Like Father, Like Daughter
Manouri Muttetuwegama is a remarkable lady who is no stranger to
politics. Coming from a political background, she is well versed in the
intricacies and subtleties of the political arena. Having been a
daughter and wife of two famous politicians, she understands the
sacrifices one has to make when one deals in politics. She is also a
Barrister and Attorney- at- Law, who has been very active in the field
of Human Rights. This week Reminiscences in Gold features this vivacious
lady.
“I was born and raised in Colombo but I am a Southerner in my heart.
As a child I thoroughly enjoyed my holidays spent in our ancestral house
in Randombe. I like the sound of the sea very much. I was educated at
Visakha Vidyalaya. I belonged to the third generation of Visakhians in
my family. My grand aunt and my mother were among the founding seven
children when Visakha, then known as Buddhist Girls’ College, was first
established in 1917 in a house in Turret Road, Colombo. The school was
shifted to the present premises in Vajira Road in 1927 and was renamed
as Visakha Vidyalaya.
Manouri Muttetuwegama |
When I entered the school, the Principal was Mrs. Motwani, and then
she was replaced by Mrs. Pulimood.
“The school was founded to train the schoolgirls according to the
Buddhist moral values and principles. Mrs. Pulimood was a practising
Syrian Christian who came from India. Even though she belonged to a
different faith, she genuinely encouraged the practice of Buddhism. In
that sense, there was a very liberal outlook in the school. We had
outstanding teachers. I liked the Buddhist approach to life based on
compassion and questioning. You don’t accept things, just because
someone said so but you are expected to test it before accepting it.
Those principles had a liberating influence on me.”
Middle class family
Manouri thought that her family upbringing also had a very redeeming
influence on her. “My father was a leading criminal lawyer but our home
didn’t have the external trappings that usually go with a middle class
family. At home we didn’t have cocktail parties or intimate dinner
parties with polished silver cutlery. My mother served breakfast to
whoever came and so it was for dinner. It was that kind of household. It
was an open house. We never kept the gates locked.”
“My father had a tremendous sense of history and that’s what kept him
going. He used to say that ‘the Revolution is around the corner, but it
will not come in my time.’ Yet he would be working for it as if it would
come in his time. It’s a process with ups and downs. You have to believe
in it and make your own contribution towards its realization.
He would work in the courts in the morning and then rush off to the
plantation sector for the union work and then go to the Wellawatte
weaving mills, the centre of organized labour and then to the harbour
for union work. As a professional, he also took his court work very
seriously. He had a sense of mission in everything he did. As you
remember, he contested the presidential election with J. R. Jayewardene.
Of course he lost the election but when the election results were
announced he was there to make a speech warning the people of an
impending authoritarian rule in the country. He did so not out of any
malice or personal grudge but he felt that it was his duty by the
people.”
Political environment
Reminiscing about the time her father was arrested in 1940, Manouri
said that he was in the courts on that particular day. He signaled the
Police to wait till he finished his brief. He then sent the gown to my
mother and went with the Police. Some of the senior lawyers who were
very pro-British went to see him in the jail. They may not have agreed
with his Marxist philosophy, but they had a high regard for his courage.
People greeted those who were arrested as liberation fighters.
According to Manouri, she never once encountered cold shouldering by
anyone during that period. “When they made their escape from prison,
they converted the jailor to their way of thinking and he also escaped
with them. The car that took them was driven by a Crown Counsel who
would have been shot on the spot, if he was caught.”
“My father was an internationalist in his mind. He founded a
Trotskyist party while he was hiding in India. And in later years, I
have this memory of meeting in Calcutta, the father of a lawyer friend
of mine. On hearing that I was from Sri Lanka, he asked me whether I
knew of N. M. Perera and Colvin R. de Silva. And it turned out that they
had worked together to build up the Harbour Workers Union in the Port of
Calcutta.”
When asked to comment on the humane character of his personality,
Manouri explained: “Once my father’s driver was interviewed, he had said
that to the outside world his master was a lion and at home he was a
lamb. He was very correct. My father was so loving. We had very strong
family ties. My mother was a very strong person and I wanted to be like
her. She was one hundred percent behind my father.”
Manouri studied law in England and became a Barrister. Recalling her
time in England, she said: “I spent ten years there and came home two or
three times. It was not the age of email or instant communication. My
parents were lucky to get a letter every five weeks. There, you learnt
to be self reliant. You were exposed to so many people. At that time
Britain was the centre of study. You end up meeting people who later
became Presidents and Attorneys General in their countries. The world is
your oyster. I remember dancing across Russel’s square to the Halls of
Residence after listening to the Beatles.”
When asked whether she ever wanted to become a politician, Manouri
smilingly said: “You don’t have to be an elected Member of Parliament to
be a politician. I grew up in a political environment and I was in
politics right throughout my life. As a young girl I remember
accompanying my father on May Day rallies and election campaigns. I
closely associated political leaders and even met international
statesmen such as Marshal Tito. I have worked very closely with women.
After I married my husband Sarath, I was the elected General Secretary
of a grassroots women’s organization for 20 years.”
Personal tragedies
Did she get to know Sarath Muttetuwegama through politics? “No, I met
him while appearing in a court case. After court work, we would have
lunch together. In fact, he helped me to prepare my Petition of Appeal
in Sinhala. That’s how we got to know each other closely. He was
soft-spoken and had a tremendous sense of humour.”
Manouri had also suffered some personal tragedies in her life. “I was
completely shattered and devastated by the tragic death of Sarath and of
my son Maithri not long after. I bless my daughter Ramani; she is the
one who sustained me and took me through that difficult period. She has
been a wonderful daughter to me. Through these experiences, I had
developed a capacity and a willingness to bear the pain of others. When
I was appointed the chairperson of the Disappearance Commission, I was
able to share the sufferings of the victims.”
Asked about the importance of the work of the Disappearance
Commission, she said that more than anything else, it gave an
opportunity to the affected families to present their cases before an
officially appointed body. “During the sittings the witnesses repeatedly
told us that during the period of terror in the late 1980s most of them
could not even lodge a complaint at a police station.
We repeatedly heard the saying that ‘when we went to a police
station, we were chased away like dogs.’ Over ten thousand witnesses
came to give evidence before this Commission, and we listened to their
harrowing experiences over a period of four years. It is only through
such steps that you can bring about national reconciliation in a
meaningful way.” |