Features

Biography of E.A. Goonasinghe pioneer Trade Unionist and able Politician

Published

3 years ago

2023/08/18

Book review

Author: Dr. B.G.A Vidyathilaka
(632 Pages in Sinhala)
Published by Sarasavi (Pvt) Ltd,
First edition 2023

Absorbing and no-holds-barred- biography – a review by Jagath Savanadasa

This is a well researched and illuminating biography about the life, services and times of E.A. Goonasinghe the pioneer Trade Unionist and able \politician.The Labour and Trade Union movement in this country owes a debt of gratitude to its father figure E.A. Goonasinghe. He indeed gave life to it during a particularly difficult period when workers were subjected to harsh treatment by the employers. This was during early to near mid-20th century when the country was under British Colonial rule.

When one reads this book, one is exposed to the truth about working conditions during those turbulent years, in both public and private or mercantile sectors. Some of the tales about the strikes organised to alleviate the suffering of the mass of the employees groaning under the weight of injustice, pricks one’s conscience.It also raises the valid question why were British entities so unjust and why did they not improve working conditions of the employees?

It was during this early stage that the biography brings forth history of trade unionism and the arrival at the scene of a forceful and combative figure. It was he who led the suffering masses and helped to band themselves together to fight for justice and fair play.

The first part of the book is a virtual autobiography and its titled “My life and Labour”

Accordingly Goonasinghe has had his early education at St. Joseph College, Colombo and Dharmaraja College, Kandy. Even as a schoolboy he seemed to have been patriotic.And quite early in life Goonasinghe had been vehemently opposed to the Kandyan Treaty of 1815 which was an instrument of deception by the British. Goonasinghe had been an avid protestor at the centenary meeting of the above Treaty at the residence of well-known lawyer in Chilaw C.E.A. Corea.

The meeting led to the formation of an association named “The Young Lanka League”. While C.E.A. Corea was elected President of the league and Goonasinghe its Secretary.

Sinhala-Muslim riots of 1915

The Sinhala-Muslim riots of 1915 was a gruesome event which darkened the history of British rule of Ceylon.More than 100 men were killed during the riots which originated in Kandy and spread to various parts of the country.

The most unfortunate aspect of this grim episode was the misguided action of the British military who thought that the riots were instigated by the Buddhists leaders in Colombo. The British not only declared Marshal law but also arrested leading Buddhists like D.S. and F.R. Senanayake, Hewawitharana brothers, Sir D.B. Jayathilake, Piyadasa Sirisena, Aurthur V. Dias and also .A. E. Goonasinghe the main figure in this study.

Also during the course of the riots, Captain Pedris who had no hand in this grim affair was mistakenly shot dead. This was a grave error on the part of the British which led to serious repercussions on them.

The historic strikes.

The vivid biography also describes more than two dozen strikes in which Goonasinghe was deeply involved. These reflected Goonasighe’s will and strength in combatting ruthless forces in operation in the upper rungs of the Mercantile sector supported by the Police.The most serious of these were in the 1920’s. One such was the GOH strike, another the strike by the harbour unions, and the most devastating was the tram car unions strike.

It is interesting at this stage to look at the history of the last strike mentioned. A prominent Mercantile firm Whittal Boustead and Company Limited had owned and operated a network of Tram cars in the city. Older generations in Colombo will recall that it was a commendable “modus operandi” for travel within the city. The objective of the strike was to bring about better wages as well as persuading the company to improve working conditions of those who manned this important service.

It did lead to negotiations with the hierarchy of Whittals but they failed to grant the demands made by the Unions.More seriously the strikers had been challenged and provoked by the Maradana Police. The book observed that retaliatory violence led to the police shooting five people dead. Shocking accounts of this deadly action is revealed in the book. It had led to burning of the Maradana Police station completely.

The Final Outcome

The Book observes that the Inspector General of Police Hubert Dowbiggen had been condemned in no uncertain terms since he had acted in an arbitrary and ruthless manner which deepened the crisis.

An important agreement

The book notes that the penultimate stage of this unfortunate affair was the investigation conducted in order to examine the causes, effects and solution. But nothing followed and thus the final outcome of the inquiry was not known.

Of course, there was one worthy development and this was the final settlement arrived at between the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and the three Trade unions involved which revealed a sympathetic attitude of the Ceylon Chamber Chairman towards the workers and it was helpful in solving the issues.

