A Trade Unionist to the last

* Thonda was firmly behind CBK

By Roshan Peiris

Saumyamoorthy Thondaman who in 1924 at the tender age of eleven came to Ceylon to join his father, a Kangany, created an historical epoch. With his death ends an era which may never return.

Even his many detractors and critics will not question his historical dimensions and his political genius. He was like a Biblical prophet of old who led his under-privileged estate people of Indian origin, to the promised land he had mapped out.

What gives him a sizable niche in the contemporary history of this country is that nothing could swerve his devotion to the people he chose to raise from broken down line-rooms, 'hewers of wood and drawers of water' to become men and women proud of their heritage and their traditions.

To this writer he had repeatedly through the years confirmed, "I am a Minister since 1978 but I am first and foremost a Trade Union leader with my first concern being the over five lakhs of people who look to me for guidance and sustenance. I am old but still ticking well with energy. If I cannot be useful in politics I will then give it up."

A few years ago he told this writer in an interview with The Sunday Times "I am very, very happy, for forty years of suffering of my people have ended."

He died as a respected Minister of the Cabinet but the role typical of him was as the Moses of his people, the Indian indentured labourers who came over from South India from where he came himself, in search of work and food.

Sir John Kotelawala's government withdrew any voting rights these people had in their adopted home, and so in 1978 according to Thondaman he joined the government of J.R Jayewardene with the hope of gaining the right of citizenship for them.

Many an interesting detail of his life is found in his autobiography - "My Life and Times" published in 1988.

There are glimpses such as how when making his way to his father's estate Wavendon for the first time, he got sick in the car causing an angry father to complain 'you have spoilt my car which I bought off a white man!'

It was his sister who chose his dainty wife Kothai from an adjoining village in India in keeping with tradition.

It was she who tied the thali round the fair bride's neck thus making Kothai the wife of an absentee husband!

It was a blessed marriage and this gentle woman, one recalls, staunchly stood by her volatile husband in his efforts to fight for his people.

Mr. Thondaman described the forties and the fifties as "the two decades when mistakes were made".

It was in the forties as India banned the emigration of Indian labour from Ceylon that this country found five lakhs of Indians deciding to settle down here.

And so began the forlorn yet courageous saga of the Indian estate workers fighting for their rights, first as workers and later for their political and civic recognition.

It was to the credit of the late Minister Thondaman that he never forgot his priorities and at last after much haggling and political bargaining in 1988 the stateless Indian workers were finally given citizenship and allowed to have a say in choosing political leaders to guide them.

Thondaman was a maverick in politics and he pursued his own path-what he thought was best for his people.

Very often when told he did not adhere to Cabinet responsibility his reply came pat,

"I am not concerned with all those trappings. I am, remember, first and last a trade unionist whose primary concern is to look after the people who look to me for guidance."

In 1984 he made history as the only Cabinet Minister who led a strike against his own government and won. This one was for equal pay for males and females working on estates after 150 years of discrimination. There is no doubt that Saumyamoorthy Thondaman's death has left behind a void difficult to fill. Power and wealth did not spoil him, and his greatness lies in his devotion to the people he chose to lead.

Today their homes have water and lights and hospitals close by, also schools and technical colleges.

The man is dead but history will record the very many acts of help and sacrifices Thondaman made, so that a people could live with dignity and pride, in the land they worked in.

Thonda was firmly behind CBK

My last interview with the late Mr. Thondaman was on October 24.

With presidential elections to be held soon, The Sunday Times asked the CWC leader and Minister whether there was a likelihood of his switching sides as rumours to that effect were afloat.

Mr. Thondaman, once regarded as the kingmaker, controlling for the past fifty years or more lakhs of estate workers, said in a firm voice: "I will not change sides. I will support the PA candidate. We have been part of the government for the past five years and have had a special understanding and a pleasant relationship with the Kumaratunga administration, as one of its allies".

He said the President has shown a clear grasp and an understanding of the aspirations of the estate workers and he saw no reason for the CWC to discontinue its support for her at the upcoming presidential elections.

Asked whether he supported the Executive Presidential system, he said: "Unlike some of the other constituent parties, we are in full support of it".

He said the presidential system was advantageous to the minorities because they had a greater say in choosing the head of the government.

They need help

The silence and the dark

"The Silence and The Dark" - an evening of song in aid of the Institute of Sight &Hearing Impaired, Ratmalana (formerly the Ceylon School for the Deaf & Blind). Several talented and versatile choirs collaborated with the choir of the Institute for Sight Impaired (School for the Blind) to provide a feast of good music in an "Evening of Song" at the Cathedral of Christ the Living Saviour on Bauddhaloka Mawatha, Colombo 7, on Saturday, November 6 at 6.30 p.m.

