Reminiscing Father of the Nation
Wijayapala MENDIS
The only national leader to be crowned ‘Father of the Nation’, D S
Senanayake laboured for a self-sufficient Sri Lanka while being still
under the jackboot of the imperialists.
|
D S Senanayake |
He championed the freedom struggle pioneered by such patriots as E W
Perera, Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan and others. Due to far-sightedness
indomitable courage and straightforward policies, he was able to win
independence without shedding a drop of blood when it was a struggle
between life and death for other countries.
A humanist by nature, D S enlisted the support of his brother, F R
Senanayake, to propagate the message of temperance throughout Hapitigam
Korale. For him it was a broad moral revivalist movement, which the
colonial administration misunderstood to be anti-government.
The result was the large scale imprisonment of all national leaders.
His imprisonment inevitably drove him to national politics.
D S gave pride of place to national identity - the indigenous culture
and local crafts and industries. Dedicated to espouse the cause of
agriculture, he lost no time in setting up mega colonization schemes
such as Gal oya, Minneriya, Kantale, Elahera, Minipe and Giritale to
mention a few.
Commencing his ministerial career as Minister of Agriculture and
lands in the State Council, he rose to dizzy heights culminating in
premiership in Independent Sri Lanka.
Testimony to his illustrious career still vibrant are, formation of
United National Party, inauguration of the work of Anuradhapura New
town, construction of Senanayake Samudraya, renovations to Mahiyangana
Chaitiya etc.
Translated by M Kittanpahuwa
|
