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One Hundred
Tamils of the 20th Century
Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan
K.C.
1851-1930
[see also Contribution of some leading Ceylon
Tamils to the Constitutional and Political
Development of Ceylon during the 19th and 20th
centuries -A. Jeyaratnam Wilson ]
From the Forgotten Aspect of Ramanathan's Life
Work by M.K.Eelaventhan, May 2001..
Early
Life
Contribution to Hinduism
Ramanathan's stand on Battle of the Sites
for the First University
Opposition to 1930 Donoughmore
Constitution
On
Land & Territory Supporting Plantation Tamils
Two Statues - but different
inscriptions
Ramanathan belittled, Arunachalam
sidelined, and the beginning of broken pacts and
evasive proposals
Conclusion
Early Life
... Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan's entry into public
life was at the instance of Maraithiru Arumuga Navalar in 1879. In 1911, he
was chosen as candidate to contest and fill the
vacancy that arose in the legislative assembly for
the All Ceylon Educated Members seat. He was
elected. The other contesting candidate was a
member of the Sinhala community. The Sinhala Muslim
riots take place in the year 1915. The Governor
declared martial law. This was harsh. Ramanathan at
the behest of his compatriots left for the United
Kingdom. The voyage was in the submarine infested
waters (of World War I) and his truimphant return
was celebrated with a lot of fanfare by being hand
drawn in a "Vel Cart - Ther" by the then Sinhala
leadership.
However, within a period of four
years he recognised that events were moving in a
direction he did not agree with. In 1919, Sir
Ponnambalam Arunachalam, his younger brother was
elected as President of the Ceylon National
Congress. As is the eastern tradition Sir
Ponnambalam Arunachalam sought his brothers'
blessings to which Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan
cautioned him and said "Thamby go ahead, but take
care you will presently meet with a storm which
will hurl you off the chair".
Contribution to Hinduism
.... in my view the most significant contribution
of Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan to his religion,
Saivaism, was the renovation of the
Ponnampalavaneswarar Temple at Kochikade. The
Temple was built by his father Ponnambalam. The
structure was of sand bricks and mortar. Ramanathan
took it upon himself to reconstruct the temple at
the very sight in granite. The architectural
splendour is no less than what is seen in the
Temple built by Raja Raja Cholan the great. The
Thanjai Peruvudiyar Kovil.and
Raja Rajans son Rajendra Cholan's Gangai Konda Cholapuram. The
architectural splendour is unrivalled in Sri Lanka.
Ramanathan's stand on Battle of the
Sites for the First University
Ramanathan was an assertive member of the
University movement. It is in recognition of his
contribution that a hall is named after him at the
Peradeniya University, in gratitude. There was a
difference of opinion between him and his brother
Sir. P.Arunachalam over the choice of siting of the
university. Ramanathan was of the opinion that the
site should be elsewhere, other in a Sinhala
dominated location. Sir P.Arunachalam favoured
Peradeniya, for its excellent ambience. This is
discussed in an article written under the heading
"The Battle of Sites". This gives an inkling into
the thought process of Ramanathan. i.e. the
domination of the majority community in the field
of education. Sir P Arunachalam became closer to
the views held by Ramanathan very much later.
Opposition to Donoughmore
Constitution
...He made another risky voyage to
Britain to protest on matters concerning the
proposed Donoughmore reforms that were proposed in
1930. His pleas with the British about the
Donoughmore proposals failed. He returned a
defeated, dejected, lonely man in early 1930,
following his failed attempts to amend the basis of
franchise, introduced into the Donoughmore Reforms.
His arrival was cold-shouldered and ignored...
The (Sinhala owned) Ceylon Daily News... had this
to say ... on his death.
" Unluckily in later years his
increasingly reactionary outlook caused by his
resolute opposition to the Donoughmore Reforms
and the extension of franchise and by the
communalism, ... coloured his political thinking.
