Apropos recent remarks, rather unwanted and unwelcome at a critical time like the present, made by the President Kumaratunga and Anura Bandaranaike regarding the ‘enemies’ who are trying to destroy Bandaranaike policies, I would like to make few comments for the benefit of the general public so that they will know as to who the real enemies of the Bandaranaike policies are. I write this as a person who has been close to the Bandaranaikes as Mrs. Bandaranaike’s one time secretary.

First of all, I think it is necessary to have a clear idea as to what the so-called Bandaranaike policies are. Identifying the enemies can then follow. It appears to me from these statements that Chandrika and Anura think Bandaranaike policies are the heirloom of Horagolla and Bandaranaikes are the angels sent by God to rule this island of Sri Lanka. But I must categorically say that that is far from the truth.

There is no argument that what is labelled as the Bandaranaike policy today saw its light in 1956 with S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike emerging as the Prime Minister. It is also true that Badaranaike played the key role as the political head in enthroning these policies in the post 1956 period. In fairness to him one must say that Bandaranaike was the first statesman cum politician of this century who understood the aspirations of the common man in this country and who paid with his life for trying to enthrone their aspirations more particularly the Sinhala Buddhists, who had been stripped of all what could be called their heritage.

Not only did he give the much needed political leadership to the patriotic forces who were desperately looking for a Moses who could lead them to the land of Promise ever since Anagarika Dammapala left the stage, but also he was able to rally round him the common people under the Panchamaha Balavegaya of Sanga, Veda, Guru, Govi Kamkaru, (Buddhist monks, Ayurvedic physicians, teachers farmers and workers) the forces who in fact matter most in Sri Lankan politics. For this, he used the magic of his unsurpassed and brilliant oratory and charisma so much that he was looked upon as Diyasena who has come to rescue their nation, as the Parakumbasirita stated in the past by the Sinhala Buddhists in 1956.

He is also the first politician who realised the value and the relevance of the Marxist concept of socio-economic justice to our context and invited the Marxists parties to join hands with him to blaze a new trail of economic and social freedom for the common man in this country, which of course, our disoriented Marxists pundits never understood.

What he did during a short period of three years and four months for the country elevates him above all other contemporary politicians. He was a uncommon man with a clear vision who walked among the common men with a mission, perhaps the mission he had conceived in his mind when he retorted in reply to Governor Chalmers thus, "I shall work for my country instead of accepting an offer to be a Mahamudaliya," the day he was taken to the Governor by his father as a young boy and also the dream he formulated within the inner portals of Oxford as a student.

He gave new vision to our eyes and new hearing to our ears and new life to the feeling on our heritage and the future. As such, no one can deny his place in the political history of this country.

However, in fairness to that great man of our age, it must be clearly stated that Bandaranaike was not the true architect or the father of these policies.

He only acted as the midwife for the delivery of the long awaited baby of this national politico-cultural and religious resurgence which has been gathering momentum since 1870s in this country. Their main architect was none other than Anagarika Dharmapala. It was the burst of the patriotic forces forcibly subdued for centuries by the colonial rulers and their local agents led by the UNP that saw the light of day in 1956.

The Report of the Buddhasana Commission of 1953 provided the ammunition for the 56 struggle. Eksath Bhiksu Peramuna led by prominent monks of the day such as Henpitagedara Gnanasiha, Talpavila Wimalawansa, Mapitigama Buddharakkita, Hewanpola Ratanasara, Kotagama Vachissara, Bambarende Siri Sivali, Madihe Pannasiha and lay Buddhists like Mettananda, Kularatna and many others spearheaded the movement. In fact, there were many other prominent personalities like Malalasekera, N. Q. Dias, G. V. S. De Silva and Premakumara Epitawala and the entire Vidyalankara group of monks behind this national movement.

It was at the MEP’s first public meeting held at Colombo Ananda College Bandaranaike along with Philip Gunawardana, Iriyagolla, and few others vouched to implement the recommendations of the Buddhasasan Commission. As a school going boy of 17 who attended that meeting, I can still remember how Bandaranaike and his team sat on the floor of the stage in front of the Maha Sangha and made a bold and firm declaration to the nation that if they came to power, they would implement the recommendations of the Commission.

