Features
Sir Baron Jayatilaka grabs 23-year old Clara Motwani to head Visakha
by Goolbai Gunasekara
Excerpted from Chosen Ground – the Clara Motwani saga
(Continued from last week)
The founding of Visakha Vidyalaya was the result of a deep Buddhistic feeling that some attempt should be made to break the monopoly the Christian schools had on what might be called ‘the fashionable education’ of girls in Ceylon. As mentioned in the last chapter, a beginning was made in a little building long before Mother arrived, but this was certainly not comparable to the spacious grounds and lovely campuses of the established Christian schools.
Speaking about these early days of Visakha, Sumana Saparamadu, the well known academic, said: “On their way to school the girls of Bishop’s College would look over the wall at the girls of Visakha and murmur commiseratingly, `Poor things!’
The Visakhians did not take kindly to such condescension, and bristled angrily.Colonel Olcott, the great American Buddhist Theosophist, had arrived in Ceylon at a time when Buddhism was probably at its lowest ebb. British rule had effectively undermined the religion of the country and although Buddhism remained the religion of the majority, its adherents were not necessarily strong or wealthy.
Along with others, Colonel Olcott revitalized a dormant population. My husband’s uncle, Leslie, used to tell me that when he was at Royal College which, as the name suggests, was a virtual bastion of British privileged education, Buddhist boys were made to feel pretty inferior.
“Buddhist boys, put up your hands!” a master would say, in order to separate the students for choir practice. Buddhist hands went up diffidently although it must be said that there was never any real discrimination in class. The British were too fair for that sort of overt favouritism.
Nonetheless, Buddhists were not given to shouting their beliefs too loudly in public. When the change came, it came in a hurry. Affluent Buddhists, motivated by Col. Olcott and the influential Buddhist teacher Anagarika Dharmapala, began to realize that their gentle and non—combative religion was in dire need of champions.
Accordingly, Mrs. Jeremias Dias, with a dream of her own, donated an extensive estate to Visakha in the heart of Colombo. To this day her memory lives on in the minds and hearts of the thousands of Visakhians who have cause to be grateful for this visionary bequest.Very quickly attractive buildings came up, but now another problem arose. In spite of hiring British teachers and even appointing British principals, the examination results of Visakha were so poor that the school was in danger of losing Departmental recognition.
The threat of educational censure hung over the school like a sword of Damocles. The manager of the school, Sir Baron Jayatilaka, Leader of the State Council and an important citizen of the country, was quite distraught; as well he might be. Where was he to find a qualified Principal with only the interests of the Buddhists at heart?
The Universities of Sri Lanka were not yet in existence. A small University College had just begun and the graduates now available in this country were simply nowhere to be found in the early 1930’s.
Suddenly, it was as if a passing deva heard Sir Baron’s laments and decided to heed them. He (Sir Baron, not the deva) received a letter from an old Theosophist friend in Karachi with the information that his ward would be visiting Colombo with his new American wife. He would be grateful if they could be shown round the island.
Sir Baron sent the couple an invitation to tea (the Ceylon tea party being the precursor of the ubiquitous cocktail party of today). My parents were on a delayed honeymoon. They had married four years earlier but as both were still students, and also as Wall Street had crashed just after their nuptials, luxuries such as honeymoons had been postponed for happier and more affluent times.
When Wall Street eventually began paying back something on the dollar, Father had his PhD and Mother her Master’s degree in Education. Father felt that Mother would adjust to the East if they took what was literally, a slow boat to China, and then slowly sailed their way round Japan, Indonesia, Malaya, Ceylon, arriving eventually in Karachi (India) where Jamshed waited impatiently.
Jamshed felt, not without good cause, that he had arranged this marriage made in a Theosophist heaven. To the westernized Parsis, the fact that Mother was American was a plus point. Furthermore she was a highly educated one and Jamshed had plans for her as he had for Father.
On arrival in Colombo Father, as was the custom of the day, placed his visiting cards along with Mother’s on a tray at the entrance to Sir Baron’s palatial home in Colombo. Sir Baron gave them a cursory glance and then looked again, quite riveted by what he saw. It became a family joke as to whether Sir Baron actually saw Mother herself or whether he only saw those magical letters after her name — ‘MA, Education’.
Sir Baron had not become the important State Councilor he was by postponing important decisions. He instantly nabbed Father and drew him aside.
“Dr. Motwani,” he said, turning his considerable persuasive charm in Father’s direction. “You are not even settled in Karachi. Your guardian tells me you are to be going soon on lecture tours. Why don’t you leave your wife with me in Ceylon? She could join you at the end of your two-year stint?”
