialised country | the biggest single employer, b gainful occupation, the battle of for government jobs for the res the reason why no solution ot bring lasting results.
Fourthly, Tamil happens million people across the Palk aggression from India.
Fifthly, Tamil also happe loped language than Sinhalese. the Sinhalese.
Without an appreciatio impossible to understand the de in Ceylon. After the MEP vic attempt to settle the language the FP leader, Chelvanayagam was the famous Bandaranaike
53 -
ey created the Ceylon-Indian probal bickering.
ucational facilities made available to sult of missionary activity and the rule resulted in Tamils obtaining a ernment service and in the profes!s warranted. When-after the 1929 ployment became a serious problem s, and they started to turn towards employment, they found the Tamils
out that economic issues were at the efore 1956, knowledge of the English ! to service under the government.
to compete on equal or even better (led by the pressure of unemployment, Iy to be the official language--thus r service under the government. As ike Ceylon, government is not only ut government service is the most the languages was in reality a battle pective middle classes. That is also her than an economic one can ever
to be a language spoken by over 40 Straits. This leads to fear of culturai
as to be an older and more deveHence, a feeling of inferiority among
of these historical realities, it is velopment of the language question Cory, Bandaranaike made one serious question through negotiations with
The result of these negotiations — Chelvanayagam Pact. It accepted
Page 72
--. 64
certain safeguards for the Tamil eastern parts of Ceylon under the ge of Sinhala as the official language 1 also reached certain compromises colonisation in the Tamil areas.
It is necessary to make som tionship between the communal pro after the 1935 Land Commission re his colonisation schemes, most of t called the Dry Zone. In the beginn North Central Province. But some and Eastern provinces, which have their traditional homelands. Of c belonged to the Sinhalese. But if : or so, the claim of the Tamils to and Eastern provinces is not far fel
Anyway, the Tamil leaders op areas by Sinhalese colonists. This encroached upon the communal quest as to whether the Tamils have dev therefore, entitled to call a portion o as to whether the Ceylon Tamils h nation must be answered in the ne possess one of the major attribut famous definition of the conditions people before they could be recogn share a commoneconomy.
The Tamils inhabit some of i mic parts of Ceylon. There is neit in the northern part of Ceylon. A emigrate to Malaya or go south in they spoke the same language as the British to work in their plantations jobs as supervisors and clerks in the they joined the government service in boast of at least one employee und
anguage in the northern and neral context of the acceptance or the whole of Ceylon. It on the vexed question of
e reference here to the relablem and colonisation. When port, D. S. Senanayake started hese were located in what is ing, most of these were in the
were started in the Northern been claimed by the Tamils as purse, the whole island once ve take the last four centuries have inhabited the Northern sched.
posed the colonisation of Tamil
is where the land question tion. This raises the question eloped into a nation and are, if Ceylon theirs. The question ave as yet developed into a gative, because they do not es mentioned by Stalin in his
that should be fulfilled by a sed as a nation. They do not
he most barren and uneconoher a mountain nor a river
a result, Tamils have had to search of jobs. The fact that | labourers imported by the nabled many of them to find se plantations. For the rest, large numbers. Many families r the government.
Page 73
This, then is the contradi themselves. They live in one their living from another. The nomy for the Tamils would hav could also restrict themselves to more realisable. Similarly, the on Tamil lands would have be up their right to ownership t
ment in any part of Ceylon. since as a result of the ban due to lack of foreign exchan seized this opportunity to gro definit sign of the emergence
Nevertheless, there can motive behind colonising Tamil ally transform a Tamil majority province. D. S. Senanayake w: never openly professed commun towards the goal of Sinhalising out of the bag by one of D. a speech made after the death o
The Bandaranaike - Chelva compromise possible under the a chance. The UNP tried to fis a march to Kandy to mobilise o probably rose to his greatest he of tne Pact. His famous -- prob Bogam bara grounds, Kandy, wil bodying all that was best in E in his camp also rebelled. Ins leaders of the Federal Party cho silly anti - Sri campaign. The campaign of the Federal Party w paign led by the Sinhala *warrio in the course of which Tamil w terated by a liberal application
Tension mounted on both munal blood bath in Ceylon's hi
65 -
ction in which the Tamils find part of Ceylon, and earn most of
demand for some measure of autore been irresistable, if the Tamils ɔ an area. It would also have been ! Opposition to Sinhalese colonists en valid if the Tamils could give ɔ land and the right to employThe situation has changed slightly on import of subsidiary foodstuffs ge. The industrious Jaffna farmer
w these crops and there is the of a rich peasant class.
be no doubt that the ulterior areas with Sinhalese was to eventu
province into a Sinhalese majority as a shrewed Sinhalese leader. He alism. But he steadfastly worked (the Tamil areas. This cat was let S. S's colleagues, V. Ratnayake, in f D. S. Senanayake. nayagam Pact was possibly the best circumstances. But it was not given h in troubled waters, and organised oposition to the Pact. Bandaranaike ight as a statesman in his defence ably his best — speech made at the I always be remembered as emim. But the chauvinistic elements tead of coming to his help, the se this very moment to launch the
Pact was torn up. The Anti - Sri as countered by the tar brush camr" K. M. P. Rajaratna in the south, -rds on public places were all obliof tar.
sides, till it led to the worst comCory. It is an event, about which
Page 74
- 66
every right thinking Ceylonese should It will remain a permanent blot on night, men turned into beasts, and d could pour petrol over and set fire t no quarrel, except that they spoke a
The immediate cause for thi shouldered by the extremist leader started the anti-Sri campaign, the the Sinhalese, who let loose the tar less indecisiveness displayed by the the movement spread. Only a decla brought the situation under contro stranded in the south had to be represented the lowest ebb to which the Sinhalese and the Tamils had fall
The riots were also a reflecti of the Federal Party, whose leaders days of the emergency. It was po terests of the Tamils, it claimed to its sterile course-preaching commun even progressive Sinhalese opinion measure brought forward by the tv e.g. the Paddy Lands Bill, the School the hope that they would be able t two rival groups of Sinhalese politi portunistic bargain for the Tamils. trade the rights of the Tamils at t of the two Sinhalese parties. Such the Federal Party in 1965. But of it
Probably spurred by the reali Sinhala Only Bill had irrevocably e the MEP government (the Tamils ir most part, supported the MEP aga elections ), Bandaranaike piloted thre vide for the Reasonable Use of Tar dead letter. No regulations were fra quent UNP government tried to do so from the SLFP. Anyway, it did not su
1 hang down his head in shame.
our country's history. Over escended to the level that they O people with whom they had
different tongue.
is dreadful outbreak must be s of the Federal Party, who fanatical communalists among
brush campaign, and the helpe Bandaranaike government, as aration of a state of emergency 1. The fact that the Tainils
taken to the north by ship 1 communal relations between en in recent times,
on of the political bankruptcy were detained during the early verless to look after the in- represent. But it continued nalism in the north, estranging
by opposing every radical vo Bandaranaike governments, s Take Over, etc., and living in o act as arbiters between the cians, and thus strike an op
It was simply an attempt to Ehe table of one or the other
an opportunity did arise for s later.
sation that the passage of the estranged Tamil support from i Sinhalese areas had, for the inst the UNP in the 1956 Dugh parliament a bill to pronil. It has remained a virtual
med under it. When a subse- it ran into violent opposition
cceed in satisfying the Tamils.
Page 75
It remains to be pointe were the only national partie membership and following to stic and Tamil during this period. the twin pressures of parliament they fell into line with the SLFP t
It is futile today to arg Sinhala Only proposal. But a correctness' or justness of an Does it unite or disrupt anti-ir the proposal to make Sinhala judged to be retrograde. It de tradiction (that between the Si to the background the main c lism and both the Sinhalese a of a friend, and gave comfor
main cause of the racial riots
Mr. Bandaranaike's M EP of convenience between forces under the personality of Bano Opposition to the UNP. But such divergent views together in early 1959 over the issue of ar that of raising the guaranteed wardena and his colleague W the MEP. At the Kurunegaia s at this time, Bandaranaike wa communist speech.
The parting of ways wit| net had left Bandaranaike a pri some of whose representatives on the 25th of September, 1: respects to a Buddhist monk, the monk whipped out a pis emptied it into the frail figur the eve of the day on whic left for the UNO. On the ne umbed to his injuries.
