Features

Peradeniya, President of the Students Council and kidnapping Sir. Ivor Jennings

Published

2 years ago

2024/03/17

(Excerpted from The Jetwing Story and the life of Herbert Cooray by Shiromal Cooray)

Herbert Cooray joined the University of Ceylon in 1946. The university, then graduating its second generation of students, had had a slow start. Approved by the colonial government in 1912, it had not opened its doors until 1921, and still operated as a single college in Colombo. Herbert was among the first batch of students to be transferred to its new campus, recently opened at Peradeniya, by Queen Elizabeth II.

The schoolboy rebel found in the open atmosphere of university life a more appropriate theatre for his periodic confrontations with authority. Students, unlike schoolboys, are nominal adults whose right to speak out on matters of adult concern is assumed. Herbert, who had always chafed under the restraints of authority and convention, was quickly swept up by the nationalist, anti-imperial feeling then prevalent among young Ceylonese intellectuals.

His natural aversion to colonial customs and traditions flourished in this friendly soil. Soon, he was a highly visible campus activist and a candidate for president of the Students’ Council. He was also a member of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party, a Trotskyite movement which he joined in 1952.

The election campaign for the presidency was Herbert Cooray’s baptism into the public eye.

It was an era of firebrands – A.E. Goonasinha, the trade-union boss and populist demagogue, set the pattern and Herbert soon showed himself as incendiary as any that came before him. By then it was 1948, and Ceylon had already gained its independence, yet nationalist sentiment was, if anything, more fervent than ever. Education and education policy became battlegrounds of ideology, and university intellectuals saw themselves as being in the forefront of the struggle. Yet the pace of change was too slow for young Herbert Cooray; his presidential campaign was founded on a platform of ‘out with the old, in with the new’.

He and his supporters worked hard, even frantically, to get him elected. While the committees he appointed set about the tasks of manifesto writing, canvassing and propaganda, Herby talked himself hoarse on platforms and in lecture halls. His funds were scanty, and he could only afford to serve tea without milk a brew whose astringency complemented his fiery speechmaking at his meetings. But people came anyway, and when the election was held and the results tallied, Herbert Cooray was found to have won the presidency of the Student’s Council of the University of Ceylon.

Thus began a difficult time for Sir Ivor Jennings, Vice-Chancellor, a man who might be thought to have had enough on his plate already. In addition to cajoling politicians, acting as a peacemaker between wrangling bureaucrats and fielding brickbats from the popular press, Sir Ivor now became the hapless object of Herbert’s unionist demands and protest campaigns. On one occasion, he was actually taken hostage by the youthful unionist and his colleagues.

Doubtless the incident was memorable for all concerned; certainly Herbert loved to regale his friends in later years with stories of how he waited in ambush with his fellow activists, followed the VC’s car down the drive, intercepted the poor man as he alighted from the vehicle and escorted him to the room where he was to be (albeit briefly) incarcerated.

Herbert also took great pride in having organized the first student strike at the university. The action earned him the wrath of his father, but by this time Herbert was well accustomed to the rebukes of his elders. His father often worried what new scrape his son would get into. In his own mind Herbert was certain of the rightness of his cause; moreover, his fellow activists and students admired and looked up to him. Many remained his firm friends for life, even as they built their own eminent and influential careers in business, politics and public service.

Amidst all this revolutionary ferment, Herbert Cooray never forgot the lesson he had learnt, many years before, from a caustic Christian Brother. He remained a dedicated student of sociology, displaying a talent for the subject that led one of his professors, James Bryce, to enlist his assistance in researching material for a monograph on the Ceylonese caste system. The book, when it appeared, carried a generous acknowledgment of Herbert’s contribution. The experience also sparked an interest in Herbert himself, who would continue to be intrigued by caste for the rest of his life.

He then dropped out of University, just before his final exams. This was followed by a brief spell at Law College, notable mostly in that it was here he first met the Perera family consisting of three brothers and a sister, with whom he forged lifelong friendships. Fellow Catholics hailing from Kotahena, the Pereras treated Herbert as a member of their own family. The second-oldest brother, Lucien, would later become his lawyer, confidante and business partner.

