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Appreciations A versatile man who brought recognition to Lanka A.C.S. Hameed My late brother Shaul Hameed's third death anniversary fell on September 3. He was educated at St. Anthony's College, Katugastota, Vijaya College and Zahira College, Matale. He showed a flair for English writing and started with the Children's Corner in the Sunday Observer to which he was a regular contributor from 15. While being
in Standard VII, he launched a magazine for Matale schools called
New Broom. Later he organized the Matale Student Union of which
he was elected President. Being interested in adult education and
English teaching, he was responsible for establishing a number educational
institutions in Matale and Kandy for backward Muslim communities.
He was Director
and Principal of Winchester College, Matale which prepared students
for foreign and local examinations conducted in English. He was
also elected President of the Central Ceylon Muslim Assembly and
it was through this organization that the Kandy Muslim Teacher Training
College was inaugurated. At that time there was a dearth of Muslim
trained teachers to teach Muslim children. In 1956 he
became actively involved in politics and joined the UNP. He contested
the general election held in March 1960. Since then he was returned
to power in eight consecutive elections counting 39 years. Thus
he had one of the longest unbroken parliamentary records. He was elevated
to the Cabinet in 1977 when the UNP returned to power. He also became
the first Foreign Minister. Since independence the Defence and Foreign
Affairs portfolios had been held by the Head of Government and it
was in 1977 that Foreign Affairs was formed as a separate ministry.
He became the first Foreign Minister during the Middle East boom.
At that time restrictions in issuing passports and the existence
of exit permit, discouraged employers recruiting Sri Lankans. One
of his first directives was to remove all restrictions on issuing
passports. He also opened embassies in Middle Eastern countries.
Throughout
his long and unparalleled stint of nearly 15 years as Foreign Minister,
he remained a deeply committed student of all aspects of foreign
policy and international affairs. He spearheaded
a number of discussions abroad and at home to settle many national
and international disputes. He was involved in three major attempts
to resolve the armed conflict through negotiation - the Indo-Sri
Lanka Agreement of 1987, the Premadasa- LTTE talks of 1989/90 and
the All Party Conference of 1990-1992 of which he was Vice Chairman. His proficiency
in Tamil (he was trilingual) was invaluable in establishing a rapport
especially with the younger members of the LTTE team. He attended
the Non-Aligned Summits in Cuba, India and Zambia, SAARC meetings
and the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. His contributions
were respected. He was Chairman
of the ministerial conference of NAM from 1977-1979. One of his
greatest contributions was the role he played in projecting Sri
Lanka's national interest at the third United Nations Conference
on the Law of the Sea. He was closely associated in formulating
Lanka's case for special treatment in the delimitation of its continental
shelf given the special geological features present in the southern
part of the Bay of Bengal. These efforts
have resulted in a statement of understanding being incorporated
in the Law of the Sea Convention, which accommodates Sri Lanka's
concerns. This would bring about extensive economic benefits to
the country, through the exploitation of resources in the extended
areas of maritime jurisdiction. Let me conclude
with a prayer: O Allah make the grave a garden of bliss and also
make the grave not a place of hell fire. Allahummaj al Kabrahu Rawlathan
min Riyalul Jinan Wala Thaj al Kabrahul Huffrathan min Hufrin Niran
Ameen. May Allah Almighty grant the highest felicity to this departed
soul in Jennathul Firdous. Why
do the good die young? Unassuming
man M. Chinniah,
a philanthropist has been a household name in Karaveddy. Proof of
this was the crowd that thronged the gates of his ancestral home
on hearing the news of his death, though it's more than 10 years
ago that he migrated to Canada. In Karaveddy,
he was adored by everyone and for close family members he was a
demi-god. He helped them financially and paid periodic visits to
their homes. He was known by several names such as 'Colombo Mamma',
'Colombo Appah', 'Chinniah Kunchiyan' and 'Kunchi- appu'. While happily
settled in their own palatial house in Wattala after retirement,
having given the daughters in marriage and taking pride in son Ambihapathy
who was then a Superintendent of Police, tragedy befell the family
in July 1983. Their home was reduced to ashes and the family scattered. In the late
'90s, the couple had to leave for Canada with much reluctance at
the insistence of their children. The loss of his life-long partner,
as days passed by became unbearable and within 90 days he too succumbed
at the ripe age of 94. She
lit the path for us to follow In 1983, Professor
Sethi visited Sri Lanka and made a presentation on the fabrication
of the Jaipur Foot Limb at the SLFI. The Colombo Friend-in-Need
Society was invited to the presentation. At the time Sri Lanka had
not developed a proper artificial limb and all that an amputee received
at the General Hospital was a wooden peg leg. It was at a
time like this that Prof. Sethi visited Sri Lanka, when there were
nearly 4000 amputees hobbling on wooden pegs without proper artificial
limbs. The Friend-in-Need Society being the first charitable organisation
to have been launched in Ceylon by Governor Sir Edward Barnes in
1831, seized the opportunity of providing this low cost marvel called
the Jaipur Foot Limb to the thousands of disabled poor who had been
denied mobility thus far. Prof. Sethi supported the project by training
the first two technicians at his workshop in Jaipur for six months.
It was the good fortune of the disabled in the country as well as
the destiny of the Society, that we had Swarna Ferdinand with us
as Secretary of the Society. It was her
courage and determination which really saw the birth of the Jaipur
Foot Programme in Sri Lanka. She worked ceaselessly, taking the
work home, getting up at 4 a.m. and writing when her mind was fresh,
till the Society achieved its objective of launching the project
in Sri Lanka. Eventually, by 1985 patients were receiving prostheses
mainly suitable for rural amputees who formed the large bulk of
our patients. In recognition
of her enormous contribution towards the rehabilitation of the disabled
as well as her life-long services towards humanity, President R.
Premadasa awarded her the title Deshabandu in 1989. When she left
our shores in 1990, she left her legacy behind at FINS. She had
lit the path for us to follow. She had shown us how to give of ourselves
totally and unreservedly. |
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