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<h1 class="gmail-title" id="gmail-page-title">Prelude to 1956 General Election</h1>
<div class="gmail-field gmail-field-name-field-bot-strap gmail-field-type-text gmail-field-label-hidden"><div class="gmail-field-items"><div class="gmail-field-item even">SLFP and UNP competing to Champion social causes:</div></div></div>
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<span class="gmail-datetime"><div class="gmail-field gmail-field-name-field-date-publishing gmail-field-type-datetime gmail-field-label-hidden"><div class="gmail-field-items"><div class="gmail-field-item even"><span class="gmail-date-display-single">Friday, November 2, 2018 - 01:00</span></div></div></div></span>
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<div class="gmail-field-item gmail-print-edition gmail-pull-right"><a>Print Edition</a></div><div class="gmail-field gmail-field-name-field-section gmail-field-type-taxonomy-term-reference gmail-field-label-hidden"><div class="gmail-field-items"><div class="gmail-field-item even"><a href="http://www.dailynews.lk/category/features">Features</a></div></div></div><div class="gmail-field gmail-field-name-field-image gmail-field-type-image gmail-field-label-hidden"><div class="gmail-field-items"><div class="gmail-field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso"><a href="http://www.dailynews.lk/sites/default/files/news/2018/11/01/z_p10-Prelude.jpg" title="SWRD Bandaranaike-Sir John Kotelawala" class="gmail-colorbox gmail-init-colorbox-processed gmail-cboxElement"><img src="http://www.dailynews.lk/sites/default/files/news/2018/11/01/z_p10-Prelude.jpg" alt="SWRD Bandaranaike-Sir John Kotelawala" title="" width="800" height="450"></a></div></div></div><div class="gmail-field gmail-field-name-field-image-caption gmail-field-type-text gmail-field-label-hidden"><div class="gmail-field-items"><div class="gmail-field-item even">SWRD Bandaranaike-Sir John Kotelawala</div></div></div><div class="gmail-field gmail-field-name-body gmail-field-type-text-with-summary gmail-field-label-hidden"><div class="gmail-field-items"><div class="gmail-field-item even"><p>The
infamous speech by a junior minister in the UNP government that
vernacular teachers can afford to live with a lower salary as they did
not eat cheese or ham-bacon like ‘refined, extraordinary’ teachers in
the English medium, cost them heavily with Sinhala educated middle class
voting en masse for Bandaranaike, while Tamil teachers voted for
Federal party. The schools then had been categorized language-wise as
Sinhala and English. Teachers in English schools were placed on a higher
scale compared to the rest, compelling the aggrieved to agitate for
parity.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.dailynews.lk/sites/default/files/news/2018/10/31/Tag-Contemporary-Politics-2.jpg" class="gmail-colorbox-load gmail-init-colorbox-load-processed gmail-cboxElement" rel="field_image_gallery"><img alt="" src="http://www.dailynews.lk/sites/default/files/resize/news/2018/10/31/Tag-Contemporary-Politics-2-225x112.jpg" style="width: 225px; height: 112px; float: left;" width="225" height="112"></a>Language
policy was keenly committed on the stage. For the first time in
country’s history communal feelings among the different communities was
deliberately instigated by Sinhalese politicians for gaining political
advantage. The move was spear-headed by the SWRD Bandaranaike led SLFP
campaign in 1956. The consequences of this campaign contributed to the
flare-up, decades later to a civil war.</p><div style="text-align:center;width:100%;height:auto;clear:none" class="gmail-google-auto-placed gmail-ap_container"><ins style="display:block;margin:auto;background-color:transparent" class="gmail-adsbygoogle gmail-adsbygoogle-noablate"><ins id="gmail-aswift_4_expand" style="display:inline-table;border:medium none;height:199px;margin:0px;padding:0px;width:796px;background-color:transparent"><ins id="gmail-aswift_4_anchor" style="display:block;border:medium none;height:199px;margin:0px;padding:0px;width:796px;background-color:transparent"></ins></ins></ins></div>
<p style="text-align:center"><strong>UNP’s response to salary anomaly of Sinhala teachers</strong></p>
<p>The UNP government of John Kotelawala in 1956 had been fast losing
strength. Poor economic performance, neglect of rural masses,
Kotelawala’s elitist style of governance contributing to it. The general
mood back in 1956, had fashioned a proper atmosphere for taking strong
actions against religious and social injustices to village folk. A
neglected lot who expected a change in society were a number of
intelligentsia such as non-English speaking teachers, Ayurvedic
practitioners, peasants and Bhikkus who were brought up under
conventional local culture.</p>
<p>The people had been eagerly waiting to grab an opportunity for social
transformations and restructuring. Almost all top posts of the
plantation industry were packed with well-paid Europeans. A minority of
English educated affluent Sinhalese and Tamils descending from
high-class families in Colombo and Jaffna were absorbed in to positions
of the public sector, which was considered a matter of pride. The living
standards of the people was far below the satisfactory level.