Uncertain about what career to follow, Herbert left Law College and took up a position teaching English at Gurukula Vidyalaya, Kelaniya. But the job lacked stimulation, so he decided to give the mercantile sector a try. Along with two similarly-placed friends, he joined Harrison & Crossfield’s as an Insurance Executive- essentially a salesman who received an inadequate salary eked out with commissions on the policies he sold.

He enjoyed the work and the freedom of having an income of his own, but what impressed him most was the clear link between effort and reward – the better and harder you worked, the more you earned. An instinctive meritocrat from childhood onward, Herbert had found his metier. The year was 1956, and the transformation from student socialist to successful entrepreneurial capitalist had begun.

With his first salary and commission Herbert bought a Rolex watch, which he lovingly wore for over 40 years before handing it on to his son Hiran. The watch, which cost him Rs.750, was recently valued in Switzerland; the appreciation in it was phenomenal. It was the first of many canny investments by the former campus radical.

To his parents, eager to see their restless son settle down, even a salesman’s job must have seemed like relative stability. At any rate, the job made their gainfully employed son a suitable marital prospect. In those days, Sri Lankans usually married by arrangement, and Herbert had already received several proposals. One of these bore fruit just before his 28th birthday, at All Saint’s Church, Borella, on January 17, 1957, Herbert Cooray wed Josephine Perera, a pretty 21-year old, whose father was a landowner and businessman with interests that included a bus company, coir milling and brick manufacturing. An appropriate match for the son of a building contractor!

The wedding was followed by a reception at Galle Face Hotel, after which the newlyweds began their life together at Herbert’s parents’ home in Ragama. By this time Neville- the sedate, steady elder brother who had graduated as a doctor, was married and had left the family home, leaving his parents and his younger sister Lilian. However, the family was soon to be augmented by the birth of Herbert’s first daughter, Shiromal. Needing more space, the couple moved into a house of their own at Dankotuwa in 1959, a gift from Josephine’s father. There they would stay until Herbert built his own home at Mattumagala, Welisera in 1962.

Gone were the days of rebellion and confrontation. Newly settled, Herbert now channeled his restless spirit into a penchant for travel and adventure. As a member of the LSSP, he had already visited Moscow as a youth delegate to the Annual Party Conference in 1956. Now he wanted to see more of the world. His wife, newly delivered of a baby girl, could not travel with him; instead, his traveling companions were two former university colleagues, Bandu Manukulasuriya and Sanath Saparamadu. They, too, were newly married with young families, but the prospect of a Grand World Tour was irresistible.

The trio bought one-way tickets to the UK, arriving there in early 1959. They toured the British Isles, afterwards taking the ferry to France. In Paris Herbert bought himself a brand new Peugeot 203, which became their conveyance for the rest of the tour. The doughty Peugeot carried them faithfully through many adventures and escapades along a route that took in Eastern Europe, the USSR, Afghanistan and finally India, whence a second ferry carried them to Jaffna and home.

The long journey forged a lasting bond between car and driver; though he owned many other cars (Peugeots, mainly!), the old 203 was used occasionally until the late 1980s. It even helped him start his first business, being offered as collateral to secure a bank loan in order to fulfill a building contract, in 1963.

Whatever the make of Herbert’s cars, they tended to be red. His fondness for the colour was a memento of his Bolshevik years perhaps- and also, perhaps a private, ironic comment on how far he had traveled in life since those early, idealistic days.

His father continued to worry about his younger son and wished he would settle down soon. He confided to a friend, “One day he will do me proud!”. Unfortunately his father passed away in 1964, just two years after Herbert had set up his first company, N J Cooray Builders Ltd. Herbert’s mother, a woman of great substance and courage, whom he adored and took great care of until her death, just two months prior to his own demise, believed in her son and was a constant support throughout his life. Herbert would recall the many escapades that got him into trouble with his father and then the mother coming into rescue him from further wrath.

