Features
My Memories of The Rt. Revd. Lakshman Wickremesinghe (1927 – 1983)
Tissa Jayatilaka wrote this article which was published on Sept. 20, 2013. It is reproduced on account of the Bishop’s 40th death anniversary which fell on Oct. 23.
Thirty years have passed by since we experienced three significant events in the recent history of our country. Coincidentally July 23, September and October of 1983 are yoked together in our memory. What we have come to identify as “Black July” of Sri Lanka, when unarmed Tamil citizens were attacked and killed by goons associated with leading members of the Government of Sri Lanka of the time, began on July 23, 1983. Two months later on September 23, one of Sri Lanka’s finest sons spoke sincerely, eloquently, passionately and apologetically about our national tragedy focusing on ‘Black July’ when he addressed his diocese in Kurunegala, in what turned out to be his last Pastoral Address. A month later on October 23, that marvelous son of Sri Lanka lay dead. I refer to the late Bishop Cyril Lakshman Wickremesinghe and write these several inadequate words to remember him with love and gratitude on this thirtieth anniversary of that insightful Pastoral Address.
Lakshman Wickremesinghe, one of four children of Cyril Leonard and Esme Wickremesinghe, was born on March 24, 1927 and died on October 23, 1983. A brilliant product of Royal College, Colombo, the young Lakshman distinguished himself both in the classroom and on the playing fields there carrying away almost every school prize on offer and winning his ‘colours’ in rugger and athletics. Securing a First in Political Science from the University of Ceylon, he went to Oxford and after a few years of study at that ancient university, moved to Ely Theological College in Ely, Cambridgeshire. He was ordained a priest in England where he gained training and experience in parish work after ordination. Returning home to Ceylon, he did a few years of parish work in Mutwal before moving to Peradeniya where he served as the much loved and respected Anglican Chaplain of the University of Ceylon from 1958 to 1962.
The Revd. Lakshman Wickremesinghe was consecrated Bishop of the Kurunegala Diocese in 1962 by his illustrious predecessor Bishop Lakdasa de Mel, prior to the latter’s move to Calcutta on his being appointed Metropolitan of the Province of India, Pakistan, Burma and Ceylon.
I first heard of Bishop Lakshman from my grandaunt Soma Kumari Samarasinha, the first Ceylonese principal (1946 to 1964) of Hillwood College, the leading Anglican girls’ school in Kandy. From 1962 onwards until her retirement two years later, Mrs. Samarasinha worked closely with Bishop Lakshman in guiding the destinies of Hillwood. He was a frequent and welcome visitor to the Hillwood principal’s bungalow during this period.
My acquaintance with Bishop Lakshman deepened after his nephew Rajiva Wijesinha and I became colleagues and friends while we were both fellow-teachers in the Department of English at Peradeniya. Rajiva stayed at my home when he came up to Peradeniya and he reciprocated my hospitality by inviting me to stay at his parental home Lakmahal, the Wickremesinghe- Wijesinha residence on Alfred House Road in Kollupitiya. During my visits to Lakmahal, I had occasion to meet Bishop Lakshman in a more intimate setting as he dropped in, whenever in Colombo, to see his mother Esme, sister Muktha, brother-in-law Sam Wijesinha and family.
As the years went by, I got to know other facets of the many-layered personality of Bishop Lakshman as he was a close friend of my senior Peradeniya colleagues and intimate friends, Ian Goonetileke and Kingsley (K.M.) de Silva. Bishop Lakshman was a regular visitor to the Goonetileke and de Silva households in Peradeniya. Quite literally and metaphorically, Peradeniya was Bishop Lakshman’s spiritual home. Thanks to Ian and Kingsley, I not only got to know Bishop Lakshman better but I also got to know of him better during the mid-to-late 1970s.
Messrs. Goonetileke and de Silva educated me in particular on Bishop Lakshman’s principled opposition to opportunistic politics and his immense capacity to ‘talk truth to power’. He was a fearless champion of all that ennobles humanity. He used to refer to Ian and Roslin Goonetileke’s Upper Hantane home as the Saloon initially and later as the Aramaya. From around 1975 onward, Ian began to grow disillusioned with university life due to the increased politicization of university administration. The rot begun by I.M.R.A. Iriyagolle in the 1965 – 1970 era was now deepening in the post – April 1971 setting. Although born and baptized a Christian, Ian had moved away from the church and in later life was not a practicing Christian. Bishop Lakshman, who shared most of Ian’s political convictions, was most interested in supporting Ian in his political stances while remaining even more interested in getting Ian back to the Christian fold. I wish to quote from some of Bishop Lakshman’s letters to Ian that shed light on both of the above factors- – political collaboration and the possible securing of Ian’s return to his spiritual base. Here is an extract from a letter Bishop Lakshman wrote to Ian on September, 12, 1975:
Your article on Ananda Coomaraswamy was a sheer delight to read – “quintessence Ian”! I am also happy at a more fundamental level that you have so much in common with Coomaraswamy, have slowly moved towards an orientation to and experience of the Transcendent, which is also engendering an interior purification within you. I have always hoped and prayed that in your own way and in your own time you will return to the Source!
