Jaffna College - Reflections on the History of the College 2013

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Reflections On The History Of Jaffna College

August 6, 2013 | Filed under: Colombo Telegraph,Opinion | Posted by: COLOMBO_TELEGRAPH

By Silan Kadirgamar -

Silan Kadirgamar

Celebrating the 100^th Anniversary of the Jaffna Colleg Alumni Association – Colombo Branch, and 190^th anniversary of the Batticotta (Vaddukoddai) Seminary (1823) and Jaffna College (1872) 3^rd August 2013.

One recalls an event in 1953, the annual dinner of the Academy. Three formal annual dinners took place in the college those days. These were that of the Alumni, the Academy (the literary association of students in the university entrance classes) and that of the Undergraduates’ Union. Distinguished chief guests often from the South graced these occasions. The dinners consisted of four or five courses with six speeches – the toast to the College, toast to the association and the toast to the guests with the respective responses. For students these were hilarious and memorable occasions, several dressed in full suit and tie for the first time. The speeches were humorous and of a high order. Alcohol prohibited in the college the glasses raised was filled with Machado ginger beer. In the dinner term the students in their wisdom and at times by consensus elected the most competent public speakers in English.

In 1953 the chief guest was Senator Sir Chittambalam Gardiner. In proposing the toast to the college the then principal of the Palaly Teachers Training College raised a question in all seriousness as to what right we had to call the college Jaffna College with an exclusive right to the name Jaffna. Mr. Lyman Kulathungam, senior Vice-Principal was to respond but the president of the academy Rajakumaran, took upon himself to reply to this particular comment. He plainly told the gentleman (as tapping of the tables and loud cheers filled the air) that the College was the first institution of a collegiate status in Jaffna when founded in 1872 and that we do take legitimate pride in this. All the other educational institutions were schools and over a period of time achieved collegiate status.

The seal in our publications reads Jaffna College – Ceylon with 1823 on the left and 1872 on the right, clearly proclaiming that the College was not a mere Vaddukoddai or Jaffna school but an all-Island College. Jaffna College was the successor of the Batticotta (Vaddukoddai) Seminary. The seminary had been closed in 1855. In 1872 some of the American Missionaries, former teachers and Alumni took the bold decision to establish Jaffna College, inspired by the illustrious academic achievements of the Batticotta Seminary. In between there existed a Vaddukoddai Mission school run by the American Ceylon Mission as in other parts of Jaffna.

Jaffna College Entrance & Administration Block

Jaffna College (then fully residential) focused on paving the way for higher education leading to Indian University examinations. It was an Independent Christian College free from the shackles of any established church, though it did have a close relationship with the American Ceylon Mission.

These ideals and aims persisted through the subsequent decades, and notably in 1947when a full-fledged Undergraduate Department was established. The tradition in education that led the Board and Faculty was to emulate the high standards achieved by the Batticotta Seminary.

This year 2013 the Colombo Alumni celebrate the hundredth anniversary of the founding of this association in 1913, which significantly is the 190th anniversary of the Batticotta Seminary. While we specifically focus on the anniversary of the Colombo Alumni (the parent association in Jaffna having been founded in 1879) we also observe the 190^th anniversary of the Batticotta Seminary and its successor Jaffna College.

Continuity and change are recurrent themes in facets of history pertaining to countries, peoples and institutions. Hence Jaffna College is used here to cover the whole period from 1823 as the Jaffna College Miscellany Jubilee Number did in its landmark issue in celebrating the 125th anniversary in 1947, editors of this issue being L.S.Kulathungam and C.R.Wadsworth and the manager  C.S.Ponnuthurai, distinguished and knowledgeable teachers the likes of whom we are unlikely to see in decades to come

The Batticotta (Vaddukoddai) Seminary

Modern education in Jaffna and for that matter in Ceylon begins with the founding of the Batticotta Seminary in1823 by the American Ceylon Mission. Rev.Dr.Daniel Poor was the first principal. The first girls’ boarding school in Asia was founded in Uduvil in 1824. In imparting higher education the Batticotta Seminary was second only to Carey College in Serampore, Calcutta, in the Indian sub-continent and obviously one of the oldest in Asia. Officials of the British Colonial administration have testified to the quality of education imparted.

