Kusala Vichitra Abhayavardhana (née Fernando) (1 November 1920 – 1988) 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 ...

n social worker. She was the co-founder of the Civil Service International in Sri Lanka, founding secretary International Women’s Year Sri Lanka and national chair of the Women in Peace in Sri Lanka. She was a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

from 1970 to 1977.

Early life and education

Born Warusahennedige Kusala Vichitra Mututantri on 1 November 1920, to a wealthy family in Thimbirigasyaya,

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

. Her father Warusahennedige Daniel Fernando, OBE worked in the Finger Print Bureau of the

Criminal Investigation Department The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is the branch of a police force to which most plainclothes detectives belong in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth nations. A force's CID is distinct from its Special Branch (though officers of b ...

Hulftsdorp Hulftsdorp (also written, incorrectly as Hultsdorf ) is a suburb in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is part of the postal area known as ''Colombo 12''. It has been known historically as Hulffsdorp, Hulfsdorp, Hulftsdorp, Hulsdorp, Hulstsdorp and Hülffs ...

, later becoming a successful businessmen with close ties to

Sir Oliver Goonetilleke Sir Oliver Ernest Goonetilleke ( si, ශ්‍රිමත් ඔලිවර් ගුණතිලක) (20 October 1892 – 17 December 1978) was a Sri Lankan statesman. Having served as an important figure in the gradual independence of Ceyl ...

. He was the founder and a director of United Imports, United Motors, United Tractor Equipment, and was awarded a

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

in the 1950 Birthday Honours for public and charitable services and an OBE in the

1952 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1952 were appointments by King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire and Commonwealth. They were announced on 1 January 1952 for the British Empire, Austra ...

for charitable and commercial services. Her mother was Kankana Tantirige Bhaddhrawathie Fernando, who founded the Bhaddhrawathie Maha Vidayala (since renamed Mahamathya Maha Vidyalaya) in

Polhengoda Narahenpita is a municipal ward of Colombo. Located at the South-Eastern corner and served by the Kelani Valley Railway Line The Kelani Valley railway line in Sri Lanka, covering the breadth of Colombo District. The line is owned, maintained, ...

. She had three brothers, W. Pinsiripal "Pinsi" Fernando, W. Parakrama Fernando, W. Dhammikka Mahinda Fernando and one sister, W. Yasoma Fernando, who married Kamal Punchihewa. She was educated at

Visakha Vidyalaya Visakha Vidyalaya () is a girls' school in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is a National School managed by the central government providing primary and secondary education. History The school was established in 1917 by Celestina Dias as the Buddhist ...

, at the

University of Ceylon 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 ...

, and at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

Political career

She contested 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 the Thimbirigasyaya ward from 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), ...

, but was defeated by

Bernard Soysa Bernard Soysa (20 March 1914 - 30 December 1997) was a Sri Lankan politician. Early life and education Bernard Soysa was born 20 March 1914 in Colombo, Ceylon. He attended the Holy Family Convent, Bambalapitiya, S. Thomas' College, Mount Lav ...

. She was later elected to the Colombo Municipal Council and served as a Municipal Councilor. Kusala Fernando married

Hector Abhayavardhana Hector Abhayavardhana (5 January 1919 – 22 September 2012) was a Sri Lankan Trotskyist theoretician, a long-standing member of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) and a founder-member of the Bolshevik-Leninist Party of India, Ceylon and Burm ...

a journalist and

Trotskyist Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a rev ...

in 1959. She contested the 1965 general election from 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� ...

(LSSP) in the Moratuwa electorate, where she polled second after Ruskin Fernando. At the 1970 general elections she ran as the LSSP candidate in the Borella electorate and was elected to parliament, defeating incumbent the United National Party candidate, M. H. Mohamed by 16,421 votes to 15,829 votes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abhayavardhana, Kusala Sri Lankan social workers Sinhalese politicians Colombo municipal councillors Members of the 7th Parliament of Ceylon Women legislators in Sri Lanka People from Western Province, Sri Lanka Alumni of Visakha Vidyalaya Alumni of the University of Ceylon Alumni of the London School of Economics United National Party politicians Lanka Sama Samaja Party politicians 1920 births 1988 deaths Sri Lankan expatriates in the United States