This was the historic meeting, at which the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna for the first time got the acceptance of the people. The entire framework for the political and socio-cultural policy implemented by the MEP afterwards was, thus, already in store, finalised by the patriotic national forces. Of course, the whole credit for the new foreign policy pursued by the MEP, I think, should go to Bandaranaike.

Taking over of the Katunayaka and Trincomalee bases whereby Sri Lanka was relieved of British clutches was also, I think, entirely his. Powerful and progressive Ministers like Philip Gunawardana. P. H. P. De Silva, Illangaratna and T. B Subasinha also contributed heavily for economic reforms of his government like the nationalisation of the Colombo Port, buses and setting up of the Insurance Corporation.

The most important quality I see in Bandaranaike is his preparedness to listen to the national leaders and the voice of the common man. He was the best democratic leader we had since independence. But the policies implemented by his government were, in fact ,moulded in the crucible of nationalist and patriotic movements that were agitating for freedom and independence for a long time in the past.

They were in fact nothing but the aspirations and policies of the Sinhala Buddhist masses of this country for which Bandaranaike gave legitimacy under his government.


These policies survived until Mrs. Bandaranaikes was in power. In fact, sometimes they got an added impetus under her government. The inclusion of the Marxists leaders in her cabinet, which even SWRD had failed to do, was to her credit.

Now, let us see what happen to these Bandaranaike policies after she was forced out of active politics by J.R. Jayewardene. Chandrika along with Vijaya Kumaratunga broke away and formed a new political party under the name Sri Lanka Mahajana Paksaya (SLMP)and she started working not only against the SLFP but also against her own mother. Anura also had his break away camp with Maitripala Senanayaka working against his mother, though later he joined hands with Mrs. B.


By the end of 1993, the SLFP was in shambles like a wrecked ship in high seas drifting without a captain. Anura with all his Bandaranaike legacies was unable to rescue the SLFP. It was at a time like that in December 1993, Chandrika was asked to take over the party by Mrs. Bandaranaike at my request in spite of the reservations she expressed at that meeting. Keppetiyagoda Seelawimala Thero of Getambe temple and Prof. Wisva Warnapala, who are still among the living will vouch for this historic discussion we had at the Rosemead Place residence on the 25th of December 1993.

Since she took over the steering, she first organised the Southern Provincial Council election with the help of party stalwarts like Mahinda Rajapakse and led the party to victory.

In August 1994, she became the Prime Minister of the country. Meanwhile Anura annoyed by Chandrika’s return to the party had left the SLFP and joined the UNP and became the Minister of Higher Education. Then came the Presidential Election. The party wanted Mrs B. to be the Presidential candidate. But with a lot of clandestine and under hand work organised by the media, Chandrika was nominated and with Gamin’s assassination it became a one horse race.

She made a public promise at the election that she would abolish the Executive Presidency by 15th July 1995. Public understanding in the country was that with this abolition she would come back to Parliament as the Prime Minister and appoint Mrs. B. as the President. But nothing of the sort happened until Mrs B’s death.

It is interesting to note here that Mrs B would never have been appointed as the Prime Minister in 1994, if I was not there as her secretary at that time. The insiders including Keerthi Mavellage would perhaps vouch for this undisclosed incident and as to how I got this worked. Chandrika got trapped and had no alternative but to appoint Mrs B as the Prime Minister in spite of her inner wishes to appoint someone else from the famous Gang of six who were aspiring to be the PM.

Before this happened, one evening I asked Mrs B who the next Prime Minister would be. ‘Sudath she will appoint someone whom she wants," was the answer. Then I told her that no person other than Mrs B. should be the PM. She said, "No Chandrika won’t appoint me. She doesn’t trust me!" I still could vividly recollect the despair, the desperation and the frustration this great lady had on her face. When I asked the same question from Sunetra, this was what she had to tell me, "Chandrika will never appoint Ammi as the PM, the sun will rise from the other end if she does that." But I told her that we must somehow or the other get Ammi appointed. Then again she said that would never happen. Sunetra said much more, but I do not want to mention them all here.

