Book review

Gentle giant with a true nationalistic vision

A biography serves generally as an assessment of an eminent person. An assessment of D.S. Senanayake has to start by examining the authenticity in the words of O.M. Green - one of the best known British writers on international affairs in the nineteen forties and nineteen fifties - that "under Senanayake Ceylon was the most untroubled country in Asia." 

At that time, this country enjoyed one of the highest levels of literacy in Asia, compulsory and free education, low infant mortality and a relatively efficient, largely free national health service, a University which was recognized and accepted as having standards comparable with the best in Asia and the world, a model Parliamentary democracy with universal adult franchise, a well run civil administration and a competent judiciary. During this period "there was tranquillity in the land." 

How much of this was because of the wise leadership of D.S. Senanayake? This is the question which I think my father H.A.J. Hulugalle was trying to look at in his book "Don Stephen Senanayake, the first Prime Minister of Sri Lanka," which he wrote 25 years ago at the age of 76. 

The author had observed Senanayake for 30 years from a very close perspective. He wrote his book twenty-three years after Senanayake's death, as such he had the distance to look at his subject also in the context of the events that unrolled subsequently. It was published in 1975. 

What was it that took Senanayake into politics? Senanayake was a natural leader. He came from a village which the author says had "a breed of sturdy peasants". The family would have thrown up leaders from the time of the Portuguese. The Senanayake ancestors would have had to hone their wits against the foreign rulers even as early as the time of Prince Vidiya Bandara, whom they helped with a jail- break in 1553. Though deeply steeped in tradition and religion, which the village of Botale had nurtured among its people, the Senanayake family would have maintained a working relationship with the foreigners, which would have given an exposure to the wider world. That could explain adopting the "Don" as one of their names. Leadership qualities would have led to money and money to the establishment of Mudliyar Don Spatter's Serugollawa Walauwa, from which the future leader came. 

At school Senanayake did not excel at his studies, but towered over his contemporaries physically. He was an outstanding wrestler, played cricket for S. Thomas' and left school with a certificate from Warden Stone which confirms his responsible character even at that age (A copy of this certificate is in the new edition). 

The education which Senanayake had with Warden Buck and subsequently, with Warden Stone would have nurtured his inherent qualities which were reflected in later life. He was witness to Buck's famous farewell speech "You have learned the best lessons from STC (S. Thomas' College) .- true manliness and truth, courage, purity and all those things that make a man a gentleman...." The college had inculcated a self -confidence to this sturdy villager from Botale, which enabled him to deal with statesmen of the highest intellectual levels and to be admired by them for his intrinsic noble and decent character traits. 

What was the hallmark of his success? Firstly, he was trusted. I remember discussing Senanayake with Jinadasa Mudalali, the Thalaguli King of Ambepussa on the Kandy road during a JVP imposed curfew in 1988. Jinadasa Mudalali was a friend and supporter of DS and had known him very well. I asked him as to what Senanayake would have done in that situation. Mr. Jinadasa replied that the Prime Minister would have gone to the people, explained the facts to them, they would have accepted his word and gone home. They would have taken it upon themselves to explain matters to the insurgent youth. Of course this is a simplistic analysis. Yet it was typical of the trust the people had in him. 

If one were then to juxtapose this with what a sophisticated British Cabinet Minister and later Governor-General Soulbury had to say about him one notices a similarity. Soulbury wrote. " .... It was also clear to me that he was a man filled with that sense of intense patriotism and love of his homeland which is characteristic of the members of long settled and ancient families. From the very first I felt that I could trust him implicitly - so that as the saying goes - "I could put my shirt on him...."

Even one of his most formidable opponents Dr. N.M. Perera had this to say about Senanayake's management of the Cabinet: "It is a tribute to his personal character that he held together with such adroitness a team so long and in such trying circumstances. Only his unrivalled knowledge could have enabled him to steer so certainly and so steadily and maintain such an even keel". 

Senanayake's unrivalled knowledge was what he had acquired on his own. Senanayake had deep love for the country and faith in its people. This obviously was a strong motivating force. However, he realized as a practical man that mere zeal to serve the people without knowledge would get one nowhere. His sparse academic attainments and his sole reliance on his intelligence and commonsense made him seek the best advice which he could access on every subject he tackled. 