The subsequent course of history has shown the
error of these views but time has also softened
our view of the man who held them and enable us
to judge his earlier efforts for his country at
their proper worth. In spite of his later years
of apostasy the greatness of Sir Ponnambalam
Ramanathan and the magnitude of his achievement
in the service of this country was universally
recognised. Sixteen years after his death
a grateful people erected a statue to his memory"
However, it is my view that
Ramanathan's resolute opposition to the Donoghmore
reforms was his most treasured contribution. It was
an out come of his total comprehension of what was
in store for his community. It was mature, lucid
and said so firmly and with conviction... It is
this phase that influenced later Tamil leaders...
(Indeed) it is the substance of the controversy that
prevails now.
His invaluable contribution to the Tamil community
became emphatic and purposeful when he realised
that unwittingly or otherwise, the community was
being marginalized. His view of the Donoughmore
Reforms was summed in a punch line "Donoughmore
means Tamils no more "
His difficulty was with the
replacement of the franchise that made only the
educated eligible by a universal vote. The
expansion of the voter base immediately set in
motion a change in composition of the Legislature
and the cabinet. He eloquently stated-
"The Donoughmore Reforms was a
sin before God and man. I see an ugly mob in the
streets."
It is relevant to quote from the
Hansard page 1350 of 1928. which reads as
follows:
"Then with regard to the
universal suffrage, they give us 1,500,000 votes
mostly of the Sinhalese community. I have no
complaint against the Sinhalese. Long may the
Sinhalese live Sir. But out of these 1,500,000
voters how many will vote? Not more than 50,000
or 60,000 will vote, because they cannot vote
properly at a secret ballot. When the voters
come, they in the nature of things will put in
their own countrymen. I once heard the great
Gladstone in Edinburgh during his Midlothian
campaign. I was on the same platform with him
when he told us:
"I expect every Englishman to be
an Englishman, every Scotsman to be a Scotsman
every Welshman to be a Welshman and every
Irishman to be an Irishman"
Every nation will have their own
leaders and those leaders will speak for a
particular nation and espouse their cause
generally. Otherwise, there will be confusion and
conflict. Now then, is it not natural for a
Sinhalese man to vote for a Sinhalese gentleman
of his constituency? Then who will be the
representatives in the Legislative Council? Most
of representatives of the Legislative Council
would be Sinhalese gentleman. I bear no ill will
towards them.
I believe that the minority and
majority community should prosper. Then if the
council constituted, as it would be under the new
scheme of election, elects the ministers would it
not be a death blow to the minority communities?
How can I agree to that? Are we to be just and
righteous? Or are we to treat politics as a game
for competition? I say I find this difficult.
This is not mentioned here.
If it is said that the
legislative council should elect ministers as it
stands now I will say all right, but some people
would say, "Not as it stands now but according to
the wishes of the Donoughmore Commissioners", I
say No that will not do. That will work the
greatest possible harm to the minorities... If we
accept the Donoughmore recommendations, we will
see that there is death to the minority
communities and that we should not be a party to
that."
He was firmly of the view that
Communal Representation should be the basis of
elections to the legislative council. The report
submitted by Sir P. Arunachalam to the Governor
also stresses this view.
Ramanathan in ending his speech on
Donoughmore Reforms said
"I think Sir I have said all that
I need say considering the exceedingly difficult
task that I had to perform, standing on my legs
and speaking for such lengths of time it would
have suited my personal feelings better if I have
said ' let things drift, wherever they may' but
Sir unfortunately I am not bred that way. To the
last breath of my life; I shall raise my voice
against tyranny and for the suppression of
falsehood. That is my reason for speaking at such
length. "
On Land & Territory
It appears appropriate to quote
from the Memorandum, Ramanathan submitted to the
British Government on the Donoughmore Reforms.
"The birth right of every human
being is the territory, the family, the language,
the tribe, the society and the religion into
which he was ushered into by God. ....
Equally illegal and sorrowful is
the political extinction recommended by the
Commissioner of the Burgher, Mohammedans, Indian
and Western Province Tamil constituencies.