The concluding paragraph of Bishop Lakshman’s letter addresses Ian’s disquiet about the quality of life in Peradeniya of the mid-seventies:
I hope you stand the strain by God’s grace in the days to come. All I can [say] is that a very important ‘light’ (representing our way of life and thought) in Peradeniya will be extinguished, if you have to depart.
Nearly five years pass by. At the end of much soul-searching Ian has now taken the painful decision to take early retirement and leave his beloved Peradeniya. In a letter quoted below in full from Lakmahal (obviously on a visit to his parental home in Colombo) dated March 23, 1980 Bishop Lakshman writes:
My dear Ian & Roslin,
This is a brief note before I leave for a week in New Delhi (in the company of Bala Tampoe) to wish you both for your anniversary tomorrow. My prayers avail for you as you prepare to leave for a new abode, and detach yourselves with great difficulty, from the sylvan abode of Upper Hantane. Anicca vata sankhara!
This is my last letter to you addressed to the ‘Saloon’ later turned into an ‘Aramaya’, the scene of so many memories of people, events/happenings and culinary delicacies enjoyed in the midst of quiet reflections on the currents of life in society.
I am reminded of some lines of an Indian poet [Bano Tahira Sayeed] who is in the tradition of Tagore, thinking of your house/saloon/aramaya:
You are a delicious reminder of my past. I envy you your permanence. I, myself, am a mirror of life’s jolts and jerks.
I am that gold which is in the process of purification in the furnace, I am a candle, burning and scattering light, I am a portrait of life itself, Unlike you, who are a ghost of my past.
You have been facing life’s jolts and jerks recently, and to my mind being purified, and being burnt to scatter light in the days to come .
My constant prayer for you has been this and will be always until the shadows lengthen, the busy world is hushed and the fever of life is over:
Lord, teach me to accept your bewildering ways. In my poignant pain, amid deprivation and denial Show me your hidden but all-embracing love.
With my deep gratitude and undimmed affection–Lakshman
Bishop Lakshman and Ian Goonetileke continued to see eye to eye on politics until the end of their earthly lives. Ian, however, despite Bishop Lakshman’s best efforts, died without regaining his lost belief in institutionalized religion.
Ian’s obituary consequent to the sudden death of Bishop Lakshman is reflective of the close friendship he shared with the late Bishop:
He [Bishop Lakshman] wore the purple sash to the manner born but it was never allowed to restrict his passionate concerns for the human condition. When he died he had almost certainly begun to embody the rare and splendid fusion between thought and action, religion and politics, because he had realized, not without struggle, that spiritual emancipation must, in the last analysis, rely almost exclusively on the liberation of man as a political animal. His final message [Pastoral Address of September 23, 1983] bears abundant testimony to the unswerving addiction to the voice of his moral conscience in the thick of contradictions.
My wife (a practicing Buddhist) and I (an extinct Christian) have lost a trusted, cherished and compassionate comrade, always willing to chance his arm in defense of the teetering conscience or the clouded sensibility. For nearly a quarter century until 1980 he was a frequent visitor in our Peradeniya home, and his arrival (announced or unannounced) was sufficient to clear the air of moral ambiguities and environmental wounds. He brought with him cleansing vistas of beauty, strength, symmetry and a balanced joy, and mundane problems melted before the alchemy of his swiftly directed common sense and a clinical, though, impish humour.
Bishop Lakshman’s influence was widespread and extended way beyond his diocese and Sri Lanka. He sought to indigenise the Anglican Church confining himself to Christianity in the Indian region, specifically to its Hindu and Buddhist context. In a lecture titled Christianity Moving Eastwards that he delivered at The House of Saints Gregory and Macrina at Oxford in May 1983, Bishop Lakshman spelt out his personal vision:
Many years ago I left Oxford and England, and taking the advice of
the Buddha, I went in search of myself as a Christian who was rooted
in the Sri Lankan ethos. In his sermon to certain agitated princes and
princesses, the Buddha had observed that it was more valuable to go
in search of oneself than in search of lost ornaments (whether they be
metal or mental). Mine has been a long and painful search. By the grace
of God I have been able to find my identity as a Sri Lankan Christian, and
in doing so, to share the company of those who have been seeking the Indian
face of Christianity. The result has been what Clement envisaged for the Gnostic
Christian – – a more mature and authentic faith in Christ Jesus.
