KAMALIKA PIERIS
REVISED 17.3.21
The General Election of 1956 is associated with the name of SWRD
Bandaranaike. SWRD came from a long line of native administrators appointed by
the British administration.
SWRD’s two paternal
great-grandfathers held the positions
of ‘Mudaliyar
of Siyane Korale East’ and ‘Mohandiram of the Governor’s Gate.’ Their names
were Don Solomon Dias Bandaranayake, and Phillipsz Gysbertus Panditaratne.
SWRD’s grandfather also held the
positions of ‘Mudaliyar of the Governor’s Gate’ and ‘Mudaliyar of Siyane
Korale’. Grandfather’s name was Don Christoffel Henricus Dias Abeywickrema
Jayatilake Seneviratne Bandaranaike, with the prefix ‘Gate Mudaliyar’.
SWRD father, Solomon Dias Bandaranaike
(1862-1946) was ‘Muhandiram of the Governor’s Gate’ then ‘Mudaliyar of the Siyane Korale
East’ and finally, ‘Maha Mudali’. Maha Mudali was the highest
position available to a native Ceylonese in British Ceylon
.The post had been held earlier by his uncle, Conrad Petrus Dias Wijewardena
Bandaranaike. Solomon had applied for the post and was successful.
SWRD’s
father was knighted and became Sir
Solomon. He was also awarded the CMG. The letters
CMG stand for ‘Companion of the Order of St Michael
and St George’.This
is a very high honor given by the British monarch. Clearly, the British have
appreciated father’s loyalty.
Sir
Solomon was
one of the richest men in Siyane korale, now Gampaha .He was a wealthy land
owner with large estates, mainly coconut and valuable urban property. He
had inherited a walauwwa in Horagolla, (Attanagalla), which he converted to
stables and built Horagolla Walauwa next to it. He was the first
Ceylonese to own a house in Nuwara Eliya,
which was an exclusive holiday destination for the British.
Sir Solomon was educated at S.Thomas College.
He was a collector of antiquities. He donated Sir Henry Blake’s collection of palm leaf manuscripts to the Colombo National Museum. He was a
life-member of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society.
A keen horse breeder, he was Life President of
the Colombo Turf Club, which erected a statue of him, during his life time, in
front of the Turf Club in Colombo. This statue was in a neglected state until Yahapalana
arrived. Yahapalana in 2018, turned it into an imposing monument, enclosed with
installations and water pools. The message is clear, ‘Honor British rule.’
Sir Solomon has been very proud of his special
position and haughty too. When told that
H.V. Perera, later Sri Lanka’s leading lawyer, was going to study in London,
Sir Solomon had told H.V’s father, haughtily , that his son could not possibly dream of
ever making it to London. H.V. had won a
scholarship, explained the father, humbly. H.V.’s father had been a surveyor
and the first to do ground water surveys. He would probably have been at
Horagolla in his professional capacity. (Personal communication from Ralph
Pieris, nephew of H.V. Perera.)
historian
KM de Silva said of the Bandaranaike Obeyesekera clan. that no other indigenous family in the whole
of the British Empire has had such a long record of collaboration with the
imperial power, in crushing indigenous resistance movement, enthusiastic
assistance in the processes of conquest and support of consolidation of
colonial rule.
SWRDS great grandfather had been given a medal
in 1803 for helping the British forces in the Kandyan war of 1802. The Sinhala representative in Legislative
Council from 1833-1911 were form the Bandaranaike Obeyesekera group, (with one
exception).
They were also subordinate part of the
governing elite, a position which they
flaunted with much arrogance. They saw themselves as a group set apart by birth
and rank from all others. the Sinhala representative, in Legislative council
from 1833-1911 were form the Bandaranaike Obeyesekera group,( with one
exception) As
time went on the family assumed aristocratic status, said K.M. de Silva.
SWRD father was Maha Mudaliyar for 32 years, continued de Silva. In his
hands, the position was a blend of major domo, i.e. steward of a household and principal
aid to governor in matter relating to the natives. He was very prominent in public life, gloried
in his proximity to the governor and visiting royalty on ceremonial occasions,
concluded KM de Silva.
The subject of this essay, Solomon West
Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike, (1899-1959) was named after the Governor, West
Ridgeway, who also agreed to be the baby’s godfather. This indicates the
privileged position held by Sir Solomon.
