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Nanda Ellawala’s 20th death anniversary falls today:

Precious politician of people

Though Nanda Ellawala hailed from a traditional aristocratic family of Sabaragamuwa he was always with the common man moving at ease among them and working to ameliorate their conditions. Strong, straightforward, frank and joyful he rarely bowed his head to those in higher echelons and stood his ground against his political adversaries

An Ode

Tribute to beautiful memory of Nanda Ellawala

If the spark goes out
the essence of fire
is there in the darkness
What does it matter?
they have burnt bright

unseen unheard you stay
deep in the spirit of those
who love you - like a
scented fragrance

Let us remember you
with love on your
20th death anniversary


Surangani,
Duwa Visaka
and all your loved ones

If he lived today he would have been a senior minister of the UPFA Government. He was one among the charismatic political trio of the Ratanpura District. The three - Sarath Muttetuwegama, Vasudeva Nanayakkara and Nanda Ellawala. These three served the common people of Sabaragamuwa and followed three political theories but their objective was to serve the poor people who elected them to Parliament. They also stood up to fight injustice and corruption and saw eye to eye on almost all matters in public life.

Nanda Ellawala

Today is the 20th death anniversary of Nanda Ellawala. He was one of the young members of Parliament elected in 1970, the year a new pro-socialist political agenda was put in motion by the SLFP led United Front Government of Sirima Bandaranaike.

The other two parties of that Government were the Lanka Samasamaja Party and the Communist Party of Sri Lanka. His two friends Sarath Muttetuwegama was a member of the CP and Vasudeva Nanayakkara was a member of the LSSP. President Mahinda Rajapaksa was also was elected to Parliament that year for the first time as one of the youngest of that Government.

Ellawala soon became a friend of mine. Whenever he was in Colombo he visited me. Of course each time he came was to seek some redress for his voters from the minister for whom I was working at the time. Once he was in the company of the then Jaffna Mayor Alfred Duraiappah. Another time it was .Rajaratnam as he had friends in all communities as he was truly a socialist who did not discriminate anyone on ethnicity, class or creed.

Nanda stood tall in stature both physically and politically. His sole objective was to work for his people. Though he was a member of the SLFP his thinking was more left-oriented easily moving with his two friends Vasudeva Nanayakkara and Sarath Muttetuwegama. During the land reforms of 1974 he played a keyrole in implementing it.

He was close to Hector Kobbekaduwa who was the Minister responsible for implementing the land reforms.

Though he hailed from a traditional aristocratic family of Sabaragamuwa he was always with the common man moving at ease among them and working to ameliorate their conditions. Strong, straightforward, frank and joyful he rarely bowed his head to those in higher echelons and stood his ground against his political adversaries. Though life was cut short at a young age he left an imprint on the people of Sabaragamuwa similar to his friend Sarath Muttetuwagama whose life was also cut off by accident.

When the UNP was at the height of its power four by-elections including Ratnapura were held. Nanda Ellawala won the Ratnapura by-election scoring 31,000 votes with a majority of over 4,700 votes but in all the other three seats the UNP won at the by-election held on the same day.

None of the UNP candidates had a majority of over 1,500 votes. Sometimes he was rebellious but not arrogant. In one such instance after 1977 loss of the SLFP he contested the Ratnapura Municipal Council as an independent candidate and defeated both the SLFP and the UNP polling the highest number of votes in that election. He died after being subjected to gall bladder surgery at the Sri Jayawardenepura Hospital lying in an unconscious state for many days at the age of 50. Ratnapura lost one of his dearest sons with his demise.

 

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