Veteran journalist, author, academic, political activist and educationist Jayatilleke de Silva (80) passed away yesterday after a brief illness. He was a former Chief Editor of the Daily News and the Sunday Observer.
Born in Ambalangoda in 1938, De Silva was a graduate of the Colombo University. His first profession was teaching. After a brief stint as the Principal of Deniyaya Central College, he left the teaching to pursue a full time career in politics from the Sri Lanka Communist Party, of which he was an active member for a few decades.
His first foray into journalism was from the Aththa newspaper of the Communist Party. He soon earned a reputation as an author and translator of several seminal works on socialism and other trends in politics. His most well-known work is the massive three-volume Sinhala translation of Karl Marx’ definitive treatise on the socialist model “Das Kapital”.
The entire print run of the three volumes was sold out. After retiring from politics, he re-entered journalism, joining the Daily News in the late 1990s and becoming its Editor-in-Chief in 2001. He was appointed Editor of the Daily News again from 2003-2004 and also held the post of Chief Editor, Sunday Observer for a few years. He was well known for his sharp editorials and journalistic acumen.
After leaving Lake House, he continued to write political columns to both English and Sinhala newspapers. A fearless writer and a critical analyst of contemporary politics, his Cross Currents column in the Daily News was eagerly awaited by the readers. He also spoke regularly at political forums and discussions on current issues.
He is survived by his wife Sunila and three children Thushari, Himali and Asanka. He was the uncle of Pramod de Silva, a former editor of the Daily News and its present Consultant Editor.
His remains will lie at his residence 42/2, 2nd Lane, Koswatte Road, Nawala, Rajagiriya, for the public to pay their last respects. Funeral will be on Thursday evening at Nawala cemetery.
Add new comment