He was an active member of the Kurunegala group of Amnesty International, through which he worked for victims of human rights violations throughout the world irrespective of political or religious considerations. He was a founder member of the Christian Workers Fellowship (CWF) that came into being in the late 1950s, a movement built mainly through a lay initiative to show the relevance of the Christian gospel in the midst of social change. He played a leading role in the establishment (November 1971) and furtherance of the national Civil Rights Movement serving as its Chairman from 1978 for a few years.
In addition to Sevaka Yohan Devananda, Bishop Lakshman was a close friend of three well known activist clergymen – Fr. Tissa Balasuriya, Fr. Paul Caspersz and Fr. Aloysius Peiris, founders respectively of the Centre for Society and Religion, Satyodaya and Tulana. He identified himself with the work and mission of these organizations.
Among Bishop Lakshman’s outstanding leadership qualities was his ability to bring different individuals and organizations together to build consensus and a unity of purpose. He was thereby able to get together several Christian organizations of different denominations involved in development and human rights activities to form the movement of “Christians in the Struggle for Justice”.Significantly the first meeting of this movement was held at Bishop’s House, Kurunegala, on Hartal Day, August 12, 1982.
In a similar vein, Bishop Lakshman was also a great believer in inter – faith dialogue. He was a very close associate of the late Ven. Dr. Kotagama Vacchissara Thero, Professor of Buddhist Philosophy at the Vidyodaya University (now the University of Sri Jayewardenepura). The latter’s untimely death, like the former’s later on, was a significant loss to the progressive movement of our country. Both Bishop Lakshman and his father were regular visitors to the Temple of the Ven. Revata Thero, one-time Atamasthandadipathi (Chief Priest of eight sacred places) at Anuradhapura.
The Ven. Sangharakkhita Thero, Isurumuni Viharadipathi and Chief Sangha Nayake of Nuwara Kalaviya also knew Bishop Lakshman intimately. The Isurumuni Viharadhipathi attended Bishop Lakshman’s funeral in Colombo as well as the religious ceremony held for the interment of his ashes in the Kurunegala Cathedral during which event the Ven. Sangharakkhita delivered an oration. Bishop Lakshman helped in founding the Vimukthi Dharma Kendra (The Liberation Doctrine Centre), an organization for dialogue among the four major religions of Sri Lanka, Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity and Islam, devoted to the theme of social liberation.
All of these manifold activities in Bishop Lakshman’s search for truth and justice must surely have come at a significant price. He must have endured many a moment of agonized soul searching in his spiritual and political journey. He came from an affluent and privileged ‘upper class’ family that was heavily committed to the establishment and status quo, and Bishop Lakshman, like any normal human being, had a deep-seated attachment to and affection for his family. Some of his political actions based on ‘indigenous Marxist socialism’ (see his D.T. Niles Memorial Lecture titled Living in Christ with People delivered in Bangalore, India in 1981, for details) that he subscribed to, so at variance with his family culture, would certainly have caused more than ripples in the family pond.
Yet he soldiered on undeterred and unfazed. Bishop Lakshman’s enormous strength of character and integrity and the mutual understanding that he and his family shared made possible his maintenance of a fine balance between family commitment and personal conviction. Bishop Lakshman was a man of ‘unyielding convictions’ as he once described himself and there were occasions when he refused to compromise. The tribute paid to Bishop Lakshman on his passing by the Christian Workers Fellowship illustrates the above aspects of his personality:
As a priest and bishop, Bishop Lakshman provided a prophetic and courageous witness to the truly human values of our country, and to the centrality of his struggle for total liberation. Though from an affluent family, he deeply identified himself with the poor workers and peasants of Sri Lanka.
No account of Bishop Lakshman’s life and work will be complete without reference to his deep concern for the Tamil citizens of Sri Lanka and his robust involvement with the fight for justice for our fellow-citizens. Like his struggle with his loyalty to his family on the one hand and his devotion to personal conviction on the other referred to above, Bishop Lakshman’s toil for justice for the Tamils of Sri Lanka was a complex endeavour. He was acutely aware of the many deprivations the marginalized Sinhala peasantry in particular had suffered over the centuries and the many tribulations they continued to labour under.
He was conscious of and receptive to the deep-seated cultural problem of the Sinhala Buddhists in their effort to maintain their identity. He recognized that the Buddhist Sinhalese do not want the dominant culture of Sri Lanka to be either a variation of Dravidian culture or a pale imitation of western culture, either in its religions or secularized form. Where he differed from the majority of the Buddhist Sinhalese, however, was in his conviction that in the final integration of our country, the minorities have a real place as have minority cultures.
Hence Bishop Lakshman’s reaching out to the Tamils was indicative of his quest for human justice. He cared deeply for all human beings from all backgrounds, from all over the world, transcending man-made barriers of ethnicity and class. He was a regular visitor to Jaffna, to the plantation areas in the central highlands and to the eastern province.
