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Politics and Administrators in the 20th Century

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The Kandy Man – An Autobiography, Volume one (1939-1977),
By Sarath Amunugam. Vijitha Yapa Publications (2020).548  pages

Reviewed by Leelananda De Silva

Introduction

In two years, Sri Lanka should celebrate 75 years since independence. During this period, there have been dramatic social, cultural and economic changes. The British inheritance is fading fast, whether it be in Government and administration, politics and constitution making, in education and in foreign relations. It is time for the university academics or some others to consider writing the history of Sri Lanka these last 75 years and capture the momentous changes that have occurred. Whether that history will be written in Sinhalese, Tamil or English is yet to be seen. Sarath Amunugama’s volume is an important building block in constructing that history.

Amunugama is one of the outstanding personalities of Sri Lanka in our generation. An academic, top administrator and leading politician, he has played an important role in Sri Lankan public life. He has lived in and served the country in an era of rapid change. Amunugama is one of the very few members of the Ceylon Civil Service to have moved into high level politics after 1948. The others were C. Suntheralingam, C. Sittampalam, Walwin. A. de Silva, Ronnie de Mel and Nissanka Wijeyaratne. The volume under review is only the first part of a three-volume autobiography. Broadly, the current volume addresses three broad areas – his education at Trinity College, Kandy in the 1940s and at the University of Ceylon at Peradeniya in the 1950s; as a high level district administrator in the 1960s; and at the centre of Government as Director of Information in the 1970s. He has straddled the demarcations between administration and politics with ease and he has worked with politicians of all hues comfortably.

 

Trinity College, Kandy

The first chapter of this volume deals with his school days at Trinity College, Kandy. He offers us a wide ranging picture of Trinity and also of Kandy of that time. He describes College academic life, sports and cadeting and student debates with other schools, especially the girls’ schools in Kandy. Regrettably, there is no reference to the subjects they debated about. Amunugama has great admiration for some of his teachers. Hillary Abeyaratne was one of his heroes, and others were R.R. Breckenridge, Willy Hensman and Gordon Burrows. He greatly admired his Principal, Norman Walter, probably one of the last school principals of British origin in Sri Lanka. Walter wrote to the Vice Chancellor of the University requesting that Amunugama be admitted to the University although he was underage, a request that could not be granted.

Our generation, whether it be from schools in Colombo or Galle, knew of Trinity largely because of a famous Principal, A.G. Fraser and a British teacher and preacher, Rev. W.S. Senior, who wrote some delightful, haunting poetry about Kandy. Amunugama’s story of Trinity could have been better if he dealt with the history of Trinity and the influence the College had on the Kandyan middle and upper classes. Trinity was a great inheritance from British days.

 

The University at Peradeniya

In the 1950s, the University at Peradeniya (part of the University of Ceylon) was unique in the history of universities in Sri Lanka. It had only about a thousand students, and the faculties were almost entirely of the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. There was no Physical Science, Engineering or Medicine. This lasted for only a decade. The undergraduates lived in halls of residence not far from each other. All this tended to make the university a friendly and even homely place, with friendships across disciplines and residencies.

Amunugama seems to have enjoyed the university in his four years there and was fully engaged in its academic, political and cultural life. He was active in various groups, especially with E.R. Sarachchandra and Siri Gunasinghe. This was the time of Maname, a Sarachchandra play which revolutionized Sri Lankan drama and with which Amunugama was closely associated. He offers us an excellent picture of the cultural activities of the university at that time. This was also a time when undergraduates studied in the English medium and yet Sinhala culture was flourishing.

He offers us a fascinating picture of the Sociology department at the university in its early days. S.J. Thambiah and Gananath Obeysekara were students and lecturers. Later on, they were to become world class academics, teaching at Princeton and Harvard in the U.S.A. Laksiri Jayasuriya and Ralph Pieris were other leading academics. There are engaging pen portraits of these academics. Amunugama appears to be an admirer of Ralph Pieris, who was his teacher. He tells us the story of Jennings’s hesitation in setting up departments of Sinhala culture and sociology as these subjects were strange to the Oxbridge traditions from which Jennings had emerged. He also tells us of the differences that Martin Wickramasinghe had with Jennings’ approach to Sinhala cultural studies and also of the pioneering role played by Professor Ratnasuriya who died young. The volume also offers us some insight into university politics but there is no space to get into detail here. However it must be noted that Amunugama was President of the Union Society at Peradeniya during his time there. Overall, the volume offers an engaging picture of the University at Peradeniya of the 1950s.

