Anura B: The prince who was never crowned

By Tharaka Seneviratne

Anura Bandaranaike, the only male heir to carry the Bandaranaike flag, passed away in prime (59), sixteen years ago, on March 16, 2008. This article commemorates his life.

Nineteen fifty-nine was a year of history-making in Sri Lanka, for it marked both the end of an era and the beginning of another.
The assassination of Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike by someone masquerading as a Buddhist monk—a tragedy thought to be well-known by the contemporaries but not adequately examined to assess its impact or to uncover the masterminds behind breeding future politicians.

 was also the impetus for Undoubtedly, Anura Priyadarshi Solomon Dias Bandaranaike, the little son of that epoch-making premier, was one of them. Not surprisingly, the father's assassination may have caused permanent trauma in the little son's mind.

He lived in fear that his beloved mother too would succumb to a similar fate: every time that famed "First Lady-Prime Minister" had to attend Parliament, the little "Malla" is said to have fretted away at home in fear. After he grew up to be a civic leader of stature, his astrologers feared that he would be either poisoned or shot like his father.

Anecdotes indicate that from his small days, he had been groomed to be the one to carry the Bandaranaike flag.  While the mother was the premier, on many occasions, the little one was proudly introduced as "my little son" to such regional political luminaries as Pandit Jawaharlal Shri Nehru and Marshal Tito of Yugoslavia. No doubt he was well known to petite Indira Gandhi, who was destined to become the prime minister of the leading political giant of the region.

After completing his primary education at Royal College, Colombo, he was sent to London University and graduated with flying colours in "History and Politics of Southeast Asia.”

On his return, he was appointed "Advisor to the Prime Minister" on foreign policy. During the Non-Aligned Summit in Colombo, Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike was accompanied by her son in his capacity as her foreign policy advisor.
That was a useful foundation in regional politics, invaluable for any youngster aspiring to become a future leader.
Only a few close associates know that that youngster occasionally served as a visiting lecturer in foreign universities, delivering very interesting lectures on "family politics in South and East Asia."

He was fluent in English and Sinhala and was adept at delivering colourful and untiring lectures interspersed with Latin idioms and quotations from classical English literature.
In the parliamentary history of South Asia and East Asia, many civic leaders "inherited" the leadership from their illustrious fathers. As much as they had benefited from their fathers’ image, they inadvertently suffered the fate of a "candle under a lamp post because the public often underestimated the youngsters’ achievements. Young Anura Bandaranaike was no exception.
After the failed attempt by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) in 1972, the consensus was that youth unrest was the main reason for the revolt. That was a time when veteran politicians shunned the energetic and dynamic youngsters as a threat to their survival. It was in such circumstances that Anura Bandaranaike returned home in early 1974 and joined active politics.
Inner circles bear testimony that it was young Anura who was instrumental in forming the far-sighted "SLFP (Sri Lanka Freedom Party) Youth Wing" (in which he was the Leader for a long time) in a bid to take the party to the grassroots level because the original five-forces concept (the Sangha, the Ayurveda Physician, the teacher, the farmer, and the worker) was losing its allure.
Anura B's longtime Coordinating Secretary, Ratnasena Ketawala, states that "it was more like a 'Cooperation Front' with the JVP. We met twice a month, and at its heyday, it had about 12,000 youth members. Many of the present-day politicians of the JVP entered the legitimate political stream through that movement."
At that time, an SLFP youth battalion was a notable feature of every May Day rally. Almost all the district leaders of the SLFP's Youth Wing at that time later became stout and illustrious political leaders. The list is too long, and citing a few names as examples would be unfair to the others. Young Anura Bandaranaike, supported by the SLFP's Youth Wing, successfully led the SLFP in all the bi-elections at that time, reestablishing the SLFP's footing step by step.
Later, young Anura Bandaranaike was appointed the Director of the National Youth Services Council.
Reliable sources claim that the then-Jaffna Mayor Alfred Duraiappah, who was also the Chief SLFP Organiser in the North, was a close associate of Anura, and Anura himself had gone into the thickest of the jungles of the North to meet separatist leader Velupillai Prabhakaran to achieve reconciliation.

