Commemoration of Dr.N.M.Perera’s 42nd Death Anniversary.

Sri Lanka’s economy is facing a deep economic crisis. But it is not alone in this situation. The whole world is in crisis. It is a systemic crisis that affects every country periodically, to a greater or lesser extent, at intervals of eight to ten years. These have led to much suffering to the people and the process of emerging from them has been very slow and painful. This is an inherent feature of the capitalist economic system.

Capitalism developed in the womb of feudalism in Europe leading to revolutionary upheavals like those of the French Revolution and the Cromwellian Revolution in England. But in the countries of the Third World like Sri Lanka or India capitalism did not arise from within, but were introduced from capitalist countries like Britain to exploit our human and material resources and markets, using the local (comprador) capitalist class, led by parties like the UNP in Sri Lanka.

Dr. N M Perera and emerging young intellectuals like Colvin R de Silva, Leslie Goonewardena, Philip Gunawardene and Dr. S A Wickremasinghe, when they were abroad recognized that this colonial subjugation would lead to perpetual poverty for the vast majority of the Sri Lankan people. A true understanding of the nature of capitalism and imperialism was achieved through a study of Marxism. They became Marxist revolutionaries committed to the defeat of capitalism and its replacement by socialism globally and thereby in Sri Lanka.

Dr N.M. Perera obtained a BSc, PhD and DSc from the prestigious London School of Economics of the London University. He was a favourite pupil of the legendary Prof. Harold J. Laski, who was also an advisor to the Labour Party, who said that NM had all the qualities needed to be an English Chancellor of the Exchequer (a Finance Minister). Following NMs return to Sri Lanka and his performance here, Sir Ivor Jennings who was then the Vice Chancellor of the only University of Ceylon, said that he had all the qualities required of a Labour Prime Minister in Britain. Instead of rising to great heights serving the British Empire that ruled the world, NM chose to serve the people of Sri Lanka by fighting to win independence from the British.

When NM and these Left leaders returned to Sri Lanka (Ceylon) they helped form the Suriyamal Movement to save the people whom the British rulers allowed to suffer from malaria without medicine and food. Dr. N.M. was referred to as “parippu mahattaya”, as he supplied these needs climbing steep hills by foot despite the presence of leeches and snakes, as there were few roads. In 1935 they (NM, Colvin, Philip, SA and Leslie) formed the Lanka Sama Samaja Party( LSSP). They devoted all their energy and income, day and night, to fight for the rights of our people against the British rulers and their local agents. Their main objective was winning complete independence (unlike the Dominion status that was given by the British to D.S. Senanayake and the UNP in 1948 to continue their exploitation here). Complete independence was finally achieved in 1972, overcoming UNP resistance, through the Republican Constitution drafted by Colvin as Minister of Constitutional Affairs in the Coalition Government led by Sirimavo Bandaranaike. This was 22 years after India as UNP and TNA resistance had to be overcome.

The second objective was to overcome poverty and injustice and narrow the rich minority /poor majority gap, by establishing a society with social equity , a “sama samajaya”. In Sri Lanka, like in the whole world , the rich poor gap is widening and society is becoming more unstable. With the global capitalist crisis, and the fall of the US and western economies and the rise of China purely by trade (without any imperialist conquests) the USA is now gearing for war to lift its economy which depends on arms sales, as it produces 60% of global supply. The aim is also to achieve regime change in China.

The LSSP also fought for 22 other demands and won many of them – free education, free health, the eight hour working day, overtime payment, pension, EPF and other rights. While doing all this, NM found time to attain many achievements; MP for Ruwanwella and Yatiyantota, Leader of the Opposition, Minister of Finance, a co-convenor of the global Group of 77 Ministers of Economics, the Mayor of Colombo and Leader of the LSSP from its inception upto his death. As an economist and political scientist he wrote copiously and was a popular speaker, in Parliament, and at public meetings; he went to all parts of the country and the world. He was a good sportsman and captained Ananda College at cricket.

But among his many achievements perhaps the most valuable is his overcoming the 1970/75 economic crisis in Sri Lanka. The crisis was a result of the adverse trade balance due to the policies of the 1965/70 UNP Government that wasted our limited forex on import of luxury goods as well as local products , hitting our farmers and SMEs. On top of this he was faced with the global capitalist downturn, the rise in the price of fossil fuels by seven times due to action by OPEC. Fertilizer prices rose by 422% in 1974. The world faced the worst drought for about 30 years during this period and food prices soared, with thousands dying in various parts of the world from starvation but no one died in Sri Lanka. The price of rice rose by 60% ( from 35 to 56 pounds per ton), flour by 65%, sugar by 323%.

The prices of food items have not gone up internationally on a similar scale today. It is far lower. The local market price has gone up due to massive profiteering by middlemen in Sri Lanka, specially millers and traders. Further the farmers are in the grip of money lenders as they are in a state of chronic debt. NM took measures to relieve rural debt. All essentials were supplied through a ration card at low prices through the Cooperative system that was functioning well. Producer and Consumer Cooperatives dealt with each other, getting rid of profiteering by middlemen (traders, millers etc.) in the process. We can gain by following NMs policies to tide over the present crisis.

( Prof. Tissa Vitarana)