67 -
ed out that the LSSP and the CP 5 with a predominantly Sinhalese :k out for parity of status for Sinhala But this did not last long. Under tary opportunism and communalism, hinking on this issue.
ue the merits and de-merits of the
progressive should measure the Y proposal only by one criterion : nperialist forces ? By this standard,
Only the State language must be efinitely widened a secondary connhalese and the Tamils) and pushed ontradiction (that between imperiand Tamil peoples ). It made a foe rt to the enemy. It also was the
of 1958.
was, at its best only a marriage holding divergent views, but united Taranaike, and by thelr common
the stress of keeping forces with proved too much. The split came a Agricultural Cooperative Bank and
price of paddy. Philip Gunalliam Silva parted company from ession of the SLFP that took place e forced to make his first anti
1 the radical elements of his cabisoner of the reactionary sections-- successfully plotted his assassination 959. As he bent low to pay his
who was seated on his verandah, tol from out of his robes, and e of the Prime Minister. It was n the Prime Minister was to have ext day, the Prime Minister succ
Page 76
- 68
The circumstances of his dea he met it, as well as the spirit played to his assailant, have bui attempt was even made to deify no sober appraisal of his place in A legend has sprung up about the he is alleged to have followed. B to explain what is meant by the factory answer is forthcoming. concept permits each one to interf do as he likes all the while cla of the Bandaranaike policies -- whic
But even if one tries to d in the policies followed by Bandar thought that he was a sort of br that was not yet dead, and the 01 why he was » fond of referring t age of transition. He tried to out
Way, by which he meant the avoi Capitalism and Communism. This unscientific concept. The choice for talism and Communism. Anyway, th the two. The choice for Ceylon w: colonialism and genuine national ind not see this. When he died, the rivetted on Ceylon even more firn The exploitation to which the mas remained just as severe. Not a sin solved. The concept of a middle prettify the continuance of the stat postponing radical change.
In the realm of foreign affairs of non-alignment meant that Ceylon of being a camp follower of the alignment was not a dynamic polic making the best of both Worlds, a other. Still, it paid dividends up countries have to choose sides. S
th, and the courage with which
of forgiveness, which he disIt a halo around his name. An him. Under such circumstances,
Ceylon politics has been made. e so-called Bandaranaike policies -ut if any one is pinned down Bandaranaike policies, no satis
Perhaps the vagueness of the prete it in his own way and aiming to be a devout follower
h is what is happening now.
iscern any recognisable element Panaike, one might say that he idge between two worlds - one eher not yet born. That was
Ceylon's present phase as an Eline what he called a Middle Edance of the extremes of both
was, of course, an illogical and i Ceylon was not between Capiere is no middle way between as between the slavery of neoependence. Bandaranaike could
chains of neh-colonialism were hly than when he took power. s of the people was subjected gle economic problem had been
way is really an attempt to ius quo, and an explanation for
, at least, Bandaranaike's policy
moved away from her position imperialist powers. But non1. For the most part, it meant nd playing one side against the
to a point. Beyond that, all ome of the most vociferously
Page 77
non-aligned countries, like In most aligned countries. In : policies won Ceylon more fri ever before.
It took nearly a year emerge, and for the establishi sort. When Bandaranaike di the leader of the House, C. the wrong caste. Luckily for was ill and receiving treatment death. The cabinet chose Ministerial vacancy. It was a body has explained how that not last for long. Dahanayake appointed his nominees. But Parliament, he ordered dissolut a new party to contest the e party, including Dahanayake, lo their deposits.
The March 1960 elec results. No party. obtained a But the UNP emerged the with the SLFP in second p Each of the three left parties lost badly. This election w which both N. M. Perera and to become Prime Minister, w tive parties. Worse sectariar be imagined. It is now diffic this election with the slogan
Dudley Senanayake tried defeated on the first vote of n this occasion, refused to go
were ordered for July 1960. vailed among the anti-UNP foi naike had by now accepted t eaten humble pie, the LSSP wa the SLFP, although it was stil had in both March and July adva
69 --
ia, have today ended up among the iy case, Bandaranaike's non-aligned nds in the international field than
for a successor to Bandaranaike to nent of political stability of some d, the obvious political choice was P. de Silva. But he belonged to feudalism in Ceylon. C. P. de Silva in London at the time of his leader's
W. Dahanayake to fill the Prime 1 extremely foolish choice, and nochoice was made. Mercifully, it did ! sacked nearly half his cabinet, and | before he could be challenged in ion and fresh elections. He formed lections. Every candidate from this st the election - most of them losing
cions did not produce any decisive n absolute majority in parliament.
single biggest party in Parliament Pace. The left parties fared badly. E fought the election separately and Ell be remembered as the one in
Philip Gunawardena made futile bids ith the support of only their respecism and divorce from reality cannot ult to believe that the LSSP fought
* Make N. M. Prime Minister'".
to form a UNP government, but was on-confidence. The Federal Party, on along with the UNP. New elections
More common sense and reality preces for this election. Mrs. Bandarahe leadership of the SLFP. Having s willing for a non-contest pact with
not ready to talk to the CP, which cated a common anti-UNP united front.
Page 78
These non-contest agreer and the CP resulted in a clear But, quite unexpectedly, the SL form a government of its own, w This was a great disappointment, had hoped that a situation woule would be necessary for the SLFP government was, therefore, a pu by the left parties )--a second B time under the Premiership of not contested a seat. Convention found a seat in the Senate. Th
woman Prime Minister.
But Mrs. Bandaranaike was period of Premiership proved to remembered for the heightened e Satyagraha movement, the attemp officers, the rise and fall of the Committee of Trade Unions, the ment, the signing of the Srimavoleft movement, and the fall of 1 vérsial Press Bill.
Very early in the tenure o Minister, Felix Dias Bandaranaike, way out of the economic crisis W part of the rice subsidy. But he by the government's parliamentary folio in keeping with the conv democracy. The fact that the S Finance Minister five times during extreme nature of the economic
No one could find a solution. Th solution ) was a political one, to wl
Finding that their support eroded as a result of the defea issue and their impotence during ship of the Federal Party had t
nents between the SLFP, LSSP victory of the anti - UNP forces. FP won sufficient seats (75) to rithout the aid of the left parties.
in particular to the LSSP, which 1 materialise, where its support
to form a government. The new re SLFP government (but backed andaranaike government, but this 1rs. Bandaranaike. She herself had s were all set aside, and she was us, she became the world's first
to find the going tough. Her first be a turbulent one. It was to be conomic crisis, the Federal Party's ted coup by top military and police | United Left Front and the Joint formation of the Coalition govern- Shastri Pact, further splits in the Ehe government over the contro
f the new government, its Finance
was forced to attempt to find a ith a proposal to do away with a was forced to retreat on this issue - party, and he resigned his portentions of bourgeois parliamentary LFP government had to change its as many years is a pointer to the eris is which had overtaken Ceylon. e ultimate solution (which was no ich we will refer later.
-mong the Tamil people was being - they suffered over the language the communal riots, the leadero so something dramatic to re
Page 79
capture the peoples' imaginatio decided to organise a satyagral be expected, the response was whip up a lot of support and successfully barricaded the Kac
movement turned the heads of resorted to measures, which sa to set up a separate state. They
The government decided break up the satyagrahis. This Federal Party had made no pl. movement collapsed. Again, the whelming unity among themsel even remotely resembling the found in the fact that economic be found in the south of Ceylo
1962 was also to see t police and military officers. In of the Ceylon Volunteer Force, Deputy Inspector General of Po police officers, Civil Servants, had political associates, they w was well planned, and failed present Inspector General of P feet, and blurted out the consp father, P. de S. Kularatne, a the I.G.P. It was just in the
One or two of the C rest were tried and found gui Court, but were released on a The attempted coup and the sensation. It was the first t Ceylon. On certain suspicions the attempted coup, the gov the Governor-General, Sir Ol
was the Queen's representativ before he was sacked. Delica
71 -
n and retain their support. They na movement in Jaffna. As was to | big. The Federal Party managed to
continuous batches of satyagrahis hcher i gates. The success of the
the Federal Party leaders, and they voured of rebellion and an attempt started issuing their own stamps.
to act, and ordered its troops to I they did without opposition. The ans for such a contingency, and the reason why the Tamils, despite overves, could not resort to something rebellion in Northern Ireland is to be interests of too many Tamils are to
n.
he attempted coup by top ranking volved in this coup were the Captain
the Commander of the Navy, the olice, and several other high ranking and prominent businessmen. If they ere never ferretted out. The coup only because one police officer (the
olice, Stanley Senanayake) got cold iracy to his wife, who told it to her nd through him the news went to
nick of time.
onspirators committed suicide. The Ity, and sentenced by the Supreme point of law by the Privy Council. big names involved proved a big me a coup had been attempted in arising out of the investigations into ernment forced the resignation of iver Goonatileke. Theoretically, he e, and her permission was necessary se negotiations procured the permis
Page 80
72
sion, but on certain conditions. It who had been the behind-the-scene : and who had been dubbed by some
William Gopallawa, a relative of Mr The coup also resulted in a wave of as all the conspirators were well no popular support or sympathy.
