Person of the era who adorned a region Karunarathna Divulgane - Governor NCP President Mahinda Rajapaksa greets Dr Lester James Peries on his birthday The history of a country periodically produces persons of Era. These men of extra ordinary ingenuity who identify people’s power potential and harness the same in collaboration with the people to achieve their common objectives are identified as persons of Era. If ever there had been born a person of the Era in the post independent Sri Lanka he is none other than His Excellency the President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The eminent historian, E H Carr quoting a statement made by the German philosopher, Hegal, describing the person of the Era, states as follows:- “The person of the Era is the one who is able to translate the expectation of the era into words, who can explain to the others what the expectation is and has the ability to bring that expectation into reality. What he is involved in will both be the heart as well as the core of that particular era”. Our mother country which, according to the Soviet writer Chingese Ichmen, looks like a drop of milk falling from the udder of the Indian subcontinent, came under a foreign rule in its entirety on March 02, 1815 for the first time in its proud history of 2500 years. Since then the nation’s supreme expectation was to free our country from foreign domination. It was hardly 03 years since having lost the country’s freedom when a rebellion began in Uva in 1818. That was the first of its kind in which the people organized themselves for a freedom struggle. The subsequent people’s uprising in 1848 and many such other struggles emerged in between, indicate that the sole objective of the nation then had been to win freedom for the country. ”I wish to remind that the then MP for Hambantota, Late D M Rajapaksa, who was also Known as the “Ruhune Sinhaya” chose the colour of “Kurahan” for his ‘Satakaya’. I am delighted that it has been mentioned in the Throne speech about a system to allocate lands to landless”. It is with conviction that the youngest MP in the parliament made his voice heard on behalf of the innocent farmers stressing the need to giving lands to landless, providing irrigation facilities to the farmers and such other facilities. It is not unjustifiable to concede the independence gained in 1948 was the outcome of these sacrifices. However, the independence we won then was a far cry from what the people had been expecting. What the country dreamt then was a leadership that knew the deep gone roots of the country, loved them steadfastly, strengthened them and harnessed them for her future prosperity. The social forces that rallied round the Sri Lanka Freedom Party in 1956 was a demonstration of this country’s will. What those social forces wanted was a leadership which could carry forward the country by enlisting the support of all groups, closing ranks to defend their common interest. His Excellency Mahinda Rajapaksa took over this country at a time when Asia’s drop of milk had turned to a drop of tear; when a foreign power with a notorious record called our country an unsuccessful one; when our mother country had once again fallen a bloody prey to the conspiratory Western powers. The leader who awakens a nation which has gone into deep slumber after having lost all its hopes, energizes it, tells it what its aim should be and succeeds in achieving it, is the Person of the Era according to the definition of the German philosopher, Hegal. This was the same noble task which was earlier accomplished by great kings like Gamani Abhaya in 161 BC Keerthi Wijayabhahu in 1070 AD Parakramabahu the great in 1153 AD and Parakramabahu the 6th in 1415 AD. It was these Persons of the Era who gave a new meaning to the expectations of the people and brought them to reality. For espousing this cause, prince Gamani Abhaya became a target of royal fury in his early childhood. Prince Keerthi was only 13 years when he organized an army while hiding himself from his enemies. When MP Mahinda Rajapaksa proposed the vote of thanks to the inaugural Throne speech of the Samagi Peramuna Government in 1970, he was the youngest Member of Parliament. What contained in his vote of thanks was a modicum of the aspirations of the then scattered forces in the country. ”I wish to remind that the then MP for Hambantota, Late D M Rajapaksa, who was also Known as the “Ruhune Sinhaya” chose the colour of “Kurahan” for his ‘Satakaya’. I am delighted that it has been mentioned in the Throne speech about a system to allocate lands to landless”. It is with conviction that the youngest MP in the parliament made his voice heard on behalf of the innocent farmers stressing the need to giving lands to landless, providing irrigation facilities to the farmers and such other facilities. The paths he had to tread on in parliament as well as outside were not smooth ones spread with roses. It is with a distress loan he obtained as a government employee he faced his maiden election campaign while his father’s Medamulana residence had been mortgaged to meet his own election budget. When his party was once in utter disarray and remained inactive sequel to an ignominious electoral defeat it was he who revived it with Paada Yathras, people’s agitations etal and motivated it and could save the day. Endeavours he made to steer clear all challenges, threats and impedes and rush forward withstanding all onslaughts was an inspiration to his followers. Through the portfolios he had accepted he had amply demonstrated to what extent a politician should be creative to overcome the challenges he faced. When he was the Labour Minister he wanted to avert the Hambantota saltern being sold to the private sector and save Maturata and Kotagala plantations from the hands of foreign companies. It was not a problem for him to see whether it came under the labour Ministry’s purview or how the required funds could be found. It is by giving a new meaning to the people’s aspirations that he redeemed all these by using Government employee’s provident fund. While being the Minister of Fishery, services he did by creating an Oceanic University, Idivara Fishery Bank, Coastal Defence Force and establishing Fresh water Fishery Authority and fishery villages are living testimony of the role of a creative politician. When he assumed leadership of the country in 2005, the public life and the economy of the country had reached their nadir as a result of the brutish terrorism; when the entire country had been entwined by the terrorism nourished by the unpatriotic local and anti-Sri Lankan foreign elements. The prime concern of all the discerning Sri Lankans at that time was to rescue the nation from the grip of the LTTE, the most ruthless terrorist outfit in the world. However, unfortunately all the trumps were in their possession. It is clear that the rulers like Gamani Abhaya and Maha Wijayaba who waged protracted wars to save the country did so with a clear vision. What Prince Gamani Abhaya did first was to bring together all the forces who opposed the enemy and store enough provisions for a long-lasting war. The strategy of Prince Maha Wijayaba was not to be content with only uniting forces but to build relations with overseas rulers who opposed the enemy. When we analyze the sequence of events from the Mavil Aru anicut, the last straw that broke the camel’s back, to Nandikadal lagoon, the denouement of the drama, and especially taking into account the pressure brought by foreign and local apologists of the LTTE to stall the war, the ingenuity shown by our president was really marvellous. Today he completes the sixth year of his term. During these six years he had displayed abundantly his unique far sighted vision and administrative perspicacity. Excepting the lives that have been lost, he is now commuted to provide the people with every other thing they had been dispossessed of during the war, by the schemes “Uturu Wasanthaya” and “Negenahira Uadawa”. Everywhere in the island development activities of a myriad of projects, roads, express ways, bridges, power generating plants, harbours, air ports, housing schemes etal are in progress. Garbage washed towns are being reshaped and turned into beautiful cities. The characteristics of the “Miracle of Asia” are now beginning to appear. If ever a leader, who knows the smell of Kurahan, Paddy etc, carries the people’s consciousness respectably enshrined in a golden casket, had been born in Sri Lanka, he was none other than His Excellency the President Mahinda Rajapaksa. That is how he becomes the “Person of the Era”.