It also indicates that Sir Solomon
hoped that baby Bandaranaike would also enjoy similar privileges and in
return, continue the family tradition
of loyalty to British rule.
SWRD was tutored at home by 2 English tutors.
For a short time he attended S. Thomas’ College, Mutwal,
boarding at Warden Rev. Stone’s residence.
He passed the Cambridge Senior examination with distinctions in English,
Latin, Greek and French. He had come second in the exam, out of all the
candidates in the British Empire.
He then read Modern
greats at Christ Church, Oxford but did not get the first class he hoped for.Sir
Solomon had entered his son’s name for Oxford, ten years earlier in 1923. SWRD
did well as on orator at the Oxford Union.
He had strongly criticized British rule In India. The applause had gone
on for several minutes. Unfortunately
Bandaranaike did not become President
of the Oxford union as he had hoped. Bandaranaike
was the Secretary of the Oxford Union
and the President of the Majlis Society. Majlis was a debating society founded by the
Indian students of Oxford.
Bandaranaike
did not change into a Brown Sahib at Oxford but remained an earnest easterner.
He wrote of many bitter memories of his time at Oxford. He gained
great prestige and standing at oxford for his debating ability but anti
colonialism was always to be seen there, observed HSS Nissanka.
In 1924, he was
called to the bar as a Barrister
in the Inner Temple. He returned to Ceylon in 1925 and took
oaths as an Advocate
of the Supreme Court of Ceylon. He practiced as a lawyer and got an adequate income which made him independent of
his father, observed KM de Silva
SWRD did not join the British administration as
his father would have hoped. Instead he took to politics. From the beginning,
SWRD wanted a leading role in politics, nothing less. In 1926 he started his own political party,
Peoples Progressive Party, but this failed. This was the, the first of
the three parties started by him.
SWRD then joined the Ceylon National Congress. In 1927 SWRD became Secretary of the Congress. This was his
arrival on the political scene, said Wiswa Warnapala. SWRD was President of Ceylon National
Congress in 1931.
SWRD went into electoral politics
as soon as possible. In 1927 he was elected to the Colombo Municipal Council,
from the Maradana
Ward,
defeating
the trade unionist A. E. Goonesinha. SWRD had the money
to win the election, Goonesinha did not, observed Meegama.
SWRD also participated in local government. In 1928, SWRD became President of All Ceylon Village
Committee Conference (est. 1925). Under Bandaranaike , it underwent a change
and became an effective pressure group. It was an emerging pressure group
with wide influence in rural areas, said Wiswa. And the Young Lanka group, who
published a magazine of that name, had complained that Bandaranaike
converted the Conference to a
political one.
SWRD had got the Village committee Ordinance
amended to remove restrictions and democratize it. In 1929, SWRD became Chairman of Veyangoda
Egoda Peruwe Pattu Gamsabha. SWRD, in this manner, gained a political foothold
at all three electoral levels, village, urban and national.
SWRD
established a network of contacts with village committee chairmen, monks of
village temples, and the intelligentsia of the village, which was of immense
support to him later when forming the SLFP, observed Meegama. SWRD was able to establish links with the emerging rural
intelligentsia and the rural political leadership, agreed Wiswa Warnapala.,
SWRD formed the Sinhala Maha Sabha (SMS) in 1934. SWRD was
President. There were eight vice presidents and they included CWW Kannangara,
and Sir John Kotelawela. There was
at the time no political party that could articulate the nationalist issues.
The objective of the SMS was the unity and advancement of the Sinhalese.
It was a loosely knit pressure group which revolved around one personality,
SWRD . All the other political groups that emerged in this time were also like
this, said Wiswa.,
The
name of the Association, Sinhala Maha Sabha” was given by Piyadasa Sirisena.
At the inaugural meeting SWRD had wanted the word ‘Sinhala’ changed to
‘Swadeshi.’ But Munidasa Kumaratunga, who was present, had given a scholarly
analysis of the word ‘Sinhala’ and asked ‘Why are people frightened of the word
Sinhala.’ Munidasa Kumaratunga was the
first to raise the Sinhala language to the status of a cause and a mission,
observed Wiswa.
The parent organization of the SMS
was the Lanka Mahajana Sabha formed by F.R. Senanayake in 1919, said
Wiswa. But SMS would surely have tapped
into the full Mahajana Sabha network as well.
