Formation of Ceylon Reform League

Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam

At a time when agitation for constitutional reform was gathering momentum, political leaders in Sri Lanka began to seek effective ways and means of achieving their objectives. Ceylon Reform League was formed on May 17, 1915 prior to the formation of the Ceylon National Congress which turned out to be the main nationalist political organization in the decades leading up to independence.

The first president of the Ceylon Reform League was Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam whose standing in the country as a national leader made him the obvious choice for the post. In the years 1917 to 1920 the leadership in the agitation for constitutional reform was in his hands. During this period his prestige was at its highest and his leadership was acknowledged by everyone including the most prominent Sinhalese of the day.

A well educated leader, Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam ((1853-1924) studied at the Colombo Academy (later Royal College), won a scholarship to Cambridge University and read classics and mathematics. He was the first Lankan to pass the entrance examination to qualify for the elite Civil Service. Although he held a variety of appointments in the government service during the colonial administrations, senior positions were not given despite his abilities. He retired from the Civil Service in 1913 and was associated in forming the Ceylon Social Services League and Ceylon Workers' League in 1915 and the Ceylon Workers' Federation in 1920.

In the cause of the masses

Yakkaduve Sri Pragnarama Thero

Buddhist monks played a prominent role at various stages of our country's struggle to be free from colonial domination. Even after gaining independence, the monks took up causes on behalf of the masses. What became famous as the 'Vidyalankara Declaration' was one such occasion in recent times when monks were called upon to take an interest in and work for the progress of the social, economic and political conditions of the people.

The monk who took the initiative in this movement was Yakkaduve Sri Pragnarama Thero, commonly referred to as 'Yakkaduve Hamuduruvo.'

Born on May 20, 1907, the monk was "a great scholar in Sinhalese, Pali and Sanskrit, a monk of great piety, an inspirer of innumerable followers, and an able organizer with hardly his equal among the Sangha," in the words of the eminent journalist
D. B. Dhanapala.

The monks who adhered to the Declaration were soon dubbed as 'political bhikkhus' and were threatened with the total boycott of the Pirivena and the possible starvation by not offering alms. Determined as he was, Yakkaduve Thero stood by his principles and the monks were soon in the forefront going from house to house canvassing in support of the findings of the Committee of Inquiry appointed by the All Ceylon Buddhist Congress. The result was the overthrow of the government in power at the 1956 general election.

Yakkaduve Thero was also instrumental in obtaining university status to the Vidyalankara Pirivena which ultimately resulted in the two leading pirivenas - Vidyodaya and Vidyalankara becoming universities. He has written several books while rendering a silent but most effective service towards the improvement of Pirivena education.

Verdict in the 'Bracegirdle affair'

A keenly awaited court decision on the 'Bracegirdle Affair' - a much talked about event in Sri Lanka during the latter part of the colonial administration - was announced 70 years ago, on May 18, 1937.

Who was this young man who created quite a stir? Mark Anthony Bracegirdle was a young British immigrant, who was sent to Ceylon to be trained as a tea planter in 1936. Much to the dislike of the European planters, he encouraged trade union activity among plantation workers and spoke at meetings arranged by the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP). He was dismissed from his job and Governor Sir Robert Edward Stubbs, on the advice of the Inspector General of Police, ordered him to be deported under a law designed for use when an emergency was declared.

Bracegirdle went into hiding helped by the LSSP until he reappeared on a public platform, where he was arrested by the police. Meanwhile, the LSSP had gone to the courts challenging the deportation order. The case was argued by the country's eminent lawyer, H. V. Perera, who appeared free. The issue was argued before a panel of three judges headed by Chief Justice Sir Sidney Abrahams, an Englishman.

The judges held that Bracegirdle should not be deported for exercising his right of free speech and the government was wrong to have used emergency laws as there had been no emergency. Bracegirdle left the country soon afterwards and the LSSP enhanced his standing in the country by the prominent role played in the affair.