All News Advertisement

Related Topics:Herbert Cooray President of the Students Council

Up Next

Old Mutwal, Elie House and Lorenz

Don't Miss

People I met and places I have seen

Click to comment

Features

US’ anti-migrant stance set to intensify tensions in Western camp

Published

11 hours ago

2026/06/11

Sahan Weerasooriya

Migrant boats land on Western beaches. Credit: PA

The announcement by the US authorities of an anti-migrant stance during a recent commemoration in France of the epochal D-Day Landings of June 6, 1944, ought to strike impartial observers as a supreme irony. Whereas what should have been expected was a vibrant celebration of the beginning of the process of Western Europe freeing itself decisively from Nazi or fascist control during the crucial stages of World War Two, this was not to be.

What the world heard instead was a call to contemporary Western Europe to arm itself against a seemingly rising and threatening migrant presence in the region. In other words, the migrant must be despised and ‘shown the door’.

Instead of a commemoration that rejoiced in the flourishing of liberal democracy and its values what one got was a strong affirmation of fascism and racial chauvinism. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth vented his spleen against the migrant or foreigner presence in Europe reportedly thus: ‘Sadly today different European beaches are stormed by different dangerous ideologies.’ To ‘beaches in Spain and Italy and Greece and Bulgaria, boats and men arrive. When will European capitals do something about that invasion?’

While at the outbreak of World War Two it was Nazi Germany that was doing the invading and bringing some principal European countries under its suzerainty, this time around we are being given to understand that it’s migrants to the West who are seeking to colonize the latter. It goes without saying that such inflammatory rhetoric would have the deleterious effect of keeping racial tensions alive in the West and jeopardize all possibilities of the countries concerned cementing and maintaining social stability.

The Trump administration gives the impression of taking a leaf from the politically underdeveloped regions of the South to keep the US polity stable and united. In South Asia, for instance, we are not short of ambitious demagogues who use what is referred to as the ‘race card’ to gather unto themselves a following and thereby further their political fortunes. By seeking to stir and sustain anti-migrant hysteria, the Trump administration is also essentially replicating Nazi Germany’s policy of anti-Semitism. That is, fascism is very much alive in the US under President Trump.

Such efforts at churning racial hysteria at this juncture in the US should not come as a surprise. For all intents and purposes, the Trump administration is nowhere near achieving its aims in West Asia, for instance, in the short term. It has failed to bring Iran down to its knees, as it hoped to do, but is adopting the expedient of keeping the world guessing and confused on what it is doing in the region, since it cannot withdraw from the theatre in a hurry without losing face.

While perhaps working out an escape strategy the Trump administration it seems, is hoping to maintain its following at home intact and silent by playing on their racial biases and insecurities. Hence, the anti-foreigner campaign.

Simultaneously, the Trump administration will need to keep a close eye on how economic pressures on the domestic front are panning out. Anti-administration sentiments first break to the surface at meal tables. On this score, the news cannot be good because the average US family’s spending power ought to be shrinking on account of rising energy and oil prices. Consequently, it would not be a bad idea to keep the attention of the US consumer diverted by adeptly playing ‘the race card’; once again, lessons from intellectually bankrupt Southern politicians are coming in handy.

To be sure such comparisons many politicians in vibrantly democratic countries would find quite unflattering. But the stark truth is that racism cannot be tolerated in civilized societies and those politicians who resort to it risk being branded as racists of the first degree. In fact they could be seen as being on par with the likes of German dictator Adolph Hitler and his close collaborators.

However, on the question of migrant policy the Trump administration would likely be at polar opposites with the most vibrant of liberal democracies of the West. This will be the case with the UK, France and Italy for instance. The latter continue to keep their doors open to legal migrants and they are likely to view a virtual blanket ban on migrants as reprehensible.

Moreover, in the foremost democracies of the West debates are vibrantly ongoing on the need to keep racism or any hint of it completely outlawed in the public plane. There is the case of the UK, for instance, where the authorities continue to emphatically pinpoint their adherence to the principle of anti-racism in the conduct of public affairs.

One proof of the above was the parliamentary debate relating to the killing of 18-year-old Henry Nowak in Southampton. Police handling of the victim came in for sharp scrutiny by particularly the opposition in the House of Commons but there seemed to be a consensus over the main political divide that the matter should not be politicized.

