TB

The forgotten revolutionist

Gunasiri WIJEMANNA

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The T B Illangarathne Memorial Scholarship Student’s Aid Trust will be granting scholarships to 48 students at a ceremony to be held on 27th Feb. 2009 at People’s Bank Staff Training Centre Colombo 01, sponsored by the People’s Bank. This will be the 12th Annual Scholarship programme also marking the 96th Birth Anniversary of the late Tikiri Banda Illangarathne who is remembered as a veteran Politician.

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Trade Union leader, author, artiste and above all, a human being, who loved the motherland and mankind. Born on 27th Feb. 1913, at Hatharaliyadda in Kandy, T B received his early education at his village school in Hatharaliyadda and then at Galagedara Maha Vidyalaya. Having passed the School Leaving Certificate Examination he left Galagedara Maha Vidyalaya and entered St. Mary’s College, Kegalle and thereafter St. Anthoney’s College, Kandy. He matriculated and then passed the Government General Clerical Service Examination in 1934.

T B joined the Inland Revenue Department as a clerk and was elected the president of the General Clerical Services Union in 1947.

Having been inspired to lead the campaign for political rights for public servants, he presided over a mammoth rally on 28th May 1947 at Galle Face Colombo and on the following day, Secretary General of the colonial government interdicted T B for alleged breach of Public Service regulations.

Illangarathne contested the Kandy seat in 1947 and lost to his rival candidate George E de Silva by a narrow margin of 205 votes. De Silva lost his seat as a result of an election petition filed by Illangarathne. Illangarathne won the by election by a majority of 3857 votes but lost his seat again as a result of another election petition filed by George E de Silva.

Further he was deprived of his civic rights for seven years and his wife Thamara Illangarathne came forward to give leadership to his campaign and won Kandy seat by 2050 votes.

SLFP Government

One might say that the perpetrators of T B’s time would have been able to subdue the political and social movement led by him to rescue the country from the clutches of imperialism if not for his wife who was the pillar of strength behind him throughout his life.

The beginning of a new era was recorded in history when T B joined S W R D Bandaranaike to form the Sri Lanka Freedom Party in 1951.

He was elected the MP for Galagedara electorate in 1956 and was given the ministerial portfolio of Labour, Housing and Social Services in the Bandaranaike cabinet. T B continued to serve the country holding various portfolios in the SLFP and Alliance Governments from 1959 to 1977 viz. Home Affairs (1959-1960), Commerce, Trade, Food and Shipping (1960-1963), Finance (1963-1964), Internal and External Trade (1964-1965 and 1970-1975) and Trade and Public Administration (1975-1977).

With every responsible portfolio he held, T B strived to bring about realistic solutions to the grievances of the poor and common masses in the country, eradicate the gap between the privileged and the under privileged and to halt the expatriation of the country’s resources and wealth.

He stepped into this hard journey just at the country’s primitive age after years of colonial and right-wing rule and hence had to face challenges of all elements who were still struggling to survive in the ruins of imperialism attacking him with malice deriding his humble beginnings in Thumpane and that he was a government clerk.

With his ministerial portfolios a range of reforms took place. Distribution of petroleum products was nationalised amid heavy opposition from multinationals such as Shell, Mobil and Caltex companies and even threats from the USA to stop aids to Ceylon.

Privileged affairs

He established Insurance Corporation and People’s Bank at a time when banking was considered as one of the ‘privileged affairs’ of the rich and thus did a revolution by opening its doors to the common man paving the way to uplift the living standards of the rural folk.

Among the reforms in the sphere of labour, the promulgation of an eight-hour working day and payment of overtime for workers, the payment of gratuity, the establishment of Employees’ Provident Fund, Enactment of laws for workmen’s compensations, Establishment of labour tribunals and Declaration of May 1st as a workers’ holiday are some of the radical moves brought by T B on behalf of the working class amid heavy attacks from the opposition but with the blessings of S W R D Bandaranaike and Sirimavo Bandaranaike.

T B believed that internal trade was a responsibility of the State and thus promoted the CWE to rescue the common consumer from the teeth of businessmen exploiting them and known as Kalukada Mudalalis.

In this exercise, T B was even subjected to ridicule and dubbing as ‘Karavala Kumaraya’ (Dry fish Prince) and even false and malicious allegations were made against him that he owned a hotel in Switzerland.

But T B in his commitment to the nation was determined, steadfast and never compromised his principles.

At a time when politicians glibly talk about Press Freedom and authorities boast to have restored same, and at a time when journalists have become subject to harassment and even to death, hardly anybody remembers that it was the late T B Illangarathne who fought fearlessly for rights of journalists recognising them as decent professionals and not mere ‘writers’.

Media freedom

In this endeavour, he brought all journalists under the Shop and Office Employees Act by which they were given an eight hour working day and payment of overtime was made compulsory for every extra hour worked.

He being himself a journalist having worked as the Editorial Director of Janadina newspaper, knew the agony undergone by journalists as vividly phrased by D B Danapala that journalists were like ‘areca nuts caught in an areca nut cutter.’

T B played a significant role in the field of literature and cultural arts. Being an extremely busy politician and father of four children he still found time to write novels, short stories and even scripts for dramas and films.

Among the 63 novels he wrote, some of the popular ones are Vilambitha, Lasanda, Thilaka Saha Thilaka, Mangala, Hapana and Amba Yahaluwo which won the hearts of the children from generation to generation.

Pissu Luci, Tiger, Nimalage Upan Dawasa and Aluthmali are some short stories which became very popular among children. He was the scriptwriter of several dramas such as Sakunthala, Nikan Awa, Heramitiya, and Manthri Hamuduruwo and the two films Radala Piliruwa and Warada Kageda. It is not much known to many that T B was an actor who appeared in those two films. He was also the actor of a few English shorts stories and translations.

Though T B is one of the very few genuine politicians who served the country and its people up to the expectation of his leader, the late Prime Minister S W R D Bandaranaike, who always said and repeated ‘the greatest service that man could do to his fellow men is to serve them’ his services and value are hardly appreciated and remembered by so-called leaders and politicians today.

However, it should be noted with gratitude, the Illangarathne Memorial Scholarship Students Aid Trust having initiated to grant financial assistance to 10 students (Who are clever but needed financial support) in 1997 has so far been able to support 250 such students to the year 2009 and wishes to continue its services in the years to come in the memory of this great personality who especially loved the children of this country.

Writer is Chief Financial Trustee of T B Illangarathne Memorial Children Aid Trust.

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The beginning of a new era was recorded in history when T B joined S W R D Bandaranaike to form the Sri Lanka Freedom Party in 1951. He was elected the MP for Galagedara electorate in 1956 and was given the ministerial portfolio of Labour, Housing and Social Services in the Bandaranaike cabinet.

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