The economic crisis began frequent. Some of the longest strik the Banks strike, the Wellawatte Mi period. The government announced followed a policy of " sitting out'" to break strikes in essential service thinking in trade union circles. Ceylon Trade Union Federation prop actions of the working class were entire trade union movement in bo sector should unite behind a cc united trade union action. The C. conference of all the major trade April, 1963. Thus, was born the Joi which formulated the famous twenty entire trade union movement. This mark of trade union unity ever achie employees and public sector employe clerical grades, plantation workers an technicians—all were brought into a first time. The first all-island confe the Ceylinco Hotel in September,
Simultaneously, a movement hi the left movement. Except for the the curse of the left movement had had split and re-split. The formatio one split and that of the Philip G result of another. The doctrinaire parties were hardly understood by th to see all the left forces united, so reaction and bring about the much hop
was a humiliating end to one advisor to every Prime Minister, ! as Our Evil Genious (O.E.G. ). S. Bandaranaike, succeeded him. sympathy for the government, known reactionaries, who had
to deteriorate. Strikes became ces in history—the Port strike, lls strike -- took place in this
a policy of wage freeze, and strikes and of using the army 5. This produced serious reIn the first half of 1963, the Đsed that, since isolated strike all ending without success, the th the public and the private mmon set of demands for T.U.F. also convened the first union centres at its office in nt Committee of Trade Unions,
one demands on behalf of the represented the highest water eved in Ceylon. Private sector es, clerical employees and nond urban workers, teachers and
single common front for the rence of the JCTU was held at 1963.
ad begun for the unification of first four years of its existence,
been its dis-unity. The LSSP n of the C.P. was the result of unawardena splinter group the
differences that divided these e people, who naturally desired that they could effectively fight
ed-for end of exploitation.
Page 81
Soon after Philip Gunaw his party entered into a united was called the CP–LSSP United LSSP, led by N. M. Perera, wa CP-LSSP United Front carried on which had the result of creating test against the opposition of tl unity, an influential section, whi Silva, Stanley Tillekeratne split joined Philip Gunawardena's par except a few like Subasinghe an the eve of the 1956 elections, the CP-LSSP United Front, to j
Now, in 1963, the moven particularly in view of the po threat of extreme reaction stagi sufficient progress had been ma called for a united May Day R nary people for left unity can b tration and rally that took pla seen anything like that ever bef unprecedented thousands march more. thronged the route, lini every vantage point, to watch was the realisation of their deep Green teemed with humanity. by the SLFP and the UNP fad had only been seen in social May Day parades or National represented by that magnificer on that May Day of 1963 mus the depth of the treachery by the formation of the coalit three leaders drove in a jeep cession, they had other ideas to put this trust that the pec
. The formal agreement b being was signed on Hartal Co
73 -
ardena split from the LSSP in 1951, Front agreement with the CP, which
Front. It was at this time that the
dubbed the Nava (new) LSSP. The an extensive campaign for left unity,
another split in the LSSP. In prome leadership of the NLSSP to left ch included T. B. Subasinghe, William
away from the NLSSP. This group ty at first. But, within a year, all d William Silva joined the CP. On Philip Gunawardena broke off from Din Bandaranaike and his MEP.
nent for left unity gained momentum, or performance of the SLFP, and the ng a come-back. By May Day 1963, de so that the three left parties Rally. The enthusiasm of the ordie gauged from the gigantic demonsce on that day. Ceylon had never pre, or ever since. Not only did in the demonstration, but thousands ng it several deep and occupying this unique spectacle which to many ɔly cherished hopes. The Galle Face In comparison, the rival rallies held ed into insignificance. Such scenes ist countries on occasions like the Day celebrations. The potentialities nt mobilisation of the left forces it be kept in mind to fully assess that was enacted in the next year zion government. For, even as the
at the head of the May Day proas to what use they were going ple had bestowed on them.
iringing the United Left Front into mmemoration Day, August 12, 1963,
Page 82
7
with a ceremony at Independence year's May Day could not be re-cre to arise about the sincerity of parties, who had been feuding ag the best part of a quarter of a announce that they had agreed t was no statement of self — criticisr where the mistakes lay. In othe taken into confidence about the left disunity. It was difficult to. hastly concluded agreement for ur for winning as many seats as po it was devoid of principle.
That this estimate is corre that the ULF did not last even a
The year 1963 also saw the p ing Marxism-Leninism on the one the other hand, inside the CP. As leadership of the CP had, by and large ideological influence of the Commu India. Here, it must be pointed out tl Ceylon C.P. had no contact with The reason for this was the fact formed after the dissolution of the The first contact was made at the C.P. held in 1956, when the del the delegates of the Soviet C.P., the Chinese Party's Congress.
But after Khrushchov usurpe revolution and embarked on the revisionism, abandoning the revolu Leninism, he sought to bring all visionist orbit. From the 21st Con the Soviet Union, the Ceylon C.P. all congresses of the Soviet Part Secretary of the C.P., returned from an “order" to have a resolution sup
Square. But the spirit of that ated. Doubts had already begun Ehe leaders. Here were three ainst each other—and how!-- for century. Suddenly, the leaders o unite their forces. But there 1 of who was wrong earlier, or er words, the people were not reasons for so many years of
escape the conclusion that the city was an opportunistic one ssible in parliament ; and that
ct was borne out by the fact - year.
olarisation of the forces representhand and modern revisionism on has been pointed out earlier, the , been always revisionist under the nist Parties of Great Britain and hat, contrary to popular belief, the the Soviet C.P. till after 1956. , that the C.P. in Ceylon was Third Communist International.
8th Congress of the Chinese egates of the Ceylon C.P. met who had also come to attend
I power by means of a palace treacherous course of modern tionary principles of Marxismommunist parties into the regress of the Communist Party of received regular invitations for 1. Pieter Keuneman, General the 22nd Congress in 1962 with orting the counter-revolutionary
Page 83
theses of the 20th and 22nd roaded through the central co that Congress, already obeyed authority from the central com Khrushchov and his revisionism
But Keuneman found h mentioned here that the Cey cussed the 20th Congress of t
made his secret attack on Sta inasmuch as the Party had be its lips, as it were, in the C kyism, the whole party was knew this, and did not dare not be postponed any more.
By this time, the differ line of the Communist Party of line of the Soviet Party, had cussion inside the central comn this difference in lines within
ment. The majority took the started a witch hunt against convened the 7th Congress of constitutionally postponed repe formed themselves as the Marxis and declared their allegiance t Thought. An early trial of took place at the 13th Congress tion, the biggest mass organisati in December, 1963. The moder feated and the leadership of tł Leninist hands.
The year 1964 faced tt nomic problems. The rising ti ing class was reflected in the JCTU. Mrs. Bandaranaike wa when the JCTU held a mamm its 21 demands, Mrs. Bandaran:
75
Congress of the Soviet Party railmmittee of the C. P. He had, at the Soviet baton and, without any mittee, attacked Albania for defying
is task tough going. It must be Ion C. P. had never officially dishe Soviet Party, where Khrushchov din. The reason for this was that, en born with the name of Stalin on purse of the struggle with Trotsintensly pro-Stalin. The leadership to risk. a discussion. But it could
-ence between the Marxist-Leninist - China, and the modern revisionist come out into the open. The disnittee of the Ceylon C. P. reflected the international communist move
path of modern revisionism, and the Marxist - Leninists. The latter - the Party, which had been uneatedly by the leadership, and rest-Leninist Ceylon Communist Party, o Marxism-Leninism — Mao Tsetung
strength between the two factions s of the Ceylon Trade Union Federaon under the leadership of the CP, -n revisionists were decisively dene C. T. U. F. preserved in Marxist
ne government with mounting ecode of discontent among the work
twin growth of the ULF and the -s alarmed, On March 21, 1964, Foth Galle Face Rally in support of aike cancelled her appointment to
Page 84
address a meeting outside Col Trees, because she had received r coming from all parts to the rally
She decided to act quickly. question. She decided on the enemy's fortress from within. hold talks with the leaders of the ing finger of Mrs. Bandaranaike Perera and Philip Gunawardena through different doors, while gate, begging for admission. TI by the very men who had set it shrewed tactical move by Mrs. obtained the submission of the her husband. Men who had
more able husband now lay prac working class and left movement Perera and two of his party colle terial jobs, and the coalition g One is reminded of Lenin's f government as a joint cabinet of gates from socialism. He must h
when he made that statement.