Moreover, the UK authorities stressed in the House the government’s strict adherence to the policy of non-racism. It was also pointed out that British institutions set up to manage racism at the national, county and neighbourhood levels, for example, were very much intact. In fact, Sri Lanka could gain considerably by studying and implementing locally, legislation modeled on the relevant UK laws if it is in earnest when it speaks of ‘reconciliation’.

Accordingly, it is highly unlikely that Western Europe would ‘cave in’, so to speak, to US pressure on issues related to migration. The liberal democracies of Western Europe in particular would remain for the foreseeable future migrant-welcoming, multi-ethnic and plural democracies.

Nor is it likely that Western Europe would be passively receptive to US demands that it drastically increases its defense spending to meet the latter’s aims. Within the Western fold the EU is remaining committed to backing Ukraine, for instance, in its ongoing armed resistance to the Russian invasion and it is not giving any indication of being deferent to US pressure.

However, although tensions would continue to bristle within US-Western Europe relations on the above and numerous other matters of contention it would be far too premature to announce a parting of company between the two sections of the West. In that sense, the post-World War Two order remains essentially intact. There are still many things in common between the two, particular on the economic plane, that will ensure the continuance of the partnership.

Features

A decade among Yala’s ghosts of gold

Published

11 hours ago

2026/06/11

Sahan Weerasooriya

YM75 "James" surveys his territory from a tree-top vantage point, demonstrating the leopard's commanding presence in the landscape.

The first rays of dawn creep over the ancient rocks of Yala. The Indian Ocean glimmers in the distance, and the wilderness slowly awakens. Somewhere amid the scrub jungle, a pair of amber eyes scans the landscape.

For wildlife conservationist and leopard researcher Milinda Wattegedara, moments such as these have defined more than a decade of dedication to one of Sri Lanka’s most iconic creatures—the Sri Lankan leopard.

What began as fascination evolved into a remarkable conservation journey that has transformed the understanding of Yala’s leopard population and placed Sri Lanka firmly on the global wildlife research map.

“Long before I ever lifted a camera, leopards had already captured my imagination,” says Wattegedara. “What fascinated me was not merely their beauty but the complexity of their lives—their hunting strategies, movements, reproductive behaviour and their remarkable ability to adapt to changing environments.”

That fascination led to the birth of the Yala Leopard Diary in 2013, an ambitious long-term project dedicated to documenting individual leopards and unraveling the mysteries surrounding their lives.

For many visitors, a leopard sighting is a fleeting thrill. For Wattegedara and his team, every encounter is a chapter in an ongoing scientific story.

“Each photograph was never the end of an encounter,” he explains. “It was the beginning of deeper questions. How did a particular leopard use the landscape? How did its behaviour change with the seasons? What environmental pressures shaped its decisions?”

These questions drove years of meticulous fieldwork. Every sighting was carefully recorded with details including location, habitat, behaviour, date and time. Photographs were analysed to identify individual animals through unique spot patterns, allowing researchers to distinguish one leopard from another with remarkable accuracy.

What followed was groundbreaking.

YF77 “Shelly” pauses in quiet observation, embodying the alertness
and grace that define Yala’s leopard population.

From 2013 to 2026, the Yala Leopard Diary identified an astonishing 189 individual leopards within the Yala Block 1. The research revealed a leopard density of approximately 0.524 leopards per square kilometre, making Yala one of the highest leopard-density landscapes ever recorded anywhere in the world.

Such findings have elevated Yala’s status among global wildlife researchers.

Nestled between the Indian Ocean and a mosaic of habitats, ranging from rocky outcrops to dense scrub forests, Yala offers an ecological stage unlike any other.

Here, leopards are photographed silhouetted against ocean horizons, perched atop ancient granite formations, resting on tree branches and stalking prey across sunlit grasslands.

The images tell stories of extraordinary lives.

There is Haminee, a devoted mother navigating the challenges of raising cubs in a competitive landscape. There is Lucas, one of Yala’s most frequently documented males, striding confidently across the Gonalabba Plains with the vast ocean forming an unforgettable backdrop.

There is Ruki demonstrating the species’ incredible strength by hoisting prey onto branches, and Shelly, quietly surveying her surroundings in a moment of feline vigilance.

