The Late Gate Mudliyar M.S. Kariapper:

Visionary who lived ahead of his time

A.L. Abdul Azeez

In 1989, writing in a daily newspaper, I recalled my last conversation with the late Gate Mudliyar M.S. Kariapper. Looking in my eyes, the ailing Gate Mudliyar studiously asked me “Are you studying well?” He knew then that I was reading for law. It was on the day he was rushed to a private hospital in Colombo where he breathed his last.

In the twenty years that ensued, I have gone from being a student of law to a student of international relations. Yet, as the late Gate Mudliyar would often remark, “I am still a student”.

The late Kariapper was an internationalist, who lived ahead of his time and who encouraged the youth to look beyond what seemed immediate into the world at large. He told me once that he was living close to the beach because he ‘liked to look beyond the horizon’.

An epitome

In my many encounters with the late Kariapper, I found to my youthful amazement, that he was a man of many parts; an epitome of a mix of ingenuity and elegance. As I digested over the years some of what he shared with me in my youth days, my appreciation of him grew ever deeper, inculcating in me an unshakable belief that he had a thorough understanding of the world’s history, a comprehensive grasp of contemporary thoughts from philosophy to politics, and a deeper knowledge of linguistics and literature and of civilisations and cultures.

This is aside from his expertise in the subject of tropical farming and agro-economics which he was familiar with as a civil administrator, especially during the war times. And add to it the gift of the gab and the fun of the pun he commanded. From all this flowed his innate, immaculate ability to narrate anecdotes and accounts of history, often interspersed them. In his conception, such empowerment at local level would have its reflection on the strength of national unity and cohesion aside from engendering wealth and prosperity in the long run.

Concern

He had a manifest concern for the protection of the environment. His training in the discipline of tropical agriculture had transformed his thinking and perspective towards the environment. A document published in 1936 has acknowledged in particular that the late Kariapper was elected in the year 1923 “in recognition of the keen interest he took in the game protection”, an honourary member of the Ceylon Game and Fauna Protection Society.

“He is today one of the four honourary members which the Society has, including D.S. Senanayake, Minister of Agriculture and Land”.

It was no surprise therefore that the late Kariapper had an intrinsic belief that no development would be sustainable unless it was underpinned by an inclusive process integrating all relevant factors and concerns. As Sri Lanka broke free from colonial bondage, bolstered by his new found influence and authority in the post-independent establishment, Gate Mudliyar gave expression to this belief by helping in launching of an integrated system of development, which had at its heart, the development of the Gal Oya reservoir.

Many appear to view the Gal Oya project as an irrigation scheme, intended primarily to benefit the peasantry. There was no denial for that.

For the late Kariapper however, the entire enterprise represented an innovative, inclusive, coordinated effort going beyond unlocking the region’s irrigation potential alone.

Grand scheme

He emphasised as much on launching adequate ecologically synchronised activities as on undertaking such as grand scheme. Such an approach, in his view, would bring a sense of balance to the whole enterprise thus making it overall environment-friendly. His whole approach to agricultural productivity, sustainable livelihood, town planning and development, and human settlement was deeply grounded on this holistic vision.

In one of my encounters in the 1980s, the late Kariapper brought home to me an important point which struck me most. That was about the impact of accelerated urbanisation in Kalmunai, a town and a commercial hub, which the late Kariapper himself helped to develop at an early stage. Gate Mudliyar lamented then that the people of that region had failed to tap the potential of human settlement that proceeded with the development of Gal Oya. By refusing to move out of that overcrowded town and its surrounding areas, the people, as he put it to me, had only denied their next generation a space for decent living, with serious health consequences in time to come.

Compact unit

He deeply felt that the increasing tendency among the people to seek to live as a compact unit in a tight place would in the course of time put a tremendous pressure on the limited infrastructure and services to cater to the needs of a vertically growing community. His main worry was that if the development of this region were to continue at this pace, the day would not be far off when it would be bursting at its seams.

In a country that had emerged from the yoke of colonialism - in what is known in International Law as the realisation of the right to self-determination development was rather seen as a process of both consolidating that right as well as giving meaning and content to it. Having served as Vanniyar Mudliyar under the colonial administration in the region, Gate Mudliyar had acquired a fund of knowledge and experience in addition to a vast network of high level contacts. As much as he wanted to put this to use for the people and the region, so was there a greater call to public service awaiting him from ‘Ceylon’s’ independence leaders.

Great admirer

The late D.S. Senanayake, the Father of Independent Ceylon, was understandably his great admirer. Further as far back as 1948, ‘politics’ was recognised perhaps as a higher means of public service, something the late Kariapper would not have relented. His advent to politics in 1948 therefore was logical, and was intended to help harness that fund to expanding the choice of the people as development is currently understood in socio-economic discourses.

As his political trajectory bears out, the late Kariapper acquitted himself admirably in this task to his last day in the legislature, through his dedication to causes ranging from the development of the Gal-Oya Multi-purpose Reservoir Scheme, to building of schools with a particular emphasis on the education of Muslim girls, and to the development of Kalmunai region.

‘Development’

The late Kariapper’s vision of ‘development’ was both exemplary and inspiring. He was ahead of the curve when it came to the understanding of the concept of development. With his experience in, and exposure to, the development of agriculture and land as well as development of irrigation and human settlement, and thanks especially to his grasp of contemporary trends and thoughts, his vision of development had emphasis on sustainability and participatory approaches. It put premium on the involvement of the local communities in activities that were intended to empower.

My recent visit to my birthplace made me realise Gate Mudliyar’s prediction was already coming true. With our belief in the symbolism of physical wealth, that manifests itself in the construction of huge buildings and complexes without taking into account environmental concerns, and with virtually no leadership in sustainable town planning and management, the space for natural living has shrunk to a point where not just the health of the people but their thinking and values as well are being affected. The tsunami tidal waves which took a heavy toll of life in the region on December 26, 2004 is only a case in point in this regard.

An internationalist

He was a multifaceted personage, who was a leader, an environmentalist, a development practitioner, and above all, an internationalist. He gave of his best in the service of the nation, the region and its people. He had articulated concepts and thoughts on wide-ranging themes from sustainable development, to human settlement, to environment protection long before they became part of the international discourses. Releasing of a commemorative stamp by the Government of Sri Lanka in honour of Gate Mudliyar is a fitting tribute to this great visionary and legend. However, we need to do more.

When, in future, some academic research is undertaken by a discerning intellectual, it will bring out such aspects of his life that lie beyond our ordinary grasp; aspects that, in my view, made up the sum total of Gate Mudliyar.