 

District Administration

Since Amunugama entered the Ceylon Civil Service in 1963 (the CCS was abolished soon after), the next seven years of his career was in district administration. He served as AGA and Additional GA in Galle, Ratnapura and Kandy districts. Amunugama’s academic background was ideal to deal with the range of issues that he had to face in the districts. His 200-page story of his engagement in district administration reminds me of Leonard Woolf’s volume “Growing 1904 – 1911” (the second volume of his five volume autobiography, published in the 1960s), which is about his seven years in Ceylon and when he was engaged in district administration. Unlike in imperial days, the district administrator in the 1960s had to deal with politicians and a democratic government. They were no longer the rulers like Leonard Woolf.

The young Civil Servant’s interests were so expansive that he was in a position to fruitfully interact in the area of agriculture and lands and irrigation, culture, the arts and the temples and with the politics of these districts. In the Galle district, where he served for nearly three years, he established a good relationship with the legendary W. Dahanayake, MP for Galle and his Minister of Home Affairs in later years. Amunugama was immersed in the cultural life of the Galle district and he had a friendly relationship with the DROs of the area. When in Galle, he became very familiar with the backgrounds of two of the great cultural figures of our time – Martin Wickramasinghe and Gunadasa Amarasekara, visiting many of the villages and the scenes depicted in their novels.

In the Kandy district, Amunugama was again very involved in the political and cultural life of the district. He initiated the concept of mobile kacheries which enabled the villagers, instead of coming to Kandy, to have their problems addressed near their own villages. He also initiated a more effective approach to increase the productive capacity of farmers. Local village level officials who should assist the farmers were not living in the villages they were officially attached to, but were commuting to their own homes. Amunugama started the practice of giving these field officers lands of their own, so that they will live with the farmers and work with them. He has many stories to relate about his relationships with the politicians of the day like Anuruddha Ratwatte in Kandy. In the Ratnapura district, he was deeply engaged in land development in the Udawalawe and Chandrika weva colonization schemes.

Overall, the chapters entitled “The Ceylon Civil Service” and “Government Agent”, are in effect addressing issues in district administration. It’s a matter of some curiosity why he titled these two chapters in this way instead of making them chapters on district administration. By the time he was AGA and Additional GA and serving in the districts, the CCS had been abolished. The CCS lasted only the first year of his public service career. Since that time, he and other ex-CCS officers were members of the Ceylon Administrative Service (CAS).

I understand the hesitations of some of the ex-CCS personnel to use the new CAS nomenclature. However, difficult it is for them, to call themselves CCS after its abolition in 1963, is like Grama Sevakas calling themselves village headmen and DROs calling themselves Mudliyars. These were denominations of an imperial era. Amunugama tells us that when their batch joined the CCS, on their first day, the then Secretary to the Treasury and Head of the CCS, Shirley Amarasinghe addressed them on how to behave. Interestingly, within one year of that day, Shirley Amarasinghe (who was only 50 years old at the time) himself left the CCS and joined the Ceylon Overseas Service to go as High Commissioner to India.

 

Director of Information

Amunugama moved into the centre of Government when he was appointed Director of Information in 1968 when Dudley Senanayake was Prime Minister. He continued his tenure under Mrs. Sirima Bandaranaike when she became Prime Minister in 1970. This is an assignment which suited Amunugama’s academic, administrative and political skills. His story of these years is compulsive reading and there are entertaining stories of politics at the highest level. At a young age, he was able to interact with the top politicians of his day. During this period, he also engaged in what looks to be his pastime – international travel – which he has done extensively over the years. In fact, the volume has many paragraphs and stories of his foreign travels including a long spell in Canada reading for a postgraduate degree.

