Finding the Nation in Assassination: The Death of S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike and the Assertion of a Sinhalese Sri Lankan Identity

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Notes

1. Manel Abhayaratna, ed., Selected Speeches of Sirimavo Bandaranaike, Sri Lanka: Taylor & Francis, 1996, 1. The quotation is from a speech delivered in 1985.

2. Neil Devotta, Blowback: Linguistic Nationalism, Institutional Decay, and Ethnic Conflict in Sri Lanka, Stanford, CA: Taylor & Francis, 2004, 121–122. See also Neil Devotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist Ideology: Implications for Politics and Conflict Resolution in Sri Lanka, Washington, DC: Taylor & Francis, 2007, 17–19.

3. K.M. de Silva, “Sri Lanka: The Bandaranaikes in the Island's Politics and Public Life. Reflections on the Centenary of S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike's Birth,” The Round Table: The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs 350, 1999: 241–280: 261.

4. See for example Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah, Buddhism Betrayed? Religion, Politics, and Violence in Sri Lanka, Chicago, IL: Taylor & Francis, 1992; and Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah, Sri Lanka: Ethnic Fratricide and the Dismantling of Democracy, Chicago, IL: Taylor & Francis, 1991, 71–75.

5. W. Howard Wriggins, “Impediments to Unity in New Nations: The Case of Ceylon,” The American Political Science Review 2, 1961, 313–320: 314.

6. D.K. Rangnekar, “The Nationalist Revolution in Ceylon,” Pacific Affairs 4, 1960, 361–374: 362.

7. Speeches and Writings: S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, Ceylon: Taylor & Francis, 1963, 161.

8. The percentage of Tamils in government service at this time is debated. D. K. Rangnekar claims that “Tamils held about 70 percent of the government posts,” while Howard Wriggins argues that the figure is “roughly 22 per cent”; Wriggins acknowledges that others have higher figures and explains it by pointing out that as a minority Tamils are “visible” (see Rangnekar, “Nationalist Revolution,” 366fn; Wriggins, Ceylon, 235).

9. For a discussion of the report, see Wriggins, Ceylon, 195–197.

10. Wriggins, Ceylon, 110.

11. The phrase “Pandora's box” is used in this context by John Richardson, Paradise Poisoned: Learning about Conflict, Terrorism and Development from Sri Lanka's Civil Wars, Kandy, Sri Lanka: Taylor & Francis, 2005, 159.

12. There are a number of good treatments of the 1956–1959 period. In addition to works listed elsewhere in this essay, see Nira Wickramasinghe, Sri Lanka in the Modern Age: A History of Contested Identities, Honolulu, HI: Taylor & Francis, 2006, 222–223, 267–74.

13. James Manor, The Expedient Utopian: Bandaranaike and Ceylon, Cambridge: Taylor & Francis, 1989.

14. New York Times, 12 April 1956, 4.

15. Time, 23 April 1956, available at: http://www.wilpattuhouse.com/MiscStuff/time_before66/19560423_AuspiciousHour.html, accessed 21 July 2014.

16. New York Times, 12 April 1956, 4.

17. Quoted in Wiggins, Ceylon, 262.

18. Wriggins, Ceylon, 262.

19. The best biography of Chelvanayakam is A. Jeyaratnam Wilson, S.J.V. Chelvanayakam and the Crisis of Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism, 1947–1977, Honolulu, HI: Taylor & Francis, 1994.

20. For a discussion of the language crisis during Bandaranaike's rule, see Wriggins, Ceylon, 259–270. For a discussion of the regional councils and the evolution of Bandaranaike's thinking on federalism and devolution of power, see K. M. de Silva, Devolution in Sri Lanka: S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike and the Debate on Power Sharing, Sri Lanka: Taylor & Francis, 1996. The book also includes the text of the Bandaranaike‐Chelvanayakam pact.

21. Wriggins, Ceylon, 266.

22. The London Times registered a Tamil frustration with Bandaranaike's changing stance: “Leaders of the Federal Party … say the Prime Minister has gone back on the undertakings given to them,” “Tamils’ ‘Fight for Survival’,” Times, 15 August 1957, 7.

