Dr. Sugiswara Abeywardena Wickramasinghe (13 April 1900 – 25 August 1981) was the founder of the Communist Party of Sri Lanka. He was the first

Leftist Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soc ...

to be elected to Ceylon State Council in 1931. He gave up all his wealth and comforts for the sake of downtrodden. He is considered one of the leading political figures in the twentieth century of Sri Lanka.

Early life and education

S. A. Wickramasinghe was born in Nasnaranketiya

Walawwa Walauwa or walawwa is the name given to a feudal/colonial manor house in Sri Lanka of a native headmen. It also refers to the feudal social systems that existed during the colonial era. The term walauwa is derived from the Tamil word ''valavu'' ...

, Athuraliya in the Matara district of then British Ceylon in 1900. He received his primary education at

Mahinda College Mahinda College is a Buddhist boys' school in Galle, Sri Lanka. The school was established on 1 March 1892 by the Buddhist Theosophical Society led by Colonel Henry Steel Olcott. As of May 2022 it is a national school providing primary and secon ...

Galle Galle ( si, ගාල්ල, translit=Gālla; ta, காலி, translit=Kāli) (formerly Point de Galle) is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the southwestern tip, from Colombo. Galle is the provincial capital and largest city of Southern ...

, where he joined engaged in social services and

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

activities. He later entered

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. Wickramasinghe pursued his higher studies in medicine at the

Ceylon Medical College Ceylon Medical College was a public medical school in Ceylon. The college was established in 1870 as the Colombo Medical School. The college was based in Colombo. The college was merged with Ceylon University College in 1942 to form the University ...

, and proceeded to the United Kingdom for his post-graduate studies. In England, he participated on activism with the League Against Imperialism and the British Communist Party. During this time he met fellow Ceylonese progressives and the future leaders of the Left movement such as

N. M. Perera Nanayakkarapathirage Martin Perera, commonly known as Dr. N. M. Perera ( Sinhala එන්.එම්.පෙරේරා ; 6 June 1904 – 14 August 1979), was one of the leaders of the Sri Lankan Trotskyist Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP). He w ...

Colvin R. de Silva Colvin Reginald de Silva (1907 – 27 February 1989; commonly known as Colvin R. de Silva) was a Cabinet Minister of Plantation Industries and Constitutional Affairs, prominent member of parliament, Trotskyist leader and lawyer in Sri Lanka. ...

and

Leslie Goonewardene Leslie Simon Goonewardene ( si, ලෙස්ලි සයිමන් ගුනවර්ධන, ta, லெஸ்லி சைமன் குணவர்தன; 31 October 190911 April 1983) was a prominent Sri Lankan statesman. He founded ...

, who were also studying in London and fellow-students of

Marxism Marxism is a left-wing to far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict and a dialec ...

Early activism

On his way back to Ceylon, S. A. Wickramasinghe travelled to India to meet members of the Indian National Congress as well as the Communist Party of India. He was immediately arrested by British police in Bombay but managed to make contact with figures such as Jawaharlal Nehru and Rabindranath Tagore. After returning to Sri Lanka, he co-founded the Lanka Sama Samaja Party and also served as the General Manager of Buddhist Theosophical Society schools in Sri Lanka. A medical practitioner by profession, he started working as a doctor after his post-graduate studies and joined the Government Service and started practising in his native Matara district. Wickramasinghe played a leading role in the Suriya Mal Movement. He also organised relief for peasants during the Malaria epidemic and floods that plagued Sri Lanka in 1934 and 1935.

Founding of Communist Party of Ceylon

In 1941, when Germany attacked the Soviet Union, Wickramasinghe led the faction who argued that World War 2 was not an inter-imperialist war but a war against fascism. For their defence of Stalin and the Soviet Union, Wickramasinghe and his comrades were expelled by the Trotskyites in the LSSP. Wickramasinghe's faction, which included Pieter Keunemen, M. G. Mendis, and A. Vaidialingam formed the United Socialist Party, which became the Communist Party of Ceylon in 1943.

Personal life

Dr Wickramasinghe was married to Doreen Young, a British leftist who later became a prominent Communist politician and 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 Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

in Sri Lanka. She and Dr Wickremasinghe had two children, Suren (an architect) and Suriya (Amnesty International IEC Chairperson, 1982–85).

Publications

* ''The Gal Oya Project'' (1951) * ''The Way Ahead''

Electoral history

References

dailynews.lk Biography of S. A. Wickramasinghe

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wickramasinghe, S.A. 1900 births 1981 deaths Alumni of Mahinda College Alumni of Ananda College Alumni of Ceylon Medical College Communist Party of Sri Lanka politicians People from Matara, Sri Lanka Members of the 1st State Council of Ceylon Members of the 2nd State Council of Ceylon