Henry Steel Olcott
My parents thought this might be a good idea: it hardly mattered to them whether their home was in Colombo or Karachi. The British ruled supreme in South East Asia, and living in Ceylon or India made not much difference in those days of Empire.
“So how did you make up your mind, Daddy?” we would ask afterwards.
“Well I hardly had a say in the matter,” he would answer. “Your Mother took one look at the island and recognized her home.”
It is certainly true that, apart from furloughs which took her to the USA and to India, Mother never left this island that she grew to love so dearly. In the meantime, Sir Baron had no intention of leaving anything to chance. He called on Mother at her hotel the very next day, carrying with him a binding contract for two years.
In Karachi, Jamshed tore his hair. “And to think,” he almost wept, “I was the idiot who introduced them!” He had not even met Mother although he knew my grandmother, Eva, having met her at a Theosophical convention in the United States.
“I insist,” he wrote to Sir Baron, “that you send Clara to Karachi for a month at the end of the first year.” Sir Baron would have willingly agreed to send Mother to Timbuktu if he could have had her even briefly at Visakha.
My sister and I would often speculate on all this. Mother was only 23-years old at this time. She was tall, gentle and lovely, but was rather shy. Her convent upbringing had not made her into what we would call a ‘typical American’. How was Sir Baron so sure that Mother would be able to guide the destinies of Visakha? How could he foresee the heights that Visakha would eventually reach under her wise and farseeing stewardship?
“How did you impress him, Mother?” we would ask her teasingly. Mother was frank. “I’ve wondered about that myself,” she told us. “Sir Baron was one of the finest persons I have ever met. He gave me complete responsibility and, somehow, it worked.”
And so, just a week after landing in Ceylon, Mother walked in through the gates of Visakha. Sita Rajasooriya writing about it afterwards said that she was one of the first students to see Mother enter her office dressed in a white sari.
The outgoing British principal looked up as Mother walked in. She saw a very young face and made a natural mistake.
“Are you a new girl?” she asked Mother, whose confidence was already pretty shaky. “Er – no,” Mother quavered. “I’m the new Principal.”
The news flew round the school and as the retiring Principal took Mother on a tour of Visakha’s lovely new buildings, every window and every corridor was crammed with inquisitive pupils, some of whom had never seen an American before. She was from the land of Red Indians and cowboys which was all they had gleaned of the USA from the movies. What would she be like?
I often think that Mother’s American ‘up and at ’em’ attitude now rose to the surface. She took charge of Visakha, and her love for this island and its people grew by the day. She hardly ever thought of herself as an American except when Father and the two of us girls would be discussing the sad state of America’s foreign policy. Mother’s long absence from the land of her birth had caused it to assume a kind of Nirvana-like status in her mind. Let the slightest criticism float in the air and Mother’s verbal sword would be unsheathed in seconds.
(To be continued)
by Dr Gotabhya Ranasinghe
Senior Consultant Cardiologist
National Hospital Sri Lanka
When we sought a meeting with Hon Dr. Ramesh Pathirana, Minister of Health, he graciously cleared his busy schedule to accommodate us. Renowned for his attentive listening and deep understanding, Minister Pathirana is dedicated to advancing the health sector. His openness and transparency exemplify the qualities of an exemplary politician and minister.
Dr. Palitha Mahipala, the current Health Secretary, demonstrates both commendable enthusiasm and unwavering support. This combination of attributes makes him a highly compatible colleague for the esteemed Minister of Health.
Our discussion centered on a project that has been in the works for the past 30 years, one that no other minister had managed to advance.
Minister Pathirana, however, recognized the project’s significance and its potential to revolutionize care for heart patients.
The project involves the construction of a state-of-the-art facility at the premises of the National Hospital Colombo. The project’s location within the premises of the National Hospital underscores its importance and relevance to the healthcare infrastructure of the nation.
This facility will include a cardiology building and a tertiary care center, equipped with the latest technology to handle and treat all types of heart-related conditions and surgeries.
Securing funding was a major milestone for this initiative. Minister Pathirana successfully obtained approval for a $40 billion loan from the Asian Development Bank. With the funding in place, the foundation stone is scheduled to be laid in September this year, and construction will begin in January 2025.
This project guarantees a consistent and uninterrupted supply of stents and related medications for heart patients. As a result, patients will have timely access to essential medical supplies during their treatment and recovery. By securing these critical resources, the project aims to enhance patient outcomes, minimize treatment delays, and maintain the highest standards of cardiac care.
