Features
The migration of S. Thomas’ College from Mutwal to Mt. Lavinia
(Excerpted from Selected Journalism by HAJ Hulugalle)
The Editor has invited me to write something about the migration of St. Thomas’ College 50 years ago from Mutwal to Mount Lavinia. To do so I would have to begin at the beginning of my connection with the College.
I joined the Mutwal school as a boarder in January 1908. Among the boys I came to know then were Arthur Ranasingha, always a keen and diligent scholar, and R. S. de Saram, already showing the promise which made him the best all-rounder, in work, sports and leadership, produced by S. Thomas’.
The numbers of the Upper School and Lower School together in those days could not have been more than 400, and Warden Stone kept track of every boy. There were probably a 150 boarders in the four large dormitories and Winchester which housed the smaller boys. E. Navaratnam, perhaps the greatest of Thomian house-masters, wrote in the Centenary Number of the school magazine that “the boarding house system, then as now, was the focal point around which all College activities revolved.” This was because the boarders came from all parts of the Island, and formed a compact and disciplined community.
The dormitory masters were, besides Mr. Navaratnam, two Englishmen, the Rev. Handel Smith and C. W. B. Arnold, and O. P. Gooneratne. Miss Treason was Matron and was also in charge of Winchester. Many of those who were in the Matron’s dormitory, like Sam Elapata, Roy Jayasundara and Gordon Jan, are dead. A close friend of over 60 years, Leo Goonewardene, kinsman and near neighbour at Kurunegala, had a school career parallel to mine. He still preserves the elegant stance which distinguished his batting when he played for the College. He rarely misses Old Boys’ Day or the Royal-Thomian cricket match.
Mr. Christie-David, my first class-master, was something of an artist. He set a standard in map-making of which the Survey Department would not be ashamed and which some of the boys managed to reach, no doubt with help from their elders. He believed in the tonic effects of an occasional caning and sent up a few boys every Friday afternoon to stand in the line in the Warden’s study and receive their medicine. I had only a single experience of this treatment with a modest dose of four cuts.
Our new science master, C. W. B. Arnold, taught us enough chemistry in the Upper Third (fifth standard) to cope with any paper set for the Junior Cambridge (eighth standard) and laid a good foundation which stood in good stead in later years.
Mr. R. W. Evans was the head master of the Lower School, and he saw to it that no boy was issued a new exercise book unless the used one, which was handed in, had been neatly kept. He was a good musician and played the organ at the Cathedral which was in a part of the College premises. The boarders attended matins there every morning before breakfast.
Both Arnold and Evans afterwards joined business firms and prospered. The Rev. G. B. Ekanayake, the Principal of the Divinity School, was part of the College establishment. Warden Stone, the Sub-Warden (first the Rev. O. J. C. Beven), Mr. Ekanayake and sometimes Bishop E. A. Copleston, preached the sermons at Sunday evensong which were well above the heads of most of the boys.
Before I reached the Upper School I left St. Thomas’ and joined my brother at Trinity. Four generations of my family have now been to Trinity. When I went there the Principal was A.G. Fraser, a dynamic Scot who, like Arnold of Rugby, believed in a muscular Christianity. There were more activities at Trinity than at St. Thomas’ with perhaps less emphasis on scholarship even though Trinity had some superb teachers like W.S. Senior, N.P. Campbell and Lemuel. Life was less cloistered there and one got to know more about what was going on in the country.
In the midst of many distractions my work suffered. So I went back to St. Thomas’, to work harder and try to catch up with boys from whom I had parted company a few years earlier. By their standard of scholarship, I was gawky. My Latin was mediocre and I could not construe Virgil with the ease of those, like L.W. de Silva, who had been taught by C.V. Pereira and the Warden himself. How I wish I had had the benefit of the discipline exercised by C.V. Pereira, Navaratnam and O.P. Gooneratne!
I had no trouble with Mathematics and Science, and did not feel disgraced when I was placed below Ranasinha and R. S. de Saram in the Arndt Memorial English Prize for which I made a determined try. There was a crop of brilliant students in the College Form who had read widely. It was, for example said that E.B. Wikramanayake had read every book in the school library.