There were nearly 27 Mahajana
Sabhas primarily in rural areas in the mid twenties. There were Mahajana sabhas
in Matara, Moratuwa, Lunugala, Panadura, Gampola, Dodanduwa, Polgahawela,
Rambukkana, Kalutara, Kandy, Negombo and Dehiwela. Some were branch
organizations of Ceylon National
Congress and Ceylon National Association, as well, said Wiswa. This showed that a new trend was emerging
with the rural segment also getting politically
activated, observed Wiswa. Proceedings were conducted in Sinhala in these sabhas. .
There
were a few political Associations as well. There was Kurunegala Political
Association (est. 1920), Ratgama Association (1928) Ambalangoda Association
(1920,) and Anuradhapura Association (1912). The
population was becoming politically activated, said Wiswa. The Sinhala Maha
Sabha would undoubtedly have approached these as well.
Three organizations which SWRD had been associated
with also joined. They were All Ceylon Village Committees Conference,
Urban District Councils of Ceylon Association and All Ceylon Ayurvedic
Sammelanaya.
SWRD
was always an ardent supporter of local government, specially All Ceylon Village Committees Conference,
Urban District Councils of Ceylon Conference, All Ceylon Town Councils Conference. These were major pressure groups, and he used
them for his political party, said Wiswa. SWRD
regularly attended their annual sessions, and made speeches. He was mobilizing
this emerging village leadership around his magnetic personality, said Wiswa.
SMS
attracted a galaxy of nationalists such as Piyadasa Sirisena. Other writers such as Ananda Rajakaruna, Munidasa
Kumaratunga and ayurvedic physicians such as W. Daniel
Fernando Waidyasekera and Pundit G.P. Wickramarachchi joined SMS.
Hemapala
Munidasa who had edited Sinhala Bauddhaya took over the SMS newspaper ‘Sinhala
Balaya’ in 1941. This newspaper played a key role in awakening the Sinhalese,
said Wiswa. It overtook ‘Sinhala Bauddhaya’ in no time. Later Hemapala was imprisoned on a fraud
charge and Sinhala Balaya went into decline. SWRD
had to sell the press.
SMS
became a platform for the Sinhala literati.
They met at a special meeting at Ananda College to discuss Sinhala
language and literature. Another meeting presided by Kalukondayawe Pannasekera was on
Buddhism. This would have strengthened
the Sinhala Buddhist nature of the organization.
Before
long SWRD had successfully welded SMS into a monolith. SMS soon emerged as a political force and
eventually, SMS superseded the Ceylon National Congress as an influential
political organization. SMS provided a
much needed link between nationalism, the Buddhist resurgence, and the
national heritage associated with Buddhism” said Wiswa. A
national committee was formed in 1941.
Leftist
forces openly campaigned against SWRD saying SMS has been formed to fight the
minorities. However, N.M.Perera, while
criticizing SMS for its communal bias, said that SMS had aroused an apathetic Buddhist public to a full recognition of its
rights. SWRD often held meetings in
Anuradhapura, to draw public attention to the need to reawaken the ancient
heritage, observed Wiswa. SMS held its
meetings in rural centers.
The
Sinhala Maha Sabha was not a political Party in the modern sense of the word,
said Wiswa Warnapala. It was a loosely
knit pressure group which revolved around one personality, SWRD. SMS played a
pioneering role in the construction of a mass base in politics. This was more significant than the arrival
of the Marxists, said Wiswa. It was the
beginning of the road to 1956, said Meegama.
Wiswa, on the other hand, observed that SWRD saw the SMS only as an intermediate venture,
‘a passing role’, on the way to wider national unity.
SMS
met with much opposition from vested interest, as well as non Buddhists and non
Sinhalese. SMS was dubbed an extreme Sinhala organization. SWRD was called a chauvinist SMS
was dubbed an extreme Sinhala organization. Leftists were scornful. The
emerging professional class also protested.
The Christian sector spearheaded a
virulent campaign against the SMS. They said there was no need for a SMS. The
CNC and the Mahajana sabha are both completely Sinhalese. The SMS was ‘avowedly and unashamedly Sinhala,
much more than the CNC and the Mahajana sabhas’. This segment was also very critical of SWRD.
They did not like his rise in politics.
They feared and resented his influence.
Wiswa Warnapala assessed the SMS. It
provided a link between nationalism and Buddhist resurgence, and the national
heritage associated with Buddhism. SMS held its meetings in rural
areas. SWRD often held them in Anuradhapura, to draw public attention to
the need to reawaken the ancient heritage.