Goonasinghe’s political carrier

Besides being a noteworthy trade unionist. Goonasinghe had also had an eventful political career during that final phase of the British colonial rule.At first Goonsinghe became a member of the Colombo Municipal Council in the 1920’s. The election to the Council had been a tense affair with several well-known politicians joining the fray.

First Sinhala Mayor

Goonasinghe had the honour of being the first Sinhala Mayor of the capital City which shows that in those distant days ethnicity, religion, caste and such other factors had been decisive in politics.

Member of the State Council

In 1931 Goonasinghe was elected to the State Council and quickly rose to be a Minister.A point of special interest revealed in the biographical account is that he was elected to the State Council through the UNP.

Other Highlights

Curiously Goonsinghe’s Ministerial portfolio did not specify his duties and exact responsibilities. But it did reflect some interesting facts. Though Goonsinghe, throughout his life represented the interests of lower rungs of employees, he was not strictly a leftist. But a liberal thinker and a democrat.

The book also reveals verbal duels in the State Council against the likes of Dr. N.M. Perera the prominent Sama Samaja leader. He had never given in to them. However, Goonasinghe was elected a member of the first post Independent House of Representatives in 1948. And a cabinet Minister in the first government of D.S. Senanayake

Goonasinghe had the honour of representing the local Trade Unions at conferences overseas and one of which was in London where he had the opportunity to interact with leading personalities in the British Labour party.

Goonasinghe during the course of a notable and varied carrier had also being Ceylon’s ambassador to Indonesia and Burma respectively. This enabled Goonasinghe a devout Buddhist to visit renowned temples and other historic sites especially in Indonesia. He also had the opportunity to establish ties with President Sukarno of Indonesia.

Adult franchise for eligible Ceylonese

Goonasinghe during the course of which fought relentless battle was to gain voting rights to eligible Ceylonese.

Death of D.S Senanayake Ceylon’s first Prime Minister and the father of the nation

Ceylon’s first Prime Minister D.S. Senannayake aslo called the father of the nation died suddenly in 1952 after falling from the horse he was riding. In a graphic description of the aftermath of his death the biography recounts the stirring address made by Goonasinghe in the parliament.

Goonasinghe recalled that D.S. and F.R. Senanayake the two brothers had laid the foundation for the independence of this nation from Colonial Bondage. Goonasinghe had added that D.S. did not have a degree from Oxford or Cambridge universities. But he was nourished by the ancient culture of this land and he became one of the greatest political leaders of the world.

Following the prime Minister’s death there was no tussle to succeed him. But the book highlights how an attempt was made by Sir. John Kothalawala to be the Prime Minister. But this was thwarted when a number of Parliamentarians who objected to it forwarded a petition to the Governor General.

The Book which is full of exhilarating history of this country notes how P. De. S. Kularathna an eminent educationist failed in his attempt to enter parliament through a misjudgement about voters of Maradana.

Was it a love-hate relationship?

Around the same time Goonasinghe was active in public life the field of Sinhala journalism was dominated by a great nationalist of the time Piyadasa Sirisena. Sirisena who was Publisher and Editor Sinhala Jathiya newspaper.

The Biography quotes Sinhala Jathiya’s comments on Goonasinghe’s role in public life. The Book also published many cartoons that appeared in Sinhala Jathiya from time to time. This writer feels that this newspaper’s portrayal of Goonasinghe seems to show two sides, both love and hate.

But readers may feel that this is a part of objective journalism.Sirisena was a great believer in democracy and also had rightist inclinations.This biography is a voyage of discovery. And readers should be grateful to Dr. Vidyathillake for his vital account on Trade Unionism and its pioneer.

Jagath Savanadasa is one of most senior Chamber of Commerce officials in the country with a career span of more than half a century. He has also published books on history and other trade related research works.He is currently the Secretary General/CEO of the Business Chamber of Commerce which was established in year 2000. This essay however is written in his personal capacity

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Features

The hard challenge of clinching a political settlement in the Middle East

Published

16 hours ago

2026/07/23

Sahan Weerasooriya

Bruised hearts: Displaced Palestinian civilians in the Gaza.(Photo by Mustafa Hassona/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Despite some sections of the Trump administration persisting with the view that the possibility could not be entirely ruled out of there being a diplomatic solution to the current US-Iran hostilities in West Asia, the skeptic could not be blamed for thinking otherwise. The intensity, scale and frequency of the tit-for-tat strikes by the antagonists over the past few days against selected military targets and civilian infrastructure in particular in West Asia make the adoption of this stance excusable.