Upon its fruition, this monumental building will serve as a beacon of hope and healing, symbolizing the unwavering dedication to improving patient outcomes and fostering a healthier society.We anticipate a future marked by significant progress and positive outcomes in Sri Lanka’s cardiovascular treatment landscape within the foreseeable timeframe.
by Fr. Emmanuel Fernando, OMI
Jesuit Fr. Aloysius Pieris (affectionately called Fr. Aloy) celebrated his 90th birthday on April 9, 2024 and I, as the editor of our Oblate Journal, THE MISSIONARY OBLATE had gone to press by that time. Immediately I decided to publish an article, appreciating the untiring selfless services he continues to offer for inter-Faith dialogue, the renewal of the Catholic Church, his concern for the poor and the suffering Sri Lankan masses and to me, the present writer.
It was in 1988, when I was appointed Director of the Oblate Scholastics at Ampitiya by the then Oblate Provincial Fr. Anselm Silva, that I came to know Fr. Aloy more closely. Knowing well his expertise in matters spiritual, theological, Indological and pastoral, and with the collaborative spirit of my companion-formators, our Oblate Scholastics were sent to Tulana, the Research and Encounter Centre, Kelaniya, of which he is the Founder-Director, for ‘exposure-programmes’ on matters spiritual, biblical, theological and pastoral. Some of these dimensions according to my view and that of my companion-formators, were not available at the National Seminary, Ampitiya.
Ever since that time, our Oblate formators/ accompaniers at the Oblate Scholasticate, Ampitiya , have continued to send our Oblate Scholastics to Tulana Centre for deepening their insights and convictions regarding matters needed to serve the people in today’s context. Fr. Aloy also had tried very enthusiastically with the Oblate team headed by Frs. Oswald Firth and Clement Waidyasekara to begin a Theologate, directed by the Religious Congregations in Sri Lanka, for the contextual formation/ accompaniment of their members. It should very well be a desired goal of the Leaders / Provincials of the Religious Congregations.
Besides being a formator/accompanier at the Oblate Scholasticate, I was entrusted also with the task of editing and publishing our Oblate journal, ‘The Missionary Oblate’. To maintain the quality of the journal I continue to depend on Fr. Aloy for his thought-provoking and stimulating articles on Biblical Spirituality, Biblical Theology and Ecclesiology. I am very grateful to him for his generous assistance. Of late, his writings on renewal of the Church, initiated by Pope St. John XX111 and continued by Pope Francis through the Synodal path, published in our Oblate journal, enable our readers to focus their attention also on the needed renewal in the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka. Fr. Aloy appreciated very much the Synodal path adopted by the Jesuit Pope Francis for the renewal of the Church, rooted very much on prayerful discernment. In my Religious and presbyteral life, Fr.Aloy continues to be my spiritual animator / guide and ongoing formator / acccompanier.
Fr. Aloysius Pieris, BA Hons (Lond), LPh (SHC, India), STL (PFT, Naples), PhD (SLU/VC), ThD (Tilburg), D.Ltt (KU), has been one of the eminent Asian theologians well recognized internationally and one who has lectured and held visiting chairs in many universities both in the West and in the East. Many members of Religious Congregations from Asian countries have benefited from his lectures and guidance in the East Asian Pastoral Institute (EAPI) in Manila, Philippines. He had been a Theologian consulted by the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences for many years. During his professorship at the Gregorian University in Rome, he was called to be a member of a special group of advisers on other religions consulted by Pope Paul VI.
Fr. Aloy is the author of more than 30 books and well over 500 Research Papers. Some of his books and articles have been translated and published in several countries. Among those books, one can find the following: 1) The Genesis of an Asian Theology of Liberation (An Autobiographical Excursus on the Art of Theologising in Asia, 2) An Asian Theology of Liberation, 3) Providential Timeliness of Vatican 11 (a long-overdue halt to a scandalous millennium, 4) Give Vatican 11 a chance, 5) Leadership in the Church, 6) Relishing our faith in working for justice (Themes for study and discussion), 7) A Message meant mainly, not exclusively for Jesuits (Background information necessary for helping Francis renew the Church), 8) Lent in Lanka (Reflections and Resolutions, 9) Love meets wisdom (A Christian Experience of Buddhism, 10) Fire and Water 11) God’s Reign for God’s poor, 12) Our Unhiddden Agenda (How we Jesuits work, pray and form our men). He is also the Editor of two journals, Vagdevi, Journal of Religious Reflection and Dialogue, New Series.
