Hector Abhayavardhana
Encyclopedia
Hector Abhayavardhana is a Sri Lanka
n Trotskyist theoretician, a long-standing member of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party
(LSSP) and a founder-member of the Bolshevik-Leninist Party of India, Ceylon and Burma
.
where his maternal grandfather was an Anglican vicar - at a time when the Church of England
was the established church. His father was a government servant and a pillar of the establishment.
Abhayavardhana was educated at St Thomas' College, Mt. Lavinia. His upbringing, being anglicised in culture and religion, was typical of the colonial middle-class and hence remote from the mass of Sinhala-speaking Buddhist people. He and his fellow matriculation
student were once posed the question 'Would you have been better off under your own king?' by their teacher, in response to which he began to ponder upon nationalism
and British
colonial
rule.
At fifteen he renounced Christianity
and became an atheist. In 1936 he joined University College, Colombo where he read liberal arts and came under the influence of E.F.C. Ludowyk and Doric de Souza, who had Marxist sympathies. He went on to complete his colonial education at the Colombo Law College.
Abhayavardhana's first exposure to radical politics was the Bracegirdle incident, in which the Colonial Government sought to deport an Australian labour activist. He attended a mass meeting at Galle Face Green
on 5 May 1937 at Bracegirdle made a dramatic appearance and a stirring speech before being whisked away into hiding. At the time, his father was the Chief Clerk in the office of Governor Reginald Stubbs, who sought the deportation and against whom this meeting was directed.
He organised the Mount Lavinia Debating Society, which invited such speakers as Dr. Colvin R. de Silva
and J. R. Jayewardene.
in 1940 by Esmond Wickremasinghe (later to be father of Ranil Wickremasinghe
). He became part of the clandestine section of the LSSP that was established, in anticipation of its proscription, to work underground. After the party leaders were imprisoned and escaped to India he joined them in exile there (disguised as an Anglican priest) and worked in the Independence movement.
He became a member of the Bolshevik-Leninist Party of India, Ceylon and Burma
(BLPI) and began his career as a writer. His two pamphlets 'The Saboteur Strategy of the Constructive Programme' and on the Quit India Movement of the Congress Party
were considered to be seminal theoretical works. When the main LSSP leaders returned to Sri Lanka after the war, Abhayawardhana was among the Sama Samajists who remained in India.
of the Socialist Party
which was created by the fusion in 1948 of the BLPI with the Congress Socialist Party
. He moved to New Delhi
where he was editor of the Socialist Appeal and contributor to the Hindustan Standard. He spent two years in Hyderabad editing Mankind before returning to New Delhi where he began the critical journal Maral.
Abhayavardhana is credited with formulating the classification of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party
(SLFP) as a petty bourgeois party, which was the ideological and theoretical foundation of the LSSP Coalition
with that party in 1964. After this, he promoted an alliance with the SLFP and the Communist Party
, which finally emerged with the signing of the Common Programme of the United Front
in 1968.
Abhayavardhana started The Nation as an English
organ of the United Front, serving as its editor. When the United Front formed a government in 1970 Hector served as Chairman of the People's Bank
under Dr. N.M. Perera, the Finance Minister
. After the front broke up in 1975, he founded the Socialist Nation. He also served on the Educational Bureau of the LSSP and was a long-standing member of the Politburo
.
In August 1992 Abhayavardhana, along with Vivienne Goonewardena
and Bernard Soysa was a guest of honour at the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Quit India movement in New Delhi.
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...
n Trotskyist theoretician, a long-standing member of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party
Lanka Sama Samaja Party
The Lanka Sama Samaja Party is a Trotskyist political party in Sri Lanka....
(LSSP) and a founder-member of the Bolshevik-Leninist Party of India, Ceylon and Burma
Bolshevik-Leninist Party of India, Ceylon and Burma
Bolshevik-Leninist Party of India, Ceylon and Burma was a revolutionary Trotskyist party which campaigned for independence and socialism in South Asia.-History:...
.
Early life
Hector Abhayavardhana was born in KandyKandy
Kandy is a city in the center of Sri Lanka. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills in the Kandy plateau, which crosses an area of tropical plantations, mainly tea. Kandy is one of the most scenic cities in Sri Lanka; it is both an...
where his maternal grandfather was an Anglican vicar - at a time when the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
was the established church. His father was a government servant and a pillar of the establishment.
Abhayavardhana was educated at St Thomas' College, Mt. Lavinia. His upbringing, being anglicised in culture and religion, was typical of the colonial middle-class and hence remote from the mass of Sinhala-speaking Buddhist people. He and his fellow matriculation
Matriculation
Matriculation, in the broadest sense, means to be registered or added to a list, from the Latin matricula – little list. In Scottish heraldry, for instance, a matriculation is a registration of armorial bearings...
student were once posed the question 'Would you have been better off under your own king?' by their teacher, in response to which he began to ponder upon nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
and British
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
colonial
Colonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
rule.
At fifteen he renounced Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
and became an atheist. In 1936 he joined University College, Colombo where he read liberal arts and came under the influence of E.F.C. Ludowyk and Doric de Souza, who had Marxist sympathies. He went on to complete his colonial education at the Colombo Law College.
Abhayavardhana's first exposure to radical politics was the Bracegirdle incident, in which the Colonial Government sought to deport an Australian labour activist. He attended a mass meeting at Galle Face Green
Galle Face Green
The Galle Face is a promenade which stretches for half kilometre along the coast in the heart of financial and business district of Colombo, Sri Lanka...
on 5 May 1937 at Bracegirdle made a dramatic appearance and a stirring speech before being whisked away into hiding. At the time, his father was the Chief Clerk in the office of Governor Reginald Stubbs, who sought the deportation and against whom this meeting was directed.