One result of the decision Government with the SLFP was faction led by Samarakkody. Me broke away to form the LSSP (R) This group split in turn, Samar with the (R) in front of it. Bot to who are the genuine Trotskyist
With an election round the to India to hold negotiations on Sirimavo-Sastri Pact was signed. ship to 300,000 people of Indian 545,000. The fate of the balance acceptance of these figures by Ce that the earlier laws had been un this Pact was that it said not a w
F6 -
ombo, and stayed inside Temple eporis of lorry loads of workers
- Open repression was out of the Ewell known tactics of taking the
She indicated her willingness to a LSSP. Even before the beckonhad ceased to move, both N. M.
collided inside Temp'e Trees Door Keuneman was left at the ne ULF was at an end-destroyed Eup only months before. It was a Bandaranaike. At one stroke, she
left leaders, which had eluded refused to be lieutenants to her tically prostrate at her feet. The
had been sadly betrayed. N. M. agues were rewarded with Minisgovernment came into existence. amous definition of a coalition
the bourgeoisie with the renenave had Ceylon of 1964 in mind,
of the LSSP to join a Coaltion another split in the party. A rryl Fernando and Bala Tampoe
—'R' standing for revolutionary. -akkody left it to form an LSSP Eh groups are still quarrelling as
e corner, Mrs. Bandaranaike went the Ceylon-Indian problem. The
Ceylon agreed to give citizenorigin. India agreed to take back
was to be decided later. The eylon was itself a tacit admission ajust. But the major draw back of ord as to what would happen if
Page 85
these figures were not reache 545,000 did not apply for li used? The question was left figured as a major point at been done up till now (1971
The major controversy government was that over t question, it is essential to h of the newspapers in Ceylor literacy in Ceylon caused by f played an important role in i minant position in the newsp the Associated Newspapers of called. It ran several daily r had been founded by D. R. W of D. S. Senanayake. He ha make his group a virtual mo provided by the Times of C owned, and by the Tamil dai
D. R. Wijeyawardena and for his contribution to th he supported through his new by his efforts in the newspap having established the great biggest bastion of reaction. reactionary in Ceylon. It opp brought forward by any gov Royal Commission on its corr vening Exchange Control r two million rupees in the pr directors in foreign banks (a should form the best epitaph rest soon, as everyone hopes.
It fought the left mov not choosey in the weapons truths, downright lies, etc.
used to beat the left. Bandar
77 -
d on a voluntary basis. Supposing dian citizenship? Was force to be beautifully vague. Although the Pact ubsequent elections, not much has
to implement it in any measure.
during the lifetime of the coalition ne Press Bill. To understand this ave an understanding of the set-up . Because of the high standard of ree education from 1945, newspapers influencing mens' minds. The predoper field at that time was held by
Ceylon or Lake House, as it was ewspapers in all three languages. It jjeyawardena, a colleague and friend
d bought up existing newspapers to nopoly. The only lopposition was Ceylon, which was originally British Iy, Virakesari.
is often praised as a reforms leader e movement for independence which spapers. But if he is to be judged per field, he must be credited with est lie factory in Ceylon, and the
Lake House epitomised everything psed every single progressive measure ernment. The report of a recent 'upt activities in deliberately contraegulations and accummulating nearly ivate accounts of the three of its lthough after Wijeyawardena's death) over its grave, when it is laid to
ement from the beginning and was it used - calumny, insinuations, half Nothing was too bad if it could be ranaike, too, had to triumph over its
Page 86
— 78
complete opposition. Being a goo to the State radio, and used it a his successors were incapable of t House. Already a public cry had r House. The coalition government no ise Lake House. This is where it powers (if necessary, declared an
House and talked afterwards. The n
Lake House moved its heav) of the Royal Commission details t meet this threat to its existence. voted out and left to be spent at two directors. The allegation was those M. P.s, who crossed over to the government on December 4th,
House. The Royal Commission we clared that they had received no e gation. But at the same time, it s House had no valid explanation ab entrusted to them during this per draw our own conclusions.
The campaign against Lake be seen in Ceylon. But Lake Ho tactics of the government. The " led the formulation and passage o
ment. Parliament was prorogued f another bill for taking over Lake on the Throne Speech of Decembe sufficient numbers of M.P.s from t organised to enable the governme The two M. Ps. of the LSSP (R), Sa voted with the UNP and the rest paved the way for the return of
It must, however, be poin of the first government under t Bandaranaike, several progressive me important ones were the Schools 7 the Bank of Ceylon and Insurance,
d orator, Bandaranayake turned gainst the bourgeois press. But nis, They decided to curb Lake jsen for the take-over of Lake ow introduced a bill to national
erred. It should have used its emergency) to take over Lake nistake proved fatal.
e guns into battle. The report he steps taken by Lake House to - Several lakhs of rupees were
the absolute discretion of one or = later made in Parliament that
the opposition to vote against 1964, had been bribed by Lake ent into this question and devidence to substantiate the allecated that the Directors of Lake =out how large sums of money iod were spent. We are left to
House was one of the biggest to use triumphed over the weak Golden brains" of the LSSP bung f the Press Bill through Parliaor the sole purpose of debating House. On the day of the voting r 4th, 1964, a switch over of he SLFP to the Opposition was nt to be defeated by one vote. marakkoddy and Merryl Fernando,
of the reactionaries, and thus the UNP in 1965.
ted out that during the period le Prime Ministership of Mrs. asures were adopted. The more 'ake Over, the nationalisation of
and the take over of all the
Page 87
foreign oil companies. A disp pensation to the latter, and t programme. The government f to the Americans. It must also the period of this government sonnel came to Ceylon.
The 1965 elections prove as the biggest single group. T sides, because its support coul the government. Although sti UNP’s alliance with the Feder the fact that the SLFP tried its the Federal Party, and was will nection. But, on the basis of nayake and Chelvanayagam, whi lished, the UNP formed a so-c cluded Philip Gunawardene an roped in wealthy plantation o cally enough, the leader of t
workers. It was the interest plantation workers of Indian o Indian High Commission in Ce face to lick the very foot that of Indian origin in 1948.
The rejected coalition loudest communal campaigns e which derogatory remarks abo abounded. This was the time LSSP and the Keuneman revisi by the SLFP in their crude com
On the 8th of January, to get through regulations to t of Tamil Bill, the Opposition c tration, which led to the shoo and the declaration of a state workers who had participated by the government and the St. was to find that its opportuni
79 --
ute arose over the amount of comne US Government suspended its aid nally agreed to pay a sum acceptable - be pointed out that it was during that the first batch of US Peace Per
d indecisive, but the UNP came back he Federal Party was wooed by boh d have enabled either party to form ubsequently violently critical of the al Party, there can be no doubt about
hardest to reach an agreement with ing to go to its utmost in this con
a secret pact between Dudley Senach has been admitted, but never puballed National Government, which ind W. Dahanayake. The UNP also Nner Thondaman, who was also ironi - he biggest trade union of plantation s of his class, and not that of the rigin, and possible advice from the ylon that decided Thondaman's volte had kicked the plantation workers
parties responded with one of the ver let loose, during the course of ut the eating habits of the Tamils
of the “Masala Vadai" line ! The onist clique were not to be outdone amunal campaign.
1966, when Dudley Senanayake tried pe framed under the Reasonable Use alled a communal strike and demonsting and killing of a Buddhist monk, of emergency. Thousands of mis-led in that day's strike were victimised ate Corporations. The Federal Party Sm was not to pay after all. At the
Page 88
- 80
ene coalition among Feder
instance of the Federal Pariy, D District Councils Bill, to afford son districts. The coalition parties succe in the country, also among the UN drop the Bill. Soon after, the Feder Cabinet resigned, and the illusion collapsed.
For the rest, the period of t Senanayake was noted for the still nomic crisis. Following the devalu and at the bidding of the World E by 20%. Because the World Bank w devaluation, a further devaluation in Entitlement Certificates Scheme was halved, but the first measure was sky-rocketted, and unemployment m place in the private sector and the respectively. The only solution of t ing economic ills of Ceylon was to perialist agencies, like the World Ba than any other government. Thereby chains that bound Ceylon to foreig
Politically, the SLFP, the LSS clique formed a United Front on the which was much weaker than t manifesto of Mr. S. W. R. D. Band
This period also saw the brii social oppression undergone by the d in Jaffna. Under the leadership of Eradiction of Untouchability and the ledged people joined issue with their of temple entry. The government si let loose repression against the sothe Marxist-Leninist Communist Pari called depressed castes and gave then bravely and several lives were sacr been completely settled. But, a posed the existence of such an i hypocricy of the Federal Party,
tudley Senanayake introduced a ne degree of autonomy to the seded in rousing such an uproar IP ranks, that Dudley had to ral Party representative in the | of a national government
he 1965 government of Dudley further worsening of the ecoation of the Pound Sterling, Bank, the rupee was devalued as not satisfied with the rate of the form of Foreign Exchange imposed. The rice ration was
given free. The cost of living lounted. General strikes took public sector in 1967 and 1968 he government to the mount» borrow extensively from imnk. It borrowed more heavily , it tightened still further the n imperialism.
P and the Keuneman revisionist pasis of a Common Programme, he original 1956 MEP election
aranaike.
nging out into the open of the epressed and untouchable castes
the Mass Movement for the Caste System, these underprivi- oppressors over the question ded with the caste Hindus, and called depressed castes. Only Fy openly supported these so1 leadership. The latter fought ificed. But the issue has not t least, this movement exnhuman system, and also the vhich called for equal rights
Page 89
with the Sinhalese, but were speak their own language, as lower caste.
The 1970 general electi frontation between the United Leninist Communist Party alo the fraud of bourgeois parliam the people to have nothing to at this time, relatively few peo had passed most people were analysis. Although the United power with an overwhelming m in parliament, it stood as if p the fundamental problems of cost of living kept soaring stil
worse.
