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A tribute on her 88th Birth Anniversary commemoration

by Mahinda Rajapakse, Prime Minister

It was the year 1968 when the nomination board of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party called me before it to decide whether I should be given the party ticket for the Beliatta seat. After my father's demise, the party was on the look out for a suitable candidate to represent the Beliatta seat in Parliament and continue the good work done by my father.

It was a difficult choice because my father had given his best to Ruhuna Giruwapattuwa and finding a candidate to fill his void was a Herculean task. Besides, he was a very popular MP and a founder member of the SLFP.

The party nomination board was chaired by the leader of the SLFP, Madam Sirimavo Bandaranaike, who herself had entered politics in 1960. She was not a novice any more in politics having weathered a rather difficult tenure of premiership of five years which had ended somewhat prematurely in 1965 due to machinations of the UNP. The others in the nomination board were Maithripala Senanayake, P. B. G. Kalugalle and Dr. Badiuddin Mahamud, all stalwarts of the SLFP.

It was undoubtedly a tough board to get through. When I went before the nomination board, some people had informed the board that my elder brother Chamal should get the SLFP ticket to contest Beliatta.

I claimed the party ticket for myself as I was the one who was doing the political work after my father's passing away. It was a problem for the board, but Madam Bandaranaike, the decisive leader she was, decided to consult my mother. She said, "Let us ask Mrs. D.A." After a discussion with my mother, I was made the SLFP organizer for Beliatta. That was the common sense of Mrs. B.

When I entered Parliament in 1970 as a first timer, many things were new to me. The whole environment, various traditions and parliamentary activities were all new, after all I was just twenty four. To my great delight and amazement, I was given the rare honour and privilege of proposing the vote of thanks on the Throne Speech.

That was a unique opportunity. It was Madam Bandaranaike who had suggested my name for that signal honour. That unique occasion still lingers in my mind. That is one instance where she encouraged and developed young MPs to undertake bigger roles in national development. I also thought it was recognition of my late father's unwavering commitment to the SLFP.

Madam Bandaranaike didn't possess any high level academic qualifications that many of her contemporaries had. But, she had in abundance common sense that is necessary to be a sharp leader and be street-smart. If not for her street smartness, she would not have weathered all the political storms so effectively.

There is no leader, in our history, who had had so many travails in life, both personal and political. Nevertheless, she could not be kept down by any of those unfortunate incidents. She was a courageous woman who changed not only the history of our country but the entire world, by being the first woman Prime Minister and the first woman chairperson of the Non-Aligned Movement.

Madam Bandaranaike was much more courageous than a man could have been. She did not relent when a decision had to be taken. If one looks back to the schools take over in 1962 or the nationalization of the oil companies, this is evident. A leader had to be extraordinarily courageous to take such decisions given the pressure not only locally, but internationally as well.

All these decisions were very valid at that time and people hailed her for being so decisive.

Those decisions had no personal advantage for her; instead those had a great impact on the lives of the ordinary people. Having matured in politics, I now realize what it takes to arrive at the most potent decision. It is probably the single most important quality that a political leader should and must possess: to be decisive at crucial times.

I was extremely fortunate to be a part of the coalition government of 1970-77, particularly as I was a fledgling in politics. The government had a strong mandate from the people, had the best political brains the country possessed and had a Prime Minister who was decisive, confident and loved the country and its people.

What more could a novice ask for in politics than being a part of a strong government? It was a government that changed the course of our history. Mrs. B's government of 70-77, gave us the real freedom from our colonial masters. I watched with awe and reverence when she steered the constitutional reforms with such professional expertise. She was no constitutional maestro, but knew what exactly the country wanted.

That understanding came from her rural upbringing and involvement in her husband's political activities. She wanted to ensure that our country is freed from the influence of the British throne. As destiny would decide, her daughter, the present President, is also trying to change the course of Sri Lanka's history by abandoning the executive presidency and restoring the supremacy of Parliament, which represents the true sovereignty of our people.

