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Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga has lashed out at the Rajapaksa government again. She says it has forgotten the legacy of her late legendary mother and the world s first woman prime minister, Sirima Bandaranaike, the fiftieth anniversary of whose first election as PM fell the other day. Her ire may be understandable in that the SLFP-led government in power did not celebrate that event on a grand scale.
In discussing legacies of leaders, political milieux and vicissitudes their parties have undergone over the years need to be taken into consideration. The SLFP had remained the party of the Bandaranaikes since its inception until a few years ago when Chandrika was smoked out. During that period, the legacies of the Bandaranaikes received the pride of place to the neglect of others`.
While the Bandaranaikes were ruling the roost in the SLFP, so to speak, the Rajapaksas who were also instrumental in founding that party were completely forgotten because of a rivalry between their offspring who are at daggers drawn. Today, at the helm of the SLFP, the Bandaranaikes have been replaced by the Rajapaksas, who are obsessed with perpetuating the memories of their kith and kin. This is not a phenomenon peculiar to the SLFP. The UNP has apparently forgotten the Senanayakes. Sidelined, Dudley died a worried man Rukman has been reduced to a political nonentity. Remembrances of the Senanayakes are limited to annual floral tributes and some commemoration lectures.
Political parties, no doubt, should remember their past leaders and their contribution to the country but dynastic politics, in our book, is indicative of a kind of anachronistic primitivism endemic to baked democracies in the world, especially in Asia. The UNP is at present free from family domination, though it is in the throes of a leadership crisis. The SLFP is still going through the so-called dynastic cycles with no end in sight.
As for the late Mrs. B, there have been unfortunate instances of even her near and dear ones ignoring her legacy at times. Her son, the late Anura Bandaranaike had many a row with her and even took her to courts over a party tussle. He did not care two hoots about the fact that his mother, who was the world`s first woman PM, should be the undisputed leader of the SLFP. That longstanding intra-party conflict culminated in his expulsion. He joined the UNP and became a minister of the Wijetunga government following the assassination of President Ranasinghe Premadasa. Chandrika, too, left her mother`s party over a row. Ironically, she did not back her illustrious mother`s candidacy at the 1988 presidential election. Nor did she oppose it. She remained overseas.
Chandrika has said though the government has forgotten Mrs. B`s legacy, the ordinary people haven`t. But, if that is the case, why did Chandrika have to take over the SLFP leadership from Mrs. B in the early 1990s to propel the party to power in 1994? If the people had gratefully remembered Mrs. B`s legacy, they would have voted the SLFP back to power under her leadership and not that of her daughter Chandrika, who had deserted the party and worked against it.
On the one hand, politico-economic compulsions of the people and a host of other factors usually take precedence over the legacies of political leaders at elections, however great they may be Churchill, for instance, was defeated at the first election he faced after winning WW II and, on the other, the masses are capable of seeing through the sinister schemes of such leaders` wily progeny who try to bask in the reflected glory of their late parents, whose memories they seek to perpetuate in a bid to gain political mileage.
At the 2004 general election, the current JVP Propaganda Secretary Vijitha Herath, it may be recalled, obtained 215,540 preferential votes, beat the late Anura Bandaranaike (198,444) and came first on the UPFA list in the Gampaha District, the stronghold of the Bandaranaikes in spite of their legacies. At the last presidential election Gen. Sarath Fonseka, whose candidacy Chandrika backed to the hilt, polled only 434,506 (37.26%) in that district as opposed to her b te noire Mahinda Rajapaksa`s 718,716 (61.66%)!
The best way to honour the late leaders and perpetuate their legacies is for their parties and children to follow their policies instead of holding grand commemorative events. Mrs. B was not infallible like all other leaders. She made mistakes and succumbed to arrogance of power at times. But, the fact remains that overall she was a great leader who, in spite of being blue-blooded, felt for the ordinary masses and made numerous sacrifices for them she even gave up part of her family wealth including ancestral land. Most of all, she conducted herself as a real stateswoman and never aided and abetted in plundering public property for the benefit of cronies and crooks. Not even her worst enemies accused her of such things. But, can the same be said of others who claim to be following in her footsteps and demanding that her legacy be preserved?
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senevi13
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 35
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 26 Jul 2010 16:13:41 GMT Report for Abuse
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| Good article Madame.Please read & learn something atleast to behave intelligently in the future.You have tarnished the image of those well respected parents by going against her own party, not once several times & still expect to reciprocate for the legacy. People of this country will be ever grateful for them |
AnuD
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 27 Jul 2010 02:02:14 GMT Report for Abuse
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When Mrs B came to politics she did not know anything.
SO, it is like Sri Lanka on Autopilot until she learns politics.
Now, it is a family affiar whether it is SLFP or UNP or what ever.
they are paid a salary and lot of perks to do that job which they don't have any experience except the inheritance.
Why any other job is not that important ?
they are not doing it free. they are paid heavy. |
noworries
Joined: Mar 2008
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 28 Jul 2010 11:49:39 GMT Report for Abuse
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But, the fact remains that overall she was a great leader
Actually, the evidence does not bear this out. JVP uprising of 1971 took place on her watch. The root cause for that was lack of job opportunities. To create job opportunities you have to invest. By closing the door to foreign investment because of her getting into bed with leftist parties, she made a bad situation much much worse, and arguably, was partly the reason for the rise of LTTE in late 70's.
When people have jobs and a future, they don't care that much about ethnic issues. Look at Malaysia, where there is a higher proportion of Chinese and Indians (Tamils included) than there are Tamils in Sri Lanka but Bhasa Malaysia is the official language which everyone is forced to learn and there still is positive discrimination in favour of Malays, and yet, there is peace. My argument is that when there is a shrinking cake (as in the Mrs. B era) people find all sorts of reasons for fighting harder for their share.
Both Mr. and Mrs. B are largely to blame for all sorts of troubles that are still with us, e.g. JVP problem which simply won't go away. |
saleemtariq
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28 Jul 2010 15:47:46 GMT Report for Abuse
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The SLFP is still going through the so-called dynastic cycles with no end in sight.
The history is bound to repeat when the effects of pressure from abroad hit the economy, employment and possibly ICJ. The attitude that 'hitting Tamils will make Sinhalese happy' cannot provide employment or feed anyone's stomach. Bandaranayake's dynasty founded on Sinhala Only' lasted for 5 decades but Rajapakse's 'war on terrorism' will have a shorter life proportional to their respective successes or failures of the core policies. |
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