This link was much more
significant than the arrival of the Marxists, continued Wiswa. Even SWRD’s
marriage helped. It was a union between a first rank family of the lowlands and
a first rank family of the Udarata. SMS superseded CNC as an
influential political organization. CNC specialized in the politics of the Europeanized
middle class. Now it was necessary to have a nationalist platform for
expressing Sinhala nationalism, concluded Wiswa.
SWRD
was a member of the two State Councils set up under British administration. SWRD
was elected unopposed from Veyangoda to the first State Council of 1931. He was elected unopposed to the second State
Council of 1936, too. He was also seen and heard on important political platforms. He spoke at the
memorable Galle Face rally in 1937, in support of Bracegirdle.
SWRD was Minister of Local
Government in the second State Council 1936–47,
One of SWRD actions as Minister was to declare Anuradhapura a sacred
city. V.C. Jayasuriya, then
Commissioner of Local government, said that SWRD had made many improvements to
local government when he was Minister. The Abeywardene report (1999) also said
that SWRD in 1936 was instrumental in preparing the necessary legislation and
took steps to deliver development through the local government system.’
SWRD had revoked the Local
Government Ordinance of 1920 under which local boards were created. This led to the modernization of the local
government institutions. SWRD had
introduced the Gam Sabha Ordinance no 60 of 1938. The enactment of this Ordinance
was a major landmark in the modernization of Gam sabhas.
The subject of Health was added to
his Ministry later on. George E de
Silva was Minister of Health earlier. SWRD and George set up a
countrywide network of maternity hospitals, rural hospitals and provided the
service of trained midwives, said Meegama. together with the eradication of
malaria, these measures of 1937-47,
helped to lower infant mortality and maternal mortality, to what was a record low for a third world
country, he said.
SWRD played an important role in the independence
negotiations. This is not well known. In the 1940s, the issue of independence had advanced to the
vital stage of drafting the conditions of independence. State Council needed
persons who could interpret a document and spot hidden meanings and lapses.
The incisive
mind of SWRD was particularly useful,” said Jennings. He saw our weak points
with remarkable speed and expressed them with ruthless logic. SWRD represented far more than DS the section
of opinion which was suspicious of British intensions and therefore insisted on
precautions that otherwise would not have been taken.”
Queens House
also recognized SWRD .London had written to Colombo to say that the Secretary
of State in London was not prepared to accept the ‘Ministers Draft’ but had
read it with interest. SWRD who had called at Queens House on some other
business, had been shown the document, even before DS Senanayake saw it.
When the independence negotiations were
coming to a close, DS Senanayake had asked Sir Oliver Goonetilleke discuss with
Bandaranaike as leader of the Sinhala Maha Sabha the draft agreements for
independence. SWRD had viewed the draft with mixed feelings, but refrained from
objecting. The agreement was signed, making way for Ceylon to gain self-rule.
When D. S.
Senanayake presented the Soulbury
Constitution to the State Council, Bandaranaike seconded the motion stating
that he does so as the Sinhala Maha Sabha was the largest party in the State
Council. It was also decided that DS would
move the vote for Dominion status and SWRD would second it as the best debater
and the leader of the Sinhala Maha sabha.
With Ceylon
heading for self-rule, D. S. Senanayake invited Bandaranaike to combine his
Sinhala Maha Sabha with other smaller parties into the United National Party (UNP) which
Senanayake was forming to contest for the 1947 election DS had
asked
CWW Kannangara and A. Ratnayake to speak to SWRD, who agreed to join the UNP.
The very first United National
Party was therefore composed of Ceylon National Congress, Sinhala Maha Sabha,
Muslim League and Moors Association. It
was a coalition representing different shades of opinion from socialism to
conservatism. Opposing the UNP were LSSP,
BLP, CP and All Ceylon Tamil Congress. The
SMS
was the most powerful group in the UNP, recalled Sirimavo Bandaranaike. His SMS was the most powerful group in the
UNP. SWRD and his SMS constituted a
vital segment of the UNP, agreed Wiswa.
A general election was held in 1947. UNP won but did not get the sweeping victory it hoped for.
it got only 42 out of a total of 95
seats. This was a weak majority. [1]
The opposition said that the UNP did not command the confidence of the
country. A certain group had wished
to form an alternative government with
SWRD at its head. They were going to build it ‘around the personality of SWRD’,
said Meegama. This shows the importance of the personality of SWRD and the SMS.