The very vastness of its within it the seeds of its owi overwhelming mandate, the peo accept no excuses. Disillusione long in coming. Having promi government was beginning to before it. Having vociferously vience to the World Bank, th Dr. N. M. Perera's first act w: Before a year was out, the go ditions laid down by the Wor of the economic crisis on to explosion did not take long t
81
unwilling to treat members, who equals, because they belonged to a
on turned itself into a direct con
Front and the UNP. The Marxistle warned against placing faith in entary democracy, and called upon
do with the elections. Although, ble heeded this call, before a year to admit the correctness of that Front Government was returned to andate of over a two-thirds majority Iralysed and unable to solve any of the people. On the contrary, the | higher, and unemployment became
parliamentary majority contained 1 destruction. By giving it such an ple had given notice that they would nent with the government was not sed the very moon itself, the new go on the same rails as the UNP
criticised the UNP for its subsere new Finance Minister, Trotskyite as to go to it on a begging mission. vernment was fulfilling all the con-ld Bank, and passing the burdens
the shoulders of the masses. The D come.
Page 90
CHAPTE
An Analysis of the April
The gun shots that rang out heralding the outbreak of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (J. V.
man on duty at his desk. It al myths about Ceylon, which had bourgeois press and the bourgeois
Despite the notorious fact the third highest in the world, peaceful country, wedded to the violence, the Dhamma Deepa, who to the special care of Indra by Lord Buddha just before he passed lence witnessed during the commu were burnt alive because they b myth was created that the people democratic life, and were oppo In fact, at a public meeting held the beginning of the insurrection, the country had been spared protected by the gods.
But the biggest myth pro its people were firmly wedded parliamentary democracy, that we zealously learned the art of de British overlords, that we had suci she democratic process and that government in an otherwise turbul
All these theories lie shatte readiness and the dedication with and women came forward to sacr the fact that they were mis-guide pletely wrong tactics, and were us
R VI
1971 Events in Ceylon
on April 5th, 1971 at Wellawaya, oredoomed insurrection by the P.), not only killed the policeso effectively demolished several been sedulously cultivated by the
politicians.
that our crime rate was about Ceylon was supposed to be a loctrine of “ maithiri" and nonse protection had been entrusted Sakra on the specific request of | away. Despite the brutal vioinal troubles of 1958, when men elonged to the wrong race, the ! of Ceylon were wedded to the osed to revolution and violence. at Kandy a few weeks before
Mrs. Bandaranaike claimed that violence because it was specially
pagated about Ceylon was that to the principles of bourgeois
were the only country that had emocratic government from the cessfully changed governments by
Ceylon was an oasis of stable ent world.
ered on the ground today. The
which numbers of young men ifice their lives, irrespective of d, badly led and followed comsed from behind for reactionary
Page 91
purposes, once, and for all di that our people were not revo Let this be a warning to the to the revolutionaries.
Secondly, the most - is having to rule with the m powers. Bourgeois democracy Beginning as far back as the Mr. Bandaranaike, rule by Sta Both the 1960 government o government of Dudley Senana) which government shall rule longer period. The U. N. P. Anyway, both governments rul under a state of emergency. Th
But the record has bee Front government of Mrs. Bano unprecedented parliamentary m not complete one year of its emergency. It is unlikely tha during its span of life -- howe At the time the United Front 1970, Marxist-Leninists pointe parliamentary majority containe destruction. The United Front in its promises to the people
mise. Its leaders even boasted spent in opposition, they had put into operation as soon power. They asked the people solute majority so that we nee of groups. The people did m: two-thirds majority. There w ernment from implementing its pledged its support. There cc to implement the election prog
83
posed of the theory to the effect utionary. They are second to none. reactionaries and an encouragement
Iemocratically" elected government ɔst unprecedentedly brutal dictatorial in Ceylon had always been a farce. 1956 M. E. P. government of the late te of emergency had become a rule. f Mrs. Bandaranaike, and the 1965 ake competed with each other as to under a state of emergency for a
beat the S.L.F.P. by a small length. ed for the greater part of their period at was democracy-~a la Ceylon.
n improved under the present United laranaike. Coming to power with an majority of over two-thirds, it could
life without proclaiming a state of * it can lift the state of emergency ver short or long it turns out to be. government came to power in May d out that the very vastness of the d within itself the seeds of its own , while in Opposition, had been lavish - There was nothing they did not pro
that, during the five long years they Irafted a master plan, which would be
as they climbed into the seats of e only for one thing: Give us an abd not be dependent on other parties ore than that. They gave the U. F. a as apparently nothing to stop the gov
promises. A prostrate opposition also ould be no possible excuse for inability rammes; and very soon signs were not
Page 92
- 84
wanting that the people were not had done what had been asked o results.
Even before the election vi Leninist Communist Party, in callii farce of bourgeois parliamentary di the general elections in any way, F present imperialist-feudalist- big bot not broken, and the repressive bou as its watchdog was not smashed b
ment that came to power through mentary democracy, ic would not ! problems of the people.
The warning proved corre Ceylon has been a sort of a game Senanayake and the Bandaranaike f a period of 9 years, the Senanayake years, from 1956 to 1965, the Band over. Then from 1965 to 1970, th the pendlum has swung back to th
wagon, in the meanwhile, had crep revisionist clique (Ceylon's revisio fundamental change took place in ture. Ceylon continued to be a nec The commanding heights of its eco pied by foreign imperialists. The ber plantations, which still brough national Wealth of the country, banks, the import-export trade, imperialist hands. The puppets th form were made in Ceylon, but they are manipulated, are still pulle
Despite all the loud and er mental changes were made in this government came to power in May, treated to the sight of intellectua building socialism, while the maj spinners--the tea and rubber plan
villing to listen to excuses. They f them, and now they wanted
ctory of May, 1970, the Marxistng upon the people to reject the emocracy, and not participate in ad warned that, so long as the ergeois economic framework was rgeois state machinery that acted
force, whatever be the govern- the means of bourgeois parliabe able to solve the fundamental
ct, Parliamentary democracy in e of musical chairs between the amilies. From 1947 to 1956, for e clan ruled. For the next nine aranaikes-husband and wife took se Senanayakes took over. Now e Bandaranaikes, into whose band t in the LSSP and the Keuneman nist Communist Party). But no
the social and economic struc1-colonial and semi-feudal country. nomy still continued to be occugreater part of the tea and rubt in the greater share of the
the majority of the country's shipping-all remained in foreign at danced on the political plathe invisible strings, with which d from London and Washington.
mpty talk of socialism, no fundasituation after the United Front 1970. Instead, the people were
imbeciles holding forth about ority of the country's money ations—and the banks continue
Page 93
to be in foreign imperialist ha were invented. People were disclipline, hard work and tigh matching sacrifices at the to themselves additional allowances selves new air - conditioned offic went abroad for their educatio palatial buildings were on the lịcised rent restriction laws cot some of the country's biggest ho The much - promised declaratio saw the light of day.
In the meantime, the The already insurmountible pr worse by the new government' and dismissing thousands of wo in many of the State Corpora Land Army recruited by the fo rosity in supplying rice and in vernment to fulfill its promise rice on the ration, and to jus most vehement critics of the fo ing loans from the World Bank begging bowls and implored loar
It was no wonder that .fi the country - particularly, the
made worse by the fact that Trotskyites and the revisionis government, and who, in their speeches and even more revoli had they donned the robes of air conditioned offices, they be the establishment and the state cribe a coalition government as with the renegades from sociali
. There cannot be any dou has completely forfeited the co
85
ands. New definitions of socialism
told that socialism meant greater tening of belts. But they saw no p. Members of Parliament voted - " Socialist" ministers built themces. The Prime Minister's children
n. The number of Benz cars and increase. Not even the much pubuld be brought into effect, because Duse owners were inside the cabinet. en of the assets of the M.P.s never
Fost of living kept sky - rocketting. oblem of unemployment was made s action in taking political revenge erkers engaged by the last regime stions -- including 10,000 from the ermer regime. Only China's geneaterest -free loans enabled the go
of granting a second measure of st carry on. Men who had been ormer government's policy of seek
overnight became mendicants with as from the same World Bank.
rustration and disillusionment swept
youth. The disillusionment was people expected a lot from the ts, who were now part of the
time, made the most revolutionary utionary promises. But no sooner
ministerial office and occupied their ecame the most stout defenders of us quo. Correctly did Lenin des
a joint cabinet of the bourgeoisie sm.
abt that these erstwhile left parties -nfidence of the people and, more
Page 94
particularly, of the youth. The these sham revolutionaries and ex of counter-revolutionaries, who C punction in condoning the worst that Ceylon had seen, as well
without trial for already 12 mo all political hues.
