Appreciations
View(s):Remembering Sri Lanka’s first foreign minister
A.C.S.Hameed
A.C.S.Hameed was born on April 10, 1929. He represented Harispattuwa in Parliament without a break from 1960-1999.
Appointed as the country’s first Foreign Minister in 1977, he successfully held this post for 12 years till 1989. Meeting Heads Of States and Foreign Ministers, it was his duty to brief them on President J.R.Jayewardene’s open economy policy. On occasion, he had to deputise for the President at the Non-Aligned Movement meetings and people punned on his initials A.C.S. as “all country service Hameed”.
He was fortunate to meet most world leaders during his term as Foreign Minister.
He spent his spare time writing books which include ‘Foreign Policy Perspective of Sri Lanka’, ‘In Pursuit of Peace on Non Alignment and Regional Co-operation’, ‘The Owl and the Lotus’ and ‘The Spring of Love and Mercy’.
I like to quote a poem from hisbook ‘The Spring of Love and Mercy’–A spiritual book:
Oh Lord!
Give me an unpolluted heart To keep malicious Evil apart
It will corrupt my desires
And set ablaze many fires
Make me strong
To dismiss falsehood
The bosom companion
Of Evil
A dangerous couple
They can topple
Resting rocks
And sleeping hills
Evil and Falsehood are cowards
Waiting for weak hearts
But when they see
Justice, Truth and Reason
Oh Lord ! They flee
We pray that Almighty Allah will bless him and find him a place in the Jennathul firdouse –Ameen.
Ghafoor (Brother)
Our friendship went beyond our legal work
S.P. (Ranjan) Sriskantha
“Nobody understands the reason why we meet in this life’s journey.
We are not related by blood, we don’t know each other from the start.
But God puts us together to be wonderful friends by heart”
The above verse composed by some unknown person truly fits the strong and close friendship Ranjan and I enjoyed over several years. I cannot remember exactly how I came to meet him, but do recollect that it was towards the end of the 1980s.
Ranjan was a senior lawyer -LLM (UK), Solicitor (England & Wales).Way back in 1989 he worked with me in a team of Consultants on a World Bank funded project for the re-structuring of the bus transport sector with necessary legal input and incorporating several companies.
Thereafter, on the guidance of late M. Radhakrishnan, Attorney-at-Law, Precedent Partner, D.N. Thurairajah Co., who also was a very close friend of mine, Ranjan assisted me from the very beginning on the famous Hilton Hotel case. On Mr. Radhakrishnan’s advice, Ranjan took me to meet P. Navaratnarajah QC. and K. Kanag-Isvaran PC., for very initial discussions on instituting the Hilton case. Thereafter right through the case he was very involved in advising and assisting me at all times, even alerting Mr. Navaratnarajah to phone President R. Premadasa, as Ranjan felt that there might be a threat to my life.
After the case was filed and Enjoining Orders issued, then Attorney General Sunil de Silva PC., who passed away recently, had phoned Senior Counsel Mr.Navaratnarajah and requested a discussion with me. Consequently, it was Ranjan who took me to meet the Attorney General who after having got clarifications on the facts of the case wished me success in the interests of the country to prevent an international cross-default, and representing the owning company, the Attorney General did not oppose my case in the District Court in the grant of the Interim Injunctions.
With his regular compilation of the ‘Sriskantha Law Reports’Ranjan had a wealth of knowledge on Case Law and could cite authorities from sheer memory. One would think that he was a very studious person, but on the contrary, he was very jovial, lovable and mischievous and a very good friend indeed. There was many an occasion when his anxious wife Visaka phoned me apprehensive of Ranjan’s jovial and mischievous masquerading in good fun.
In the litigation support services provided by my company, Ranjan acted successfully as Counsel in very many cases for local and foreign clients. He would not be bogged down with documents but most certainly was a careful reader, and above all, street smart on his feet in Court. He has advised and assisted me in almost all the public interest litigations in which I personally appeared, and would provide Case References and Authorities spontaneously and give very pragmatic and practical advice.
Ranjan was a highly principled man and never aspired to become a President’s Counsel, even when friends pushed him, upholding the principle that one has to be invited to be a President’s Counsel and not apply. He was more competent than many a President’s Counsel, with extensive foreign and local clientele who held him in very high esteem.
Ranjan had very large circle of friends, whom he enjoyed entertaining having regular parties at home. The joke was that Ranjan was the best ‘transmitter of news.’ He was a fun-loving person and an excellent tennis player. He needed his game of tennis every evening. He spent many an evening in my office having a good drink of Brandy, which he loved very much, until he got a call from Visaka. His stock answer was ‘I am at Nihal’s office’, the implication being that he was still working, when actually we were having an enjoyable chat and drink!