As Director of Information, he was privy to much of the politics of his time. There are fascinating stories of the tensions between the LSSP and the SLFP when they were in coalition in the 1970s. There are engaging portraits of R. Premadasa when he was Minister of Local Government. Who could have known that Premadasa, when he was Deputy Minister of Local Government, had a very high regard for his Minister M. Tiruchelvam at the time when the UNP had formed a coalition with the Federal Party.

The writer relates the story of how the State Film Corporation was shifted from his ministry to the Ministry of Planning and Economic Affairs, where I had to handle its affairs. There are many other vignettes of his time as Director of Information of top politicians like Dudley Senanayake, Mrs. Bandaranaike, N.M. Perera and many others.

 

Conclusion

To conclude my review, let me refer to the long Preface of this book which addresses questions of writing biographies and autobiographies. Many biographies in Sri Lanka of leading politicians are largely hagiographies, praising them no end. This was the pattern of autobiographical writing too. In the early 1920s, there was a dramatic change in the art of biographical writing. Lytton Strachey, a member of the Bloomsbury group (a close friend of Leonard and Virginia Woolf) wrote his “Eminent Victorians” which changed the art of biography. Of his chosen few biographical topics, which included Queen Victoria and Florence Nightingale, he wrote about these leading icons of that generation, warts and all, bringing them down a peg or two.

This introduced a new form of biography, which was more investigative, critical and more true to the lives of their subjects. Autobiographies can never be swallowed whole. To paraphrase Robert Burns, the great Scottish poet, no power has given us the gift “to see ourselves as others see us.” That is the inherent weakness of autobiography. Amunugama’s first volume of a three volume autobiography is an outstanding work in its field, and is a great addition to our knowledge of our contemporary times. It was a pleasure to read.



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Issues in ‘terror’ refusing to go away

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It’s the biggest single loss of life from terrorism in Moscow since Chechen separatists took hostages in 2002 at the Nord-Ost theatre, where at least 170 people, including the dozens of attackers, died during a botched rescue mission.

The hearts of sensitive people the world over are bound to be with the Russian people in this their hour of profound grief. Those 140 or more men, women and children who were brutally killed, besides others who were seriously wounded, at a concert hall in a Moscow suburb recently by rampaging gunmen, were part of the peace-loving ‘silent majority’ of Russia. Their agony is bound to make all righteous hearts bleed for them in empathy.

The mindless act of terror will stand condemned by all right-thinking people and it would be correct for civilian publics and governments the world over to increasingly and unanimously decry the maniacal burst of brute force and stand in solidarity with the Russian people.

This is a time of formidable challenge for the Putin regime. The domestic and international issues growing out of the tragedy are numerous and wide-ranging and the impartial analyst would be right in taking up the position that ‘course correction’ by the regime is needed in a number of areas. To begin with, the question needs to be asked whether President Putin did right by stating unreservedly that ‘radical Islamists’ were behind the attack.

It could very well have been that the attackers were driven by some sort of fanatical religious zeal but considering the harm it could do to the religious susceptibilities of peace-loving followers of Islam, the term ‘Islamists’ could best have been avoided by the Russian President. Former US President Donald Trump resorted to phrases, such as, ‘Islamist terrorists’ quite often and the practice, as could be seen, did not do the world any good.

The likes of the Russian President ought to know by now that indiscreet and controversial labelling of people has the effect of alienating them and eventually radicalizing them against governments and polities.

However, what the world needs now is reconciliation and bridge-building among communities. Putin’s words could result in Muslims further distancing themselves from the wider Russian public. The consequences of such distancing could be distressing for the Russian people.

Such labelling could also have grave implications on the foreign policy front for the Putin regime. If the ISIS was indeed the mastermind behind the concert hall carnage, Putin’s pronouncement could only further antagonize ISIS and other such outfits that have been waging wars of attrition against the Russian state in the Middle Eastern theatre in particular.

If some intelligence agencies are apprehensive about more terror attacks inside Russia they could very well be correct because the Putin regime, even at this juncture, is not perceiving the advisability of following a reconciliatory course in its foreign relations. The Putin regime is obliged to halt in its tracks and take cognizance of the possible fallout on the Russian people of its policy indiscretions.