Fr. Aloy has a BA in Pali and Sanskrit from the University of London and a Ph.D in Buddhist Philosophy from the University of Sri Lankan, Vidyodaya Campus. On Nov. 23, 2019, he was awarded the prestigious honorary Doctorate of Literature (D.Litt) by the Chancellor of the University of Kelaniya, the Most Venerable Welamitiyawe Dharmakirthi Sri Kusala Dhamma Thera.
Fr. Aloy continues to be a promoter of Gospel values and virtues. Justice as a constitutive dimension of love and social concern for the downtrodden masses are very much noted in his life and work. He had very much appreciated the commitment of the late Fr. Joseph (Joe) Fernando, the National Director of the Social and Economic Centre (SEDEC) for the poor.
In Sri Lanka, a few religious Congregations – the Good Shepherd Sisters, the Christian Brothers, the Marist Brothers and the Oblates – have invited him to animate their members especially during their Provincial Congresses, Chapters and International Conferences. The mainline Christian Churches also have sought his advice and followed his seminars. I, for one, regret very much, that the Sri Lankan authorities of the Catholic Church –today’s Hierarchy—- have not sought Fr.
Aloy’s expertise for the renewal of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka and thus have not benefited from the immense store of wisdom and insight that he can offer to our local Church while the Sri Lankan bishops who governed the Catholic church in the immediate aftermath of the Second Vatican Council (Edmund Fernando OMI, Anthony de Saram, Leo Nanayakkara OSB, Frank Marcus Fernando, Paul Perera,) visited him and consulted him on many matters. Among the Tamil Bishops, Bishop Rayappu Joseph was keeping close contact with him and Bishop J. Deogupillai hosted him and his team visiting him after the horrible Black July massacre of Tamils.
Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement
By Gomi Senadhira
senadhiragomi@gmail.com
“You might tell fairy tales, but the progress of a country cannot be achieved through such narratives. A country cannot be developed by making false promises. The country moved backward because of the electoral promises made by political parties throughout time. We have witnessed that the ultimate result of this is the country becoming bankrupt. Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet.” – President Ranil Wickremesinghe, 2024 Budget speech
Any Sri Lankan would agree with the above words of President Wickremesinghe on the false promises our politicians and officials make and the fairy tales they narrate which bankrupted this country. So, to understand this, let’s look at one such fairy tale with lots of false promises; Ranil Wickremesinghe’s greatest achievement in the area of international trade and investment promotion during the Yahapalana period, Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SLSFTA).
It is appropriate and timely to do it now as Finance Minister Wickremesinghe has just presented to parliament a bill on the National Policy on Economic Transformation which includes the establishment of an Office for International Trade and the Sri Lanka Institute of Economics and International Trade.
Was SLSFTA a “Cleverly negotiated Free Trade Agreement” as stated by the (former) Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate on the SLSFTA in July 2018, or a colossal blunder covered up with lies, false promises, and fairy tales? After SLSFTA was signed there were a number of fairy tales published on this agreement by the Ministry of Development Strategies and International, Institute of Policy Studies, and others.
However, for this article, I would like to limit my comments to the speech by Minister Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate, and the two most important areas in the agreement which were covered up with lies, fairy tales, and false promises, namely: revenue loss for Sri Lanka and Investment from Singapore. On the other important area, “Waste products dumping” I do not want to comment here as I have written extensively on the issue.
1. The revenue loss
During the Parliamentary Debate in July 2018, Minister Samarawickrama stated “…. let me reiterate that this FTA with Singapore has been very cleverly negotiated by us…. The liberalisation programme under this FTA has been carefully designed to have the least impact on domestic industry and revenue collection. We have included all revenue sensitive items in the negative list of items which will not be subject to removal of tariff. Therefore, 97.8% revenue from Customs duty is protected. Our tariff liberalisation will take place over a period of 12-15 years! In fact, the revenue earned through tariffs on goods imported from Singapore last year was Rs. 35 billion.
The revenue loss for over the next 15 years due to the FTA is only Rs. 733 million– which when annualised, on average, is just Rs. 51 million. That is just 0.14% per year! So anyone who claims the Singapore FTA causes revenue loss to the Government cannot do basic arithmetic! Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, I call on my fellow members of this House – don’t mislead the public with baseless criticism that is not grounded in facts. Don’t look at petty politics and use these issues for your own political survival.”
