Caroline Anthonypillai
Encyclopedia
Caroline Anthonypillai was a leftist leader in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

 and wife of S.C.C. Anthonypillai, a Sri Lankan union organizer and Indian politician. She was sometimes called the leading light of the leftist movement"

Early life

Caroline (born Dona Caroline Rupasinghe Gunawardena) was born on October 8, 1908, in Avissawella
Avissawella
Avissawella, also known as Seethawakapura or Seethawaka, is a town along the A4 route from Colombo on the Western Coast to Kalmunai in the Eastern Coast of Sri Lanka via Ratnapura, Pelmadulla, Balangoda and Wellawaya.- Overview :...

 to Don Jakolis Rupasinghe Gunawardena, a headman of the village and British agent, and his wife. She had eight siblings, which included National Hero Philip Gunawardena
Philip Gunawardena
Don Philip Rupasinghe Gunawardena introduced Trotskyism to Sri Lanka, where he is a national hero, known as 'the Father of Socialism' and as 'the Lion of Boralugoda'.-Early life & education:...

. After her father was arrested by the British during communal roundups, she was sent to a Buddhist girls' school, where she gained nationalist views. After completing her studies, she went back to her village to teach at a Buddhist school.

She was asked to teach Sinhala to Anthonypillai, one of many Tamils
Tamil people
Tamil people , also called Tamils or Tamilians, are an ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, India and the north-eastern region of Sri Lanka. Historic and post 15th century emigrant communities are also found across the world, notably Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, South Africa, Australia, Canada,...

 who decided to join the labor movement. Though he was a Tamil Christian
Christianity in Sri Lanka
Christianity is a minority religion in Sri Lanka. Roman Catholicism was introduced by the Portuguese in 1505. There were conversions by Dutch persons in the 17th century, which resulted in a percentage of church members in excess of 10%. This figure decreased...

 and she was a Sinhala Buddhist, and she was six years older than he was, they married in 1939 and had four children.

Pre-war activism

In 1931, she began to work on political campaigns, and helped her brother contest a close election, which deepened her resolve for social justice. She also participated in protests to gain equal rights for Ceylonese soldiers of World War I, who were neglected by the colonial government. In 1935, she helped found the Lanka Sama Samaja Party
Lanka Sama Samaja Party
The Lanka Sama Samaja Party is a Trotskyist political party in Sri Lanka....

 (Sri Lanka's first political party) with brothers Harry, Philip, and Robert. After their marriage, Anthonypillai and Caroline went to the Hill Country to organize the Tamils into labor groups.

Wartime activism

As an avid Trotskyist, Caroline and Anthonypillai opposed the war as an example of imperialism, and the British government cracked down on the LSSP
Lanka Sama Samaja Party
The Lanka Sama Samaja Party is a Trotskyist political party in Sri Lanka....

. In 1942, Caroline joined her husband in Madurai
Madurai
Madurai is the third largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It served as the capital city of the Pandyan Kingdom. It is the administrative headquarters of Madurai District and is famous for its temples built by Pandyan and...

, India, where they continued their path of resistance. After her brother was arrested in Mumbai, Caroline fled back to Sri Lanka to protect her two children.

Post-war activism

Anthonypillai and Caroline then moved back to Madurai to become union leaders. She organized many marches for the mill workers of Madurai, which led to a many of the union's demands being met. As crackdowns occurred, Caroline used ingenious methods of dispensing information to subvert the crackdowns.
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