Many of the science students got distinctions in Latin in the Senior Cambridge Examination. Latin was a sine qua non in those days. The brighter boys had their eye on the English University Scholarships awarded on the results of the Inter Arts and Inter Science Examinations of the London University. To sit for them one had to pass the London Matriculation or gain an exemption from it, which meant passing in an extra language, ‘dead’ or `living’, and in most schools it was Latin. Every Thomian knew some Latin which was started very early. It was compulsory even in the Five A Form, a special enclave for non-scholars.
The story is told of S.J.K. Crowther, formerly Editor of the Ceylon Daily News”, of his first encounter with D.S. Senanayake, our first Prime Minister. Crowther was a new boy and at a test examination he turned to his burly neighbour, whose name he did not know, and enquired surreptitiously how the Latin noun “res” was declined. Senanayake whispered: “yes, rem, yetis, rete.” When his paper was scrutinised by Mr. Handel Smith, Crowther was in no position to give the source of his error.
Some of the most famous teachers in Thomian history moved with the school from Mutwal to Mt. Lavinia; among them C. V. Pereira and Navaratnam (both old Trinitians), O. P. Gooneratne and H.J. Wijesinghe, (Royalists), Leonard Arndt, H.D. Jansz, E.S.D. Ohlmus and George Amarasinghe. The Sub-Warden, the Rev. P. L. Jansz, who had acquired the gift of tongues was a fascinating teacher. He knew more Sinhalese than the Sinhalese boys and more Tamil than the Tamil boys. In addition, he knew French, German, Italian, Spanish and Hebrew.
He was supposed to teach the Inter class English texts but he wandered into so many exciting fields of knowledge that the less diligent boys were never able to master their texts. George Amarasinghe, still hail and hearty in his eighties, was a great mathematics teacher, fully in the tradition of his predecessors like Warden Miller, J.R. Jayatilaka and T.N. Nathanielsz.
I was a prefect of Copleston House which was separated from the main precincts by a noisome jungle. Mr. H. J. Wijesinghe, our dormitory master was Captain in command of the Cadet Corp. He kept a pony which he used to ride at the head of the column during route marches. In his absence some of the more daring boys initiated themselves into the art of horseback-riding. C. H. Davidson was one of the boys in Copleston House in my time.
It is sometimes said, especially by those of the older generation, that a Sixth Form or College Form boy 50 years ago had a better education than the average undergraduate of today. Those who left after the Inter had no difficulty in getting the London degree by private study. The Colombo University College was started in 1920 and the University twenty years later. Most of us were quite ignorant of Ceylon history and proficiency in Sinhalese and Tamil were rare. But one could say with confidence that the discipline of the subjects taught, and taught with thoroughness, had a greater character-forming influence than the loaded syllabuses of today. A boy sitting for the Junior Cambridge, for example, was more at home with the English Language than many a graduate of today.
Even the most ardent nationalism must now realize that, under modern conditions, every educated person needs to have a command of English or other world language which unlocks the treasure house of knowledge and which neither Sinhalese or Tamil will be able to do for a long time to come. Rich in certain respects, our national languages are inadequate to meet the demands of higher education, especially in science and technology. There is thus no alternative to an effective bilingualism.
It is noteworthy that the bigots who would exclude English are the first to ensure that their own children get it! With English as the medium of instruction, the schools were available to surmount the barriers of language and geography. Communal differences were dissolved and it meant nothing that a boy came from Batticaloa or Galle. The price paid for this unity was the gulf that was created between the elite and the masses.
Yet, St. Thomas’ produced many of the political leaders of the first half of the century. They were adept at mixing with the masses and found no difficulty in haranguing them in the language which the populace understood. Indeed they seemed to have learnt something from Cicero and Demosthenes in the demagogue’s art.
There is of course much greater control of education by the government now, and the schools are no longer autonomous. The official policy seems to be to gear the pace of the caravan to the speed of the slowest camel. The flow of brilliant European teachers has been arrested. Classes are often unwieldy in number. Good books in the national languages are few. The spectre of unemployment leads to early specialization but science teachers are lacking.
In these circumstances, if a boy does not wish to be left behind he must not only be prepared to work hard; he must plan his program of studies with the best advice available to him. Unless this challenge is met successfully, the justification for private schools will disappear.
(This was first published in the S. Thomas’ College Jubilee Number in 1968)
R.S. de Saram was one of the first boys Hulugalle got to know when he entered St Thomas’ College Mutwal in 1908.
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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