He organised the Mount Lavinia Debating Society, which invited such speakers as Dr. Colvin R. de Silva
Colvin R. de Silva
Colvin R. de Silva was a former Cabinet Minister of Plantation Industries and Constitutional Affairs, prominent member of parliament, Trotskyist leader and lawyer in Sri Lanka. He was one of the founders of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party – the first Marxist party in Sri Lanka.-Personal...
and J. R. Jayewardene.
Revolutionary
Abhayavardhana was recruited to the Lanka Sama Samaja PartyLanka Sama Samaja Party
The Lanka Sama Samaja Party is a Trotskyist political party in Sri Lanka....
in 1940 by Esmond Wickremasinghe (later to be father of Ranil Wickremasinghe
Ranil Wickremasinghe
Ranil Shriyan Wickremesinghe , MP, is a Sri Lankan politician and current Leader of the Opposition in the Sri Lankan parliament. He was Prime Minister of Sri Lanka twice, from May 7, 1993 to August 19, 1994 and from December 9, 2001 to April 6, 2004...
). He became part of the clandestine section of the LSSP that was established, in anticipation of its proscription, to work underground. After the party leaders were imprisoned and escaped to India he joined them in exile there (disguised as an Anglican priest) and worked in the Independence movement.
He became a member of the Bolshevik-Leninist Party of India, Ceylon and Burma
Bolshevik-Leninist Party of India, Ceylon and Burma
Bolshevik-Leninist Party of India, Ceylon and Burma was a revolutionary Trotskyist party which campaigned for independence and socialism in South Asia.-History:...
(BLPI) and began his career as a writer. His two pamphlets 'The Saboteur Strategy of the Constructive Programme' and on the Quit India Movement of the Congress Party
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
were considered to be seminal theoretical works. When the main LSSP leaders returned to Sri Lanka after the war, Abhayawardhana was among the Sama Samajists who remained in India.
Journalist
He worked on the fortnightly New Spark in Bombay, later moving to Madras. He became General SecretaryGeneral Secretary
The office of general secretary is staffed by the chief officer of:*The General Secretariat for Macedonia and Thrace, a government agency for the Greek regions of Macedonia and Thrace...
of the Socialist Party
Socialist Party (India)
Socialist Party has been the name of several political parties in India, all of which have their roots in the Congress Socialist Party formed during the freedom struggle...
which was created by the fusion in 1948 of the BLPI with the Congress Socialist Party
Congress Socialist Party
The Congress Socialist Party was founded in 1934 as a socialist caucus within the Indian National Congress. Its members rejected what they saw as the anti-rational mysticism of Mohandas Gandhi as well as the sectarian attitude of the Communist Party of India towards the Congress Party...
. He moved to New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
where he was editor of the Socialist Appeal and contributor to the Hindustan Standard. He spent two years in Hyderabad editing Mankind before returning to New Delhi where he began the critical journal Maral.
Return to Sri Lanka
In 1959 Abhayavardhana married Kusala Fernando and returned to Sri Lanka in 1960.Abhayavardhana is credited with formulating the classification of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party
Sri Lanka Freedom Party
The Sri Lanka Freedom Party is one of the major political parties in Sri Lanka. It was founded by S.W.R.D Bandaranaike in 1951 and, since then, has been one of the two largest parties in the Sri Lankan political arena. It first came to power in 1956 and since then has been the predominant party in...
(SLFP) as a petty bourgeois party, which was the ideological and theoretical foundation of the LSSP Coalition
Coalition
A coalition is a pact or treaty among individuals or groups, during which they cooperate in joint action, each in their own self-interest, joining forces together for a common cause. This alliance may be temporary or a matter of convenience. A coalition thus differs from a more formal covenant...
with that party in 1964. After this, he promoted an alliance with the SLFP and the Communist Party
Communist Party of Sri Lanka
The Communist Party of Sri Lanka is a communist political party in Sri Lanka. At the last legislative elections, on 2 April 2004, the party was part of the United People's Freedom Alliance that won 45.6% of the popular vote and 105 out of 225 seats....
, which finally emerged with the signing of the Common Programme of the United Front
United Front (Sri Lanka)
The United Front was a political alliance in Sri Lanka, formed by the Sri Lanka Freedom Party , the Lanka Sama Samaja Party and the Communist Party of Sri Lanka in 1968...
in 1968.
Abhayavardhana started The Nation as an English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
organ of the United Front, serving as its editor. When the United Front formed a government in 1970 Hector served as Chairman of the People's Bank
People's Bank
People's Bank, or variations such as People's State Bank or People's National Bank Building, may refer to:in Austria*Volksbank, Central European retail bank headquartered in Austriain China...
under Dr. N.M. Perera, the Finance Minister
Finance minister
The finance minister is a cabinet position in a government.A minister of finance has many different jobs in a government. He or she helps form the government budget, stimulate the economy, and control finances...
. After the front broke up in 1975, he founded the Socialist Nation. He also served on the Educational Bureau of the LSSP and was a long-standing member of the Politburo
Politburo
Politburo , literally "Political Bureau [of the Central Committee]," is the executive committee for a number of communist political parties.-Marxist-Leninist states:...
.
In August 1992 Abhayavardhana, along with Vivienne Goonewardena
Vivienne Goonewardena
Violet Vivienne Goonewardena was a Sri Lankan pioneer socialist and feminist. Her life and politics were shaped by the most interesting times of the Sri Lankan Left and she was in turn one of its more colourful personalities.-Political beginnings:Goonewardena was drawn into politics while still...
and Bernard Soysa was a guest of honour at the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Quit India movement in New Delhi.
Works
- Hector Abhayavardhana, Selected Writings, Colombo, Social Scientists Association, 2001.