This group
met to discuss the possibility of creating an alternative government consisting
of SMS, the Left and independent members, with SWRD as leader. Nearly 50 MPs
had been prepared to support SWRD, said Wiswa.
The talks were held at ‘Yamuna’, the home of H. Sri Nissanka, on the
initiative of H Sri Nissanka, IMRA Iriyagolle and Wilmot Perera, who incidentally came from three different
castes, Goigama, Karava and Salagama. These discussions were known as the ‘Yamuna talks’. The exact dates
are not available.
The
Yamuna proposal became a near possibility but SWRD was reluctant said Wiswa.SWRD
thought that DS should not be prevented from becoming the first Prime Minister
of Ceylon. . This led to the breakdown of the talks. If the strategy of the
Yamuna talks had succeeded, SWRD would have become the first Prime Minister of
Ceylon, said Wiswa. Others agreed. H. Sri Nissanka thought that SWRD, had, on
his own, missed an ideal opportunity, to become the first Prime Minister of
Ceylon.
SWRD
however rejected the proposal. Instead he
joined the UNP. SWRD later
explained that he thought the country needed a strong and stable
government at the time of independence. He added that the UNP would not have come
into being, if not for him. D.S. Senanayake therefore became Prime Minister.
SWRD was elected the Leader of the House. This made
Bandaranaike the most senior member of the cabinet, after the Prime Minister.
Vernon Mendis said, Even before he became Prime Minister
SWRD gave a foretaste of his inborn statesmanship by his impressive role at the
Asian Relations Conference held by Nehru in New Delhi in 1947, where
SWRD presented his vision of Asia as a brotherhood of independent states.
Ceylon had sent a delegation of 20, for this Conference, led
by SWRD. The calls for Asian Federation were endorsed by Solomon Bandaranaike
of Ceylon and Aung San of Burma, reported one account.
SWRD
wanted the portfolio of Agriculture and Land but was given Health and Local
Government. Dr. L.O Abeyratne, who was head of Lady
Ridgeway Children’s Hospital, pleaded with SWRD to improve the hospital. So
after much persuasion and difficulty SWRD managed to get funds allocated in the
Budget for a completely new hospital.
He also
got, again with difficulty, funds for improving Ratnapura hospital, which often
got flooded by the Kalu Ganga. But
Kotelawala who headed the Ministry of transport and Works, including public
works, was obstructing the Health Ministry building projects, so this project did not even start. The UNP wanted
to keep SWRD down, recalled Sirimavo Bandaranaike.
SWRD
had thought that the UNP could be
turned into a truly national party,
under the direction of the SMS. But
his plan to convert the UNP was not
successful. SWRD had hoped to influence
the UNP from within. Instead he found
his own position was being assailed from within. The leaders of the UNP were
opposed to the SMS and its nationalist agenda. Opponents complained that SWRD
had converted the All Ceylon Village Committee Conference to a political one.
SWRD
was also unsuccessful when it came to policy. UNP was reluctant to implement the clauses in the
manifesto, with regard to language, religion and culture. SWRD failed to get
legislation passed on these subjects.
SWRD
made scathing reference to the UNP government. He said UNP was drifting to a
one party dictatorship. SWRD also complained that no important questions were
ever placed before the Executive
Committee of the UNP.
SWRD
opponents objected to both SWRD’s politics and his speeches. SWRD had complained to the All Ceylon
Village Committees Conference that the UNP had failed to implement the proposal
of the SMS. UNP working committee asked SWRD to send in an explanation, which he did, saying the UNP
should implement the policy set out in its manifesto, not hold tamashas.
The SMS held its annual sessions
at Madampe in 1951. Several resolutions
approved by the branch organizations of the SMS were unanimously
passed. These
Madampe resolutions included the need for an official language policy, recognition of Buddhism, Sangha to be
given a special place, a national
industrial policy, the essential services
to be in the hands of the state, implement recommendation of the Social
services Commission, development of ayurveda, improve public services, banning horse racing and a
sound foreign policy. SMS also decided to urge the government to implement
the policies promised in the 1947 election.
UNP
working committee said that under the UNP constitution, SMS could not place these
resolutions before the UNP. According to the UNP constitution all constituent
members were under the UNP and had to conform to its rules and ‘loyally accept
all decisions of the UNP.’ further, the
Madampe resolutions went against the policy of the UNP and they could not be
accepted.
