Don Benjamin Rupasinghe Gunawardena (12 March 1904 - 26 December 1971: si, රොබට් ගුණවර්ධන), popularly as Robert Gunawardena, was a

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

Marxist Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...

politician and diplomat. He was one of the founders of the

Lanka Sama Samaja Party The Lanka Sama Samaja Party, often abbreviated as LSSP (Literal translation, literally: Lanka Socialist Party, Sinhalese language, Sinhala: ලංකා සම සමාජ පක්ෂය, Tamil language, Tamil: லங்கா சமசமா� ...

, which was the first political party in

, and served as the long time MP for Kotte. He was the leader of the

Suriya-Mal Movement The Suriya-Mal Movement was formed in the British colony of Ceylon to sell ''Suriya'' flowers on Poppy Day for the benefit of Sri Lankan ex-servicemen. The movement became anti-imperialist in character, and was also involved in relief work during ...

and served as ambassador to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

between 1965 and 1970.

Early life and education

Robert was born on 12 March 1904, to an affluent family in

Kosgama Kosgama is a small town in Colombo District, Sri Lanka. Located 46 km from Colombo, on the A4 (Colombo - Avissawella) highway, it is also served by the Kelani Valley Railway Line. The town is administered by the Seethawaka Avissawella, ( si, ...

, Sri Lanka. The fourth of seven children of Don Jacolis Rupasinghe Gunawardena, known as Boralugoda Ralahamy, and Dona Liyanora née Gunasekera, he was the younger brother of Harry and

Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...

. He attended the government school in

Hanwella Hanwella is a town in Sri Lanka, situated about from Colombo, the commercial capital of the country. Hanwella lies on the Colombo-Ratnapura main road, on the banks of the Kelani River. Geography This historic city belongs to the Colombo distr ...

for his primary education and went on to the Prince of Wales' College, Moratuwa however following his father's false arrest for allegedly being an agitator in the

1915 Ceylonese riots Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January *January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction". *January 1 * ...

the family decided to withdraw the brothers from the school and enroll them at Ananda College, Colombo. In addition to education, he played cricket, volleyball, and was a member of the Cadet Corps from 1922-23. In the late 1920s Harry, Robert and their younger sister Caroline became active in nationalist youth groups which were demanding democratic reforms with the ultimate goal of complete independence. Robert was married to Seelakalyana Rupa Kottegoda who was born in Kothhena, Kottegoda, Badulla. She was studied in Tebuwana School, Panadura Sri Sumangala Balika Vidyalaya, St. Bridget's Convent, Colombo and Visakha Vidyalaya, Colombo. Their parents opposed the marriage particularly Rupa's mother's only younger brother, Dr. M. V. P. Peiris who later became the Minister of Health. However, Robert and Rupa were married on March 7, 1947 when Rupa was 23 years old and Robert was 43 years old. The couple had two daughters: Sriyani, Yasomi; and two sons: Vijith and Rohith. Rupa contested the Kolonnawa electorate from the Lanka Sama Samaja Party in the 1960 general election. On the morning of December 27, 1971, Robert inspected a banana plantation in the morning and came home at around 11.00 am saying that he was ill. Rupa arranged for him to be hospitalized, but he was reluctant to go to the hospital and died at home.

Political career

In 1931 he campaigned for the

Universal suffrage Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political stanc ...

and formed ''The Cosmopolitan Crew'' of Lauries Road, Bambalapkiya Association. In 1935 he was an activist in Colombo Youth League and one of the founders of the

.Leslie GoonewardeneCharles Wesley Ervin, ''Tomorrow is Ours:the Trotskyist Movement in India and Ceylon, 1935-48'', Colombo: Social Scientists Association, 2006 Then in 1938, he slipped out from

British Ceylon British Ceylon ( si, බ්‍රිතාන්‍ය ලංකාව, Britānya Laṃkāva; ta, பிரித்தானிய இலங்கை, Biritthāṉiya Ilaṅkai) was the British Crown colony of present-day Sri Lanka between ...

to the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

and was delegate to Indian National Congress in

Haripura Haripura is a village located near Kadod town in the Surat district of Gujarat, India. It is around 13 kilometres north east of Bardoli. During the Indian independence movement, it was the venue of annual session of the Indian National Congress ...

. In 1942, Robert was arrested in British India and brought to Ceylon where he was jailed from 1942 to 1945. After released from jail, he led the 1953 Ceylonese Hartal in 1953. The government issued a warrant for Robert's arrest and ordered DIG Sidney Zoysa to kill him or bring him to Army Headquarters. Robert hid with his faithful friend Danny Hettiarachchi. At the same time, Zoysa surrounded Robert's garden on false rumors that 500 guns were hidden. Later in 1947, Robert was elected as the Member of Parliament for the Kotte Electoral District and remained its elected member until 1960. However he left the

, joined the

Mahajana Eksath Peramuna The Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (People's United Front) is a political party in Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), for ...

and was elected representing the Kottawa Electoral District in 1960 and remained its elected member until 1964. In 1964 he left the

and became the leader of the Suiyamal Movement. Robert lost the first general election in 1965, and then received a message from Prime Minister Dudley Senanayake to be an ambassador. In 1965 he was elected as a member of the

Colombo Municipal Council The Colombo Municipal Council is the municipal governing body of Colombo, the largest city and financial centre in Sri Lanka. It consists of a directly elected executive Mayor of Colombo, current elect is Rosy Senanayake, and 119 elected 119 muni ...

. From 1965 to 1970, Robert was ambassador in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

.Personalities, Sri Lanka: A Biographical Study (15th-20th Century), 1490-1990 A.D., A-Z, Ceylon Business Appliances Limited, 1994 - 149 p
p. 60
https://www.marxists.org/glossary/people/g/u.htm]

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gunawardena, Robert 1904 births 1971 deaths Ambassadors of Sri Lanka to China Colombo municipal councillors Lanka Sama Samaja Party politicians Mahajana Eksath Peramuna politicians Members of the 1st Parliament of Ceylon Members of the 2nd Parliament of Ceylon Members of the 3rd Parliament of Ceylon Members of the 4th Parliament of Ceylon Members of the 5th Parliament of Ceylon People of British Ceylon Sri Lankan diplomats Sinhalese politicians

Early life and education

Political career

See also

References