Interestingly, intelligence failures are currently occurring in what seem to be the most security conscious states of the world. There was the case of Israel in October last year and now Russia. If the Russian state thinks that rule in perpetuity by President Putin could bring it enduring stability, the recent bloodbath has proved it wrong.

Apparently, national security could not be the sole key to good governance. While national security is indispensable for effective governance, good governance is also a coming together of a number of major elements, such as, redistributive justice and cordial coexistence among communities and religions. A policy of attaching priority to national security could enable repressive governments to remain in power for some time but it would not help the people concerned much.

On the question of intelligence failures, the Putin administration seems to have attached too great an importance to ‘national pride’ and not taken into consideration intelligence information coming from the US. Going by current reports, the Russian security establishment had been warned of an impending ISIS terror attack by its counterparts in the US but had failed to act on the warning. If this is true, the security of the Russian people has not weighed heavily with the Putin regime. Well-wishers of the Russian people are likely regret such neglect on the part of the regime.

Given the complexities of the issue of ‘terror’, there is unlikely to be an international consensus on its definition and on ways of resolving it any time soon but states could cooperate for the time being on managing the conundrum effectively. Accordingly, Russia could cooperate on this basis with the US and vice versa, for example. Information-sharing should not be fought shy of, besides other ways of cooperation.

Right now, the world has no choice but to collaborate on managing ‘terror’ until long term solutions are found to it. What needs to weigh on governments’ minds is the fact that ordinary publics pay a prohibitive price for their blunders in handling ‘terror’.

This is a crucial point that the political and security establishments in small Sri Lanka as well need to keep in mind, particularly in relation to the Easter Sunday bombings. In the latter case, governmental blundering and negligence of duty at the highest levels of the state brought catastrophic consequences for the people. To make matters worse, the wrong-doers in this crisis are yet to be brought to justice.

With the allegation that Ukraine had collaborated with the perpetrators of the concert hall carnage, President Putin seems to be in an attempt to deflect accountability for the blood-letting from his regime to an external quarter. This allegation, though, remains to be proved. Moreover, the fact remains that a massive intelligence failure on the part of the security agencies of the state brought about the devastation.

These attempts to point to an external source for the current tribulations of the government should also be seen as part of the Putin regime’s strategy to remain powerful at home. The strategy has been tried out time and again by repressive governments that are apprehensive about their power ebbing away from them in the wake of internal crises. The ploy enables political strongmen to resoundingly rally the people behind them, while giving the impression that they are remaining strong and in total control of the state.

If civilized norms are to be given a chance to prosper in international relations, democratic development needs to be prioritized by governments and the world community under the leadership of the UN. ‘Terror’ has its roots in mainly socio- economic deprivations and the world has no choice but to strive towards ending them.

Repressive rule, however, is no guarantor of social and economic equity and it is only democratic dispensations that aim at socio-economic equity or democratic development that could bring about this state of affairs to at least a degree.

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Kate, the brave!

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Kate and William

By Dr Upul Wijayawardhana

BBC viewers were in for a great surprise when the main news bulletin at 6 pm on Friday 22nd went straight to a video of Kate, Princess of Wales, without the customary mention of news headlines. Dressed in a long-sleeved white top with narrow black bands across and light blue jeans, seated on a bench in the +-Windsor Castle with spring blooms in the background, what she told whilst nervously moving her fingers and faltering voice at times, shocked the nation. Many an eye would have been wet by the time she finished her two-minute statement wherein she explained that following the planned surgery she had in mid-January, a cancer had been detected unexpectedly and she is in the early stages of having preventive chemotherapy. She added:

“This of course came as a huge shock, and William and I have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family. As you can imagine, this has taken time. It has taken me time to recover from major surgery in order to start my treatment. But, most importantly, it has taken us time to explain everything to George, Charlotte and Louis in a way that is appropriate for them, and to reassure them that I am going to be ok. As I have said to them; I am well and getting stronger every day by focusing on the things that will help me heal; in my mind, body and spirits.”

