Konara Mudiyanselage Podiappuhamy Rajaratne (22 October 1927 – January 2011) was a

Ceylon 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 ...

ese lawyer, politician and parliamentary secretary.

Early life and family

Rajaratne was born on 22 October 1927. He was educated at

Ananda Sastralaya, Kotte Ananda Sastralaya (Sinhalese language, sinhala: ආනන්ද ශාස්ත්‍රාලය) is a public boys school located in Kotte, Sri Lanka. It was founded in 1890 as Kotte Buddhist English Mixed School. In 1952 a part of the school land ...

where he met his future wife Kusuma. After school he joined the

University of Ceylon, Colombo The University of Ceylon was the only university in Sri Lanka (earlier Ceylon) from 1942 until 1972. It had several constituent campuses at various locations around Sri Lanka. The University of Ceylon Act No. 1 of 1972, replaced it with the Univer ...

, graduating with a degree in history. Rajaratne married

Kusuma Kusuma is a village attached to 'MAGARIWARA' in Reodar Tahsil of Sirohi District of Indian state of Rajasthan. It is 45 km from Abu Road. Its ancient name was Kutsasrama meaning a hermitage of Kutsa. In the seventh century it was famous f ...

Perera on 24 August 1950. They had four children - Suhashan, Bhawanthi, Nalaka and Pramada.

Career

After university Rajaratne worked as a teacher and lecturer. Rajaratne was an ultra- Sinhala-Buddhist nationalist and was considered to be a

chauvinist Chauvinism is the unreasonable belief in the superiority or dominance of one's own group or people, who are seen as strong and virtuous, while others are considered weak, unworthy, or inferior. It can be described as a form of extreme patriotis ...

and anti-

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

. He was associated with the Sinhala Language Front (Sinhala Bhasha Peramuna) which sought to make Sinhala Ceylon's sole

official language An official language is a language given supreme status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction. Typically the term "official language" does not refer to the language used by a people or country, but by its government (e.g. judiciary, ...

. He was known as "Bhasha boy" whilst he and fellow nationalist F. R. Jayasuriya were known as the "Bhasha twins". Rajaratne stood as a candidate for

Welimada Welimada (වැලිමඩ)is a town in the Badulla District of the Uva Province of Sri Lanka. Administration The Welimada town is now administered by the Welimada Divisional Council. Notable government institutions include: * Divisional Secre ...

at the 1952 parliamentary election but failed to get elected after coming third. On 26 August 1955 the district court in

Badulla Badulla ( si, බදුල්ල, ta, பதுளை) is the capital and the largest city of Uva Province situated in the lower central hills of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of Uva Province and the Badulla District. Geography Badulla is ...

convicted Rajaratne, who had been his own

election agent An election agent in elections in the United Kingdom, as well as some other similar political systems such as elections in India, is the person legally responsible for the conduct of a candidate's political campaign and to whom election material is ...

at the 1952 parliamentary election, of not submitting his

election expenses Campaign finance, also known as election finance or political donations, refers to the funds raised to promote candidates, political parties, or policy initiatives and referendums. Political parties, charitable organizations, and political act ...

and fined him Rs. 100. Rajaratne stood as 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 ...

(MEP) candidate for Welimada at the 1956 parliamentary election. He won the election and entered

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

. After the election he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Posts, Broadcasting and Information. The new

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

introduced the

Sinhala Only Bill The Official Language Act (No. 33 of 1956), commonly referred to as the Sinhala Only Act, was an act passed in the Parliament of Ceylon in 1956. The act replaced English with Sinhala as the sole official language of Ceylon, with the exclusion ...

which sought to replace

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

with Sinhala as Ceylon's official language, much to the anger of the island's Tamil population. Rajaratne was one of the leading campaigners for the Sinhala Only Bill. Initially the

bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

had a "Reasonable Use of Tamil" clause but when Rajaratne and Jayasuriya launched a fast unto death (upawasaya) on the steps of Parliament

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike ( si, සොලොමන් වෙස්ට් රිජ්වේ ඩයස් බණ්ඩාරනායක; ta, சாலமன் வெஸ்ட் ரிட்ஜ்வே டயஸ் ப� ...

removed the clause. On 5 June 1956 a group of Tamil activists and parliamentarians, led by

S. J. V. Chelvanayakam Samuel James Veluppillai Chelvanayakam ( ta, சாமுவேல் ஜேம்ஸ் வேலுப்பிள்ளை செல்வநாயகம், translit=Cāmuvēl Jēms Vēluppiḷḷai Celvanāyakam; 31 March 1898 – 26 Ap ...

, staged a

satyagraha Satyagraha ( sa, सत्याग्रह; ''satya'': "truth", ''āgraha'': "insistence" or "holding firmly to"), or "holding firmly to truth",' or "truth force", is a particular form of nonviolent resistance or civil resistance. Someone w ...

against the

Sinhala Only Act The Official Language Act (No. 33 of 1956), commonly referred to as the Sinhala Only Act, was an act passed in the Parliament of Ceylon in 1956. The act replaced English with Sinhala as the sole official language of Ceylon, with the exclusion ...