The present state of affairs rights, including the right of Hab public meetings have been suspen: exists under rigorously enforced press censorship has completed t geois parliamentary democracy.
was supposed to have been majority of the people (actually today show itself before the peo police might. The · People's '" Prir of her house without heavy armed
The Marxist-Leninist analysis geois parties occupy the seats of
with the army, navy, air force a guardians and watchdogs of explo trained at Sandhurst and New So to the hilt. An unelected minor village official, e.g. a grama sęvaka M.M.C. into jail, while an elected on helplessly and impotently and speech. The performance of Ceylon' counts in its ranks some of the le has produced, will surely go down i mentary democracy as one of the m were scared : and one and all did for quite some time. Even the Prir
ment became a rare occasion. The government exactly where they w another first—a military government
It is these twin factors—pec geois parliamentary democracy an coupled with the bankruptcy of the
5 -
April events completely stripped posed them nakedly as a bunch did not have the slightest comE blood bath and mass murder
as in condoning the detention nths of over 14,000 detainees of
, where all civil and democratic eas Corpus and the right to hold ded, and a virtual military rule state of emergency, and a strict che disillusionment about bourThe people's government, which
elected by the overwhelming it was only by 49%) cannot ple without a show of armed me Minister can hardly move out escort.
E that, whichever of the bour
power, the real power resides and the police forces, the real oitation--whose officers are still otland Yard -- has been proved - minion of bureaucracy, like a , was able to get an M.P or an
House of Representatives looked even devoid of the power of s House of Representatives, which udest tub-thumpers that Ceylon n the history of bourgeois parliaFost impotent ones. One and all
not dare go to their electorates he Minister's appearance at parlia
military and the police had the anted it. Ceylon had perfected
with a civil facade.
ple's disillusionment with bour9 wich former left parties — = U. F. Government to solve the
Page 95
people's problems that paved Support among a certain sectio constitute a big share of the
The exposure of both t} mentary democracy and the be ites and the modern revisioni ary path as the only means fo Ceylon most consistently and s Ceylon Communist Party-eve party and constituted itself as
But, just as in 1956 the with the addition of a judicious age and race, ran away with t left movement before his tim benefit of the work of the N to communalism (anti-Indianism appear to be difficult. In the to R. G. Senanayake and Hem combined communalism with r out a new mixture. They wrap ism (the plantation workers o tial portion of Ceylor's workin Indian expansionism) with a re seemed to have been more they also subtly exploited an of the J. V. P. belong to one
This brings us to an ana Most of the analyses made by devoid of any seriousness. J. V. P. was an agent of the analysis that they were extrem nature of the J. V. P.?
The first point that m the questionable nature of the to have been honestly revolu dedication that must be adm even their lives —unheard of b
87 -- the way for the J. V. P. to win the - of the rural youth who, in Ceylon,
population.
e bankruptcy of the bourgeois parliarayal and treachery of the Trotskyts and the advocacy of a revolutionr a social change was really done in -stematically by the Marxist - Leninist - since it split from the revisionist
a separate party in 1964.
late Mr. S. W. R. D. Bandaranayake, - appeal to issues of religion, languhe radical slogans popularised by the e, so now the J. V. P. reaped the Marxist-Leninists by adding an appeal ) and caste. To understand this might sast, politicians from D. S. Senanayake a Basanayake and K. M. P. Rajaratne eactionary politics. The J. V. P. tried pped up a crude appeal to anti-Indian - f Indian origin, who form a substang class, were portrayed as pawns of volutionary phraseology. In this they successful. For additional measure, appeal to caste. Most of the leaders caste.
alysis of the character of the J. V. P.
the leaders of the government are Starting from an analysis that the reactionaries, they ended with the e left adventurers. What is the real
ust be made is that, whatever be | leadership, the rank and file seems tionary minded, with a sense of ired, and a willingness to sacrifice refore in Ceylon. The pity is that
Page 96
— 88
such sacrifice was made in vain. Th a section of the leadership was mani tionary forces for their own end.
There is little doubt that this n. to oppose the growing influence of M Since the theories of Trotskyism ar peaceful co - Existence and peacefui were getting increasingly discredited, its assistance the pseudo-revolutionar
name of Che Guevara in order to youth from the revolutionary truths o used half-quotations from Mao Tsetung their philosophy was out and out anti
They popularised the theory o tively small group of armed bravado the state machine, and afterwards This is a favourite theory of the pett) individualism and its distruct of the
mass participation and is the very people's war as expounded by Comrad
Comrade Mao taught us that war of the masses; it can be wa masses and relying on them". The support and near complete isolation class was one of the most noticeable insurrection by the J. V. P.
Their military tactics were al theories of a quick victory in a one from complete lack of understanding enemy, as well as of the well knov people's war advanced by Comrade M ployed by the J. V. P. in simultaneou stations, which are the centres of the almost infantile in conception, and c slaughter that took place.
The leader of the J. V. P. was Lumumba University, who had been gi
ere cannot be any doubt that pulated from behind by reac
ovement was called into being ao Tsetung Thought in Ceylon. ed the revisionist theories of Eransition through parliament
reaction had to summon to y theory associated with the distract the attention of the f Mao Tsetung Thought. They to deceive their followers. But -Marxist-Leninist.
of Che Guevara that a relaes or guerrillas could capture attract the people to itself. 2 - bourgeoisie, with its strong
working class. It rules out anti - thesis of the theory of le Mao Tsetung.
“The revolutionary war is a ged only by mobilising the almost complete lack of mass
from the organised working characteristics of the so-called
so derived from adventurist -day revolution, which sprang
of the real strength of the vn theories of a protracted ao Tsetung. The tactics emsly attacking so many police ! strength of the enemy, was puld only result in the mass
; an ex - student of Moscow's ven an anti-Soviet certificate
Page 97
and expelled from the Sovie filtration of Marxist-Leninist r ship, he went out to form the J
The J. V. P. itself wa: any sense we know. It heli The leadership was not elect by the most unimaginable an calling themselves Marxist-Leni of democratic centralism. agent provocateurs and even and direct the movement from
There is a number of probably now never be fully lished that, during the former the activities of the J. V. P., pr to the government ( a former further and fuller report, com by the Permanent Secretary nal Affairs, had been submitte reports are said to have con proved them) of the pla J. V. P. were centred, and and the type of activities type of training they wer not submit this report eitl is composed of the chiefs of
Nor did he take any actic police merely arrested a fe and later released them—thus g
Even though challenge Minister had given no satisfa Equally intriguing is why the The reports were all at the CID. The same personnel, w did they not take any action action? We will, perhaps, ne to note that it is this same the JVP intentions all along,
gations!
- 89
E Union in order to facilitate his inanks. Having failed to win the leader- V. P.
E not organised as a political party in 3 no conferences - secret or public. ed, while the leader was surrounded a false cult of personality. Despite
nists, they were innocent and ignorant This was an ideal situation in which
hidden reactionaries could function behind for their reactionary ends.
points about the J. V. P. which would cleared up. It has now been estabU. N. P. rule, two special reports on repared by the special security adviser
Inspector General of Police) and a piled on the basis of these two reports to the Ministry of Defence and Exterd to the then Prime Minister. These tained accurate information (as events ces where the activities of the a list of their important personnel
they were engaged, including the e having. The Prime Minister did
r to the Security Council, which the armed forces, or to the Cabinet. on whatsoever on these reports. The
W individuals, including the leader, iving them a political build-up.
in parliament, the former Prime story explanation for his inactivity. new government, too, failed to act.
office of the Special Branch of the ith minor changes, continued. Why por advise the government to take any ver know. However, it is interesting personnel, who had known all about vho are today conducting the investi
Page 98
— 90
Equally intriguing was the pr by the bourgeois press. Hardly a other of the three main newspaper not carry some news or other abo movement in Ceylon had ever enjoye The Ceylon Daily News would n but it actually carried a centre page
was described as next in success S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike! All the
Then comes the question of we accept the story that the guns a collection of sophisticated bombs, come from? Worse, where did so The amount of money alleged to ha needs accounting. The only satisfa that the merchants belonging to a had so far swallowed the anti-Indian up thousands of rupees! It is not planation.
In any case, the crude antiried out by the JVP is undoubted. of Tamil blood through which the to protect the Sinhala State. Thi hardly any worthwhile incident occur ern provinces, and the plantation di Indian Tamils live. It is also a fa among the membership or leadership of
The timing of the insurrectio cient time for the new government from the people, betrayed either presence of agent provocateurs. We idiocy of the tactics of attacking all
—considering the fact that the gover any time have mustered a much larger i
The JVP also had no clear - C from the criticisms of the governm from earlier programmes of the left
Ass build-up given to the JVP day passed, when one or the s of the bourgeois group did t the JVP. No other political I such a propaganda build-up. >t like to be reminded of it.
article, wherein Wijeyaweera ion to D. S. Senanayake and se cannot be accidents !
arms and ammunition. Even if were stolen, where did such never before seen in Ceylon, much ammunition come from ! ve been spent by the JVP also story answer so far given is I particular casté down South propaganda that they coughed an altogether improbable ex
idian communal campaign car
They even talked of oceans Sinhalese would have to wade s accounts for the fact that -red in the Northern and Eaststricts, where the Ceylon and ct that there were no Tamils - the JVP.
n itself, without giving suffito get exposed and isolated
political immaturity or the - have already referred to the police stations simultaneously nment's armed forces could at Force—as, indeed, they did.
ut political programme - apart ent and certain points picked parties. The political maturity
Page 99
of the membership of the JVP cal education was condensed to not encouraged to read outsi difficulty of the paucity of boo Tsetung Thought. Therefore, revolutionary phraseology, w Lumumba University, were pa Leninism,
In fact, it was this method of recruitment that br many of those arrested turne the CID.
