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The lone voice of a ‘people’s prince’
By Asoka Somaratne
I was in my early 20s when I worked as a journalist for the Lake House Group. It was just after my finals at Law College when one day my editor called me and said, "Young man, I want you to cover the UNP sessions during the weekend". This was in the early ’70s. So on a lovely Sunday morning with some writing paper in my hip pocket I set out to the UNP Headquarters at Colpetty.

It was at this session that R. Premadasa walked out over a disagreement with Dudley Senanayake and formed the "Citizens' Front”. When Gamini rose to speak as a young MP, he received thunderous applause. My friendship with him began from that day and flourished in the chambers of B.J. Fernando, a leading civil lawyer of that time.

His personality
Gamini was no novice to politics. His father was a Member of Parliament and a Deputy Minister under the SLFP regime. With this baptism in politics, it was no wonder he entered politics like a duck taking to water. Gamini was a charmer par excellence and his presence made the people's eyes shine. His conversation had an affable charm. He was lovable, courteous, witty, accomplished and warmhearted. His character attracted but never dominated.

In private life he was a delightful companion and staunch friend. His whole life was that of a gentleman. He was not a person of two voices. His inner voice and outer voice did not function independently.

His convictions
He did not hesitate to give expression to what he felt. He strongly believed that Sirimavo Bandaranaike's civic rights should not have been taken away. This was a matter initiated by President J.R. Jayewardene himself. Therefore none wanted to speak against it as they feared that they would fall out of favour.

Still Gamini argued that depriving Mrs. Bandaranaike of her civic rights was not in the best interests of democracy.

In the early days of the peace accord, the majority of Sri Lankans felt that India was aggressively playing a role inconsistent with the dignity and sovereignty of Sri Lanka. Gamini realized well ahead of the others that the Indian equation was not only important but inevitable, if we are to find a solution to the ethnic problem. In hindsight I do not know whether he paid with his life for his convictions.

Today his convictions have been justified by the ever-growing Indian presence in this country, which has come to be accepted by the general public and political parties.

Cricket
Whatever Gamini did he did with a passion. This was his weakness and his strength. His likes and dislikes had an emotional tinge. The development of cricket was close to his heart. He was relentless until Sri Lanka gained ICC status. No doubt his eloquent speech at the ICC and his influential contacts worldwide got us ICC status. He continued to develop cricket infrastructure until the presence of Sri Lankan Cricket was felt in the international arena.

The Cricket Foundation and the Asgiriya Stadium are some of the monuments to the contribution he made to this sport.

Leadership qualities
Over the years Gamini prepared himself to take over the leadership of the country. Having been in politics for a considerable length of time under the tutelage of such stalwarts like Dudley Senanayake and President Jayewardene, he knew what discipline was required in the governance of a country. He knew that he needed a huge machinery with competent people in every aspect of a government, if he was to make Sri Lanka a modern state. So he cultivated competent bureaucrats, scholars and people from many walks of life whom he thought would be relevant for his dream of making Sri Lanka a modern Singapore.

Somewhere in 1978 he contributed an article to the felicitation volume on President J.R. Jayewardene. This article provides us an insight into different aspects of Gamini's thinking on political leadership, our economy and heritage. Talking of leadership this is what is he wrote in this article.

"He never forgot and never allowed others who worked with him to forget that politics in a multi-party Parliamentary democratic set-up was always and invariably a healthy interchange of ideas and principles. To him, politics was an art, which had to be practised with skills, patience and finesse. It was his belief that political leadership requires a constant commitment to initiate, to dare, and to be unafraid to decide.

"Very often, he yearned to know and understand new people, young men and women born long after him, those who represented an era which was new and unknown. He always had time for them."

"In all these and a thousand other tribulations, it was he who provided gentle and firm leadership although his own safety was invariably in peril.

“He took a personal interest in the personal lives of all his followers. Never had this party been run quite the way he set about to run it. With a solicitude and a concern for those who struggled with him which was rare in a leader. Thus, personal bonds were cemented between him and his men and desertion from his group are inconceivable as long as he leads them."

Sometimes one tends to think whether the malady of some major political parties today is the lack of leadership virtues that Gamini exalted in this article.

In the latter part of his life Gamini had changed immensely. He was more mature and devoted every minute of his time to politics. Over the years he worked very hard to realize his ambition for Sri Lanka. It is unfortunate that he died at a time Sri Lanka needed him most. He had everything ready to take Sri Lanka forward if he ever became President of this country.

The UNP
Gamini was part of the UNP's history for decades. Though he had a brief interruption to his membership he was absolutely certain that he would regain his rightful place. So he did not hesitate to pay Rs. 5 to get back the membership of the party he once dominated.

It was no wonder that in a secret ballot among MPs he won handsomely to become the Leader of the Opposition and finally to be nominated as the Presidential candidate of the UNP.

Gamini's death was a huge loss to the country He was never dogmatic. He was never inflexible. You could always change him if you could convince him of your point of view. It is my belief that if Gamini were alive, Sri Lanka's destiny would have been different.

Srima was Gamini's supreme love. Gamini's early political life was hard on his family. In the 1970-77 period all weekends were devoted to major public meetings presided by President Jayawardene with Mr. Premadasa, Gamini and Lalith Athulathmudali as the main speakers. Gamini inevitably reached home late on Sunday night. With a Monday and sometimes a Tuesday with his family, he was away to his electorate and his legal practice in Nuwara Eliya. With all these pressures on Gamini, it was on Srima's shoulders to look after their three young children. This she did with equanimity and grace.

People's prince
I do not know why it stuck in my mind when Gamini told me "People think it is fun to be in the political platform. Though you are surrounded by thousands of people I have found it to be a lonely place when you are away from your family and children for long periods."

I once accompanied him for a meeting in Moratuwa. He took nearly ten minutes from the time he got down from the car to reach the stage. On the way to the stage he would stop, chat and pat many who had come for the meeting.

He never looked at the ceiling when you were talking to him. If you ever met him in the morning at his residence he would always say "Will you have breakfast with me?" This was Gamini, 'The People's Prince'.

(The writer was formerly MP for Rathgama)

Commemoration activities
Many functions to mark the 63rd birth anniversary of the late Gamini Dissanayake which falls today have been organized by the Gamini Dissanayake Commemoration Society.

A floral tribute will be paid at the Gamini Dissanayake statue at Ananda Coomaraswamy Mawatha, Colombo 7 at 9 a.m. today by his family and friends and officials and members of the Gamini Dissanayake Foundation and Commemoration Society, while tea will be provided to the inmates of the Victoria Home in Rajagiriya at 3 p.m.

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