THE SLFP EMANCIPATED THE SRI
LANKAN MUSLIMS FROM BONDAGES OF SERFDOM
A.A.M.NIZAM MATARA.
(A former Vice President of
SLFP Central Committee, Matara Electorate)
The Sri Lanka Freedom Party, the party of the down-trodden rural masses
of Sri Lanka which comprises over 70% of the Sri Lankan population completed
57 years of patriotic service to the nation on 2nd September. The formation
of the Party was a dire need as the government in power failed to pass
on the fruits of the so-called independence to the common man and the
ruling clique the “Kalu Suddhas”at that time was more British
and slavishly Anglophile than the Britishers themselves. Despite the
so-called nominal independence, Airports and Harbours of the country
remained under British control and the foreign policy of the country
was that of the British Government. Official statistics showed that
a mere 3812 elite Anglophile urbanites of the then population of 7.5
Million enjoyed more than ½ of the country’s income. In
such a sad situation, it became imperative for a group of patriotic
intelligentsia to meet at Madampe and adopted a set of resolutions aimed
at changing the course of government and ushering in real freedom to
the oppressed masses and to safeguard the national values of the country.
The outright rejection of these resolutions by the UNP government led
the late Mr. S.W.R.D.Bandaranaike to resign his portfolio and crossover
to the opposition on Budget Day in 1951 with the late Mr. D.A.Rajapakse
heroically taking the lead to follow him. Later 4 other UNP MPs and
two independent MPs joined the duo.
Subsequently after much discussion among the patriotic intelligentsia
a decision was taken to form a new party to emancipate the oppressed
masses, to strengthen racial amity and national harmony, to confer prime
place to national values and liberate the nation from shackles of imperialist
bondage. A notice calling for the formation of this party on 2nd September,
1951 was issued with the signatures of 44 eminent personalities of that
time, which included persons of all religions and all races. Among the
44 signatories were 5 Muslims and 3 Tamils.
Over 10,000 persons heeded this call and converged at the Town Hall
premises for the formation of the Party. At this convention the naming
of the new party as the Sri Lanka Freedom Party was proposed by the
late Mr. H.Sri Nissanka and it was seconded by the late Dr. Badi-ud-din
Mahmoud. The convention elected Mr. S.W.R.D.Bandaranaike as the President,
Mr. Bernard Aluvihare, Mr. Badiuddin Mahmoud, and S.Thangarajah as Co-Secretaries
and Mr. George R. de Silva as the Treasurer
Since much had been written on this great National Political Movement’s
achievements and services to the Nation, but little on its services
to Muslims, and its emancipation of the Sri Lankan Muslim community,
this article will highlight few important accomplishments made by the
Party on these aspects.
The Muslim community in Sri Lanka prior to 1956 was more or less a
community of serfdom depending entirely on the handouts of the rich
traders/merchants, or from the landowners in the agricultural areas,
from the rich families in the fishing areas or from the owners of large
herds of animal husbandry. The commoner was voiceless and they had to
dutifully oblige the master if they were to stay on their vocation and
sustain their families.
Education for the children of the commoners were mainly confined to
the schools known as Government Tamil Schools most of which except in
main towns had classes only upto 5th or 8th Standard. While the rich
community, whose children were educated in leading schools in Colombo
and other places, resented the children of their servants acquiring
higher education, the teachers in the so-called Government Tamil Schools,
who were overwhelmingly Tamils discouraged these poor students. Elders
relate that most of these teachers did not encourage the Muslim students
pursuing studies and used to tell the students that as invariably they
will be going to work in shops (or in other works) it would be sufficient
if they learn to write something and count 5 and 5 as 10. Even the far
and few Muslim teachers, who belonged to rich families and served in
these schools held similar views and possessed the same attitudes.The
mosques were also managed by the rich families in the relevant areas.
The first major change made by the first purely Sri Lankan government
of 1956 as opposed to the proxy-British UNP governments for the emancipation
of Muslims in Sri Lanka was to make a complete change in the teaching
staff in schools where majority of students were Muslims. These schools
were named as Muslim Schools and Muslim youth who possessed a minimum
qualification of having passed SSC were appointed to these schools as
Teacherrs. There was an acute shortage of Muslim youths with SSC passed
qualifications and it is said by many that in the 1958 and 1959 years
many got their teaching appointments along with their SSC passes.
Although ethnic based schools should not be encouraged and all children
of an area should have the right to receive education in the school
of that particular area the establishment of Muslim Schools was a need
of the era at that time in order to make a mass educational upliftment
in the Muslim community. This was a giant step taken by the truly Sri
Lankan Bandaranaike government to emancipate the Muslim community from
the bondage to Mudalalis and open a new vista for Muslim childen to
pursue higher eduction.
This massive teaching employment drive produced at least one teacher
in each Muslim family, and completely changed the educationally backward
Muslim society. It is the children of this new generation of Muslims
innovated by the SLFP government that occupy seats of employment today
in many fields including those in the professional fields and even in
Foreign Missions.
It was the SLFP that legitimized the rights of Muslim girls to wear
a school dress in conformity to their religious norms. The Endowment
Board known as Waqf Board was created to administer the affairs of mosques
thereby providing the opportunity for the commoners to participate in
the affairs of administering the mosques, and making them qualified
to receive government assistance.
A Special Unit known as Muslim Service was created in the then Radio
Ceylon solely dedicated for the Muslims to broadcast religious and cultural
programmes and enlighten the Muslims with religious knowledge, their
cultural values, and educate them about the affairs of fellow Muslims
in other countries.
A new set of teachers known as Maulavi Teachers, similar to teachers
of other religions was appointed to teach religion to Muslim students
even in non-Muslim schools. Two hours permission for Muslims to attend
Jumma Prayers was granted. Days prominent for Muslims were included
in the list of Public Holidays.
In the international arena too, the SLFP goverments have espoused the
cause of Muslims and Muslim countries. During the Suez Canal War in
1958 the late Prime Minister Mr. S.W.R.D.Bandaranaike valiantly stood
supporting the steps taken by President Nasser. During the 1967 Middle
East War the late Prime Minister Mrs. Bandaranaike was the only non-Muslim
world leader who severed Diplomatic relationship with Israel. The current
SLFP President Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse has functioned as the Chairman
of the Sri Lanka-Palestine Friendship Association from its inception
and it is in gratification for his friendship, the Palestinian Government
named a major highway in Palestine as President Mahinda Rasjapakse Highway.
While the SLFP leaders have severely criticized the American action
in Iraq and Afghanistan the UNP leader Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe speaking
at UN justified American action against Iraq and killing of Muslims
in their thousands in that country.
Unfortunately the SLFP has miserably failed to take meaningful setps
to educate the Muslim masses about the services it had unequivocally
rendered for the emancipation of the Muslim community and organize the
Muslim youth as vanguards of the Party. In this lacuna the rich trading
society and the racists who strive by selling the Muslim interests for
their personal gains reign supreme. The SLFP should given serious consideration
to this deficiency and make corrective efforts at least to print out
in all three languages a booklet on its services to Muslims and distribute
these booklets to each and every Muslim household.
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