Communal representation was
granted to these communities by the Order in
Council of 1923 which provided that there should
be 12 officials and 37 non officials of whom 23
should be elected territorially and 11 communally
and 3 nominated. This constitution [the1923 Order
in Council] placed the Ceylon Legislature on par
with The House of Commons....The then secretary
of state, the Duke of Devonshire as the
mouthpiece of His Majesty's Government; gave a
distinct pledge in his dispatch to
Governor..."
Ramanathan was acutely conscious
that a defined territory was basic for
identification of a people. Any tinkering with the
identified traditional areas inhabited by the Tamil
people was not to be fiddled about with. I believe
in current terminology this would be described as
'Demographic Engineering'. We see the
beginnings of moves in this direction in the
'Nachchaduwa Scheme', as early as the latter part
of the second decade of the 20th century. Here the
Sinhala leadership did alter a Tamil electorate to
that of a Sinhala one. Ramanathan along with other
colleagues in the state assembly vehemently opposed
these moves. The idea of the need for a clearly
demarked land area therefore could be traced to no
lesser person than Sir Ponnambalam
Ramanathan...
In the history of the Eelam struggle S.J.V.Chelvanayagam
stressed the value of land for the Tamil community.
His lieutenant Dr.E.M.V.Naganathan in his
inimitable style said in Parliament
"Birds have their sanctuary
animals have their wild life reservation but
Tamils do not have a territory of their own"
It was a statement that came from
his inner depths - from a man who was frustrated
that his community were being driven literally
from their bearings.
C.Vanniasingham a founding member of the Federal
Party, President of the Tamil Arasukkadchi and an
M.P., a puritan, and a devout adherent to SJV had
observed that on every occasion on which the Tamils
were at the receiving end of a
thrashing, they were able to seek refuge in the
North and East. If these provinces failed to
provide a haven, a sanctuary for the Tamils, which
way can they turn except to drown themselves in the
sea.
...Mohammed Ali Jinnah the father of Pakistan, a
legal luminary along with being a freedom fighter
in his address to the students of University of
Aligarh in 1942 said the following
" Oh you Muslim youths, we are
not a minority but what is the use of declaring
that we are not a minority, we are undoubtedly a
nation but a Nation cannot be created in vacuum.
We must have a clear demarcated territory of our
own, and govern it. The greatest task that has
befallen upon us since the fall of the Mogul
Empire."
Mukerjhee an eminent historian in
his book "Hindu Civilisation "states categorically
"Land is not only necessary for
the expression of an ethnic group but also for
its survival"
On the birth of India and Pakistan,
the fate of the Hindu state of Kashmir was
in issue then and the issue continues to date.
The Indian Constitution in spite of Kashmir being
an integral part of India states in section 370 of
its constitution that no one other than a Kashmiri
shall be permitted to acquire land in Kashmir. This
basic safeguard was included in the Indian
constitution to ensure that the demographic
structure of Kashmir was not interfered with...
The activity of
ULFA in Assam is also worthy of note. Refugees
from East Bengal are spilling over into Assam. The
arrival of these refugees in very large numbers is
unwittingly or otherwise, altering the indigenous
influence of the local population in the affairs of
state. The natural response is to resist that
change...
Supporting Plantation Tamils
Ramanathan's perseverance for the Tamil cause did
not confine itself only to that of the Tamils of
indigenous origin but also to the upcountry
(plantation) Tamils. The upcountry Tamil's right to franchise was in
jeopardy. They were already earmarked for
disfranchisement because of Sinhala fear that the
ethnic balance would be altered. Ramanathan
valiantly championed the cause of the upcountry
Tamils.
He defended their right to voting
rights in his speech in the Legislative Assembly
[Page 1791 Hansard Volume 111-1928]
" The Sinhalese tossed in a storm
2,500 years ago were washed ashore on this
island. How can they make up their minds and call
for the 'Indians' to "Get Out " The upcountry
worker of India arrived in this island under
different circumstances. The Sinhalese would not
kill a scorpion or a snake and choose to shoo
them away. (But) their conduct in this instance
was not consistent with the Buddha Dhamma and
Santhana dharma."