The continuing hostilities render the mentioning of the MOU signed between the warring parties in mid-June a laughable matter. While it could very well be that the foes are wishing privately for a cessation of hostilities before long, what seems to be uppermost on their minds right now is to negotiate with each other from a position of strength. This strategy compels them to incapacitate each other militarily to the extent possible, lest they have to concede too much to each other during negotiations. Hence the stepped-up hostilities.

However, even on the question of there being a negotiated political settlement in the West Asian theatre in the longer term, the skeptic could come to be seen as scoring over the optimist. Developments on the ground account for this.

At the time of writing Israel’s Netanyahu government is going ahead in fairly care-free fashion with the establishment of more Jewish settlements in the Gaza and the West Bank, and it’s all happening under the apparently complacent gaze of the US. In fact, some quarters estimate that Israel is in control of some 65% of the Gaza Strip. Ethnic cleansing, that is, is being drastically stepped-up.

Accordingly, in terms of the power relations of West Asia, the world is almost back to the status quo of the late forties of the last century when the state of Israel was established and the Palestinians were reduced to a microscopic minority in the land they came to inhabit. Therefore, even the impartial observer would be compelled to ask: ‘Will a negotiated peace be ever possible in the Middle East?’

The humanist in the observer would prefer to answer this question in the affirmative and it is indeed the ideal stance to adopt considering the staggering human and material costs of the conflict. But the way ahead to peace could be expected to be highly hazardous and arduous. Among other odds, it would also prove an uphill endeavour to win minds and hearts.

The US’ Trump administration would need to be counted out in this pursuit. This is on account of the fact that it has been far too wayward in its management of West Asian affairs in particular over the past couple of years. Given its unpredictable character it is a matter for conjecture whether it could be counted on to live up to its commitments.

Moreover, Israel could be expected to ‘go it alone’ in the Middle East regardless of whether US help is coming or otherwise. It has indicated as much in recent times and Israel could be doubted on this score only at the doubter’s peril. Because time and again Israel has demonstrated that it could steadfastly defend its interests even single-handedly in the Middle East. History bears this out.

However, a durable alliance with the US would stand Israel in good stead. On the matter of military and intelligence assistance, for example, the US’s help proved invaluable for Israel in the past and going forward this is bound to be so as well. Moreover, it is unlikely that the Trump administration would give up on Israel, considering that a strong Israel is crucial for the furtherance of the US’ strategic and economic interests in West Asia.

But whether the above factors would have a considerable bearing on the question of working out a durable solution to the West Asian tangle is an entirely different matter. Israel, as in the case of the Palestinian enclaves, is acutely security conscious and would need to satisfy itself fully that it could live in a security environment that would guarantee its complete safety, going forward.

The Middle East is badly in need of another peace effort on the lines of the Oslo Accords of the mid-nineties that brought the key actors together and helped hammer out a solution that addressed some of their notable concerns. To be sure, that process did not prove to be the ideal answer to the tangle, but it yielded some respite to the region and drove home that one-time sworn foes could indeed negotiate with a degree of success. The West Bank authority, although falling short of fulfilling some key Palestinian aspirations, is testimony that a degree of success is possible if the intent is right.

Given the current realities of West Asia, peace-making is bound to be an uphill challenge. The violence faced in recent times by the Palestinian community, in particular, has been nothing less than mind-numbing. Merciless has been the violence visited on them by the Israeli side. In such circumstances, durable peace in the region could smack of an idealist’s dream.

Nevertheless, there needs to be urgently, a meeting of minds over the divides. The US would need to be counted out as an honest broker in bringing the sides together but the rest of the West would do well to step up to the challenge.

In this exercise the onus would be on the world’s democracies to take the initiative and doggedly stay the course. An acceptable combination would be the EU and the UN. Given their credentials, the main sides in West Asia ought to find them the least controversial.

Even if the relevant institutional and political arrangements could be shored up to take a reconciliation process forward, winning hearts and minds for the peace drive would prove a grueling challenge. Over the past few years in particular tens of thousands of hearts and minds on both sides of the divide have been bruised badly in the runaway murderous violence that has come to define the Middle East.

These badly scarred personalities would need to experience healing without much delay. It is therefore a multi-faceted challenge that is at hand. Since wide-ranging expertise would be needed in the healing process, people’s participation in peace-making, ranging over the divides, would need to be made a durable reality. It will be a time for enthroning humanity and ensuring the rejection of all forms of violence and coercion.

