Birth anniversary today:

Sirimavo was decisive at crucial times

Miran PERERA

The 96th birth anniversary of former Prime Minister and leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party Sirimavo Bandaranaike falls today (April 17). She was born on April 17, 1916 at Mahawalathenna Walauwa, Pussaliyadda Bulugahagedara, Balangoda in the Ratnapura district, a remote village with an innocent and rustic populace.

Sirimavo was the daughter of former Senator Barnes Ratwatte Disave and R. M. K. Kumarihami. She married S W R D Bandaranaike who was then Minister of Local Government and Health in the United National Party government. Mrs Bandaranaike did not possess any high level academic qualifications, unlike her contemporaries, but she had an abundance of common sense. Her husband S W R D Bandaranaike founded the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) in 1951 and with a resounding victory was elected as Prime Minister in the 1956 general elections. After his death in 1959, at the hands of an assassin, Sirimavo achieved the zenith of her political career through sheer perseverance and dedication. If not for her empirical ability, she would not have weathered all the political storms so effectively.

Political families

There is no other leader in history who had so many travails in life, both personal and political. Nevertheless she could not be put down by any of the unfortunate incidents. She was a courageous politician who changed not only the history of the country but the entire world, by being the first woman Prime Minister and the first woman chairperson of the Non Aligned Movement. Sirimavo Bandaranaike had the distinction of being Prime Minister on three occasions and in doing so she preceded Indira Gandhi of India, Golda Meir of Israel, Margaret Thatcher of UK, Kim Campbell of Canada, Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan, Khalida Zia and Sheik Hasina Wajeed of Bangladesh.

It is true that like the pioneer Sirimavo all these ladies have come from political families or risen to the top due to their relationship with a charismatic leader. Yet, they have proved their mettle and aptly demonstrated they are in no way less competent than their masculine counterparts in the political field.

Sirimavo Bandaranaike was a great empirical leader; her statesmanship, rare qualities, honesty and sincerity are unquestionable and cannot be equated to those of any contemporary political leader in Sri Lanka. She paved the way for women to take up leadership in politics and take their place in society. Her tenure as Prime Minister was subjected to periods of turbulence under the influence of people's democracy and socialism which created new aspirations and vistas.

Foreign policy

They marked the transition from the lingering vestiges of colonialism and republicanism as expressed in the 1972 constitution. It fell on her ability to battle the brunt of these vicissitudes.

Two such challenges were the attempted military coup of 1961 and the JVP uprising of 1971. Both were traumatic and they occurred during her first and second terms as Prime Minister. The manner in which she encountered them gallantly at a time when the country seemed impotent, earned her the reputation of being the only 'man' in the Cabinet. It was her pluck and deft overpowering of issues that led the country through these perilous spans. Similarly she attempted to liberate the world from the consternation of the nuclear wars and Cold War conflicts through her championship on Non Alignment and her services to that cause.

Sirimavo Bandaranaike did not relent when a political decision had to be taken. If one looks back to the schools take-over in 1962 or the nationalization of oil companies, this is evident. A leader had to be extraordinarily courageous to take such decisions given the pressure not only locally but internationally as well. All these decisions were valid at that time and the people hailed her for being so decisive. Those decisions had no personal advantage for her, instead they had a great impact on the lives of the ordinary people. Having matured in empirical politics she realized what it takes to arrive at the most potent decisions.

World leaders

It is probably the single most important quality that a political leader should and must possess, to be decisive at crucial times. In the popular view the fame of Mrs Bandaranaike lay in the foreign policy sphere in which she showed consummate insight and originality. What is extraordinary in her achievement is that unlike other Prime Ministers, initially she did not have much experience but later made empirical her exposure in this realm. No doubt it reflected the impact of her distinguished husband who from his student days had an abiding interest in the subject.

However Sirimavo Bandaranaike's interest as his devoted wife was in social service and rural welfare in her hometown and there is no evidence of a special interest in diplomacy however prodigious her husband's prowess was.

Sirimavo was a sincere friend from a non Arab country, the Arab world could ever have had. Sri Lanka championed the cause of the oppressed Palestinians and others.

The Muslim world was full of appreciation for the efforts taken by her for their just cause.

The Sri Lankan Muslims have had warm and cordial relationship with the Bandaranaike family since the time of Solomon Dias Bandaranaike.

The Indian Ocean Peace Zone proposal, Sirima-Shastri Pact, the Kachchativu settlement and the most successful foreign policy adopted by her government made Sirimavo one of the most accepted and respected world leaders of the time.

She was robbed of her civic rights under the pretext of social justice in 1980 at which time she showed her empirical qualities in politics.

The common people of the country had a high regard and respect when all her opponents tried to destroy her. Sirimavo never gave in and never gave up and continued to be a very powerful political force until her demise on October 10, 2000.