He passed away suddenly on March 15, 2019 – on the ‘Ides of March’. Ranjan had been in my office two days previously on March 13, around late lunch time and left cheerfully saying he will see me in Court on March 15, in one of my cases. When his son Prassanna phoned me informing me that Ranjan had passed away in the wee hours that morning, it was too much of a shock for me at that moment and ever since, as he was much younger to me.
Ranjan was from a loving family – with wife Visaka, also a lawyer, Vice President Legal at DFCC Bank. His son Prassanna is a lawyer and his daughter Suhashini is a Doctor. Ranjan’s last two years were spent doting on his grandchildren even forgetting his work. In view of ongoing work, I used to phone him nearly every morning, and he used to tell Visaka whilst waking up that it was the ‘wake-up call’ from me !
May Ranjan be blessed to achieve the heavenly abode of Moksha.
Nihal Sri Ameresekere
His contributions to justice are manifold
JUSTICE R.K.S. SURESH CHANDRA
I heard the sad news of the demise of Justice Suresh Chandra in Fiji on April 10, 2020 from Susantha Gunasekara, my trusted junior in legal practice from Sri Lanka.Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the cremation took place in Suva, Fiji, with his son lighting the funeral pyre.
Justice Suresh Chandra, Retired Supreme Court judge of Sri Lanka and Resident Justice of the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court in Fiji was the eldest son of late S. S Rajaratnam, attorney-at-law. His mother Nirmala Dias Wimalasekare passed away after the delivery of triplets of whom he was one. He was brought up by his stepmother who was an exception to the usual perception of a stepmother. His father, initially a teacher, later school Principal and finally an attorney-at-law, was a lecturer for LLB students, and entrance examination for Law College. His brother Diyanesh who passed away young was also an attorney-at-law, and so too his sister Yamuna Kanendran.
As a reward for his brilliance as a lawyer he was handpicked and appointed straightaway as a Judge of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka from the unofficial Bar. This appointment was very rare, and it can be considered a unique achievement. The ceremonial sitting took place on June 28, 2010 and immediately after taking oaths he posed for a photograph along with his wife, myself with my lady junior and S. Egalahewa, lecturer in law and author of ‘A General Guide to Sri Lanka Labour Law’. He wrote a nice foreword to this book.
He had a keen, penetrative intellect. Like his father, he too was a lecturer in law at the Open University Colombo, Katubedde University and Sri Lanka Law College.
Suresh Chandra did his apprenticeship as a lawyer under former Chief Justice S. Sharvananda. He was junior to the leading lawyer E.R.S.R Cumaraswamy.
He was a multifaceted personality. When he was a student at Thurstan College Colombo and University of Colombo he played in the cricket, football and hockey teams. He held key positions in the Lions Club. He chaired the Commonwealth law conference held in Colombo in 2000. Like his brother Diyanesh, he was a cricket commentator.
He was honest and courteous in all his dealings and added life and lustre to court proceedings. His courtesy and kindness won for him the respect and affection of the Bar. He always had a winning smile. He discharged his duties as a judge of the Supreme Court not only with striking impartiality but with character and a strict sense of public duty. He believed firmly in the independence of judiciary and never compromised on its principles. His silent contributions to justice are more eloquent than words would ever say. He belonged to the Ex-Category-4 (Experience, Expertise, Excellence and Extraordinary).
My association with his father and other members of the family spanned over five decades. His passing has saddened my family.
V.Vimalarajah
A well known voice of Radio Ceylon and Kashmir activist
M. K. Muhammadhu Jamaldeen
Senior broadcaster M. K. Muhammadhu Jamaldeen who was born on March 23, 1934 in Erukkalampiddy in Mannar to Mohideen Kappudayar and Kulthum Umma passed away at his age of 87 in Dehiwala.
Listeners to the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) (then known as Radio Ceylon) had been spellbound by the mesmerizing voice and presentation style of Jamaldeen. He joined the SLBC after gaining mastery in Urdu, Hindi and Sanskrit as well as classical music and the SLBC made use of his multilingual proficiency to reach a wider audience. Many turned on their radios to listen to the classical music of Jamaldeen.
Jamaldeen received his early education at Erukkalampiddy Maha Vidyalaya, and secondary education at Jaffna Central College while excelling in sports. He was the only Muslim senior prefect in the history of Jaffna Central College.
He then joined Zahira College, Colombo, when Principal, Senator Dr. A. M. A. Azeez, a native of Jaffna invited him to Colombo sending a postcard.
After three years as a teacher of Zahira College, he left for Bhatkande University, Lucknow in India for higher studies and graduated as Sangeet Vishara. After returning to Sri Lanka Jamaldeen was appointed as a gazetted officer of Radio Ceylon. The All Asia Service was popular in South Asia during the 1960s and 1970s. He interviewed prominent personalities who came from India and Pakistan including Ravi Shankar and Noor Jahan.