As a fledgling in politics, I was a part of that historic move in 1972, and today, as the Prime Minister I am privileged to assist the President in her endeavour to bring sanity to our national politics and restore supremacy of Parliament.

Looking from a development perspective, the government of 70-77 although accused of closed economic policies, set in motion a whole gamut of development initiatives that brought innumerable benefits to the people. Industries, agricultural institutions, and commercial enterprises, all with indigenous talent were established during this period.

Although the 1977 UNP government and the successive UNP governments mismanaged these institutions and destroyed and dismantled them, one by one, had they been managed as national treasures, institutions such as the Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation, National Savings Bank, CeyloN Steel Corporation and many more institutions would have provided employment opportunities to youth of our country and also would have contributed to national wealth.

Unfortunately, that was not to be. I know personally that Mrs. B was grieved at the massive destruction of state property that took placed during the post 1977 period.

I saw Mrs. B at her best during the coalition government's stewardship which was her second tenure.

Those days, parliamentary activities were devoid of personal attacks and focused on important national issues. I learned tremendously from stalwarts both in government and opposition. I watched with amazement the political giants that were in abundance at that time. Mrs. B among all was the supreme leader and it was again her charisma, decisiveness, unwavering commitment to the cause and her caring nature that always caught my young mind's attention. To me she was a Colossus.

During the insurrection of 1971, she conducted the affairs of the government with such absolute confidence and tenacity, that Sir John Kotalawela had once remarked that she was the only 'male' in her Cabinet. However, she ensured that those arrested were not harmed or tortured. She was concerned about their future and welfare.

What followed mass arrests were not disappearances of persons, but their welfare and rehabilitation, a unique attempt of the government to integrate the misguided youth to the mainstream. She personally supervised this national scale programme to ensure that it was on course. She was a mother to all.

Although Madam Bandaranaike was kind and protected us from many thorny issues, she didn't tolerate any lapse on our part. We were therefore extremely cautious as young MPs because Madam Bandaranaike travelled extensively throughout the country supervising the agriculture programme that she had initiated.

Very few political parties would have that sort of charismatic leadership, not just in our country but even elsewhere.

Incidentally, I feel the same way in the present Government with President Kumaratunga providing unique and charismatic leadership to the SLFP and the Freedom Alliance.

As I was growing up in the political arena, Mrs. B was almost a mother to me. Anura and I were good friends and she never treated me differently. To her, all of us were 'young sons' who needed to be guided and nurtured. In a way, it's a unique relationship.

A young MP who is trying to find his way in politics is given all the encouragement by the leader who is no different to one's own mother.

Although there have been many women leaders in other countries, particularly in South Asia, I am not aware that such guidance was provided by them to their young MPs. Mrs. B was always unique.

When my cousin, George Rajapakse, Hambantota district political authority and the then Minister of Fisheries, died in 1976, Madam Bandaranaike appointed me to undertake the responsibilities of the district political authority.

I was later made to understand that Madam Bandaranaike had telephoned the then Government Agent of Hambantota and asked him to assist in the tasks I had to perform.

This again shows the kindness and guidance she provided me in my early formative years as a politician.

It is with great reverence, therefore, that I went to Horagolla Bandaranaike Samadhi after the Cabinet of the United People's Freedom Alliance was sworn in, to pay my gratitude to the two of the greatest leaders that Sri Lanka ever had.

If not for Mr. S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike's foresight to establish the SLFP, Sri Lanka's history would have been very different leaving the majority of our population the rural masses in abject poverty misery and neglect.

If that happened, we would not have been much different to some of the African countries, where there is high illiteracy, famine and total violation of basic human rights.

It was SWRD who gave the rural masses of our country the respect and self esteem they so richly deserved, that which was snatched away from them by the colonial rulers. His widow, not only carried on the mantel of leadership thrust on her by a grieving SLFP, so admirably, but created world history by becoming the first woman prime minister of the world.

Another landmark event in my first tenure as a MP was when the 1976 Non-Aligned Conference was held in Colombo. I vividly remember how Madam Bandaranaike was the centre of attraction. She took Sri Lanka to the world by her astute leadership in the Non-Aligned movement.