The Cantata Singers, the LG Singers, the Interlude Singers and the Kollupitiya Methodist Church choir participated along with the Blind School Choir to present music ranging from folk songs and Negro spirituals to choral music and sacred songs. The blind School choir opened the programme with a welcome song and ended the evening with a Sinhala lyric specially composed by Kumudini Wickramasekara Co-Vice Principal, who is blind herself.

The Ceylon School for the Deaf and Blind was founded in 1912 by Miss M. F. Chapman, an Anglican missionary. It was the pioneering institution for these handicapped children in our country, for upto then, the deaf and the blind were left to languish in their homes without benefit of any education or the chance to develop into useful members of the community. From its inception the school has been a shining beacon of hope to those who earlier were left hopeless and through the last 87 years it has grown and expanded and endeavoured to meet changing needs and to cope satisfactorily with challenges posed by those changes.

Its doors have always been open to sight and hearing impaired children, irrespective of race or religion. Although founded and run by the Church of Ceylon, over 90% of the students are non- Christian. There is always a waiting list and the Board of Trustees is keenly aware that this institution, along with many other such schools opened by other religious bodies, meet only a very small proportion of the need.

The two Ratmalana schools, one for the blind and the other of the deaf, as well as the Nuffield School of the Deaf & Blind established in 1956 in Kaithadi, Jaffna, strive to prepare the disabled to lead a near normal life with dignity as self-reliant and self-supporting members of society.

The schools are mainly residential, offering free board and education to pupils whose ages range from 6 to 20 years. Students receive the same education as in any normal school, in addition to vocational training. They are prepared for the G.C.E (O/L). The more academically capable ones, from among those who sit the exam successfully, are sent to normal schools to continue up to A/Level. Some of them enter University and graduate.

Before they can follow lessons, the blind are taught Braille and the deaf learn sign language, lip-reading and other forms of communication. The blind are also given instructions in mobility and are soon able to move around by themselves, carrying a white cane. The deaf have to master auditory skills, receive speech training and, where useful, are given hearing aids to enable them to attend normal classes.

Extracurricular activities are encouraged, as in normal schools - games and sports, scouting, drama, singing, dancing etc. They have annual sportsmeets specially designed for the disabled.

Technical skills and traditional crafts - vocational training, in short, - form a vital part of the education that is provided. Training is given in skills such as woodwork, tailoring, needlework, printing, house-wiring, envelope making, coirwork, shorthand and typing, agriculture, home science, commercial art and motor mechanism. Many past students have been able to earn a good living and raise a family through such income-generating skills learnt in school.

Hearing impairment is often not noticeably evident in early life and parents sometimes mistakenly assume that such children are slow developers. The School for the Deaf therefore has an Outreach Programme by which trained staff go out to the community and to schools to help in the early detection of hearing impairment. The school's Audiology Unit is geared to test even the hearing of members of the public who seek their services. An ear-mould laboratory has been set up to make hearing aids locally at affordable prices.

In the past five years more than 30 blind students have entered University. Of these, one is a lawyer, one obtained first class in the general degree and eight have passed out with second class. Most of them have found employment in Government schools and two are employed in our own schools. One student who is currently preparing for his M.A entered the school as an orphan in 1956. He now teaches in a normal school and comes over to Ratmalana at weekends to help the children with shorthand, typing and English. Another, an alumnus of the Deaf School, is an accomplished magician, an art he learned from his father. He was voted "Magician of the Year" at the tender age of 17 and has since won international awards in countries like Canada, the USA , West Germany and Taiwan.

Deaf students who represented Sri Lanka abroad at international games for the disabled have brought back 'Golds' in many sporting events. Others from the Deaf School have found remunerative employment as tailors, gem cutters, technicians, motor mechanics, etc.

The Ceylon School for the Deaf & Blind is managed as a charity (Approved Charity Gazette Notification 1041 of 6.6.1952). As may be imagined, the cost of maintaining the three branches of the school has spiralled along with the escalation of the cost of living.

There is an alarming disparity between income and expenditure. This is despite a Government grant which includes payment of salaries of part of the staff, a Social Services Dept. grant towards the mid-day meal, and financial aid from foreign agencies.

It must be remembered that it costs more to run schools for disabled as the proportion of staff to students is, necessarily, about 1: 7 compared with a normal school where it is about 1:35 or 40. Even with the help of foreign donors, there is a deficit and the school has had to liquidate assets to meet it.

The total cost of providing the educational and vocational facilities to equip each child to become an independent, self-supporting contributor in our society, has steadily increased over the years.

In 1997 the cost per child amounted to Rs 35,000/- per annum or Rs 100/- per day. It is considerably more than that today.

It is for this reason that the Institute of Sight & Hearing Impaired (better known as The Ceylon School for the Deaf & Blind), appeals to the general public of this country to contribute their mite to help maintain the three branch schools. In gratitude for the gifts of sight and sound, may we give generously to ensure a better future for those who live in a dark and silent world. -AA

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