Our late prime minister S.W.R.D Bandaranayaka

 By Amal Udawatta,

S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, (Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike)leader of the victorious Mahajana Eksath Peramuna, was sworn in at noon in Colombo on April 12 before the Governor-General as Prime Minister and Minister of Defence and External Affairs. Mr. Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike was born on January 8, 1899 in a family whose members had held high positions for generations. His father, Sir Solomon Dias Bandaranaike, was Chief Aide-de-Camp and Adviser to every British Governor of Ceylon since 1901. After early education in Ceylon, Mr. Bandaranaike was sent to the Christ Church College in Oxford in 1919. Reputed for his ready wit and eloquence, he was elected President of the Indian Majlis at Oxford in 1921 and the Secretary of the Oxford Union Society the following year.

His fiery speeches at Oxford are known to have earned for him the sobriquet of "the Sword," derived from his initials "S.W.R.D." He led debates at Oxford supporting India's claim to freedom. After being called to the Bar from the Inner Temple in 1923, Mr. Bandaranaike returned to Ceylon and set up practice as an advocate. Later, he took to politics. In 1925, he was elected to the Colombo Municipal Council and became the President of the Ceylon National Congress. In 1931, he was elected unopposed to the State Council and since then has been in Parliament and has served as a Minister for nearly 19 years. He was appointed Leader of the House of Representatives in the late D.S. Senanayake's Government. In July 1951, he left the ruling United National Party, crossed the floor and became the Leader of the Opposition.

That year, he founded the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, the nucleus of the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna. In the House of Representatives, which has 95 elective seats, the Peramuna has absolute majority with 51 members. He was able to achieve a landslide victory over the United National Party in the general elections in 1956 becoming the fourth Prime Minister of Ceylon. His tenure saw some of the first left wing reforms instituted by the Freedom Party in Sri Lanka such as the nationalizing bus services and introducing legislation to pthereby rohibit caste based discrimination. Bandaranaike removing British naval and air bases in Ceylon and established diplomatic missions with a number of communist states. He implemented a new language policy, the Sinhala Only Act, making Sinhala the sole official language of the country creating much controversy.

On 25 September 1959, Bandaranaike was shot at his town house in Colombo and died of his wounds the day after. A Buddhist monk named Ven Talduwe Somarama was arrested, convicted and hanged for the murder of Bandaranaike. Minister of Education and the acting leader of the house, Wijeyananda Dahanayake was appointed caretaker prime minister by the Governor General and was confirmed by Parliament. 

Bandaranaike's death led to political turmoil with the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna falling apart under Dahanayake who eventually formed his own party to contest the general elections in March 1960. Although the Freedom Party failed to form a government under the leadership of C. P. de Silva, fresh elections were held four months later after the United National Party government lost the throne speech.

 Bandaranaike's widow Sirima Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike lead the Freedom Party to gain a majority in parliament and was appointed the first female Prime Minister in the world. She expanded on her husbands left wing reforms in her two terms as Prime Minister from 1960 to 1964 and from 1970 to 1977. In 1994, Bandaranaike's daughter Chandrika Kumaratunga headed a coalition lead by the Freedom Party to be elected Prime Minister and thereafter President serving from 1994 to 2005, during which Bandaranaike's widow served as Prime Minister from 1994 to 2000 and Bandaranaike's son Anura Bandaranaike served as Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka from 2000 to 2001.

References

1. Weerakoon, Bradman (2004). Rendering Unto Caesar: A Fascinating Story of One Man's Tenure Under Nine Prime Ministers and Presidents of Sri Lanka. Vijitha Yapa Publications.
2. ^ Nyrop, Richard (1982). Sri Lanka, a Country Study. Supt. of Docs., U.S. G.P.O. p. 197.
3. ^ "S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike - prime minister of Sri Lanka". Encyclopædia Britannica.
4. ^ Weerakoon, Bradman (2004). Rendering Unto Caesar: A Fascinating Story of One Man's Tenure Under Nine Prime Ministers and Presidents of Sri Lanka. Vijitha Yapa Publications.
5. ^ "S.W.R.D Bandaranayaka". My Life.