His passionate concern for the Tamils of Sri Lanka find expression in a significant talk Bishop Lakshman gave in 1976, the year in which the United Left Front Government (1970 – 1977), under various pretexts, was trying to postpone the general elections then due. The title of that talk was Elections and Christians and whilst challenging the calculated move of the then Government, Bishop Lakshman in the course of that talk also touched on the national political need to redress the grievances of the Tamil citizens of Sri Lanka. He reiterated the need to –
ensure that Sinhala [political] parties give more attention to redress the grievances of the exploited and destitute mainly Tamil estate workers. On many estates, their living conditions are sub-human. Recent Land Reform measures introduced to benefit the landless Sinhala peasantry, have resulted in [Tamil] workers being banished from some estates and becoming destitute. Party manifestos must provide some solution to this issue, and not avoid it because it is an unpleasant and unprofitable matter among the Sinhala voters. It is important that we recognize that persons of Indian origin also have basic human rights, which require state aid.
He then refers to the need for a ‘regional transfer of power and resources’ from the centre to the periphery:
… There is the issue of the Jaffna or Sri Lanka Tamils. They demand transfer or devolution of power and resources from the Sinhala-dominated central government, so that they may have the opportunity to develop their minority community in their traditional territory. To condemn their demand for a separate state and allege their close links with Tamilnadu, is to ignore their main grievance.
If they are not permitted to develop their minority interests in Sinhala territory, they want the space to do so in their homelands. If the Sinhala people want to safeguard their territory against inroads by this Tamil minority, they must accede to their alternative demand! I would like to see all party manifestos dealing creatively with this legitimate demand for a regional transfer of power and resources, under the aegis of the Sinhala – dominated central government. It is a basic human right, we must recognize.
Bishop Lakshman was, as we know, a most perceptive and sensible human being. He thus concluded his talk by hoping that ‘what I consider ethically desirable, will be politically possible’. Alas, no political leader of Sri Lanka has yet been able to make Bishop Lakshman’s vision for Sri Lanka a reality. I am convinced that Bishop Lakshman died eventually more of a broken heart than of a heart attack given his lack of success, try as hard as he did, to bring about reconciliation and harmony among the different ethnic groups of our island home.
Bishop Lakshman’s final message also focused closely on the Sinhala – Tamil conflict. His fragile health coupled with over-work brought on a heart ailment that in turn made it necessary for him to rest and recuperate. On his recovery, he took a sabbatical in Birmingham, England. Cutting short his sabbatical, he returned home in August 1983 after the awful ethnic violence of July.
Disregarding his personal wellbeing, Bishop Lakshman sought to comfort the afflicted. He visited his clergy and people – especially the Tamils among them — in the Kandy and Matale areas where the harm caused to the Tamils was extensive. He visited the ‘refugee camps’ in these areas and then went to Jaffna by train. In between his criss-crossing the country, he rushed to a Meeting of the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) in Singapore. Having gone around the island, met people and familiarized himself with all that had happened in Sri Lanka in his absence, he began to prepare his Pastoral Address to the Diocesan Council to be delivered on September 23, 1983. The primary focus of his Address, as noted above, was the predicament of the Tamils of Sri Lanka, the upheaval of July 1983 and the resultant national crisis.
At the Diocesan Council, at which the above- referenced Pastoral Address was given, a resolution was bought forward on the “Tamil Problem”. This resolution which included an apology by the Sinhala people to the Tamils, was passed by an overwhelming majority. Incidentally he was the first Sinhala citizen of public standing who first offered a public apology to the Tamils for the atrocities committed against them in July 1983. Observing that we must admit the fact that the massive retaliation mainly by the Sinhalese against defenseless Tamils cannot be justified on moral grounds, Bishop Lakshman wanted us to acknowledge our shame. He then went on to say:
And we must do so for the right reasons. It is not enough to be ashamed for the reason that inhuman passions enslaved a section of the Sinhalese for a short period. Nor must we be ashamed because our sense of moral outrage will improve our image abroad. We must be ashamed as Sinhalese for the moral crime other Sinhalese have committed.
Acknowledgement of our shame had, Bishop Lakshman noted, to be accompanied by our apology to those Tamils who were unjustified victims of the massive retaliation. It is only by such a sincere apology that ‘we shall also recover our moral and religious values’. In the course of his Address, Bishop Lakshman also admitted that;
I am among those who have tried hard and failed [to bring about national unity]. But I know and trust in God, who is ever creative in bringing good out of evil.
And he concluded his Address with the words of the late D.T. Niles:
Hope in God arises out of the ruins of our expectations.
Bishop Lakshman died a month after he delivered his September 23, 1983 Pastoral Address substantiating and illustrating for the final time, his tremendous moral clarity and splendid vision. Sadly, and tragically, our expectations for a just and fair Sri Lanka continue to remain unrealized thanks to the obtuseness of the current Government and those from all parties – – political and otherwise – – in the Sinhala establishment who openly or tacitly support the status quo.