Together, these individuals have become familiar characters in a living wilderness drama.

YM31 “Ruki” secures prey on a branch, illustrating the remarkable strength and coordination of the Sri Lankan leopard.

Recognising the immense value of long-term documentation, Wattegedara joined forces with fellow researchers Dushyantha Silva, Raveendra Siriwardana and Mevan Piyasena to establish the Yala Leopard Centre in 2020.

Located at the Palatupana entrance to the Yala National Park, the centre is believed to be the world’s first information facility dedicated exclusively to leopards.

“The centre serves as a repository of knowledge, accumulated through years of observation and research,” Wattegedara says. “Our goal is to connect visitors with the science behind conservation and foster a deeper appreciation of these magnificent animals.”

The project’s impact extends far beyond Sri Lanka’s borders.

Research arising from the Yala Leopard Diary has been published in internationally recognised scientific journals. One study introduced an innovative framework for identifying individual leopards, while another documented an extraordinary and previously unrecorded case of a leopard cub being consecutively adopted by two different adult females—first a relative and later an unrelated leopardess.

The discovery attracted international scientific attention and highlighted the complexity of leopard social behaviour.

Yet for Wattegedara, the most important lesson remains one of humility.

“One conclusion has become increasingly clear,” he reflects. “Our understanding of these leopards remains far from complete. We are only beginning to understand how they live, adapt and persist in one of Sri Lanka’s most dynamic protected landscapes.”

YF15 “Hope” descends Rukvila Rock at dawn, showcasing the agility and adaptability of Yala’s leopards.

His words underscore an essential conservation truth: the more we learn about nature, the more mysteries emerge.

As Sri Lanka navigates growing environmental challenges, the Yala Leopard Diary stands as a shining example of what sustained observation, scientific curiosity and public engagement can achieve.

Beyond the stunning photographs and remarkable sightings lies something even more valuable—a growing body of knowledge capable of informing future conservation decisions and ensuring that future generations inherit a wilderness where leopards continue to roam free.

For more than a decade, Wattegedara and his colleagues have followed the tracks of Yala’s elusive predators through dust, rain and scorching heat.

Their work has revealed that every leopard has a story, every sighting has significance and every photograph can contribute to conservation.

And perhaps, most importantly, it has reminded us that the golden ghosts of Yala still have many secrets left to share.

By Ifham Nizam

Features

Glamour, music and community spirit …

Published

11 hours ago

2026/06/11

Sahan Weerasooriya

Sri Lankans are quite active, all around the globe.

News has just come my way, from Glasgow, in Scotland, where the glamour of masks, music, dancing, and community spirit, came together, in spectacular fashion, at Masquerade Night, bringing together members of the Sri Lankan community for an evening filled with music, fashion, food and entertainment.

Organised by Mahesh Balaaratchi (DJ Mowgli) together with Sulochana Asmone, Hiroshini, Prasad, Ashi, and Shawn, the evening provided guests with an opportunity to socialise, enjoy live entertainment, and celebrate in a unique and elegant setting.

Guests arrived from 6:00 pm, dressed in formal attire and decorative masks, creating a colourful and vibrant atmosphere throughout the venue.

DJ Mowgli: The main
organiser of
Masquerade Night

There was a delicious selection of Sri Lankan cuisine and street food, which proved popular throughout the evening.

The buffet offered a variety of traditional favourites, giving attendees a taste of home while adding to the festive atmosphere.

Entertainment was provided by DJ Mowgli, whose performance kept the audience engaged throughout the night. His playlist featured a mixture of popular favourites, dance classics, and cultural music, remixed for a younger generation.

One of the highlights of the evening was the Baila session, which brought a distinctly Sri Lankan flavour to the event.

The Baila segment highlighted the importance of preserving and celebrating cultural traditions, while bringing people together through music and dance.

As familiar rhythms filled the room, guests enthusiastically took to the dance floor, creating one of the most memorable moments of the night.

The crowd was described as lively, energetic, and welcoming, with attendees embracing the spirit of the masquerade theme while enjoying the opportunity to reconnect with friends and meet new people. The family-friendly atmosphere ensured that guests of all ages could take part in the celebrations.