Lalith Athulathmudali - a great son of Lanka
T. M. S. Nanayakkara
Eighteen years is
too short a period in human history; but not so short for human memory.
It fails. To mark an indelible imprint in the minds of the great mass,
withstanding the ravages of time, he should belong to the rare few who
adorned history with distinct contributions. Such was he:
Lalith
Athulathmudali.
First part of this article was
published last Saturday (April 23)
There was acute competition that created an awareness among the
people. The market boomed. In 1983, when the July fire raged, destroying
thousands of residential premises and business establishments insurance
industry was ready to investigate and settle those claims promptly; this
to a considerable extent cushioned off the rigour of the riot.
Consequent upon the boom, the demand for insurance technicians expanded.
Many students opted to enter the new field. When insurance was
ultimately liberalized, the private sector had acquired sufficient
resources to enable the smooth takeover.
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Lalith Athulathmudali |
The Lakspray factory was an organ of the CWE. Feeding the market with
milk powder regularly and at a cheap price was thought to be the duty of
the Ministry of Trade. Except for a few rich and sophisticated consumers
who were loyal to foreign brands, the great majority had opted for
Lakspray, chiefly because it was cheap. The factory caught fire in 1979.
Lalith Athulathmudali rushed to the scene of devastation. The
fire-brigade rumbled without water. Flames rose sending up thick black
clouds of smoke.
CWE outlets
Everything, the stock and machinery was engulfed by the
conflagration. The buffer stock for months ahead was in ashes; the
factory was a heap of rubble. Milk powder will be in short supply; the
black market will thrive; children will be starved; such apprehensions
loomed. ‘We will not starve the market. There will be sufficient milk
powder’.
Lalith assured the panic stricken mothers. He galvanised the support
of the private sector, co-operatives and government institutions. Many
small milk powder packing units were set up. The market was fed.
Thereafter arose, at the same premises, the greatest milk powder packing
factory in South Asia, as the Phoenix from the ashes.
July 1983 was the blackest period in our history. The curfew had been
imposed and rigorously implemented. The country laid immobile for a few
days. Shops were closed. Stocks depleted. A threat of an imminent food
riot loomed. The Ministry of Trade was quick to respond. He mobilized
lorries from government institutions, co-operatives and from private
sector; stacked them with goods from the CWE and sold them at the
doorstep of the consumers. Every such lorry became a veritable mobile
CWE outlet. Thus a great danger was averted.
Mahapola scholarship scheme
In recognition of his performance, the distressed Shipping Ministry
was towed to the Ministry of Trade, as it was not keeping pace with the
advancing open economy. The harbour cannot be a bottleneck; there has to
be a free flow - outwards and inwards. The Colombo harbour was the
bastion of Marxist militancy where various Marxist groups vied with one
another to wrest some benefit to boost the flagging morale of its
members by launching strikes on flimsy grounds. Thus the spate of
strikes went around and round in a vicious circle.
Goods remained in ships and stored in warehouses. Ships awaited in
queues in the outer harbour. The line of lorries lengthened in their
wait to enter the harbour. Goods rotted. Exports dwindled. Orders
frustrated. Handling the workforce in the harbour was a formidable task.
He brought his managerial skill to bear on the administration of the
harbour. The workforce had to be won; not crushed. An incentive scheme
that richly rewarded the workers was introduced. The worker units
competed to put out the best output. Goods moved. Queues vanished. The
Colombo harbour that lagged low at No. 139 when he took over, ranked No.
26 among the world’s best harbours during his tenure.
His greatest achievement and the lasting contribution is the
establishment of the Mahapola higher education scholarship scheme. Many
university students come from low-income groups. The parents of such
children either pawned their valuables or mortgaged their lands to
sustain them. Those who did not have at least that, just gave up. Thomas
Gray’s Elegy, that epitomizes the despondency and the waste of such
talents, had struck a deep note in him.
‘Full many a gem of purest ray serene,
The dark unfathomed caves of ocean bear.
Full many a flower is born to blush unseen,
And waste its sweetness in the desert air’
National security
Such talents should not be hidden and wasted. It is to bloom such
flowers for the benefit of mankind, to relieve the indigent student by
facilitating him in the pursuit of his studies without financial
worries, that this benevolent scheme was introduced. Today, almost every
poor university student is a recipient of this award.
By 1984 the security situation in the country had deteriorated. A
skilful dynamic minister was needed to steer the war against the LTTE,
to protect the non-combatants, to calm the South and counter
international propaganda. The President could think of only one man and
it was Lalith. He was appointed the Minister of National Security with
the privilege of overseeing the Ministry of Trade and Shipping.
The personnel were trained and the war was pursued with military
precision. The Vadamarachchi where the Sri Lankan forces inflicted a
crushing defeat on the terrorists is eloquent testimony to the skill
with which he manoeuvred the operation to victory. Had it not been for
foreign pressure to which the Sri Lankan government had to succumb, the
war would have been fought to a finish, history would have been
different and Rajiv Gandhi’s and many others’ precious lives would have
been saved.
The memorable performance that he gave in the BBC (ITN Chanel 4 -
World Service This Week, conducted by Karan Thapar, on May 5, 1987)
debate where he faced a triumvirate of LTTE theoreticians, over the
situation in the country and grievances of the Tamils was the pinnacle
of his achievements.
He braved the fusillade of propositions and questions that were
hurled at him. Unflinchingly and serenely did he give cogent rational
answers to the questions that were put; backed by incontrovertible facts
demolished the propositions.
Having thus consolidated his position by an impregnable defence, he
launched his charge, which was brilliant and convincing that the
triumvirate was gasping for words, they were constantly shifting their
positions in their seats, in the glare of the world, betraying their
uneasiness and the falsity of their propositions. He emerged unscathed
and victorious.
At the 1989 election he polled the highest number of preferences
(235,000 votes) in the Colombo district and was appointed the Minister
of Agriculture. Soon he was shifted to Education. He could not agree
with the style of government and the policies pursued.
He felt that the old mansions were being dismantled, democratic
institutions were being demolished, education and talents were derogated
and law did not rule.
Those who dared to oppose risked their lives. He could not compromise
on principle, resigned the portfolio and made a vain but a valiant
effort to change the leadership with a view to salvage the party. He
lost the legal battle and lost his membership both in the party and in
Parliament. He had no alternative but to organize a new party. Thus was
launched the DUNF. Within a few months the new party, under his
leadership, gained popularity, its membership soared.
It was quite obvious that at the 1993 Provincial Council Election his
party would have gained control. He would have been the Chief Minister -
Chief Minister with all official security that the government cannot
deny. His opponents had to hasten before the events occurred. As the
twilight fell on April 23, 1993, an assassin’s bullet pierced through
his heart when he was addressing a rally.
That was the most heinous crime of the century. It was so appalling a
crime that it sent shock waves throughout the country. Millions walked
the queues for long hours to pay homage; grief writ all over their
faces. The massive crowd, the largest of all, that thronged to Kanatta
and stayed there to brave the whiffs of teargas that were sent at
regular intervals, on the day of cremation bears out the love and esteem
in which people held him. Thus was lost a great son of Lanka.
Concluded |