Prof. Hiran Dias: A great mentor and friend

Prof. Hiran Dias served as a senior professor at Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Bangkok in the 1980s. Before moving to AIT, he also served as a professor and the first president of Colombo campus, University of Sri Lanka. A large number of his students and mentees have served as reputed developmental researchers and practitioners in Sri Lanka and South-Asian countries and for international organisations. I first met Prof. Hiran Dias in 1986, when he came to Hambantota as a rural development consultant for the Hambantota Integrated Rural Development Programme(HIRDEP), where I worked as the deputy director. Although I left HIRDEP for higher studies in the United States in 1988, I have associated with him closely for nearly four decades. Prof. Dias passed away on February 26, 2023, on his 90th birthday.

He had a great personality: kind, caring, and helpful. He made time for all his colleagues on personal and professional levels. He was the best and one of my favorite mentors, supporters, and friends throughout my adult life. I still occasionally use the winter coat he gave me when I left for the United States in 1988. Prof. Dias influenced and inspired me to build my career as a poverty-focused social scientist in spite of my different educational background. It was a turning point in my life. To pay tribute to this internationally reputed scholar and developmentalist, I could share many memories of working with him at the HIRDEP and beyond that, and I could describe many of his qualities.

His rich long-term experience and knowledge and desire to serve the poor were unparalleled. He was an inspirational and passionate rural development planner and practitioner, not a ‘rural development tourist’. Furthermore, his presence and role in the HIRDEP enhanced its reputation and effectiveness among divisional, and state administrators and politicians, many of whom were his past students and mentees. Prof. Dias pioneered the training of district and local level officers and leaders in rural planning in the Hambantota district, which directed the HIDEP toward participatory target-group-oriented development. He introduced effective, simple, and less complex rural planning techniques, including data gathering, socioeconomic, and spatial analysis and problem/resource identification, for grassroots project formulation. Despite being a Cambridge scholar, he used a simple writing style and explanations in his training manuals and sessions, avoiding “big theories” and academic jargon. I was fortunate to participate in the translating and publishing of this material in Sinhala and coordinating training activities with the support of HIRDEP leadership. This extensive training effort was able to orient traditional top-down planning towards grass-root participatory planning in the Hambantota district. Subsequently, this grass-roots rural development approach was disseminated to and used in rural development programs in other districts and even in some other developing countries.

Prof. Dias also actively participated in the HIRDEP project implementation and monitoring at the grassroots level and provided effective guidance. He was always positive and dealt with problems with a smile. In particular, he continued to contribute to the development and implementation of grassroots projects such as the social mobiliser and group-based poverty alleviation programmes in the Hambantota district until his later years. Without his continued contribution, these programs, which have organised thousands of poor in the district, especially women, would have not sustained and materialised what these organisations have achieved today in spite of the natural disasters and political unrests in the district. Although these existing programmes have not been systematically evaluated, researchers have indicated that these extensive programmes might have contributed to the reduction of the deterioration of the poverty situation in the Hambantota district, relative to other districts in Sri Lanka, during the last three to four decades.

I used to see him every time I visited Sri Lanka. I always brought with me a bottle of roasted American peanuts for him, which was his favourite savoury. We discussed several topics related to developmental issues in Sri Lanka. In his later years, he emphasised that macro-level developmental policies and programmes should be favorable for the sustainability and success of micro-level development interventions. He pointed out that some important grassroots interventions have not been sustained owing to the lack of favourable socioeconomic and political contexts.

Last December, when I was in Sri Lanka, I felt sad seeing him endure several health problems. In spite of his poor health, he invited me and his long-time friend Prof. Yapa for dinner. That was our last meeting. Against medical advice, he wanted to enjoy a ‘whiskey’ with me. It reminded me of his propensity to mix humour and joy with day-to-day work and the fond memories we had in Hambantota a long time ago. Both of us used to work during holidays and weekends. In one instance, while we were working, he offered me a “cup of tea” poured from his flask. I immediately realised that the tea was mixed with some whiskey. He jokingly said that this would enhance my analytical skills.

I also observed that Dr. Dias engaged in Buddhist religious activities with his beloved wife, Erica in later years. In a recent visit, I gave him a copy of my recent research paper, which showed that a combination of socioeconomic, personal, and biological factors predicts individual socioeconomic and health success. Although he agreed with my analysis, he pointed out that individual success/well-being is influenced not only by socioeconomic determinants but also by accumulated merits/demerits over past lives, which are carried over to the present life. I listened to him with respect. I wish that as he believes, all the merits he had accumulated throughout his active long life would be transferred to his next life. My thoughts are always with this great personality, lifelong mentor, supporter and friend.

K. A. S. Wickrama, PhD
Emeritus Professor
University of Georgia, USA