The IVP, also made no revolutionary člasses and grou
At the same time, w the positive aspects of this gospel of revolution. But in the Marxist-Leninists, because dates at the last elections ar formed, declared their willing the government would build s mentary socialism was kept was on revolution.
They also did correct dents and youth. This was to the political classes COI their earlier revolutionary pe which they imbued these ) earlier tactics of carrying ou correct, although they negate and started functioning openly their resources for spectacula their cadres openly and perr The resourcefulness they use least a section of their mer
worthy.
- 91
was shockingly low. All their politi> a bare five lectures, and they were de it. There was also the practical iks in Sinhala on Marxism-Leninism-Mao a mixture of crude communalism and hich Wijeyaweera had learned at Issed off and accepted as Marxism
| low political level and haphazard ought about the situation under which d informers and gave information to
attempt to build a united front of all ips against the common enemy.
e must be objective and point out
movement. The JVP preached the | this they were not unqualified like = the JVP supported the UF candind, even after the government was gness even to dissolve themselves, if ocialism. Thus, the illusion in parliagoing. However, the main emphasis
by concentrating on the rural stua generation which had not listened nducted by the LSSP and the CP in eriod. The sense of dedication, with
outh, was truly remarkable. Their ut all their activities in secret was ed this after the UF election victory,
and concentrating on mobilising all er public meetings—thereby revealing nitting infiltration of their movement. d in collecting arms and training at anbers in their use was also praise
Page 100
But all these factors do not di mentally the movement, as a whole, main section of the leadership len reaction. They did not correctly our main enemies ? Who are our had an incorrect understanding of th nature of its immediate tasks. Gla that not a single imperialist lost hi flicted on imperialist or feudal pro or big landlords among the casualtie
There was also a complete united front of all revolutionary for the common enemy. We have alrea wrong and infantile military tacti without any thought for the coun that were to be sacrificed as a re any revolutionary struggle. But revo sary sacrifices.
But all this was no excus was let loose by the government al ery-principally the police and mil of emergency and complete press c tually placed under military rule. it had never dreamt of in its history.
Professor Rene Dumont, wh invitation of the government, wr Paris: “From the Victoria Bridge river which flows from the North immobile onlookers. This was on
who had killed these people, let t in order to terrorise people".
Wilfully exaggerating the ex the government, not only were all let loose on the people, the foreigi sionists, the western imperialists,
were pressed into service. The In MIG jets and Anglo-American arm
tract from the fact that, fundawas counter-revolutionary. The Litself to be manipulated by inswer the question: Who are friends ? In other words, they ! stage of the revolution and the ring proof of this was the fact
live, nor was any damage inperiy. Not were big capitalists
S.
lack of an effort to build a ces that could be united against dy commented on the completely Cs used by the JVP leadership tless young revolutionary lives sult. Sacrifice is unavoidable in lutionaries must avoid unneces
e for the mass repression that nd its reactionary state machinitary. Under the rigorous state ensorship, the country was virCeylon underwent a blood bath
o was then in Ceylon at the ote in Le Nouvel Observateur. I saw corpses floating down the of the capital, with hundreds of the 13th of April. The police he bodies float with the current
tent of the danger involved to Ehe local reactionary armed forces | assistance of the Indian expanand the Soviet social imperalists lian navy and helicopters, Russian 5 and ammunition were used to
Page 101
hunt down and terrorize the At one stage, there was ever Anti-Korean and anti-Chinese staff of the North Korean Em quent protestation about the forces. The Chinese News Age naike Memorial Hall site, where were putting up a Rs. 35 mil the police. Hundreds of bool were confiscated, and in at bonfire of all Chinese literatur
It was only the correct and their generous aid ( actual that prevented the governmen perialist camp. But it is wo took one month to announce a Rs. 150 million interest-free
Mrs. Bandaranaike has military aid she received from expansionists was the supreme policy of non-alignment. In a interference in the internal af cular, the prompt action o * protective" ring round Ceyl and in the light of declared { quarters. If it is true that to foreign military assistance, the title of a people's govern the hour of need? Even if 1 insurgents, why did they not they elected ?
One reason for the pop talities that were inflicted on t police and the military. Peopl by the hundreds on mere suspit and young people subjected to have left many crippled for life state of emergency and full dici forces that has so far saved them
93 -
people in an unprecedented manner.
talk of calling in the US fleet. provocations were resorted to. The bassy was packed off despite subse
non-involvement of any foreign ncy's office as well as the Bandarathe Chinese engineers and workers ion project free was also raided by Is by Mao Tsetung and his pictures least one case, the police made a
diplomatic behaviour of the Chinese ly offered before the insurrection) t sliding completely into the imrth while to note that the Cabinet to the public the Chinese offer of
loan.
vorked overtime to prove that the 1 the imperialists and the Indian e justification of her government's ctual fact, it was nothing but blatant Fairs of another country. In partiof the Indian navy in throwing a on sounded ominous for the future, expansionist views in certain Indian
this government's survival was due then it can no longer lay claim to
ment. Where were the people in Ehey did not actively side with the
rise in support of the government
pular apathy was the unheard of bruche people, guilty or innocent, by the
e were shot at sight, and arrested cion or false complaint, women raped unmentionable sadistic tortures that e. It is only the existence of the catorial powers granted to the armed
from the revenge of the people.
Page 102
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In many respects, the so - C to the reactionary forces within an made wholesale arrests of any and critical of the government or not cent—irrespective of whether such the insurgency or not. In particular ally revolutionary forces felt the he leading members of the Marxist-Le as the leaders of the trade union continue to be so detained, despit been the first political organisation tionary nature of the JVP long | those arrested was the general secre headquarters was raided, its press hundreds of Sinhala and Tamil tra
Mao Tsetung as well as other boo! Thus, the reactionary forces hope movement once for all. Include detained were several prominent ever, were known to be pro-Chir
Also arrested was an LSSP League on charges of being suspec JVP. The failure of the LSSP, the United Front government, to obtai one of the most shameful epis LSSP. In contrast was the way in I his son released within four hours This was a shrewed investment f effectively shut the mouth of MI Opposition, on all fundamental ma gency and the detenues. But it a government. After all, the Jayaw belong to the same class !
Apart from these, over 15 were arrested and are being kept suspect of having been connected surrendered on a solemn promise of . But they, too, are being kept in co
lled insurgency was a god-send I behind the government. They
every person who had been supported it one hundred per
a person was connected with all revolutionary and potentiavy hand of repression. Several linist Communist Party as well
led by it were detained and ! the fact that the Party had to expose the counter-revoluefore the insurrection, Among tary of the Party. The Party's
wilfully damaged, and several nslations of works by Comrade Is removed and never returned. | to silence the revolutionary d among those arrested and members of the SLFP who howiese.
M.P. and president of its Youth ted of being a member of the e second biggest partner in the in his release, will go down as odes in the history of the which Mr. J. R. Jayawardena got pf his arrest on similar grounds. or the government, because it . Jayawardena, Leader of the tters concerned with the emerIso showed the class bias of this ardenas and the Bandaranayakes
5,000 people, mainly the youth, detained without trial for being with the JVP. Several thousands an amnesty by the Prime Min ster. ntinuous detention. It took Egypt
Page 103
and Pakistan, which were faced to sort out matters, bring the and remove the state of emers much shorter period. But in are going on at a snail's pace--il
One aspect of these ar the fact that not a single T fact that Ceylon boasts of a the leaders of some of thes p'atforms with the JVP and another mystery, which we c
But it is in the ea took hold of the opportunit anti - popular measures, which not dared to do. Taking shelt helpless people, who had been or strike or any other form to fulfil almost all the conditior nated World Bank before it train fares, postal and telepho upped. The prices of bread, increased. The rice subsidy v for the health services, which ing soared still higher. The budget by the LSSP's Dr. N. M.
Accompanying the heap people was the terrific increa armed forces. This island of doctrine of non-violence prea the strength of the armed fe the current year. The total gone up from Rs. 81,069,093 has gone up from Rs. 23,778 purchase of arms and ammun Rs. 1,490,000 to Rs. 4,800,0 becoming a police state.