SMS sent a deputation to DS, without any result. SMS pointed out that SMS has been sending resolutions to the working
committee for the last four years. Also
that UNP permitted resolutions to be presented at the annual conference.
The
Madampe resolutions were the precipitating event. SWRD was
urged to leave the UNP. It was clear that DS did not intend to retire and
make way for SWRD,
though SWRD was considered the successor to DS Senanayake.
In
July 1951, SWRD left the government benches and crossed the floor of the House
to the Opposition, followed by five others,
including DA Rajapaksa. They expected more to follow but they did not. There were 18 SMS members in Parliament.
Crowds had
gathered in front of Parliament to garland him and also at his house, recalled
Sirimavo. SWRD had taken the precaution of
keeping the SMS going. He had also given leadership to the Swabhasha movement
and the Buddhist resurgence of the time. Crowds had
gathered in front of Parliament to garland him and also at his house, recalled
Sirimavo.
The Sri Lanka
Freedom Party was started on September 2nd, 1951 at Colombo Town Hall. The public were
informed of the launch and invited to the Town Hall to participate at the
launch. A crowd estimated at over 10,000 attended. The crowd had overflowed onto the verandah
and the lawn of the Town Hall. The
meeting was attended by bhikkhus, also Buddhist nuns. Some bhikkhus were seen standing
outside with the rest of the crowd.
The SLFP was built on the SMS, this is forgotten today. Sinhala Maha Sabha had a
formidable base, a network of pressure groups of the villages. SWRD utilized this to form the SLFP said
Wiswa. The SMS, had taken care to maintain its political
identity as a separate organization, and had continued its activities
while functioning as part of the UNP government.
In addition, SWRD
had built up strong links with the local government agencies. He had spoken before the various local government
Conferences, every year. This became very useful when the SLFP was formed. SWRD also
recruited political activists for his political party through the Gam
Sabhas.
Throughout out the 1930s and 1940s
Bandaranaike had created powerful pressure groups at the local level and the
leaders of these organizations became a vital segment of the Party. The
All Ceylon Village Committees Conference and the All Ceylon Ayurvedic
Physicians Conference were activated to support the party.
The name Sri Lanka Freedom Party was given by
H Sri Nissanka. It is important to note that the word ‘Sinhala’ has been left
out. This aversion to the word ‘Sinhala’ should be noted. SWRD was appointed
President, with Badiuddin
Mahmud and S. Thangarajah as joint secretaries. The Udarata
Socialist Front led by TB Ilangaratne
dissolved into the SLFP.
SWRD formed the SLFP for two reasons. To offer
a political party in the middle ground
between the UNP and the Marxist parties, and to provide a means of political
expression for Sinhalese and Buddhist vested interests.
This brand new SLFP had to face a
general election in May 1952. It made
an attempt to form a common front with leftist’s parties but failed. SLFP had no cash and no suitable candidates, but
it did quite well, observed Meegama. SLFP
won 9 of 48 seats got 15.5% of
the vote and came second. SWRD became Leader of the Opposition. LSSP
also got 9 seats out of 30. But SLFP secured more votes than LSSP.
SLFP came into existence to
fulfill certain historical tasks, said Wiswa. It
had identified certain interest groups, which taken together formed a kind of
social movement. SLFP had to cater to
the needs of these interest groups.. Unlike the other
parties, SLFP knew how to make use of these interest groups.
SLFP had the support of the rural peasantry and the
rural elite. Grass roots support constituted an important
source of recruitment. The rural intelligentsia were the main stay
of the party for decades, Wiswa added.
SLFP throughout the period of its existence
successfully maintained organization unity, comparable stability and continuity
as the major political formation of this country.
The SLFP has survived several crises. Powerful
politicians were unable to oust the SLFP.
The party faced internal dissention but it never went into oblivion, due to its political and ideological resilience.
SLFP is not a fragile organization. The Party was expected to remain loyal to its rural base. Rural
forces never allowed the party to move in any other direction.
Sri Lanka unlike other counties in Asia has not shown a
dislike for party government. The traditional two party rivalry is a very
powerful factor in the rural sector, and
the party alignments are very sharp in those areas. Control of village politics
has been a vital factor in political power and influence , observed Wiswa. (Continued)
[1] W.A.Wiswa Warnapala. Sri Lanka Freedom Party. Godage. p 51