Hope in us was briefly rekindled after the brutal internecine war with the Tamil Tigers ended in May 2009, but efforts at a genuine reconciliation have disappointingly fallen short of expectations to-date. The extremism of the Sinhala and Tamil ultra-nationalists that is yet apparent today renders the moderates amongst us impotent. Our national curse has been (and is) Sinhala ineptitude and intransigence feeding Tamil ineptitude and intransigence thanks primarily to the machinations and skullduggery of our respective political leaders.
Will we Sri Lankans ever achieve the moral clarity and mature vision of a Bishop Lakshman Wickremesinghe before we destroy what is left of Sri Lanka?
Features
Sri Lanka deploys 4,700 security personnel to protect electric fences amid human-elephant conflict
By Saman Indrajith
Sri Lanka has deployed over 4,700 Civil Security Force personnel to protect the electric fences installed to mitigate human-elephant conflict, Minister of Environment Dammika Patabendi told Parliament on Thursday.
The minister stated that from 2015 to 2024, successive governments have spent 906 million rupees (approximately 3.1 million U.S. dollars) on constructing elephant fences. During this period, 5,612 kilometers of electric fencing have been built.
He reported that between 2015 and 2024, 3,477 wild elephants and 1,190 people lost their lives due to human-elephant conflict. Electric fences remain a key measure in controlling this crisis, he added.
Between January 1 and 31, 2025, 43 elephants and three people have died as a result of such conflicts. Additionally, 21,468 properties have been damaged between 2015 and 2024, the minister noted.
by Dr Jayampathy Wickramaratne,
President’s Counsel
The Sri Lankan Left spearheaded the campaign against introducing the executive presidency and consistently agitated for its abolition. Abolition was a central plank of the platform of the National People’s Power (NPP) at the 2024 presidential elections and of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) at all previous elections.
Issues under FPP or a mixed system
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, participating in the ‘Satana’ programme on Sirasa TV, recently reiterated the NPP’s commitment to abolition and raised four issues related to accompanying electoral reform.
The first is that proportional representation (PR) did not, except in a few instances, give the ruling party a clear majority, resulting in a ‘weak parliament’. Therefore, electoral reform is essential when changing to a parliamentary form of government.
Secondly, ensuring that different shades of opinion and communities are proportionally represented may be challenging under the first-past-the-post system (FPP). For example, as the Muslim community in the Kurunegala district is dispersed, a Muslim-majority electorate will be impossible. Under PR, such representation is possible, as happened in 2024, with many Muslims voting for the NPP and its Muslim candidate.
The third issue is a difficulty that might arise under a mixed (FPP-PR) system. For example, the Trincomalee district returned Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim candidates at successive elections. In a mixed system, territorial constituencies would be fewer and ensuring representation would be difficult. For the unversed, there were 160 electorates that returned 168 members under FPP at the 1977 Parliamentary elections.
The fourth is that certain castes may not be represented under a new system. He cited the Galle district where some of the ‘old’ electorates had been created to facilitate such representation.
It might straightaway be said that all four issues raised by President Dissanayake have substantial validity. However, as the writer will endeavour to show, they do not present unsurmountable obstacles.
Proposals for reform, Constitutional Assembly 2016-18
Proposals made by the Steering Committee of the Constitutional Assembly of the 2015 Parliament and views of parties may be referred to.
The Committee proposed a 233-member First Chamber of Parliament elected under a Mixed-Member Proportional (MMP) system that seeks to ensure proportionality in the final allocation of seats. 140 seats (60%) will be filled by FPP. The Delimitation Commission may create dual-member constituencies and smaller constituencies to render possible the representation of communities of interest, whether racial, religious or otherwise. 93 compensatory seats (40%) will be filled to ensure proportionality. Of these, 76 will be filled by PR at the provincial level and 12 by PR at the national level, while the remaining 5 seats will go to the party that secures the highest number of votes nationally.
The Sri Lanka Freedom Party agreed with the proposals in principle, while the Joint Opposition (the precursor of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna) did not make any specific proposals. The Tamil Nationalist Alliance was willing to consider any agreement between the two main parties on the main principles in the interest of reaching an acceptable consensus.
The Jathika Hela Urumaya’s position was interesting. If the presidential powers are to be reduced, the party obtaining the highest number of votes should have a majority of seats. Still, the representation of minor political parties should be assured. Therefore, the number of seats added to the winning party should be at the expense of the party placed second.
The All Ceylon Makkal Congress, Eelam People’s Democratic Party, Sri Lanka Muslim Congress and the Tamil Progressive Alliance jointly proposed that the principles of the existing PR system be retained but with elections being held for 40 to 50 electoral zones and a 2% cut-off point. The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna was for the abolition of the executive presidency and, interestingly, suggested a mixed electoral system that ensures that the final outcome is proportional.