Ramanathan was around 78 years when
he rose to the defence of the workers of Indian
origin.
The problem continued to fester
long after he was gone. The consequence of the
deprived vote did provoke SJV to remark
'It is their throats now. Ours
would be the next "
C.N. Annadurai, the Dravida Munetra
Kalagam (DMK) Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu said
"They were being discarded like crushed s".
" They were treated as if it was a
horse deal" said, Dr.E.M.V.Naganathan. To refer to
them in more current usage it would be appropriate
to say they were treated like "Karapincha"
Two Statues - but the different
inscriptions
...The difference in the handling of the statues
built for the two eminent brothers is worth looking
at.
There was hesitancy, reluctance by
the (Sinhala dominated) Legislature in their
appreciation of the contribution made by Sir
P.Ramanathan. This is reflected in the writing on
the mount of his statute. The inscription reads
" Knight, an advocate, a member
of the Society of Michel George, Ceylonese
representative of the Legislative Council.
Erected on contributions made by the people."
He died in 1930 and the statue was
completed in 1915, but installed only in 1946.
As against this, despite Sir
P.Arunachalam having established the Tamil League,
a movement that was to echo the aspirations of the
Tamil people, the League died within two years of
its establishment without much ado. Perhaps,
because of his muted performance as against that of
his brother who survived him, the generosity of the
inscription in his case is eloquent -
"Sir P.Arunachalam
1853-1924.Educationist, endowed with political
sagacity, able administrator, who dedicated his
life in the service of the nation. He brought
far-reaching changes by amendments to the
Legislative Act. He served unceasingly for the
establishment of the arts council. Memorial
erected by a grateful Ceylonese public."
If the readers care to read a
little into these lines they would reach an
assessment of the difference in attitudes in the
evaluation (by the Sinhala dominated legislature)
of the contribution of the two brothers.
The purpose for which Sir.P.Arunachalam set up the
Tamil League could not be followed through because
his life was cut short thereafter. On the other
hand, Sir.P.Ramanathan was able to continue to
express his views in this regard, which was in
total harmony with that of his brother. He was
blessed with a few more years after his brother's
death and this gave him sufficient time to campaign
for the cause that was shared by him and his
brother. Sir P.Arunachalam carried his passion of
later years with him to his death - and therefore,
it was a passion that remained away from the view
of the other camp. Sir P.Ramanathan's bitter
campaign in the latter years earned him the
displeasure of the other camp.
Ramanathan belittled, Arunachalam
sidelined, and the beginning of broken pacts and
evasive proposals
Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam was side lined and Sir
Ponnambalam Ramanathan was belittled. In the All
Ceylon Legislative Assembly, the representation of
the Sinhalese and the Tamils were at par. With the
passage of a few years, the Tamil representation
began to decline.
It is necessary to repeat that Sir
Ponnambalam Arunachalam held the office of
President of the Ceylon National Congress. It was
agreed that a Tamil was to be nominated to the
Western Province Legislative Assembly. That nominee
was to be Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam. This was
later denied. The Ceylon National Congress by now
had begun to be dominated by the Sinhalese and
Sinhala interests. Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam then
broke away from this body to set up the Tamil
League.
It is precisely at this juncture in 1922, that
Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam
spoke:
"In the name of 'nationalism', in
the name of cosmopolitanism I do not want my
community to be reduced to the level of fish or
foul nor red herring. I am determined to see that
we raise our head and determine our future. I am
aware that there are moves in certain quarters to
intimidate me, but I refuse to succumb come what
may. I shall raise my voice till the last against
tyranny and oppression."
His fury continued in the same
strain, and said:
"Who have done more for the
welfare of All Ceylon than the Tamils? Who has
fought more vigorously for the welfare of the
Singhalese? In the dark days of 1915 when our
Singhalese brethren were in distress and helpless
who came to their rescue but the Tamils? That
statue which was to be to the grateful memorial
of the help rendered may as proposed in some
quarters be flung into the sea "
The Tamil minority has been deceived on
numerous occasions after the restoration of
their rights were promised. It is significant that
this trend began very early - in fact Ramanathan
and Arunachalam along with several other Tamil
leaders were at the receiving end of this breach of
promise.