It would have taken enormous courage to declare to the whole world that she is being treated for cancer at the age of 42 but it would have been even more difficult for Kate to explain to their three young children aged 10, 8 and 5 years that she is afflicted by a disease that usually affects much older people. The public announcement coincided with the start of the Easter break in schools, which may have been done purposely to protect the three young royals. There was a tremendous outpouring of public sympathy not only because of her predicament but also for the graceful manner in which she delivered her message. Many thoughts that her staff may have written the message but it transpired later that she had written the message herself and the recording had been done in one-go by BBC studios.

She won the hearts of many families affected with cancer as she ended her message with the following: “At this time, I am also thinking of all those whose lives have been affected by cancer. For everyone facing this disease, in whatever form, please do not lose faith or hope. You are not alone. “

At the time of a great personal tragedy, thinking of others similarly affected showed the great humane qualities of the Princess and it becomes even more significant considering the horrible period she went through.

On 17 January, it was announced that the Princess of Wales had undergone planned abdominal surgery for an undisclosed medical condition that was not cancer, at The London Clinic and that she had postponed all of her public engagements and duties until after Easter. Around the same time, King Charles was admitted to the same hospital for planned prostatic surgery and it was later announced that an unrelated cancer had been detected during the procedure. As the King was to have a course of treatment for this, he too was forced to withdraw from public duties but he continued to conduct the affairs of state including the weekly meetings with the prime minister. The absence of two of the most senior royals from public duties piled the pressures on Queen Camilla and Prince William.

On 27 February, a thanksgiving memorial service was held for King Constantine II of Greece, the last monarch of the country and godfather to Prince William, at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle where Prince William was due to give a reading but he withdrew at the last moment citing ‘an urgent family matter’. Rumour mills went to overdrive to explain all these and conspiracy theories abounded. In addition to extensive media attention, social media were full of inuendoes.

To calm the waters, a photograph taken by Prince William showing Princess of Wales embraced by her three children was released on Mother’s Day, 10 March, but it was a disaster, mostly due to an overreaction on the part of news agencies. As the photograph seem to have been edited, they issued a ‘kill’ notice in spite of many commentators pointing out that almost all royal photographs released since the time of Queen Victoria have been edited! Wonder whether there was a secret hand behind this action!

To her credit, Princess of Wales, who is a keen photographer issued an immediate apology admitting that she, like many amateur photographers, “occasionally experiments with editing”. But it was not enough to stem the tide in the sewer of social media and Kate had no choice but to come out with the statement which, hopefully, would make conspiracy theorists leave her in peace for recovery from a major unexpected illness.

Associate editor Camilla Tominey’s comment in the front page of The Daily Telegraph of 23 March on this is hard to better:

“We already knew that social media was a sewer, occupied by faceless rats intent on infecting others with their disease of hatred. But their cruel treatment of Kate since it was announced she was undergoing abdominal surgery in January has been sickening beyond belief. From the peddling of hurtful conspiracy theories to the propagation of unsubstantiated lies, the keyboard warriors have inflicted an unnecessary amount of suffering on a woman now undergoing chemotherapy after a major operation. Shame on them.”

Whilst Kate received numerous messages of support from ordinary folk as well as world leaders, perhaps the best being from President Macron, the message from her estranged brother-in-law and his American wife is most intriguing: “We wish health and healing for Kate and family, and hope they are able to do so privately and in peace.”

In addition to increased awareness of prostatic problems and cancer due to King Charle’s illness, Kate’s diagnosis has raised the issue of cancer in the young. Many experts are expressing the opinion that cancers in the young are on the rise and this may be due to environmental factors. I am sure, when she returns to active duties, Kate would actively support further research in to this issue, in addition to continuing her many charities.

Our hearts go out to you Kate and we wish you a rapid and complete recovery!

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Mother…her pillar of strength

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Chit-Chat

Minanga Abeyesundere

Over the past few weeks, I’ve had readers inquiring whether it’s possible for me to do a little Chit-Chat scene with the spotlight on some of our models as that would also make interesting reading, they say.

Well, why not…and this week I’m doing just that, with more to follow.