I was surprised to read the minister’s speech because an article published in January 2018 in “The Straits Times“, based on information released by the Singaporean Negotiators stated, “…. With the FTA, tariff savings for Singapore exports are estimated to hit $10 million annually“.
As the annual tariff savings (that is the revenue loss for Sri Lanka) calculated by the Singaporean Negotiators, Singaporean $ 10 million (Sri Lankan rupees 1,200 million in 2018) was way above the rupees’ 733 million revenue loss for 15 years estimated by the Sri Lankan negotiators, it was clear to any observer that one of the parties to the agreement had not done the basic arithmetic!
Six years later, according to a report published by “The Morning” newspaper, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) on 7th May 2024, Mr Samarawickrama’s chief trade negotiator K.J. Weerasinghehad had admitted “…. that forecasted revenue loss for the Government of Sri Lanka through the Singapore FTA is Rs. 450 million in 2023 and Rs. 1.3 billion in 2024.”
If these numbers are correct, as tariff liberalisation under the SLSFTA has just started, we will pass Rs 2 billion very soon. Then, the question is how Sri Lanka’s trade negotiators made such a colossal blunder. Didn’t they do their basic arithmetic? If they didn’t know how to do basic arithmetic they should have at least done their basic readings. For example, the headline of the article published in The Straits Times in January 2018 was “Singapore, Sri Lanka sign FTA, annual savings of $10m expected”.
Anyway, as Sri Lanka’s chief negotiator reiterated at the COPF meeting that “…. since 99% of the tariffs in Singapore have zero rates of duty, Sri Lanka has agreed on 80% tariff liberalisation over a period of 15 years while expecting Singapore investments to address the imbalance in trade,” let’s turn towards investment.
Investment from Singapore
In July 2018, speaking during the Parliamentary Debate on the FTA this is what Minister Malik Samarawickrama stated on investment from Singapore, “Already, thanks to this FTA, in just the past two-and-a-half months since the agreement came into effect we have received a proposal from Singapore for investment amounting to $ 14.8 billion in an oil refinery for export of petroleum products. In addition, we have proposals for a steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million), sugar refinery ($ 200 million). This adds up to more than $ 16.05 billion in the pipeline on these projects alone.
And all of these projects will create thousands of more jobs for our people. In principle approval has already been granted by the BOI and the investors are awaiting the release of land the environmental approvals to commence the project.
I request the Opposition and those with vested interests to change their narrow-minded thinking and join us to develop our country. We must always look at what is best for the whole community, not just the few who may oppose. We owe it to our people to courageously take decisions that will change their lives for the better.”
According to the media report I quoted earlier, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) Chief Negotiator Weerasinghe has admitted that Sri Lanka was not happy with overall Singapore investments that have come in the past few years in return for the trade liberalisation under the Singapore-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement. He has added that between 2021 and 2023 the total investment from Singapore had been around $162 million!
What happened to those projects worth $16 billion negotiated, thanks to the SLSFTA, in just the two-and-a-half months after the agreement came into effect and approved by the BOI? I do not know about the steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million) and sugar refinery ($ 200 million).
However, story of the multibillion-dollar investment in the Petroleum Refinery unfolded in a manner that would qualify it as the best fairy tale with false promises presented by our politicians and the officials, prior to 2019 elections.
Though many Sri Lankans got to know, through the media which repeatedly highlighted a plethora of issues surrounding the project and the questionable credentials of the Singaporean investor, the construction work on the Mirrijiwela Oil Refinery along with the cement factory began on the24th of March 2019 with a bang and Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and his ministers along with the foreign and local dignitaries laid the foundation stones.
That was few months before the 2019 Presidential elections. Inaugurating the construction work Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said the projects will create thousands of job opportunities in the area and surrounding districts.
The oil refinery, which was to be built over 200 acres of land, with the capacity to refine 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day, was to generate US$7 billion of exports and create 1,500 direct and 3,000 indirect jobs. The construction of the refinery was to be completed in 44 months. Four years later, in August 2023 the Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal presented by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to cancel the agreement with the investors of the refinery as the project has not been implemented! Can they explain to the country how much money was wasted to produce that fairy tale?
It is obvious that the President, ministers, and officials had made huge blunders and had deliberately misled the public and the parliament on the revenue loss and potential investment from SLSFTA with fairy tales and false promises.
As the president himself said, a country cannot be developed by making false promises or with fairy tales and these false promises and fairy tales had bankrupted the country. “Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet”.
(The writer, a specialist and an activist on trade and development issues . )
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