He did live commentaries in Hindi for the Asian audience when Pope Paul the VIth visited Colombo. He also translated the moon landing mission commentaries in July 1969.
He was on many music auditions for the Sinhala and Tamil services of the SLBC.
While studying, Jamaldeen visited Kashmir several times and started to raise a voice for Kashmiris after witnessing the sorrow and tragedies they were undergoing.
After retiring from the SLBC he established the Kashmir Education Research Circle where he served until his demise. He also wrote a book titled “Kashmir, an Orphan’. He conducted seminars and workshops and published leaflets from time to time on the Kashmiri issue.
In recognition of his contribution to the struggle of Kashmir since 1991, then President of Pakistan Mamnoon Hussain who invited Jamaldeen to Pakistan in 2016 honoured him with the award of Sitara-I-Imtiaz.
Former Muslim Cultural Affairs State Minister A. H. M. Azwer honoured Jamaldeen with the “Sahis Sabaan” (King of Languages”) award under the scheme “Let’s honour living legends”.
Jamaldeen was a full time employee of SLBC since 1966 and had been the Coontroller Hindi and Urdu Services of the Corporation. He was promoted to the post of Director of Commercial Service in 1987.
When Tamil employees were sent on compulsory leave during the war years the credit of operating the entire Tamil unit must go to Jamaldeen.
N. M. Ameen
Engineer turned coconut grower who showed the way to intercropping
Arjun Deraniyagala
Arjun Deraniyagala, Senior Engineer and proprietary coconut planter passed away on March 12. He was 85 years old. He hailed from Eknaligoda Walawwa, Kuruwita, Ratnapura District and was a descendent of Hiripitiye Rala of Hiripitiya who played a major role in protecting the Sacred Tooth Relic from the invaders and moving it to Sitawaka Kingdom and finally to the Dalada Maligawa.
His father was the respected scientist Dr P.E.P. Deraniyagala, who was the first Director of the National Museums. Dr. Siran Deraniyagala, who retired as the Director General of the Dept. of Archaeology was his younger brother. His roots in Siyane Korale, connected to the coconut planting families and much famed Batadola Walauwa who owned large tracts of coconut lands on the left and right banks of Maha-Oya and Horagolle, influenced him to be a dedicated coconut grower in later years, in contrast to his academic professional field of engineering.
He had his early education at S. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia and proceeded to England to study engineering. At that time, youngsters with means, opted to have their education at Cambridge and they included Professor E.O.E Pereira, the Founder Dean of the Engineering Faculty of the Peradeniya University, the first University in Sri Lanka to grant degrees in engineering, and later its Vice Chancellor, Dr. Ray Wijewardane, well known agricultural and mechanical engineer. Arjun followed these illustrious persons to Cambridge in the footsteps of a number of members of his own family, who had been at Trinity College, Cambridge.
Returning home to Sri Lanka after qualifying, he joined Colombo Commercial Company, the foremost non- government organization specialising in turnkey ventures in engineering design and construction in the country around 1970 and ended up as the Chief Mechanical Engineer. At that time the company was the market leader in the design and construction of tea factories in the tea growing areas, an assignment that suited him, given his interest in plantation agriculture. For a short period he was Chairman of the State Engineering Corporation and later Chairman of the Ceylon Electricity Board at a time when power cuts were rampant, and decisions to avert a worse crisis were not popular. He strived to promote the Upper Kotmale and Kukule Ganga hydroprojects to supplement the existing hydropower capacity at that time.
Leaving the CEB, he concentrated on his coconut properties located off Yakkala and Mirigama. He was one of the earliest coconut growers to venture into inter-planting coconut lands with pepper, cocoa, coffee and fruit trees, which included durian. From these, particularly pepper, he derived a substantial income. Five durian trees planted by his father,were selling their annual crop at a price of Rs 250,000.000, an average of Rs 50,000 per tree by 2015/20, a record price.
He was an active member of the Executive Committee of the Coconut Growers Association of Sri Lanka (CGA) with useful contributions for the last 15 years. He was for a long periodof time the President of the Gampaha Branch of the Association. Most of the monthly meetings of the Branch were held in his own house, in Colombo 7, where all members were welcomed. He always believed that the problems of the growers in Gampaha District, which, originally pioneered coconut cultivation extensively in Sri Lanka were unique and characterized by declining nutrition,yields, and the effect of climate change and that new measures including revigoration, irrigation, and rainwater harvesting were needed to arrest the dwindling crop yields.
A disciplined person, he had pleasing ways and would always accommodate the contrasting views of juniors. He never failed to attend the monthly meetings of the Executive Committee of CGA, and was a member of the Board of Directors of the Plantation Management Institute for long years. It was only a week prior to his death, that he took an active part in the Executive Committee Meeting of CGA. He will be sadly missed by the members of the Association.
Denzil Aponso