D M, son of the soil

Wijitha Nakkawita

New Prime Minister D M Jayaratne fondly called Dimu by his friends, the 14th since independence in 1948 hails from Doluwa, Gampola is essentially a son of the soil. Jayaratne started his political career as an SLFP member of the Gangapalatha Village Committee, Gampola more than four decades back. He was one of the founder members of the SLFP and has been with the party ever since. He understood problems of the Kandyan peasantry and fought hard to regain their lost rights from the very beginning of his political career.

In 1970 he was elected Member of Parliament for the Gampola electorate and since then he held several positions including the Posts and Telecommunications Minister, Plantation Industry Minister, Upcountry Development Minister as well as membership in several official committees.

It was in 1974 the Land Reform was introduced by the late Agriculture and Lands Minister Jayaratna then was a young and energetic parliamentarian who came to limelight as one of the foremost figures in providing lands for the impoverished and landless Kandyan peasantry. In fact he was like the shadow of Minister Hector Kobbekaduwa and his one wish was to revive the ownership of the lands of the people grabbed by the British colonial rulers under the notorious Bare Lands Ordinance and Crown Lands Ordinance.

The new Premier is a staunch party loyalist who had served the governments of Madam Sirimavo Bandaranaike, Chandrika Kumaratunga and President Mahinda Rajapaksa. His main interest is in agriculture and he represents the thinking of the Kandyan peasantry with a remarkable fervour. The other outstanding quality is his courage and loyalty to his followers and the party.