23. Speeches and Writings: S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, 259.

24. K.M. de Silva makes a similar point in arguing that Bandaranaike “was no ideologue,” although incapable of controlling forces he led (see de Silva, “Sri Lanka,” 264).

25. Rangnekar, “Nationalist Revolution,” 368.

26. For detailed accounts of the assassination and subsequent legal proceedings, see A.C. Alles, Famous Criminal Cases of Sri Lanka (3): The Assassination of Prime Minister S.W.R D. Bandaranaike, Sri Lanka: Taylor & Francis, 1979; Lucian G. Weeramantry, Assassination of a Prime Minister: The Bandaranaike Murder Case, Geneva: Taylor & Francis, 1969. For a literary perspective, see E.C.T. Candappa, The Palm of his Hand, New Delhi: Taylor & Francis, 2003.

27. Alles, Famous Criminal Cases, 186.

28. Report … by the Commission on Certain Matters Connected with the Assassination of the Late Prime Minister Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike (Sessional Paper 3): Ceylon: Government Press, 1965, 58.

29. Yasmine Gooneratne, Relative Merits: A Personal Memoir of the Bandaranaike Family of Sri Lanka, London: Taylor & Francis, 1986, 206.

30. Except where noted, information on the conspirators and conspiracy comes from Alles, Famous Criminal Cases; Regarding the pamphlets, see ibid., 57–58, 63–4.

31. For information on the ventures, see Alles, Famous Criminal Cases, 50–56.

32. Robert N. Kearney, “Ceylon: The Continuing Crisis,” Asian Survey 2, 1963, 123–127: 123.

33. Abhayaratna, Selected Speeches, 156, 154 and 159–60.

34. For discussions about Dharmapala, see Devotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist Ideology, 14–16; H.L. Seneviratne, The Work of Kings: The New Buddhism in Sri Lanka, Chicago, IL: Taylor & Francis, 1999; and Tambiah, Buddhism Betrayed? Seneviratne has also published an interesting article on identity and history which discusses the importance of the Sinhalese Buddhist text, the Mahavamsa, in defining Sinhaleseness; see H.L. Seneviratne, “Identity and the Conflation of Past and Present,” in H.L. Seneviratne, ed., Identity, Consciousness and the Past: Forging of Caste and Community in India and Sri Lanka, Delhi: Taylor & Francis, 1997, 6–13.

35. D.C. Vijayavardhana [wijewardena], The Revolt in the Temple: Composed to Commmemorate 2500 Years of Land, the Race and the Faith, Colombo: Taylor & Francis, 1953, 25, 676.

36. Ibid., 440.

37. Ibid., 436.

38. Ibid., 452.

39. Tessa J. Bartholomeausz and Chandra R. de Silva, eds., Buddhist Fundamentalism and Minority Identities in Sri Lanka, Albany, NY: Taylor & Francis, 1998, 3.

40. Howard Wriggins, “Ceylon's Time of Troubles,” Far Eastern Survey: American Institute of Pacific Relations 3, 1959, 33–39: 35.

41. Rangnekar, “Nationalist Revolution,” 369 [his translation of the term].

42. Robert N. Kearney, “The New Political Crises of Ceylon,” Asian Survey 4, 1962, 19–27: 20–1.

43. For a good overview of her time in power, see K.M. de Silva, A History of Sri Lanka, New Delhi: Taylor & Francis, 2005, 645–680. A Bandaranaike has been in power, either as Prime Minister or President, from 1956 to 1959, 1960 to 1965, 1970 to 1977 and 1994 to 2005. In addition, daughters, sons, nephews, cousins, and in‐laws have been involved in government service, which prompted The Guardian to note, tongue‐in‐cheek, that this was “The last word in family planning,” as reported in Time, “Sri Lanka: All in the Family,” 15 December 1975, available at: content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,879520,00.html, accessed 21 July 2014.

