Friday, 07th November 2014
Sensing that his end was near DM handed over to DA all the worldly goods in his possession at that time – 18 cents, a fountain pen and a huge fund of abiding affection for him in the hearts of the people the deep south of Sri Lanka.
By Carlo Fonseka
Don Alwin Rajapaksa, father of well known political figures Speaker Chamal, President Mahinda, Defence Secretary Gotabaya and Minister Basil, was surely the most providently fertile and purposefully dominant political personality in Sri Lanka in the 20th century. On November 7, 2005, on the occasion of his 38th death anniversary, I concluded a radio talk by saying: "After a brief illness DA passed to his rest on the 7th of November 1967. Some 38 years after his death his political vision and legacy and culture are very much alive, embodied in particular in the person of his son, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. In him the Rajapaksas of Ruhuna are at last poised to fulfill their final political destiny. "
As it turned out, their destiny was nothing less than the heroic purpose once fulfilled by Dutugamunu in the second century BC, namely, the liberation of our motherland and our people from foreign domination through the LTTE. When Mahinda Rajapaksa was elected President on the 18th of November 2005, the war launched by the Tamil Tigers for carving out a substantial part of the Island for establishing Tamil Eelam was in full swing. For six reasons, I for one, felt that the Tamil Tigers were almost invincible.
Six Reasons
First: The determined, unwavering, resolute leadership Velupillai Prabakaran gave the Movement he dictatorially and ruthlessly controlled. "Give me Eelam or give me death" was his guiding principle and battle-cry to the last.
Second: The LTTE had a modern four-dimensional fighting force operating on land, in the air, on the surface of the seas, and under water. Defeating such a formidable, dedicated force seemed to me next to impossible.
Third: The LTTE had well-trained guerilla outfits which regularly pulled off paralyzing acts of destruction and carnage.
Fourth: The LTTE had the most dedicated and daring suicide squads in living memory.
Fifth: The LTTE’s income by fair and foul means was inestimable. One thing they did not lack was resources.
Sixth: The LTTE had in place a superlative propaganda machine which successfully demonized and criminalized the Government of Sri Lanka in the eyes of the western world.
DA’s Sons
Two sons of DA Rajapaksa – Mahinda and Gotabaya – by their unyielding, unwavering, unshakable leadership inspired and mobilised the security forces of the country to vanquish the Tigers, notwithstanding their overt and covert powerful western supporters. By all available accounts the father of these warrior-sons was almost a peacenik – a gentle, caring, compassionate, un-ambitious dedicated farmer. Folklore has it that when his elder brother DM Rajapaksa, Member for Hambantota in the State Council died at age 48 creating a vacancy, a group of villagers had to go to the paddy field DA was ploughing , pull him out of the mud to get him to sign the nomination papers for the election to fill the vacancy. But so loved was DM the Lion of Ruhuna that no one wished to contest his successor DA. So DA began his illustrious political career as an uncontested representative of his people. Fortunately for Sri Lanka, which has constantly been on the brink of political instability during the 66 years since Independence, his sons were made of sterner stuff. As Sir Ivor Jennings wrote in The Queen’s Government in 1953: "… Politics is one of the sweated industries demanding not exactly blood, tears and sweat but hard and unremitting toil. The remuneration,considering the expense is poor. It can be justified only in terms of prestige and power. If politicians were not ambitious, there would be no politicians".
Courage
A courage bordering almost on foolhardiness is a trait President Mahinda seems to have inherited from his father. In the parliamentary elections held in 1947 DA, under the influence of his friend S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, contested the Beliatta electorate and won it. In the DS Senanayake Government, he sat on the government benches with Mr. B. On the 12th of July 1951 when Mr. B crossed the floor of the House into the political unknown, unbeknown to him DA followed him, the only one to do so. That is why Mr. B spontaneously exclaimed: "I thought it was my shadow, but I see it is you DA." From the fact that DA crossed the floor even without the knowledge of Mr. B, I infer that although DA followed Mr. B in crossing the floor, he was doing his own thing – implementing an independent political decision. DA was a founder member of the SLFP when it was inaugurated on the 2nd of 1951. So the SLFP is a party of the Rajapaksas, too, now more so than ever before. DA inherited his politics from DM and DM began his political career by campaigning vigorously for his kinsman and friend Dr. SA Wickramasinghe, the future leader of the Communist party of Sri Lanka who successfully contested the Morowaka seat in the State Council in 1931. In 1936 DM himself was elected to the Hambantota seat with "an astounding majority". After a spectacular career when DM suddenly fell ill with a heart-attack and was on his deathbed, DA was by his side. Sensing that his end was near DM handed over to DA all the worldly goods in his possession at that time – 18 cents, a fountain pen and a huge fund of abiding affection for him in the hearts of the people the deep south of Sri Lanka. This affectionis the intangible treasure that DA inherited from DM. With compound interest President Mahinda inherited it from his father. That explains how he won the presidential election of 2010 with such an "astounding majority". If there is one thing that amiable President Mahinda knows better than any other presidential candidate, it is how to win friends and influence people. DA would have been immensely proud of his son.
From : http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=113631
