Appreciations

Anil Moonesinghe represented all aspects of the social democratic political life of our times. His life and work was a complete picture of the public aspirations of a political leader. He was well accomplished in almost all spheres and dimensions of public life and intellectual ability. Truly, he was a unique political personality in the post-colonial history of our land.

I disagreed with him and I was shattered when he left the Lanka Sama Samaja Party to join the Sri Lanka Freedom Party. But I could understand why he did so, listening to his reasoning. The democratic and progressive bloc represented by the several alliances and fronts of the centre-left had been taken for granted. But the birth pangs of this formation were not easy. Anil bore the brunt and pioneered the idea inside the left.

He often asked what the use of being a commander was without an army. But I cannot yet reconcile with our (LSSP's) role in a centre-left cabinet dominated by an equivocal leadership, unless it was a limited strategy which it was not. Anil underscored the need of developing a left tendency within the bloc strong enough to have an impact on the policies of the government together with mobilization of the people around their demands and expectations, and thus move on with progressive reforms. Anil never failed to be in the thick of such struggles.

His youthful days in Britain absorbed the left programme and the Marxist ideology as the worthwhile purpose of life. He dived into the depths of the labour movement and the debates of the left. He believed that the revolution would blossom out of the movement of the masses demanding reforms and participating in the process. For this he advocated the need to be entrenched in the midst of the progressive forces without being in revolutionary isolation.

He walked the streets of London in the freezing winter mornings taking the party paper from door to door. He returned to the island as a young Sama Samajist with a vision and as a qualified barrister. He was never content with public speaking without joining the people in arduous tasks and political action. He believed more in real life and action to advance the cause than spend time in theoretical expositions. An impatient Anil would do it himself - any task even before the comrades came along.

He was romantic and nurtured idealism but never lost the bearings of the practical approach. He introduced a lifestyle quite new to the Sama Samaja Movement. A simple and down to earth man, he shared with his people, any, and all circumstances, of hardships. He taught us the frugal way and exposed us to the splendour of nature, when he promised us a comfortable night and parked his vehicle on the bund of the Tissa Wewa to take out a folding bed for a good night's sleep.

He was emotional and laughed merrily as much as he wept with his heart for the joys and grievances of his people and comrades. He was well exposed to the Western culture but he was firmly rooted in his cultural heritage. He took pride in being a grand nephew of the anti-imperialist Anagarika Dharmapala.

He was quick to find the vacant areas of Sinhala consciousness in the Sama Samaja Movement and he tried to infuse that element into the party. But this was resisted as chauvinism. He was committed to the hilt in defending the rights of minorities and even welcomed Tamil national consciousness inside the party. He believed that the two nationalisms could be fused whilst others thought that a common nationalism should be invented.

As a minister or a chairman he demonstrated the way to harness the worker's enthusiasm in raising productivity and efficiency. He was a role model as a minister or chairman. He was out on the streets meeting with the public and sensing their mood. The constituents from his distant electorate never failed to find warm hospitality in their MP's home. He shared with them whatever he had.

The "Bolsheviks" in the party looked down on these kind traits of Anil as a popularity quest. He dared to do anything in furthering the cause of social reforms and, for this, he braved dangerous encounters. He built up a formidable trade union in the corporations and cooperative sectors within a short time. For this, he travelled to all corners of the island and his weakness was motor vehicles and the joy of tireless driving.

His debating skills as a Parliamentarian and later, his prowess as Deputy Speaker, were distinguished. The deep commitment to democracy within socialism was manifest in his passionate opposition to Stalinism and dictatorship. For him, democracy and democratic rights were sacred.

Anil was endowed with the rare qualities of leadership, strength of character, vision, commitment to social democracy in actual practice, a heart warming concern for the poor, national pride mixed with a conviction of internationalism and a unique capacity to face challenges. He was eminently suited to be this country's leader of his generation to take the country in a left of centre direction.

A leader of his generation the country missed