CDRL proposals
The Collective for Democracy and Rule of Law (CDRL), a group of professionals and academics that included the writer, made detailed proposals on constitutional reform in 2024. It proposed returning to parliamentary government. The legislature would be bicameral, with a House of Representatives of 200 members elected as follows: 130 members will be elected from territorial constituencies, including multi-member and smaller constituencies carved out to facilitate the representation of social groups of shared interest; Sixty members will be elected based on PR at a national or provincial level; Ten seats would be filled through national-level PR from among parties that failed to secure a seat through territorial constituencies or the sixty seats mentioned above, enabling small parties with significant national presence without local concentration to secure representation. Appropriate provisions shall be made to ensure adequate representation of women, youth and underrepresented interest groups.
The writer’s proposal
The people have elected the NPP leader as President and given the party a two-thirds majority in Parliament. It is, therefore, prudent to propose a system that addresses the concerns expressed by the President. Otherwise, we will be going around in circles. The writer believes that the CDRL proposals, suitably modified, present a suitable basis for further discussion.
While the people vehemently oppose any increase in the number of MPs, it would be challenging to address the President’s concerns in a smaller parliament. The writer’s proposal is, therefore, to work within a 225-member Parliament.
The writer proposes that 150 MPs be elected through FPP and 65 through national PR. 10 seats would be filled through national-level PR from among parties that have not secured a seat either through territorial constituencies or the 65 seats mentioned above. The Delimitation Commission shall apportion 150 members among the various provinces proportionally according to the number of registered voters in each province. The Commission will then divide each province into territorial constituencies that will return the number of MPs apportioned. The Commission may create smaller constituencies or multi-member constituencies to render possible the representation of social groups of shared interest.
The 65 PR seats will be proportionally distributed according to the votes received by parties nationally, without a cut-off point. The number of ‘PR MPs’ that a party gets will be apportioned among the various provinces in proportion to the votes received in the provinces. For example, if Party A is entitled to 10 PR seats and has obtained 20% of its total vote from the Central Province, it will fill 2 PR seats from candidates from that Province, and so on. Each party shall submit names of potential ‘PR MPs’ from each of the provinces where the party contests at least one constituency in the order of its preference, and seats allotted to that party in a given province are filled accordingly. The remaining 10 seats will be filled by small parties as proposed by the CDRL.
How does the proposed system address President Dissanayake’s concerns?
The President’s concern that PR will result in a weak parliament is sufficiently addressed when a majority of MPs are elected under FPP.
Before dealing with the other three issues, it must be said that voters do not always vote for candidates from their communities. A classic example is the 1965 election result in Balapitiya, a Left-oriented constituency dominated by a particular caste. The Lanka Sama Samaja Party boldly nominated L.C. de Silva, from a different caste, to contest Lakshman de Silva, a long-standing MP who crossed over to bring down the SLFP-LSSP coalition. Balapitiya voters punished Lakshman and elected L.C.
Multi-member constituencies have generally served their purpose but not always. The Batticaloa dual-member constituency had been created to ‘render possible’ the election of a Tamil and a Muslim. At the 1970 elections, the four leading candidates were Rajadurai of the Federal Party, Makan Markar of the UNP, Rahuman of the SLFP and the independent Selvanayagam. The Muslim vote was closely split between Macan Markar and Rahuman, resulting in both losing. Muslim voters surely knew that a split might deny Muslim representation but preferred to vote according to their political convictions.
The President’s second concern that a dispersed community may not get representation under FPP will also be addressed better under the proposed system. Taking the same Kurunegala district as an example, a party could attract Muslim voters by placing a Muslim high up on the PR list. Similarly, a Tamil party could place a candidate from a depressed community high up in its Northern Province PR list to attract voters of depressed communities and ensure their representation.
The third concern was that the number of electorates would be less under a mixed system, making it challenging to carve out electorates to facilitate the representation of communities, the Trincomalee district being an example. Empowering the Delimitation Commission to create smaller electorates assuages this concern. It will not be Trincomalee District but the whole Eastern Province to which a certain number of FPP MPs will be allotted, giving the Commission broad discretion to carve out electorates. The Commission could also create multimember constituencies to render possible the representation of communities of interest. The fourth concern about caste representation would also be addressed similarly.
It may be noted that the difference between the number of FPP MPs (150) under the proposed system is only 10% less than that under the delimitation of 1975 (168). Also, there will be no cut-off point for PR as against the present cut-off of 5%. This will help small as well as not-so-small parties. Reserving 10 seats for small parties also helps address the concerns of the President.
No spoilers, please. Don’t let electoral reform be an excuse for a Nokerena Wedakama
The writer submits the above proposals as a basis for discussion. While a stable government and the representation of various interests are essential, abolishing the dreaded Executive Presidency is equally important. These are not mutually exclusive.