It was during the same period that he was said to have had close connections with Fidel Castro of Cuba.
In the 1977 general elections, young Anura Bandaranaike was elected the second MP for the Nuwara Eliya-Maskeliya multi-seat electorate, pushing the famous Saumyamoorthy Thondaman (senior) to third place, a singular achievement in an electorate full of estate workers, among whom Thondaman reigned supreme all that time. That was the time of the famous J. R. Jayewardene's government, marking several "firsts" in our Parliamentary history. The government itself was composed of old veterans and many youngsters (hats off to JRJ!) destined to be the future civic leaders. For the first time, the opposition leader was Appapillai Amirthalingam, representing the Tamil community.

Proving the axiom that "absolute power corrupts absolutely," the JRJ regime tarnished its image by abolishing the civic rights of former premier Sirimavo Bandaranaike, former MP Felix Dias Bandaranaike, and Colombo’s former Mayor A.H.M. Fowzie.
Later, Mr. Amirthalingam and his colleagues lost the parliamentary seats when they refused to swear the oath of unconditionally safeguarding the unitary state. The SLFP, with eight seats, became the name-sake "Opposition Party."

Anura Bandaranaike became the Leader of the Opposition (1983), the youngest in Sri Lanka as well as the whole of the democratic world. That was the beginning of his illustrious career in parliamentary democracy.

With his first speech itself, he was able to captivate JRJ himself, who, in his sage seriousness, had commented, "The youngster has a promising future." That maiden speech was continuously heckled by some unruly members of the ruling party. Undaunted, young Anura said, “There will be a time when you all listen to me," as if seeing a future Parliament where he would be the Honourable Speaker.

He was exceedingly fluent in English and had the choicest vocabulary, charisma, and oratory of his illustrious father.
In time to come, only a few, like Ananda Tissa de Alwis, Gamini Dissanayake, and Lalith Athulathmudali, were able to bandy words in debates with young Anura B.

Many ridiculed him as the proverbial "buffalo," but it was during that time that the real Anura Bandaranaike came to light. The finance minister at that time was the real democratic leader and gentleman, Ronnie de Mel (who held the record for delivering the highest number of budgets). During the budget debates, Anura Bandaranaike spoke only on the subjects of finance and foreign policy.

Before engaging in debates concerning finance, he assembled a team of erudite doctors, professors, and business leaders and diligently got ready in advance for the wrapping-up speech.
Unlike some leaders of today, he never dominated parliamentary time, misusing his privileged position as the opposition leader.
Incidentally, he was the leader of the opposition when the then British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (fondly known as the Iron Lady) addressed Sri Lanka’s Parliament.

By 1989, Sirimavo Bandaranaike—having regained her civic rights—was back in Parliament, and Anura Bandaranaike, having been elected the MP for the Gampaha District, was with her in the opposition.

It was the period of another rising star flying to the hearts of the public through the mesmerising Silver Screen. Popular actor Vijaya Kumaratunga entered not only politics but also the Bandaranaike family and positioned himself strategically in the race towards future premiership.

The realisation that Vijaya's alliance with his sister is effectively robbing him of the assured premiership that was almost within his grasp appeared to have demoralised our hero; utterly demoralised and disillusioned, he made the fatal mistake of breaking away from the SLFP and joined the ruling United National Party in 1993.
He was appointed Minister of Higher Education by the UNP regime. Then, in 1994, Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga became the Prime Minister and later became the first woman President of the country.
Anura remained in the opposition because the UNP had suffered a crushing defeat.

In October 2000, he was unanimously elected as the Speaker of Parliament. Soon after that, in June 2001, he faced an unprecedented crisis challenging the supremacy of Parliament when a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court issued a stay order, restraining the Speaker from appointing a Select Committee to inquire into the conduct of the Chief Justice.
That had become necessary given an impeachment motion against the Chief Justice, to be submitted to the Speaker in terms of the Constitution and the Standing Orders of the Parliament.