Galle Face Green Galle Face is a ocean-side urban park, which stretches for along the coast, in the heart of Colombo, the financial and business capital of Sri Lanka. The promenade was initially laid out in 1859 by Governor Sir Henry George Ward, although t ...

opposite the

. The satyagrahis were attacked by a

Sinhalese Sinhala may refer to: * Something of or related to the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka * Sinhalese people * Sinhala language, one of the three official languages used in Sri Lanka * Sinhala script, a writing system for the Sinhala language ** Sinha ...

mob as the police looked on, and Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) MPs

E. M. V. Naganathan Elangai Murugesu Vijayaretnam Naganathan ( ta, இலங்கை முருகேசு விஜயரத்தினம் நாகநாதன்; 31 January 1906 – 16 August 1971) was a Ceylon Tamil physician, politician, senator an ...

and

V. N. Navaratnam Vallipuram Nallathamby Navaratnam ( ta, வல்லிபுரம் நல்லதம்பி நவரத்தினம்; 5 June 1929 – 29 January 1991) was a Sri Lankan Tamil lawyer, politician and Member of Parliament. Early lif ...

were thrown in the lake. The mob had been led by Rajaratne. Rajaratne resigned from the government and left the parliamentary group because of Bandaranaike's refusal to ban ITAK's march to

Trincomalee Trincomalee (; ta, திருகோணமலை, translit=Tirukōṇamalai; si, ත්‍රිකුණාමළය, translit= Trikuṇāmaḷaya), also known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee Dis ...

in August 1956. On 1 October 1956 an election judge ruled that the 1956 parliamentary election in Welimada was void because Rajaratne had been disqualified from being a Member of Parliament for three years following his 1955 conviction. As a result, Rajaratne lost his seat in Parliament. Rajaratne founded his own political party, the hard-line nationalist National Liberation Front (NLF)/Jathika Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), in 1957. Following the 1958 anti-Tamil riots the NLF was banned. During the riots Rajaratne had incited a crowd in

Kurunegala Kurunegala ( si, කුරුණෑගල, ta, குருணாகல்) is a major city in Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of the North Western Province and the Kurunegala District. Kurunegala was an ancient royal capital for 50 years, fr ...

, saying "There are 10,000 policemen. Kill them all: then we can deal with the federalists (ITAK). They are the only people who are standing in our way." Rajaratne was placed under

house arrest In justice and law, house arrest (also called home confinement, home detention, or, in modern times, electronic monitoring) is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to their residence. Travel is usually restricted, if all ...

in Kotte. Rajaratne contested the March 1960 parliamentary election as the NLF candidate for Welimada. He won the election and re-entered Parliament. He was re-elected at the July 1960 parliamentary election. Rajaratne forfeited his seat in Parliament for a second time, on 25 May 1961. He was however re-elected to Parliament in the ensuing

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

held on 28 June 1962. Rajaratne lost his seat at the 1965 parliamentary election. After the election the NLF joined the

United National Party The United National Party, often abbreviated as UNP ( si, එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂය, translit=Eksath Jāthika Pakshaya, ta, ஐக்கிய தேசியக் கட்சி, translit=Aikkiya Tēciyak Kaṭci), ...

(UNP) led seven party

national government A national government is the government of a nation. National government or National Government may also refer to: * Central government in a unitary state, or a country that does not give significant power to regional divisions * Federal governme ...

(''hath haula'') and Rajaratne's wife Kusuma, who had retained her Uva-Paranagama seat, was appointed as a parliamentary secretary. Kusuma resigned from the government when it tried to bring in a law allowing Tamil to be used in government administration. Rajaratne was later appointed to the

Senate of Ceylon The Senate was the upper chamber of the parliament of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) established in 1947 by the Soulbury Commission. The Senate was appointed and indirectly elected rather than directly elected. It was housed in the old Legislative Counci ...

, serving until it was abolished. Rajaratne and his wife gave up politics and Rajaratne became an

attorney-at-law Attorney at law or attorney-at-law, usually abbreviated in everyday speech to attorney, is the preferred term for a practising lawyer in certain jurisdictions, including South Africa (for certain lawyers), Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and the United ...

. At the 2001 parliamentary election Rajaratne was placed on the Sinhala Heritage's (Sihala Urumaya) list of

National List The National List ( he, רשימה ממלכתית, ''Reshima Mamlakhtit''), sometimes translated as the State List, was a political party in Israel. Despite being founded by David Ben-Gurion, one of the fathers of the Israeli left, the party is ...

candidates but the party failed to win any seats in

. Rajaratne died in January 2011.

Electoral history

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rajaratne, K. M. P. 1927 births 2011 deaths 20th-century Sri Lankan lawyers Alumni of Ananda Sastralaya, Kotte Alumni of the University of Ceylon (Colombo) Members of the 3rd Parliament of Ceylon Members of the 4th Parliament of Ceylon Members of the 5th Parliament of Ceylon Members of the Senate of Ceylon Parliamentary secretaries of Ceylon People from Uva Province People from British Ceylon Prisoners and detainees of Sri Lanka Sinhalese academics Sinhalese lawyers Sinhalese teachers Sri Lankan politicians convicted of crimes Sri Lankan prisoners and detainees