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 ...
n
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
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 ...
, 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
Prince of Wales' College ( Sinhala: වේල්ස් කුමර විද්යාලය ''Wels Kumara Vidyalaya'', Tamil: பிரின்ஸ் ஆஃப் வேல்ஸ் கல்லூரி) is a selective entry boys' school s ...
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
''Appamādo Amathapadan''
(Buddhist quote from the Apramada Vagga in the Dhammapada)
, motto_translation = Heedfulness, Punctuality leads to Nirvana
, location = P De S Kularatne Mawatha
, city = Colom ...
, 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
Caroline may refer to:
People
* Caroline (given name), a feminine given name
* J. C. Caroline (born 1933), American college and National Football League player
* Jordan Caroline (born 1996), American (men's) basketball player
Places Antarctica
* ...
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 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 ...
.[Leslie Goonewardene][Charles 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 1953 வேலைநிறுத்தம்
The Hartal 1953 ( si, 1953 වර්ජනය, translit=Varjanaya) was a country-wide demonstration of civil disobedience and strike, commonly known as a hartal, held in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) on 12 Au ...
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 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 ...
, 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 Kottawa electoral district was an electoral district of Sri Lanka between March 1960 and July 1977. The district was named after the town of Kottawa in Colombo District, Western Province. The 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka introduced the proporti ...
in 1960 and remained its elected member until 1964. In 1964 he left 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 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]
See also
*List of Sri Lankan non-career diplomats
This is a list of Sri Lankan non-career diplomats, who have been appointed by Government of Sri Lanka as Ambassadors and High Commissioners, but are not Career diplomats by profession, meaning they are not from the Sri Lanka Foreign Service, but ...
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