It is amazing how he com manded such respect from a team of ministers, advisors and officials of such enormous talent and ability and inspired them to work for the good of the country. There were definite attributes in his personality, which enabled this outcome. They were his exceptional intelligence and dedication to hard work, his humility and his great personal charm. 

As Agriculture was his special commitment he studied the subject from every aspect. In 1934, he formulated a blueprint under the heading Agriculture and Patriotism. Here he set out his ideas for immediate action and defined a course for a long term plan. The success of his vision was the achievements of the schemes to harness to the full resources of Minneriya, Kalawewa, Topawewa, Giritale and other tanks such as Kahagama colony of 17,000 acres, which came under the Balalu Wewa irrigation system and the Minipe colony. Minneriya with its colonies Hingurakgoda and Hathamune were designed and constructed to bring 50,000 acres of virgin wild under cultivation. Of course, he would be remembered for Gal Oya, with its reservoir capacity of 770,000 acre feet and designed for the better utilization of a quarter of a million acres of irrigable and high land, which has been posthumously named after him as the Senanayake Samudra. When full, the Senanayake Samudra contains thirty times as much water as is held within the breakwater of the Colombo Harbour. 

Gal Oya was financed almost entirely with national funds. Of the total investment of 67.2 million dollars, less than 1.6 million dollars came from foreign aid. 

Apart from agriculture and particularly Gal Oya, Senanayake is remembered as the 'Father of the Nation' for the manner in which he achieved independence. Senanayake was always realistic enough to know his limitations. He was not negotiating from a position of strength. The author writes: "He responded with goodwill when goodwill was shown to him and, on appropriate occasions, acted on the principle that 'the gentler gamester is the soonest winner'". 

On the subject of the approach to achieving independence, there were alternatives which Senanayake could have selected. A colony could attain this by resorting to an armed struggle or by persuasion. Non-cooperation as in India could have been another alternative. Senanayake realized that unless such non-cooperation was highly disciplined it would have led to violence, as Gandhi discovered. If that were to be the case achieving one's objectives peacefully would have ceased. Senanayake opted for the course of persuasion and that was his secret for leading the country to independence without bloodshed. His personality naturally, was an asset. It was invaluable at this juncture. 

The author does say that independence came as a culmination of a long drawn-out process and as a result of the efforts of several national leaders. He also commends the goodwill of enlightened British statesmen for their contribution. However, there is no doubt that the catalyst that gelled it all was D.S. Senanayake's ideas on education, on the cooperative movement, Indo-Ceylon relations, citizenship for persons of Indian origin, foreign policy, the importance of a quality public service all of which contributed to creating the correct environment for a peaceful nation. 

He came to realize that a correct balance in politics was the statecraft needed for a well run society. 

The highest priority he gave to the unity of the country and its people and economic development which he considered the cornerstones for the survival of the nation. For this he spared no effort. 

The adherence to parity in the national languages was fundamental. Commonsense must have told him that parity would satisfy the emotional needs of the Tamils. Moreover, the Tamils knew that Sinhala was needed for employment in the Sinhala areas and also to be effective in the corridors of power, where they had a role to play under Senanayake. Several schools in Jaffna had Buddhist monks, revered and respected, teaching Sinhala. Both the Sinhalese and the Tamils needed English to access the enormous knowledge of the human race. English was also the link language, which unified the communities at that time. 

The public service at every level including the armed forces had a happy mix of the communities. In the commercial fields the minorities played a significant role. 

Senanayake's contribution to confirm O.M. Green's assertion comes out pregnantly in the facts that are presented by the author. One could quibble on non-issues but overall the fact remained that the country was a model for the developing world. 

Reading this book should however, not seduce one to a nostalgia of the past. The political dynamics have changed. We have to understand them as D.S. understood and mastered the dynamics of his day, and was proven correct by "the tranquillity in the land" in his time. Then a Prime Minister could go on horseback through the streets of Colombo without any danger to his life. Today the only exercise a Minister can take is walking on a treadmill at home! Our world is so different. Our problems are so different. Senanayake paid attention to the healthy psyche of his people and the structures of his society. Both the psyche and structures have to keep changing to match the times. We have eroded both these as seen in recent times. This trend has to be reversed. This book can help. Youth should be encouraged to read it. 

More Plus

Return to Plus Contents