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<h1 class="gmail-title" id="gmail-page-title">1956’s game of thrones</h1>
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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 30, 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/2018/11/29/z_p10-1956.jpg" title="1956’s game of thrones" class="gmail-colorbox gmail-init-colorbox-processed gmail-cboxElement"><img src="http://www.dailynews.lk/sites/default/files/news/2018/11/29/z_p10-1956.jpg" alt="" title="" width="800" height="348"></a></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>American
author and screenwriter Ray Bradbury famously said, ‘One should not
belong to a political party - one should be an individual, standing in
the middle. Anyone that belongs to a party stops thinking.’</p>
<p><a href="http://www.dailynews.lk/sites/default/files/news/2018/11/27/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/2018/11/27/Tag-Contemporary-Politics-2-200x99.jpg" style="width: 200px; height: 99px; float: left;" width="200" height="99"></a>Further
to our article under, “Prelude to 1956 General Election: SLFP and UNP
competing to Champion social causes” appeared on Friday 16th, discussing
the lead-up to 1956 polls, here we present the results and the
immediate aftermath of the revolutionary changes it brought in social,
economic and political spheres of the island that achieved freedom from
four and a half years of foreign domination.</p>
<p style="text-align:center"><strong>Elections over three days</strong></p>
<p>The election unlike today was held over three days with a gap of
couple days in between, on the first day on 5th April, the ruling party
in the absence of a powerful Elections Commissioner, decided to poll the
seats most advantageous and easily winnable by UNP. In fact out of a
total constituencies of 95, PM Sir John’s Dodangaslanda and all Cabinet
ministers seats totaling 37 were included on this day so that the
electorate could be influenced on a result favourable to them: and the
oppositions strongholds, like Attanagalle to the last or third day. This
calculated move boomeranged on them when Bandaranaike won 29, leaving
only eight for UNP, that included PM and just one minister, MD Banda
winning. The government failed to return a single member in the next two
days. On the third day SWRD won with a majority of 45,000 votes.</p>
<p>The year 1956 was widely accepted as a landmark because the
prevailing atmosphere had created an appropriate climate for changing
strongly felt religious and social and ‘injustices’. The results of the
election proved that the electorate had been enthusiastically waiting to
grab a chance for it.</p>
<p>Language policy was one of the main issues at the time. Most of
Sinhalese and Tamils were held up without any significant place in the
society.</p>
<p>Foreign invaders, who plundered this island from the beginning of
16th century thought that a proper administration was not possible
without untying Buddhism from the people.</p>
<p>Especially under Portuguese and Dutch rulers, a slow destruction of
Buddhism and Hinduism was taking place and the system of Education in
temples or Pirivena was neglected. Traditional values were allowed to
perish. A new class emerged who embraced Christian faith and changed
their lifestyles sharply.</p>
<p style="text-align:center"><strong>The results of 1956</strong></p>
<p>The result of the 1956 Election was a surprise. Even Bandaranaike did
not imagine that he could form a government without the Marxists
support. However, the results proved otherwise. Out of the 95 seats, the
MEP won 51, and UNP only eight seats. LSSP and CP won 14 and 3
respectively while Independents won eight. While Federal Party secured
10 seats the Tamil Congress could retain only one. In addition to 51 the
government appoints six members to their side.</p>
<p>The UNP’s defeat at the 1956 Election could be attributed to economic
hardships people underwent since 1953. The gap between the ruling party
and the common man widened systematically under Sir John. Though, it
altered the nature of politics in the country from the exclusiveness
that had portrayed up till then or the domination by privileged that
represented Parliament, except for a negligible few from working and
middle class.</p>
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</div><p>The state of a large number of
intelligentsia such as Bhikkus, teachers, Ayurvedic doctors who were not
English educated and brought up under traditional local culture was
pathetic. Catching up with key standards, the language barrier was a
huge hurdle for them. The living standard of the majority of people was
far from acceptable levels. Increased price of food, chaotic education
poor health facilities, housing, and urban unemployment made their
situation worse.</p>
<p style="text-align:center"><strong>Culture and language issues</strong></p>
<p>With the MEP led by the Sri Lanka Freedom Party winning the elections
in April 1956 and Bandaranaike becoming the Prime Minister, the policy
direction of the government placed an emphasis on indigenous culture and
language, and it campaigned for nationalisation of major resources and
assets.</p>
<p>The new Government set up heavy industries for the manufacture of
cement, steel, and textiles. The National Planning Council that was
established in October 1956, announced a ten-year (1959–1968)
development programme for the entire economy, aiming at exploiting
resources at a most favourable level. A year later, the
Bandaranaike-Chelvanayakam Pact which proposed the creation of Regional
Councils as a solution to the communal disagreements was signed between
Bandaranaike and Chelvanayakam, the leader of the Northern political
party. However, due to heavy resistance by Sinhalese extremist forces
and main Opposition UNP it was abrogated in May 1958. The abandonment
led to anxiety and friction between the two communities causing several
rounds of ethnic violence finally leading to a thirty-year civil war and
loss of 60,000 lives.</p>
<p>Prime Minister SWRD was assassinated in September 1959 and W.
Dahanayake was sworn in as the PM. With the winning of the Elections in
March 1960, Dudley Senanayake was sworn in as the Prime Minister. It was
a Government without a majority and was short-lived; it lost the vote
on Statement of the Crown and was dissolved for holding fresh elections
in July 1960. Dudley’s inability to form a coalition; lack of minimum
seats required to defeat an opposition motion of no confidence: it was
the practice under the Westminster parliamentary democracy.</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>Sirimavo Bandaranaike’s SLFP won the General Elections held in July 1960, she was sworn in as the PM.</p>
<p>The result of the 1956 general election demonstrated that people had
been enthusiastically waiting to grab an opportunity for this change. It
is generally accepted that the year 1956 was a landmark in history
because it had created an appropriate climate for taking strong actions
against social injustices. The new movements were triumphant; it
defeated anti-social elements which had hampered the progress of the
country. Under foreign rule, traditional value systems were allowed to
decay: a steady destruction of culture was carried out and the early
pattern of Education in Pirivena (temple schools) was neglected.</p>
<p>Both education an administration were controlled by Christians, and
in course of time, they were able to dominate public life to a great
extent. A new class that embraced Christianity and followed English
education emerged, and their lifestyles and behaviour sharply deviated
from that of the common people of this land. There were quite a few
factors behind UNP’s loss in1956. It was cautious but slow in meeting
demands from the poor. Heavy economic burdens was a cause as some
columnist/analysts of the day pointed out. However, it is not fair to
say that UNP had completely ignored the above. DS Senanayake government
brought in quite a few progressive acts. In fact, what happened was the
gap between the UNP leaders and the ordinary people widened steadily
under Sir John’s regime. It failed to assess the forces behind the
language movement and the cultural resurgence.</p>
<p style="text-align:center"><strong>Assassinations</strong></p>
<p>Sixty two years are a long time in one’s life; and not a single MP
who was in parliament in 1956 is alive today. Assassins destroyed two
outstanding personalities of that parliament being victims of the
socio-political forces they themselves had unsuspectingly motivated. A
misguided Sinhala extremist monk, Somarama who had been brainwashed by
his highly corrupt political manipulator, the Chief of Kelaniya temple,
Buddharakkitha who supported SWRD’s ’56 campaign came forward to
eliminate the PM motivated by his own business interests. Next was
Appapillai Amirthalingam leader of Tamils, a gentleman politician was
killed by Tiger gunmen of Prabhakaran in 1989. Amirthalingam was one
among them who had been a parliamentarian in 1956</p></div></div></div></div></div></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>