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By Sugeeswara Senadhira/Daily News
Colombo, January 11: The silent democratic revolution of April 1956 transformed Sri Lanka, then known as Ceylon, as the masses voted overwhelmingly for the 21-point programme of the newly formed alliance, Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP), aimed at a socialist state while reviving our spiritual and cultural values. The MEP was formed with S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike’s Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), Philip Gunawardena’s Viplavakari Lanka Sama Samaja Party (VLSSP), W. Dahanayake’s Bhasha Peramuna, and several like-minded parties and individuals.
The Leader of the MEP, Bandaranaike, whose 125th birth anniversary was held on Monday (January 8), was a charismatic leader who appealed to people. Philip Gunawardena, the Father of Socialism in Ceylon, whose 123rd birth anniversary falls today (January 11), was another protagonist of the MEP who gave the new alliance a progressive outlook, which attracted the working class and youths of the country to it.
The silent revolution of 1956 took place as the ‘Panchamahabalawegaya,’ comprising Maha Sangha, native doctors, teachers, peasants, and workers, rallied around the MEP. The new Government placed an emphasis on indigenous culture and language and advocated the nationalization of resources and assets. The average Sri Lankan considered the 1956 government as ‘Ape Aanduwa’ (Our Government) as they felt the MEP ruling alliance was a true representation of the people.
Although Sri Lanka became an independent country in 1948, morally and culturally, it did not appear to be a free nation. The previous government, especially the UNP rule headed by Sir John Kotelawala, was considered by the masses as a representative of the elite. The rulers at the time followed the British in their ideas and ideals, way of life, dress, economic structure, and outlook. It was said that the country changed hands from the White Sahibs to the Brown Sahibs.
It was only after 1956 that Sri Lanka appeared to be an independent nation. Bandaranaike, Gunawardena, and other Ministers of the MEP took their oaths in the national costume at the request of the Maha Sanga. There was a social and cultural revolution all over the country that generated a national outlook.
Eminent author Martin Wickremasinghe identified the 1956 Revolution as the fall of the Brahmin regime. S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike claimed himself as the midwife of the 1956 transition. The Bandaranaike-Gunawardena combination understood the pulse and the aspirations of the people in Sri Lanka and directed them towards the 1956 Revolution and worked in unison to fulfil those hopes and desires.
Philip Gunawardena succeeded in obtaining support from the Soviet Union to set up heavy industry factories for the manufacture of steel, cement, and textiles within the country. Oruwala Steel Corporation and Thulhiriya Textiles provided the base for the industrialization of Ceylon. A 10-year (1959 – 1968) integrated development program for the whole economy was prepared by the National Planning Council established in October 1956, aiming to utilize available resources at an optimum level to improve the living standards of the people.
Philip Gunawardena, who served as Minister of Agriculture, Food, & Co-operatives, is fondly remembered as the architect of the Paddy Lands Bills, which brought relief to the tenant cultivator, and spearheaded the Port & Bus nationalization, introduced the Multipurpose Co-operatives movement, and established the People’s Bank, bringing tremendous change to society in Sri Lanka.
Premier Bandaranaike took a courageous step to solve the ethnic issue brewing since independence in 1948. In 1957, the Bandaranaike-Chelvanayakam Pact was signed between Prime Minister S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike and S. J. V. Chelvanayakam, leader of the Federal Party, the main Tamil political party. The pact advocated the creation of a series of regional councils to solve the communal disagreements prevailing at that time. However, it was set aside in May 1958, due to heavy resistance by both Sinhalese and Tamil communities, leading to tensions and an outbreak of ethnic violence in the country.
However, the powerful alliance faced many challenges from within and outside from reactionary forces. Philip Gunawardena, together with Minister William Silva and Deputy Minister Nimal Karunathilake, and a few other MPs, left the government. In September 1959, Bandaranaike was assassinated by the same reactionary force that ousted Philip and other progressive leaders from the government. The rapid progress made by Sri Lanka suffered a deadlock. However, the country and the progressive masses continue to recognize the value of the progressive policies unleashed in 1956 by the MEP government even after seven decades.
Today, once again, people yearn for a paradigm shift, “an important change that happens when the usual way of thinking about or doing something is replaced by a new and different way.”
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