Another day I asked Mrs B why she allowed Charika to appoint Vasantharaja Raja a prominent LTTE man as the Chairman of the Rupavahini Corporation. On another occasion, I wanted Mrs B to ask Chandrika to combine the Kandyan Peasantry Commissioners Department and The Hadabima Authority of Sri Lanka to form a new Authority as had been recommended by the KPC commission of 1949 to undertake the development activities of the Kandyan provinces as these neglected areas very badly needed a high powered dynamic development programme to restore the lost rights of the Kandyan peasants. I also handed over the cabinet paper to her to be given to the President. As on all previous occasions, this was what she told me, ‘Sudath chandrika okkoma kelinne pissu, mama kiyana kisi deyak ahanne nehe, e nisa mata behe Chandrikata ova kiyanna." This I think is the best assessment of Chandrika any body could have ever made. Could there be a better one? I do not know.

Now since then, Chandrika has been in power for eleven years, mind you as the Executive President of this country; the most powerful head of state for any democratic country in the world, I think even more powerful (at least within Sri Lanka) than the President of the US.

Eleven years is a long, long time for any head of state to be in power. Compare her record with what Premadasa did during his short spell as President; then with her own father’s three year period. See what wonders King Walagambahu did during a very short spell after returning from a long period of exile in the jungle. Now the million dollar question the whole country has to ask Chandrika is: Besides demolishing and destroying the very image of her own parents and messing up all around what exactly Chandrika has done for the country and the SLFP during this long 11 year period?

On several occasions, she openly criticised the Sinhala Only policy and the patronage given to Buddhism by her father’s government; she parted with the Ministry of Buddhist Affairs, as soon as she assumed duties, which was earlier under the President; appointed utterly incompetent cronies purely for personal reasons to high posts in public service and made a mockery of democracy by appointing even men rejected at polls like Mervin Silva as ministers and deputy ministers and used the mantle of the President only to build up her personal glory beside satisfying her whims and fancies.

She appointed all the MPS of the SLFP, except one man, as Ministers and deputy ministers at public expense. Has she ever been able to uphold the country’s image abroad as her parents did? Has she ever listened to the wishes of the people when she singed the P-TOM or when she tried to amend the Constitution?

She has been always castigating others but has she ever cared to look at her own record both in public and private? On the top of all these miserable records, now she goes round the country asking the people to help stop the Bandaranaike policies being destroyed, much to the detriment of her Prime Minister who is in the presidential fray. Those like Thondaman and Ven. Uduwe Dhammaloka who are working against her own nominee for the presidency are in her good books. In so doing, she appears to have completely forgotten all the hard work Mahinda has done to save the party when it was in shambles and moreover that he was the unanimous choice of the SLFP.

The best request the country should make from her at this crucial hour of the nation is to keep silent without playing with a nations destiny at least now. Or to ask her to stop doing what her mother said she was doing.

Mahinda Rajapakse, to my mind, as I have already said in two of my previous articles to the Divaina and The Island is the best choice at a critical time like this for the Presidency. He is a man who is prepared to listen to people like SWRD in 1956, unlike Chandrika. He has already succeeded in rallying round him all the patriotic forces in the country, not only the Sinhalese but also such sections of the Tamil and Muslim community. He also has never left the SLFP and joined UNP or formed a new Party as Chandrika and Anura did; no has he ever criticised the Bandaranayaka policies either.

Can Chandrika or Anura claim to have these qualifications to carry forward the so-called Bandaranaike policies? Do they really know what Bandaranaike policies are? This, I think, is the question the whole country should pose to Chandrika and Anura. These two should either support Mahinda to carry forward the policies of the masses or at least remain silent without trying to display their vanity and foolishness and desperately trying to bury Bandaranaike policies for ever.