Sirimavo Bandaranaike - an embodiment of tolerance

MESSAGE BY ANURA Bandaranaike, MP, Minister of Industries, Tourism and Investment Promotion in Parliament at the unveiling of the portrait of the late Sirimavo R. D. Bandaranaike - three times Prime Minister of Sri Lanka - 1st woman Prime Minister of the world

I am delighted to be a part of this solemn event, where Parliamentarians and other distinguished guests have gathered, to honour the memory of a most unique lady, whom we were blessed to have as our mother.

Today is the 89th birthday of Sirimavo Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike, the world's first woman Prime Minister and three times the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, a woman who dedicated her life (over a long period of 36 years) in the service of every Sri Lankan, whom she loved, immensely.

I may not perform in my duty, if I do not make use of this opportunity, to thank the Hon. Dinesh Gunewardena, for having brought to the notice of the party leaders, on August 12, 2004, the need to display a portrait of Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike, in Parliament.

Subsequently, on the 17th of August, last year, the Hon. Dinesh Gunewardena and party leaders, at his request, unanimously decided to organize a suitable commemoration ceremony for the late Sirimavo Bandaranaike.

I wish to also thank the Honourable Speaker for giving instructions to unveil a portrait of Mrs. Bandaranaike, without hesitation, within the premises of Parliament.

Therefore, my appreciation is due to the Honourable Speaker, Hon. Dinesh Gunewardena and the Deputy Speaker Hon. Geethanjana Gunewardena, for the immense role they have played, in organizing this historic ceremony, with their diligence and persistence.

The life of Sirimavo Bandaranaike, was not one of perfect happiness. Her successes were mingled with sadness and anxiety. One cannot imagine the shock, grief and trauma she experienced when she saw my father and her beloved husband, Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, cruelly felled down by an assassin's bullet, on that fateful day of 1959, changing the course of this nation!

A lesser mortal would have been shattered beyond redemption, by this horrific tragedy, but, Sirimavo Bandaranaike, with her indomitable spirit and tranquillity of mind, rose above her sorrow and with her characteristic composure and inner peace of mind, took on the responsibility of nurturing her three children and guiding them with tremendous motherly care and attention.

It was no easy task to fill the sudden vacuum left behind by a father, as noble as Prime Minister, S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike.

Her enduring qualities were when a tear-eyed widow took to battle in the political spectrum, insulted and vilified, carrying on her husband's legacy, his party and playing the role of mother, amongst all, winning the hearts and minds of the people.

In politics, she was pivotal to the politics of the SLFP and led the party to a series of unprecedented electoral triumphs. In our recent history, no political leader was being held, in such great love, affection and reverence, by the broad masses of our people, as Sirimavo Bandaranaike.

The worker and the peasant, venerated her, as a mother figure. There was only on "Methini" from North to South and East to West. There could be a million "Methinis" but, in the hearts and minds of the people of this country, there was only one "Methiniya"!

She, more than any other single entity in this country, posed a threat to the emergence of the forces of reaction, setting in motion an acrimony, which led to the 1962 coup, where all the conspirators were subsequently pardoned.

Vituperative political conflict full of vengeance and hatred, climaxing in the resolution passed by Parliament on 16 October, 1980, expelling Sirimavo Bandaranaike from Parliament and imposing civic disability for a period of seven years.

In the words of Prof. G.L. Peiris, this was a, "Preposterous injustice, an act of repulsive and far-reaching inequity, which, by its very nature, has shocked the conscience of our nation." It was a day, I felt ashamed to be a Member of this House, which was replicant of a zoological gardens. It was profane and perfidious.

Despite this grave travesty of justice and indignity caused to her, despite the deprivation of her basic right of the franchise, Sirimavo Bandaranaike, had no rancour or hatred for those who had perpetrated this dastardly act, unprecedented in the annals of Parliamentary history.

This attitude of mind, arising from her sense of inner peace, showed her magnanimity in bidding farewell to Parliament on 16 October, 1980. She stated:

"I shall take my leave with malice to none and sympathy to all."

In fact, I recall, after she won in 1994, I asked her in private, whether she will wreak vengeance upon the man, who unfairly took her civic rights in 1980. She looked over her half glasses, and with a chuckle, said; "Tell him that I am not J.R. Jayawardhena but Sirimavo Bandaranaike". The magnificence and magnanimity of the lady, said it all!

"When the hurly burly is done;

and the battle lost and won;

Leaders are remembered in personal terms;

Courage and Humility, Kindness and Friendship."

She died, as she lived, with malice to none. She left behind a tear in every eye!

Sirimavo Bandaranaike's crowning achievement was in the domain of international relations and foreign policy. Her leadership of the name in the background of the then existing Cold War, carved for herself, a unique niche in the leadership spectrum of the world.

The leaders of India, Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi, Mao Tse Tung and Chou En Lai of China, Egypt's Gamar Abdal Nasser, Yugoslavia's Marshal Tito, Ghana's Kwame N. Krumah, Fidel Castro of Cuba, PLO's Yasser Arafat, Bhutto of Pakistan, Tanzania's Julius Nyerere and a whole host of other leaders, all respected her immensely.

To my mind, her greatest moment was when she was elected Head of the Non Aligned Summit in Colombo, in 1976, which was attended by more than 80 Heads of States.

That was, indeed, her crowning glory. She drew those tides of men, into her hands, and wrote her Will in the stars, across the skies.

To the Chairpersons seat, she was escorted by Marshal Tito of Yugoslavia and Indira Gandhi of India, by her side. It was a recognition of world leaders, to a simple woman who genuinely believed in non-alignment.

How proud we were as a nation, it stood up and cheered. Her's is still a household name in China, which continues to honour her memory to this day. So it is, in India, the Middle East and Europe. Historians will, I am sure, pass various judgments on the legacy of Sirimavo Bandaranaike.

To my mind, her greatest legacy is the creation of a political culture, based on tolerance, consultation, compromise and consensus, devoid of subtle maneouvers, subterfuge, blackmail and bribery.

Her magnanimity permeated in full, the political culture, which she so assiduously nurtured. Sirimavo Bandaranaike endeavoured to leave behind a social fabric which was woven round the threads of the greatest son of Asia-Gautama the Buddha's philosophy of compassion, humility and dignity of life.

Mrs. Bandaranaike's was a life full of courage, humility and decency. She walked with Kings and Qeens, but never lost the common touch. It is a testimony to a great leader. A legacy of unparalleled commitment to Parliament democracy, so much so that on the very floor of this House, she admonished her own Members of Parliament, for unruly behaviour, in the 1990's as Prime Minister.

Sunethra, Chandrika and I, as her three children, are proud of this lady, proud to call her our mother and even more proud to call her "Mother Lanka".

For this simple mother, from a remote Sinhala area, she would have been proud of her three children. We have never plundered, murdered or robbed, which is what she taught us.

One, the nation's elected President; the son, the Leader of the Opposition, Speaker of the Parliament and now a Senior Minister; and Sunethra, and avid and dedicated social worker. This proud mother would have been prouder, truly, from the bottom of her heart. We owe it all to her.

May she attain Nirvana and may her portrait remind us of courage, fortitude gentleness and strength and may this august assembly, glow with her greatness!