President Dissanayake also said on Sirasa TV that once the local elections are over, the NPP would first discuss the issue internally. This is welcome as there would be a government position, which can be the basis for further discussion.
This is the first time a single political party committed to abolition has won a two-thirds majority. Another such opportunity will almost certainly not come. Let there be no spoilers from either side. Let electoral reform not be an excuse for retaining the Executive Presidency. Let the Sinhala saying ‘nokerena veda kamata konduru thel hath pattayakuth thava tikakuth onalu’ not apply to this exercise (‘for the doctoring that will never come off, seven measures and a little more, of the oil of eye-flies are required’—translation by John M. Senaveratne, Dictionary of Proverbs of the Sinhalese, 1936).
According to recent determinations of the Supreme Court, a change to a parliamentary form of government requires the People’s approval at a referendum. While the NPP has a two-thirds majority, it should not take for granted a victory at a referendum held late in the term of Parliament for, then, there is the danger of a referendum becoming a referendum on the government’s performance rather than one on the constitutional bill, with opposition parties playing spoilers. If the government wishes to have the present form of government for, say, four years, it could now move a bill for abolition with a sunset clause that provides for abolition on a specified date. Delay will undoubtedly frustrate the process and open the government to the accusation that it indulged in a ‘nokerena vedakama’.
(A film that avoids the ‘Mannerism’ of a Biopic: Rani)
by Bhagya Rajapakshe
bhagya8282@gmail.com
This is only how Manorani sees Richard. It doesn’t have a lot of what Richard did. Although Manorani is not someone who pays attention to the happenings in the country. It was only after her son was kidnapped that she began to feel that this was happening in the country.She had human emotions. But she was a person who smoked cigarettes and drank whiskey and lived a merry life.”
(Interview with “Rani” film director Ashoka Handagama by Upali Amarasinghe – 02.02.2025 ‘Anidda’ weekend newspaper, pages 15 and 19)
The above statement shows the key attitude of the director of the movie, “Rani” towards the central character of the film, Dr. Manorani Sarawanamuttu. This statement is highly controversial. Similarly, the statement given by the director to Groundviews on 30.01.2025 about capturing the depth of Rani’s character shows that he has done so superficially, frivolously?
A biopic is a specific genre of cinema. This genre presents true events in the life of a person (a biography), or a group of people who are currently alive or who belong to history with recognisable names. The biopic genre often artistically and cinematically explores keenly the main character along with a few secondary characters connected to the central figure. World cinema is proof that even if the characters are centuries old, they are carefully researched and skilled directors take care to weave the biographies into their films without causing any harm or injustice to the original character.
According to the available authentic reports, Manorani Saravanamuthu was a professionally responsible medical doctor. Chandri Peiris, a close friend of her family, in his feature article on Manorani in the ‘Daily Mirror’ newspaper on 06th November 2021, says this about her:
“She was a doctor who had her surgeries in the poorest areas around Colombo which made her popular with communities who preferred their women to be seen by female doctors. She had a wonderful manner with her patients which my mother described by saying, ‘looking at her is enough to make you well …. When it came to our outlandish group of friends, she was always there to steer many of us through some very personal issues such as: unplanned pregnancies, teenage pregnancies, mental breakdowns, STD’s, young lovers who ran away and married, depression, circumcisions, break-ups, fractures, dance injuries, laryngitis (especially among the actors and singers) fevers, pimples, and even the odd boil on the bum.”
But the image of Rani depicted by Handagama in his film is completely different from this. According to the film, a major feature of her life consisted of drinking whiskey and smoking cigarettes. Her true role is unspoken, hidden in the film. A grave question arises as to whether the director spent adequate time doing the research? to find out who Manorani really was. In his article Chandri Peiris further says the following about Manorani:
“Soon after the race riots in 1983, Manorani (along with Richard) helped a great many Sri Lankan Tamils to find refuge in countries all over the world. Nobody knew about this. But all of us who used to hang around their house kept seeing unfamiliar people come over to stay a few days and then leave. Among them were the three sons of the Master-in-Charge of Drama at S. Thomas’ College, who were swiftly sent abroad by the tireless efforts of this mother and son. It was then that we worked out that their home was a safehouse. … Manorani was vehemently opposed to the terror wreaked by the LTTE and always wanted Sri Lanka to be one country that was home to the many diverse cultures within it. When the ethnic strife developed into a full-on war with those who wanted to create a separate state for Tamil Eelam, she remained completely against it.”
According to the director of the film, if Rani had no awareness of what was happening in the country and the world, how could she have helped the victims survive and leave the country during that life-threatening period? It is clear from all this that the director has failed to fully study the character of Manorani and what she did. There is a scene where Manorani watches a Sinhala stage play with much annoyance and on her way back home with Richard, she is shown insensitively avoiding Richard’s friend Gayan being assaulted by a mob. This demeanour does not match the actual reports and information published about Manorani. How did the director miss these records? It shows his indifference to researching background information for a film such as this. He clearly does not think that research is essential for a sharp-witted artist in creating his artwork. In his own words, he told the Anidda newspaper:
“But the information related to this is in the public domain and the challenge I had was to interpret that information in the way I wanted. I am not an investigative journalist; My job is to create a work of art. That difference should be understood and made.”