One of the doyens of left politics in the history
of Sri Lanka, Dr. N.M.Perera was a man of academic
distinction and erudition. He noticed this
phenomenon and said during the debate on the
Sinhala Only Act in 1956:
"In point of fact if you go back
to the history of this country you will find that
the minorities have been betrayed at every
possible turn. From the time of D.S. Senanayake
when the Donoughmore Reforms came up, the
minorities particularly the Indian Community were
given certain promises that were broken. Then
again when the Soulbury Constitution too came up
with similar concessions that were promised were
broken right along. In the Indian Immigrants Bill
various promises were made over and over again
with regard to the treatment to be given to the
Indians, and every one of these promises were
broken in implementation of the Bill. In the
light of that, are we surprised that the
minorities are gibing at the acceptance of these
assurances?" [Hansard Language Debate 1956]
It is ironic that the very learned
and seemingly honest Dr.N.M.Perera performed a
similar breach when he was given the opportunity to
rectify the wrongs he earlier cried for. It was not
only he but also his entire clique of Red shirts.
Colvin R De Silva a stalwart leftist amongst them
delivered the unkindest cut of all.
When Senator
Nadesan pleaded with him to retain section 29
a minority safe guard clause in the Soulbury
Constitution in his New Constitution of 1972, he thought
he was very witty when he told Senator Nadesan
Q.C. "Politics was the art of the possible".
It is this very same Colvin who
earlier held the view that if we went in for one
language we would end up with two nations and if we
opted for two languages we would have saved the
whole nation or be left with one nation or
something to that effect and and who said "If you
thrust Sinhala down the throats of the Tamils, they
would vomit it out like the Irish", who later
relished shoving Sinhala not only down the throat
of the Tamil people but
who also ensured that it went right down.
Conclusion
Ramanathan's post 1915 frustrations are
deliberately or otherwise not commented on or
written of by several commentators. The exception,
of course, was Mr. M.Vythilingam, Emeritus
Principal of The Hindu College, Chavakacheri. I
had the privilege of being associated with the
publication of this biography...
... Ramanathan was 64 years of age in 1915 and
remained active and involved in public life till
the ripe old age of 79 years. It was a significant
and very mature fifteen years - and a disheartened
fifteen years. He died in 1930. In the later years
of Ramanathan's life, differences in the political
goals between him and the Sinhala leadership began
to widen. It is not incorrect to describe that they
began to polarise.
When Sir. P.Ramanathan, denounced
the Donoughmore Constitution, K.P.S.Menon the
Indian Diplomat and scholar, who served in Ceylon
in the 1920's said:
"One felt as a prophet had come
from another world opening the eyes, stirring the
hearts and shattering the illusions of, self
complacent individuals".
I was privileged to meet his son
K.P.S.Menon who held office as Foreign Secretary of
India in 1987, when I met him to plead for help
following the Vadamaradchi operation by the Sri
Lanka security forces.
During the course of our conversation in the South
Block, New Delhi, I referred to what his father had
to say on the occasion following Sir Ponnambalam
Ramanathan's speech. He was taken by surprise and
remarked, did he say so? As promised, when I
returned to Chennai I sent him a photocopy of the
K.P.S. Menon's statement as it appeared in Volume 2
of the biography by Mr. M.Vythilingam, Emeritus
Principal, Hindu College Chavakacheri.
... the Right Honourable D.S
Senanayake did describe Ramanathan as "the greatest
Ceylonese that ever lived". [note by
tamilnation.org - D.S.Senanayake was perhaps
not unmindful of the personal debt that he owed Ramanathan
for helping to secure Senanayake's release from
detention in 1915] And, Lord Rosebury a
contemporary of Sir.P.Ramanathan is on record as
having paid Ramanathan the tribute of being "the
most accomplished speaker in our empire "...
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