01. Tell me something about yourself:

My name is Minanga. I’m 20 years old. My close friends and family call me Mini. I have completed my degree in Visual communication and currently focusing on my modelling career. I’m the youngest in my family. I am a person who sets certain goals for myself and will definitely try my very best to achieve them the right way. I generally don’t give any thought to people’s negative words and opinions. I love to travel with my family and cherish my time spent with them.

02. What made you decide to be a model?

I have always liked to do modelling for as long as I can remember. Then, as I grew older and taller, than most people my age, my friends and relatives kept telling me to go into modelling. This made my desire stronger to pursue this field. I decided to first start my studies and then, subsequently, start my modelling career. I must state that it was Brian Kerkoven who saw my potential and gave me a chance to show my talents and capabilities. My first runway show was modelling one of Brian’s designs. I will always be thankful to my mentor and agent, who has taught me everything I know about this field. He is always willing to give his feedback whenever I ask him.

03. What do you think sets you apart from other models?

I would say I give my 100% to every show and photo shoot and am always willing to learn from my senior models. I can adapt to different styles and looks, whether it’s high fashion, casual, or even themed shoots.

04. What clothing do you prefer to model?

As a model, one cannot really have a preference, but I prefer not to model very revealing clothing. That is my personal preference.

05. What do you think is the most important aspect of modelling?

I believe that as a model, you must always remember to model every outfit to do full justice to the hard work that has gone into making it by the designer and their team.

06. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

Minanga: Currently focusing on her
modelling career

I don’t really want to change anything about myself. I am very happy with myself. My flaws, despite their imperfections, are what make me who I am.

07. School?

Holy Family Convent, Bambalapitiya. I was in the basketball ball team for a short period.

08. Happiest moment?

There have been so many wonderful moments in my life that it’s hard to choose just one! But if I had to pick, I would say one of my happiest moments was when I achieved a personal goal that I had been working towards for a long time. It was such a fulfilling feeling to see all my hard work pay off, and to know that I had accomplished something meaningful to me.

09.What is your idea of perfect happiness?

My idea of perfect happiness is doing what I’m passionate about and living in the present moment because, if you really think about it, that’s all we have. It’s always only that present moment. It’s all about being happy in that moment and making the best of it.

10. Your ideal guy?

A person who is confident enough in himself to give me the freedom to follow my dreams and goals.

11. Which living person do you most admire?

The person I admire the most is none other than my mother. She has always been my biggest motivator, supporter, and pillar of strength. She has always supported me in following my dreams and never discouraged me from pursuing my interests, providing me with invaluable advice whenever needed. My mother has such a significant influence on every aspect of my life. She has been there for me through thick and thin, guiding me and teaching me valuable life lessons. I will always be grateful for her presence.

12. Which is your most treasured possession?

My most treasured possession, up until now, is an emerald ring I got from my mum, which she had from her childhood. As we are both May born, we share the same birthstone.

13. If you were marooned on a desert island, who would you like as your companion?

I would love to have my brother and sister as my companions. They’re always there for me, and we have so much fun together. We could keep each other company, come up with creative ways to survive, and keep each other’s spirits up.

14. Your most embarrassing moment?

It’s a secret for me to know and you to find out.

15. Done anything daring?

Not anything as of now but there are some on my list, like sky diving, travelling overseas alone which I would love to do.

16. Your ideal vacation?

Spending a weekend at Kandalama Hotel. I love the vibe there. I also love the architecture of the hotel and how it blends into the jungle around it. It’s so calming and peaceful.

17. What kind of music are you into?

I like pop music and even music from the ’80s.

18. Favourite radio station:

I don’t really listen to the radio. If I do, it’s in the car with my family, and we listen to Gold FM. I would say I am an old soul when it comes to music.

19. Favourite TV station:

I’m also not a person who watches TV. I watch Netflix movies, and movies at the cinema. I love watching movies with my mum. She is my movie buddy.

20. Any major plans for the future?

Yes, first, I want to be a supermodel, here in Sri Lanka, then model internationally and bring pride to my country. I also want to start up my own business in Merchandising.

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