‘Kusuma Gunawardena left lasting mark on local politics’

Rasika Somarathna

The late Kusuma Gunawardena who entered Parliament in 1948 left an indelible mark in the annals of politics in the country, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said. The President was speaking at the birth centenary commemoration of the late Parliamentarian Kusuma Gunawardena held at the Presidential Secretariat yesterday.

The Postal Department issued a stamp on the occasion in honour of the late Mrs. Gunawardena who hails from a prominent political family in the country.

She is the wife of the late Minister Philip Gunawardena also known as the ‘the Lion of Boralugoda’, a pioneer of socialism in Sri Lanka.

She is the mother of Chief Government Whip and Water Supply and Drainage Minister Dinesh Gunawardene, Finance and Planning Deputy Minister Geethanjana Gunawardena, former Cabinet Minister Indika Gunawardena, former Colombo Mayor Prasanna Gunawardena and award-winning literati, Lakmali Gunawardena.

President Rajapaksa speaking on the occasion said the late Mrs. Gunawardena had produced outstanding children who have contributed in numerous ways to the progress of the society and the country. “Kusuma Gunawardena was from my own village. Her parents had close family ties with ours. Even today the strong bond between our families continues. She brought honour to our area,” the President said.

Kusuma Gunawardene was born on May 26, 1912. She joined the Sooriyamal Movement in the 1930s embracing socialism and supporting the struggle against imperialism. In 1939 she married Philip Gunawardena, the founder of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP).

When her husband and other prominent left leaders were imprisoned by the English rulers in 1940, she spearheaded a campaign to get them released. In 1942 she fled to India with her husband and other leaders to escape the wrath of the then English rulers. She too was later jailed by the Englishmen.

In the 1947 General Election her husband won a seat but later the English rulers annulled his civic rights by bringing in false charges against him. In the bi-election held for the Avissawella electorate Kusuma won uncontested, creating history as the first woman parliamentarian to do so.

She set another record by becoming the first Sri Lankan female parliamentarian to address the Assembly in her native language. In 1952 she was re-elected from Avissawella with a majority vote. She won for a third time in 1956 as a member of the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP) representing the Kiriella seat.

She performed yeomen service to the country as a politician and supported her husband in politics. She passed away in 1985.

Deputy Minister Geethanjana Gunawardene and former Deputy Sri Lankan High Commissioner to India and veteran journalist S. Piyasena also spoke at the ceremony.

The clergy, politicians, the Gunawardena family members, Ambassadors and High Commissioners attended the event.