95 L
with a much bigger political upheaval, ring-leaders to trial, release the rest, ency and lift press censorship in a our little Ceylon, the investigations they are going on at all.
rests that cannot escape comment is otskyite was arrested, despite the umber of Trotskyite groups, and that | groups had appeared on common
were quite close to it. That is innot unravel.
onomic front that the government Y with both hands to introduce even previous UNP governments had er under the bayonets pointed at a
denied the right of assembly, speech pf protest, the government proceeded Is laid down by the American - domiwould grant Ceylon a loan. Bus and ne rates, electricity charges, were all sugar, milk, petrol, cigarettes, were was slashed, while a charge was made
were hitherto free. The cost of liyUNP's supporters greeted this year's Perera with lighting of crackers !
ing of all these huge burdens on the se of expenditure on behalf of the
peace, the repository of the pure ched by Lord Buddha is to increase arces and the police by 25% during
Army vote in the 1971 budget has to Rs. 151,779,255. The Navy vote 540 to Rs. 36,601,880. The vote for tion and stores have gone up from 00. Ceylon is well on the way to
Page 104
— 96
The conditions are all bei beneficiary of neo-colonial aid from still further tie our economy to t imperialism. The United Front - go
matter whether Rama rules or Rava economic set up continues unbroken, t ist and capitalist exploitation will co
The masses are now being to discipline and hard work. This is abolition of capitalism, and this is naike, N. M. Perera and Pieter never intend to do. Hard work ha both capitalism and socialism. Unde back-breaking toil of the workers and landlord. Under socialism, the accrue to the workers and peasants. phistry by men with double doctorat
The net result is that the o given a god-sent opportunity to tl tionaries behind it to impose a vir the people, and, under cover of i economic measures to prop up the big bourgeois economic system of the rich richer and the poor poorer.
ng laid for Ceylon to be the
the World Bank, which will he chariot wheels of foreign vernment has proved that, no na rules, so long as the present he system of imperialist, feudatntinue uninterrupted.
-Id that socialism means greater punkum. Socialism means the precisely what Messrs. BandaraKeuneman have not done and as to be a common factor for er capitalism, the results of the goes to enrich the capitalist e benefit of hard work should
No amount of dishonest soes can hide this simple truth.
utbreak of the insurgency has he government and the reactual military dictatorship over t, introduce all the unpopular ! existing imperialist--feudal-- exploitation, which is making
Page 105
CH
C
The fundamental reason ing the communal problems, unsolved is due to the neo-co and its deepening economic continuing state of economic is due to our inability to P by an ever-expanding populat for the prices fetched by our of affairs is the fact that the mainly tea, rubber and coconu wise of our economy depend imperialist - controlled interna
no control.
This situation, in turn dence of our economy on te manding heights of our econo tions, which still produce the the majority of our banks, tł trade, shipping, etc. — are st For decades, now, the impel the prices of our tea and have increased the prices of machinery, etc. Thus, Ceylo part of this loot is syphonec Joan, for which we have to Despite 23 years of so-called of government, no governmer anything to basically break rialism on our economy.
Every time the crisis have been adept at transfer crisis on to the shoulders government removed the ric railway rates, and deprived 1 bun. In 1962, the SLFP at
APTER VIL
nclusions
why all the basic problems, includfacing the people of Ceylon remain onial nature of the country's economy :risis. The country has been in a crisis for years. Th's economic crisis roduce the consumer goods needed ion, or to import them in exchange export crops. The cause for this state ! prices of Ceylon's export crops -
- on which the prosperity or other, is decided by the vagaries of the tional market, over which Ceylon has
, is caused by the excessive depena and rubber, and because the com
my --a greater part of our plantae larger share of our national wealth, ne major share of our export-import ill dominated by foreign imperialists. ialists have systematically depressed rubber. Equally systematically they
their exports to us, like fertilizer, 1 is being bled on both sides. A
back to us in the form of aid or pay interest, and also feel grateful. independence and so many changes t—be it UNP, SLFP or UF-has con 2 this stranglehold of foreign impe
akes a serious turn, all governments ring the burdens of the economic of the people. In 1953, the UNP e subsidy and increased postal and he school children of their mid-day empted to reduce the rice subsidy,
Page 106
- 98
but was forced to retreat. In 1967, and halved the rice ration. At th heavy borrowing from the U.S. imp In 1971, the United Front governm bus, electricity, telephone, posta! r. of petrol, cigarettes and many oth and curtailed free health services.
Most of these measures we governments at the dictates of the tion for the grant of loans. Ceylo mortgaged to the World Bank. Emp been accompanied by increased buro corresponding sacrifices from the a performance is by those who talk a the plantations, which are the count are left in the hands of foreign imp of the United Front government's is Mr. J. R. Jayawardene, leader of t of the UNP, and one of the most a ist class in Ceylon. He has not the government, but is even expec From the interest of his class, he r is delivering the goods for the capit the UNP could ; and that it is the tion and should, therefore, be propp
Despite nearly forty years of of so-called independence, no fundan has been solved. In fact, they have has reached unmanageable proportion has sky - rocketed to unimaginable hei sight. The reason is quite simple. problems facing Ceylon can be foun of its economy from the strangleł This cannot be achieved through b cracy—no matter how many governme
the UNP devalued the rupee, e same time, it resorted to erialist-dominated World Bank. ent has increased the railway, ates and increased the prices er essential consumer goods,
re taken by the respective
World Bank as a pre-condion's future has already been Oty talks at out socialism have lens on the people with na =ffluent. The most ridiculous Ebout building socialism while ry's biggest money spinners erialists ! The latest admirer attempt at building socialism he Opposition, deputy leader astute leaders of the capital -
merely expressed support to ted to join it as a Minister. ealises that this government alist class. much better than best bulwark against revolued up!
adult franchise and 23 years mental problem facing Ceylon e got worse. Unemployment is, while the cost of living ghts. There is no solution in
A solution to the economic d only through the liberation hold of foreign imperialism. Pourgeois parliamentary demo
nts are changed..
Page 107
AII this goes to prove -- big bourgeois economic fram as the bourgeois, repressive st Smashed by force, no matter comes to power by means of t ary democracy, the fundame remain unsolved.
The only answer is the radiance of Marxism - Leninism
99 -
that so long as the imperialist-feudal mework remains unbroken, and so long ate machinery that protects it is not
whichever be the government that che farce called bourgeois parliamentental problems of the people will
path of revolution illuminated by the - Mao Tsetung Thought.
Page 108
-- 100
AN ADDEN
As the final pages of this bo comes that Ceylon has been declared Commonwealth. This is just anothe Front Government hopes to fool : it is unlikely that it would succeed
Constitutions -- even the best of paper. Their strength depends on will continue as of old. The same police and bureaucracy will continue the imperialist—feudal-capitalist ex as severe.
Let it be remembered that it that prevented succeeding governmer policies. SLFP governments national oil companies, insurance, etc. and But they did not do anything fun relations. Nor will they do so no tion. But one more excuse will can they put the blame on the sho It should also be noted that the Commonwealth demonstrates the s Ceylon.
As for the rest, it is the sa new bottles.
IDUM
ok are being printed, the news
a republic within the British r hoax, by which the United end deceive the people, But
drawn ones -- are mere pieces
who holds state power. This British-trained armed forces, e to rule Ceylon, and protect ploitation, which will be just
was not the old constitution nts from implementing correct ised bus services, the ports,
even abolished the Senate. damental to change property Dw - under the new constitugo by the board. No more rtcomings of the constitution.
decision to stay within the strength of British capital in
ame story of the old wine in
23.5. 1972
Page 109
Quotation
“ To forget that unive retain their property, is bourgeois state ...... T bourgeois parliamentarism'' tariat, desert to the side become a traitor and a re
“ The bourgeois parliam ever democratic a republi the suppression of millio of exploiters -- if the prop is preserved."
“ The bourgeoisie are o describe as "popular gove or pure democracy, the which is, in practice, th the dictatorship of the expl But, Marxists, Communist the workers and the w and straightforward truth Constituent Assembly, gen the dictatorship of the bo of labour from the yoke but to replace this dictato proletariot."
101
5 From Lenin
'sal suffrage, as long as capitalists only one of the weapons of the forget this and confine ourself to is shamefully to betray the proleof the class enemy, the bourgeoisie, negode.
ent, however democratic and in howC – is nothing but a machine for ns of working people by a handful berty and power of the capitalists
ompelled to be hypocritical and to rnment" or democracy in general,
( bourgeois ) democratic republic e dictatorship of the bourgeoisie, loiters over the working people . . . . s, expose this hypocresy, and tell working people in general the frank
: The democratic republia, the eral elections etc. are, in practice, urgeoisie, and for the emancipation
of capital there is no other way, orship with the dictatorship of the
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102 ERR O
Page
Line
Instead
20
36
1976
68
25
neh-coloni
Printed at SARASAVI PRINTERS, NO
R S
of
Read
1796
alism
neo-colonialism
- 10, Glennie Street, Colombo - 2.
Page 111
N. SANMUGATHASAN is t Communist Party and of the spear -- headed the fight for Thought in the old party, the new Marxist-Leninist Pa credit. He has been in the graduated from the University
A RUL, SIT
Kokanati Suthumal
MAN
e general secretary of the Ceylon Ceylon Trade Union Federation. He | Marxism -- Leninism -- Mao Tsetung and took a leading part in founding ty. He has many publications to his Marxist movement from the time he
of Ceylon.
TATHASAN lai Vasam" ai Centre,
IPAY.
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