And according to the director, “I was invited to do the film in 2023. The script was written within two to three months and the shooting was planned quickly.” Thus, it is clear that there has been no time to study the inner details related to Manorani, the main character of the film, or the character’s Mannerism. Professor Sarath Chandrajeewa, who published a book with two critical reviews on Handagama’s previous film ‘Alborada’, emphasises in both, that ‘Alborada’ also became weak due to the lack of proper research work’ (Lamentation of the Dawn (2022), pages 46-57).
Directors working in the biopic genre with a degree of seriousness consider it their responsibility to study deeply and construct the ‘mannerism’ of such central characters to create a superior biographical film. For example, in Kabir Khan’s 2021 film ’83’ the actor Tahir Raj Bhasin, who played the role of Sunil Gavaskar, said that it took him six months to study Sunil Gavaskar’s unique style characteristics or Mannerism.
Also, Austin Butler, the actor who played the role of Elvis Presley in the movie ‘Elvis’ directed by Buz Luhrmann and released in 2022, said in a news conference: After he started studying the character of Elvis, he became obsessed with the character, without meeting or talking to his family for nearly one year, while making the film in Australia before, during Covid and after.
‘Oppenheimer’ (2023) was written and directed by Christopher Nolan, in which Cillian Murphy plays the role of Oppenheimer. Nolan read and studied the 700-page story about Oppenheimer called ‘American Prometheus’ . It is said that it took three months to write the script and 57 days for shooting, and finally a two-hour film was created. The rejection of such intense studies by our filmmakers will determine the future of cinema in this country.
Acting is the prime aspect of a movie. The character of Manorani is performed very skillfully in the movie. But certain of her characteristics and mannerism become repetitive and in their very repetitiveness become tiresome to watch. For example, right across the film Manorani is shown smoking, drinking alcohol, sitting and thinking, going towards a window and thinking and smoking again. It would have been better if it had been edited. The audience is thereby given the impression that Manorani lives on cigarettes and whiskey. Although smoking and drinking alcohol is a common practice among some women of Manorani’s social class, it is depicted in the film so repetitively that it creates a sense of revulsion in the viewer. In the absence of close-ups and a play of light and dark, Manorani’s mental states cannot be seen in their intense three dimensionality. It is a question whether the director gave up directing and let the actress play the role of Manorani as she wished. At the beginning of the film, close-ups of Manorani appear with the titles but gradually become normal camera angles in the film. This avoids the use of close-ups of Manorani’s face to show emotion in the most shocking moments in the film. Below are some films that demonstrate this cinematic technique well.
‘Three Colours: Blue’ (1993) French, Directed by Kryzysztof Kies’lowski.
‘Memories in March’
(2010) Indian, Directed by Sanjoy Nag.
‘Manchester by the Sea’
(2016) English, Directed by Keneth Lonergan.
‘Collateral Beauty’
2016) English, Directed by David Frankel.
Certain characters appear in the film without any contribution to building Manorani’s role. Certain scenes such as the Television news, bomb explosions, dialogue scenes where certain characters interview Manorani are not integrated into the film’s narrative and feel forced. The scene with the group of hooligans in a jeep at the end of the film is like a strange tail to the film.
Richard’s sexual orientation, which is hinted at the end of the film by these thugs in the final scene, is an insult to him. It is a great disrespect to those characters to present facts without strong information analysis and to tell the inner life of those characters while presenting a real character through an artwork with real names. The director should not have done such humour and humiliation.
There is some thrill in seeing actors who resemble the main political personalities of that era playing those roles in the film. In this the film has more of a documentary than a fictional quality but it barely marks the socio-political history of this country during the period of terror in 88-89. The character of Manorani was created as a person floating in that history ungrounded, without a sense of gravity.
The film’s music and vocals are mesmerising. But unfortunately, the song ‘Puthune’ (Dearest Son), which has a very strong lyrical composition, melody and singing, is placed at the end of the film, so the audience does not know its strength. This is because the audience starts to leave the cinema as soon as the song starts, when the closing credits scrolled down. If the song had accompanied the scene on the beach where we see Manorani for the last time, the audience would have felt its strength.
Manorani’s true personality was a unique blend of charm, sensitivity, compassion, intelligence, warmth and fun, which enhanced her overall beauty, as evidenced by various written accounts of her. Art critics and historians H. W. Johnson and Anthony F. A Johnson state in their book ‘History of Art’ (2001), “Every work of art tells whether it is artistic or not. And the grammar and structure of the form will signal to us that.”
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