44. “Mr. Bandaranaike Forming New Ceylon Cabinet,” Times, 12 April 1956, 8.

45. Krishna Prasanna Mukerji, Madame Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike, Colombo: Taylor & Francis, 1960, 69.

46. “Ceylon: Tearful Ruler,” Time, 1 August 1960, available at: http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,869666,00.html, accessed 21 July 2014. Copies of this edition were seized and banned by her government. See also New York Times, 3 August 1960, 8.

47. “Ceylon: Delayed Revolt,” Time, 3 March 1961, available at: http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,897670,00.html, accessed 21 July 2014.

48. New York Times, 3 October 1960, 4.

49. Kearney, “The New Political Crises of Ceylon,” 21–22.

50. “Ceylon Mobilizes to Quell Unrest: Volunteer Units Called Out in Tamil Language Crisis,” New York Times, 27 April 1961, 3.

51. Robert. N. Kearney, “Ceylon: A Year of Consolidation,” Asian Survey, 2, 1964, 730.

52. “Ceylon: Sinhala without Tears,” Time, 5 May 1961, available at: http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,872330,00.html, accessed 21 July 2014.

53. Kearney, “Ceylon: A Year of Consolidation,” 729–734: 729–30.

54. Richardson, Paradise Poisoned, 202. Three years later the Leader of the House, C.P. de Silva (1912–72), left the SLFP, noting that her decision to ally with Troskyites had pushed the country “towards unadulterated totalitarianism [and t]his … is the bitter truth which no subterfuge, not even the device of diverting pubic attention towards a vague promise of giving Buddhism its ‘rightful place,’ can conceal,” Times, 31 December 1964, 9.

55. “Ceylon Tamils Win on Use of Language,” New York Times, 12 January 1966, 10.

56. K.M. de Silva, “Sri Lanka: The Bandaranaikes in the Island's Politics,” 268.

57. Time, 8 June 1970.

58. “Ceylon's Police and Army Fight Rebels with Terror,” New York Times, 25 April 1971, 1.

59. “Ceylon Becomes the Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka,” New York Times, 23 May 1972, 3. See Chapter II of the Sri Lankan constitution, available at: http://www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/text.jsp?file_id=186851, accessed 21 July 2014.

60. De silva, History of Sri Lanka, 673.

61. Her promise is reported speech and not a direct quotation; it is possible she may have been referring to Tamils who worked the tea estates rather than the so‐called Jaffna Tamils (see “Ceylon: Dry‐Eyed and Flying High,” Time, 8 June 1970, available at: http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,909315,00.html, accessed 21 July 2014).

62. K.M. de Silva, Reaping the Whirlwind: Ethnic Conflict, Ethnic Politics in Sri Lanka, New Delhi: Taylor & Francis, 1998, 131–136.

63. Richardson, Paradise Poisoned, 297.

64. Abhayaratna, Selected Speeches, 113.

65. Abhayaratna, Selected Speeches, 114.

66. Victor Ivan, Paradise in Tears: A Journey through History and Conflict, Colombo: Taylor & Francis, 2008, 140.

67. “Mrs. Bandaranaike Fighting Toughest Election Campaign of Career,” New York Times, 19 July 1977, 2.

68. Gooneratne, Relative Merits, no page (front materials titled “The Bandranaike Family Tree”).

Additional information

Funding

The American Institute for Sri Lankan Studies

Notes on contributors

Ian Barrow

Ian Barrow is a Professor of History at Middlebury College, Vermont. He is a former chair of the history department, former director of the International Studies program, former director of the South Asian Studies program, and a former director for the Arabic program at Middlebury. He has published two books, both with Oxford University Press (Delhi), and has published articles in Modern Asian Studies, Imago Mundi, South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies, among others.

The American Institute for Sri Lankan Studies funded research for this article. Earlier versions were delivered at the European Conference on Modern South Asian Studies, the South Asia Conference at the University of Wisconsin‐Madison, Cornell University, and the Department of Sociology at the University of Delhi.