Anura Bandaranaike, after careful study of the issue and after consulting eminent authorities in the legal field as well as parliamentary rules, procedures, and privileges, and especially various previous decisions in countries having well-established democratic parliaments, ruled (in summary) that the judiciary cannot interfere with the functions of Parliament because Parliament is the supreme legislative body of the country.

As beautifully recounted by Nihal Seneviratne (former Secretary General of the Parliament and a close associate of Anura), Anura B had concluded his ruling with a note of personal nature, in which he expressed his pride in getting the opportunity to make that historic ruling, as a member of a family that had served the country for over seven decades.
He rejoined the SLFP in 2001. In 2004, the SLFP-JVP alliance achieved a resounding victory, and Anura B had given several portfolios since then.

The office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs (after the assassination of famous Kadirgamar) was noteworthy and most befitting to that illustrious old-school diplomat.
Our hero was not ambitious because he was assured of the leadership from his childhood; he expected it delivered to him respectfully on a silver platter as his birthright.

That made him to be less ambitious and rest on his laurels. For him, those aspirants of non-aristocratic origin were a mere nuisance; his lethargy paved the way for his rivals to plot against him and run the political race, eventually bypassing him.
In 2005, the SLFP opted for Mahinda Rajapakse over Anura B for the presidency, and he was utterly disheartened. After Mahinda Rajapaksa's victory, Anura Bandaranaike thought that he would be at least appointed Prime Minister, but that became another shattered hope. In 2007, he left the SLFP alliance again.

With all the responsibilities of an MP, he was fond of cinema and is reputed to have spent a considerable amount of time watching films almost daily.
He had a veritable collection of world cinema and a good library of classical literature.
Though he was eventually alienated from his father's political party and once had a dispute even with his mother, he remained the "Little Son" in her heart to the end.

During the evening of her life, Sirimavo Bandaranaike is reported to have given her wedding ring to her one and only son, proving that whether prime minister or not, mothers are always mothers! For Anura B, it was the most cherished possession, which he lovingly wore day and night.

One day, it fell into the gutters through the wash basin, causing the drains to be dismantled in the mansion designed for him by the famous architect Bevis Bawa.
During his last political stint, he was running on a UNP ticket, but that was kept a secret from his beloved mother, who was very feeble by that time.

His long-time Coordinating Secretary Ratnasena Ketawala says that Anura Bandaranaike was a pleasant person to work with and was a straightforward politician who was one of the best among the gentlemen of the old parliamentary system this country had inherited; he valued and upheld the grandeur of Parliament. His was an exemplary character, never tarnished with even the slightest allegation of fraud or misconduct, except that he was not cunning enough.

Though aristocratic in conduct even after becoming an MP, he was full of humane qualities too. He was considerate to his servants and close associates, so much so that he gave away his properties to his life-long obedient servants. He retained only the Horagolla Walawwwa, which he bequeathed to Vimukthi, his loving nephew—the son of the Chandrika and Vijaya alliance. The income from his considerable coconut estate is bequeathed to the "Samaadhi Foundation" for supporting local writers and promoting literacy in the country.

Despite winning the hearts of the people at the elections, and though he was handsomely built with a pleasant demeanour, apparently he could not win the heart of a suitable dame; or perhaps the ladies of contemporary aristocratic society could not win his heart (we will never know now)—whichever was the reason, he remained an eligible bachelor to the end.
He was hale and hearty and was active—not in politics but in spending more time with his sister's children, enjoying the family life that he was destined never to have.

He passed away on March 16, 2008 (at the age of 59, a prime age for politicians anywhere) after a brief illness.
Since then, almsgiving ceremonies have been held at Sri Dalada Maligawa Temple, Kandy, on the 16th of March every year. This time, it was held on the 13th and 14th of this month.
May he attain Nibbana!