Withdrawal of rice subsidiary in 1953, which the ordinary masses
considered their birth right, poor health conditions, inadequate
housing, messy education, unemployment made the situation worse. In his
report to the UNP annual sessions, Sir Ukwatte Jayasundera, the party
secretary stated, “Everything is ready to face the election, we have
adequate resources, and the backing of the bureaucracy, with the men,
machinery and necessary spirit.” He said, “Sir John, is an undisputed
leader, terror of the idler.” The Matara Local Government polls and the
Buttala and Aluthnuwara by-election victories gave them confidence. This
prompted Prime Minister Sir John Kotelawala to dissolve the Parliament
an year ahead of scheduled date early in February 1956.</p>
<p>Bandaranaike’s new party, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party championed a
popular socialist platform, promised to make Sinhala the official
language. The UNP who hitherto defended the rights of Tamil speaking
minority, mader the biggest blunder by changing its stance in early 1956
to fall in line with SLFP. Bandaranaike responded with a ‘smart’
slogan; “Sinhala only in 24 hours.” The Lanka Sama Samaja Party and the
Communist Party campaigned for parity of status between Sinhala and
Tamil, with both to jointly replacing English as the official language.</p>
<p>The Tamil parties supported the Marxist in claiming parity of status
or to keep English as the official language. Bandaranaike was passionate
in forming an alliance with the Bhasha Peramuna of W. Dahanayake and
several independent groups like IMRA Iriyagolla, T. B. Subasinghe who
came forward to extend their support. SLFP entered into a coalition with
a group of small parties that included Philip Gunawarden’s VLSSP
forming the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP) on February 21, 1956 under
the leadership of SWRD Bandaranaike, the defected former UNP second-in-
command.</p>
<p>Addressing a rally on the eve of election, PM Kotelawala said, “the
UNP is the only party that can implement Sinhalese only but in
implementing this programme still ensure justice and fairplay for all
communities, as it has built up traditions of tolerance and fairplay.
The MEP on the other hand, has within its ranks fanatical and dangerous
ultra-nationalists who will plunge this happy country of ours into a
communal strife and discord.”</p>
<p style="text-align:center"><strong>New language policy</strong></p>
<p>Bandaranaike having realized that it was impossible to defeat UNP
without the support of left parties took the initiative to open
negotiations with major opposition groups to reach a consensus on a
no-contest pact. Tamil MPs and Cabinet Ministers demanded Sir John to
review its new language policy to no avail, since it was suicidal to the
UNP at the impending General Election. They did not falter to accuse
Sir John Kotelawala’s UNP government with linguistic bias and tendered
their resignations. Under Sir John’s premiership 1952--1956, the space
between the UNP and the ordinary people widened. He failed to evaluate
the emergence of economic, language and cultural revival movement.</p>
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</div><p>At one point Sir John declared that
he would continue to be the Prime Minister even if he won only 10 seats
in the parliament. The opposition did not hesitate to point out that
Sir John had already admitted his defeat and accused him of planning a
fascist coup.</p>
<p>In the North and parts of East the campaign was centred on the
Federal Party [established in 1949 by S. J. V. Chelvanayagam as a
breakaway group of Tamil Congress-TC] and TC led by G. G. Ponnambalam.
The reason for this division was GG’s decision to enter D. S.
Senanayaka’s Cabinet. In 1952 only two Federal party members entered
Parliament, but the Tamil Congress secured four seats out of seven.
However, by 1956 the FP became more popular and it emerged as the most
powerful Tamil Party. The Federal Party used this opportunity to
convince Tamils on the harmful effects of ‘Sinhala Only’ official
language.</p>
<p>There were many differences in political interests between Muslims
and Tamils. Muslims at the time considered that Tamils enjoyed more
privileges in the educational sphere than the Muslims. M. A. Abdul Majid
the independent candidate for Kalmunai declared his support to
Bandaranaike’s party and he openly condemned Federalism. A. H. Macan
Marker, an independent contestant for Kalkudah opposed the Federal
Party. However, the Muslim factor was not so dominant during the
election time of 1956. The majority of Muslims was in favour of the
Sinhala Only Policy.</p>
<p>The majority of the daily papers were sympathetic to the UNP except one Sinhala daily.</p>
<p>The Eksath Bhikku Peramuna led by dynamic Buddhist monks, Ven.
Yakkaduwe Pragnarama Thera, Ven. Walpola Rahula Thera, Ven. Baddegama
Wimalawansa Thera, Ven. Henpitigedera Gnanasiha Thera of Ratnapura and
Buddharakkitha of Kelaniya were the leaders of the Bhikku Peramuna. They
presented an action programme shortly before the election to
Bandaranaike advocating:</p>
<p>‘Implement the Buddhist Commission Report; promote the revival of our
arts and craft; take steps to make Sinhala the official language of the
country; bring about a fair distribution of wealth; promote Ayurveda
and all other aspects of our national heritage and the return to a
simpler way of life and refuse government assistance to all institutions
that promote communal disharmony or which destroy peace and equality
among the people’.</p>
<p>The MEP had a setback when two members of Parliament, Bernard
Aluvihare, grandfather of present two UNP junior ministers, and a former
Secretary of the party and H.B. Tenne left the party shortly before the
handing over of nominations for the 1956 elections to contest on the
UNP ticket and lost the seat. In fact Matale was the first result to be
announced.</p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>
<br>-- <br><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature">=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<br><br> Harold F. Schiffman<br><br>Professor Emeritus of <br> Dravidian Linguistics and Culture <br>Dept. of South Asia Studies <br>University of Pennsylvania<br>Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<br><br>Phone: (215) 898-7475<br>Fax: (215) 573-2138 <br><br>Email: <a href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com" target="_blank">haroldfs@gmail.com</a><br><a href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/" target="_blank">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/</a> <br><br>-------------------------------------------------</div></div>