Features

Amazing Thailand …right here in Colombo

Published

16 hours ago

2026/07/23

Sahan Weerasooriya

For many Sri Lankans, Thailand is the go-to holiday — beaches, temples, food, and that famous warm hospitality.

In fact, I’ve been to Amazing Thailand 24 times myself, and was honoured with the Friends of Thailand International Media Award by the Tourism Authority of Thailand for promoting Thai tourism.

The good news I have for you today is that you don’t even need a passport to get a taste of Amazing Thailand.

The Royal Thai Embassy, in Colombo, is bringing a vibrant slice of Thailand, to the city of Colombo, with Thai Festival 2026 — a cultural experience like never before.

Whether you are an avid enthusiast of Thai culture, a total novice, or simply just interested in exploring foreign cultures, Thai Festival 2026 is going to be the perfect opportunity for you to get more than just a glimpse into one of the most celebrated cultural heritages in South East Asia. And ENTRANCE IS FREE.

The festival will be held on the 1st and 2nd of August, 2026, at Siam Nivasa, 43, C.W.W. Kannangara Mawatha, Colombo 7, and the East Parking Area, of the Colombo Municipal Council, from 11:00am to 5:00pm.

Both days will be full of live entertainment, and dispersed throughout with Thai cultural displays, including exhilarating traditional dance performances and breathtaking Muay Thai demonstrations.

Exploring art and craft specific to Thailand, tasting irresistible authentic Thai cuisine, and playing arcade games, are just a few more fun-filled events available for visitors at the festival premises.

An array of Thai products will also be available for purchase.

While at the festival, you will find Sri Lankan Alumni from Thai universities sharing their experiences with you and willing to answer any questions you might have, related to studying abroad in Thailand.

You can also register for the Muay Thai workshop that will be happening on the 7th and 8th of August, 2026, in Colombo.

Irresistible authentic Thai cuisine

Visitors can also stand a chance to win traditional Thai souvenirs, get exclusive photo opportunities, and, the big one — to enter the raffle draw, at the end of each day, for the grand prize of an all-inclusive round trip to Thailand.

Be sure to avail yourself of this exceptional opportunity and add a cultural spin to your weekend.

To keep up with the latest updates on Thai Festival 2026, head over to the Thai Festival official social media pages.

The Royal Thai Embassy in Colombo official webpage:

https://colombo.thaiembassy.org

Official social media:

Facebook: @RTEColombo

Instagram: @thaiembassysrilanka

Thai Festival official social media:

Facebook: Thai Festival in Colombo

Instagram: @thaifestival_colombo

TikTok: @thaifestival.incolombo

Features

Thicker, stronger hair …

Published

16 hours ago

2026/07/23

Sahan Weerasooriya

Hair fall, in this heat, can be so frustrating, and noticing a thin patch is even more worrying. The good news is … yes, with a little care and kitchen ingredients, you can nourish your scalp and support healthy regrowth.

Try these four easy home remedies … even our grandmothers trusted:

* Coconut Oil and Curry Leaves Tonic:

Warm 04 tablespoons of coconut oil, with a handful of curry leaves, till the leaves turn black. Cool, strain, and massage into scalp 02-03 times a week. Leave for 01 hour, or overnight.

Why:

Coconut oil deeply nourishes, while curry leaves help strengthen roots and add shine.

* Onion Juice for Spot Treatment:

With cotton, dab the juice of 01 small onion, directly on the thin/bald patches. Leave for 20-30 minutes, and then wash with a mild shampoo. Use twice a week.

Why:

Rich in sulfur, onion juice helps boost blood circulation to the scalp.

* Aloe Vera and Castor Oil Mask:

Mix 02 tablespoons of fresh aloe vera gel and 01 tablespoon castor oil and apply to the scalp, focusing on thinning areas. Leave for 45 minutes, and then rinse with cool water.

Why:

Aloe vera soothes the scalp, while castor oil coats hair to make it look thicker.

* Fenugreek and Curd Strengthening Pack:

You will need 02 tablespoons fenugreek seeds, soaked overnight, and 02 tablespoons plain curd.

Grind to a paste, apply to scalp for 30 minutes, and then wash.

Why:

Fenugreek strengthens strands and reduces breakage.

Extra Tips for Healthy Hair:

Avoid tight hairstyles that pull on the scalp.

Eat iron and protein rich foods: greens, dhal, eggs, fish.

Use lukewarm water, not hot.

Be gentle when brushing and drying.