She was so beautiful that world leaders looked at her in great awe when she so ably conducted the affairs of the 1976 Non-Aligned Conference as its Chairperson. It was not only her hour of glory, but Sri Lanka's as well. Mrs. B had once again put Sri Lanka on the map, this time to be dubbed the 'Bandaranaike country.'

Many have told me that most foreigners know Sri Lanka as Bandaranaike country. Mrs. B had that remarkable ability to steal the lime light in any forum by her mere presence. Not many leaders in the world possessed this trait.

Madam Bandaranaike moved with kings and commoners alike. She would easily interact with a poor farmer whom she would meet in many of her countrywide visits, particularly during the food drive she initiated in 1973. She had a remarkable ability to put anyone at ease. Very few leaders in the world moved with the common man the way she did.

She felt for her countrymen and making Sri Lanka self-sufficient in food was her dream. It was in recognition of her Herculean effort to make our country self-sufficient that she won the Food and Agriculture Organisation's Ceres medal in 1976. Mrs. B was ready for the world food shortage in the 70s. She personally spearheaded the food drive and that was what saved Sri Lanka from a dire situation.

The Director General of the FAO came to Sri Lanka to present the medal to her. In presenting the medal to Madam Bandaranaike, he said that it was a great privilege in his tenure to be able to present the Ceres medal, which symbolized the Roman goddess for Agriculture, as a token of the utmost appreciation of the FAO and the world in general for her tremendous effort to make our country self-sufficient. He added, "I cannot think of any other person who has worked so zealously for the poor." Such was her acceptance to the whole world.

In my opinion, she is Sri Lanka's most valuable symbol.

When we were in the opposition for seventeen long years, our party cadres were demoralized and dejected. We couldn't do much for them and Madam Bandaranaike was perturbed about it.

When I spearheaded certain initiatives such as human rights campaigns, particularly in the late 80s when there were violations of people's basic rights, it was Mrs. B who encouraged me and gave me all the support. That was true leadership; allowing one's followers to lead initiatives but providing all the guidance and support to make such activities successful.

It was Mrs. B who provided two air tickets for me and Vasudeva Nanayakkara to go to Geneva to represent mattes to the Human Rights organizations. She was a tower of strength in all the agitational campaigns we launched against the unlawful activities of the then government.

If not for her approval and understanding. "Pada Yatra" would have been a non event. When we had "Jana Gosha" too, she was physically there to extend her support.

She didn't give her assent to undemocratic activities although many party supporters wanted to engage in protest campaigns in retaliation to the horrendous crimes the government of the day was committing. She was, to me, a true democrat and a leader who respected the will of the people.

In my political career, one of the saddest events was when Mrs. B's civic rights were taken away by the UNP government. It was obvious to all Sri Lankan that the then UNP government was not confident to face Mrs. B at a Presidential election. The only and the surest way for the UNP to win the presidential election was to disenfranchise the opponent. That they did and it was probably one of the saddest and most notorious events in our parliamentary history.

No one ever thought that Mrs. B would bring her party back to power. That she did in style; in 1994, Mrs. B presented to the weary SLFP supporters a new lease of life in the form of Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga and the People's Alliance of which Madam Bandaranaike was the leader and formed a very stable government.

Mrs. B was street smart to read the minds of the people and then respond to them. She played the second fiddle to her daughter and watched with great happiness when Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga created history by becoming the first woman President of Sri Lanka.

Finally, I believe none can change one's destiny. When I look back, as a young man of 24 years entering Parliament as a minion, I never aspired to be what I am now. The "Mother of the Nation", whose eighty eight birth anniversary is being commemorated today, gave me the first opportunity to enter national politics, and nurtured me throughout.

And, as destiny would decide, her daughter, President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, thirty four (34) years later, has made me her Prime Minister. I have been given another opportunity to serve my country and I will not fail.

May Madam Sirimavo Bandaranaike, Sri Lanka's charismatic matriarch, attain Eternal Bliss.

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