The Colebrook Commission Report of 1831 stated: “the students have some creditable proficiency in mathematics and in other branches of useful knowledge affording the most satisfactory proofs of the capacity of the natives and their disposition to avail themselves of the opportunities of improvement afforded to them. The American missionaries were fully impressed with the importance of rendering the English language as the general medium of instruction and of the inestimable value of this acquirement in itself to the people.”

Sir Emerson Tennent, Colonial Secretary in Ceylon after his visit to the Seminary in 1848:  “The course of education is so comprehensive as to extend over a period of eight years of study … The knowledge exhibited by the pupils was astonishing; … it was no exaggeration to say that in the course of instruction and in the system of communicating the collegiate institution of Batticotta is entitled to rank with many European Universities.”

Equal importance was given to the study of Tamil together with English. Sanskrit was included and for some students Hebrew as well. Sir Emerson Tennent’s  reference to “collegiate institution … entitled to rank with many European Universities” is of particular relevance today when none of Lanka’s fourteen universities rank globally within the top one thousand five hundred. Bishop Kulandran observed that the seminary brought about a tremendous upsurge the like of which has never been seen in the country before or after.

Jaffna College in the late Nineteenth Century

Reminiscences of their student days covering the early period of the college in the 1870s and 80s by Mr. Chelliah H.Cooke and Mr.Tampu Buell who lived to a ripe old age were published in the 1947 issue of the Miscellany, giving valuable insights into the quality of education and life at the college. Mr.Cooke who entered the college in 1875 and graduated in 1879, gives a summary of the daily routine:

Rising, 5: Gymnastics 6-6.30; Prayers 6.45-7; Class 7-8; Breakfast 8-9; Class 9-10; Study 10-11; Class 11-12; Leisure and Dinner 12-1.30; Writing 1.30 – 2; Study 2-2.45; Class 2.45 – 3.30; Study 3.30 – 4.15; Class 4.15 – 5; Prayers 5 – 5.15; Leisure and Supper 5.15 – 7; Study 7-9.

It is worth noting that classes were immediately followed by study hours. Examinations and certificates were issued in three stages called the Preliminary, the Junior and the Senior. There were also periodic examinations when teachers and members of the public examined the students. These, known as public exams had no written papers. It was done orally. Discipline was maintained and punishments included fines, suspension and as a last resort dismissal. From its very inception Jaffna College had no corporal punishment, a proud record in the history of education in the then Ceylon.

Mr. Buell passed the entrance exam to the College in 1881 and was among two dozen students selected from 125 who sat the exams. “Imagine my joy and pride” he wrote, “when I fancied myself then that I had entered an American University and a University indeed Jaffna College proved to be.” Dr.E.P.Hastings, the last principal of the Seminary was the first principal of the college and planned the whole curriculum. It is noteworthy that the American Missionaries on the faculty had high educational qualifications some having been on the faculties of American Universities before or after their period at both the Batticotta Seminary and Jaffna College.

The curriculum included Mathematics, Science, Logic, Rhetoric, Moral and Mental Philosophy and Theological studies for students intending to enter the Christian ministry. Courses included Tamil, Latin, English, Indian History and the History of Rome and Greece. It was not all study.

Mr. Buell writes of the pranks they had at the College; the fights, the ducking in the tanks, and bringing down of young coconuts from the College palms.

Among the notable events in this period was the election of Glover Cleveland brother of Mrs.E.P.Hastings (the wife of the principal) as president of the U.S.A. The event was celebrated in the college and marked by the planting of several mahogany tress some standing to this day.

In 1891 the College was affiliated to the Calcutta University and in 1907 to the Madras University. In 1921 the London University Intermediate classes were started. Day students were admitted from 1909 and co-education was introduced in 1925.

Twentieth Century

The period of the three B’s marked the rapid expansion of the College. The Rev.G.G.Brown succeeded the Rev.Hastings as principal in 1908. The College colours Crimson and Gold were adopted Crimson depicting the colour of blood symbolizing hard work, sacrifice and service and Gold symbolizing the sterling qualities of character.

Brown was succeeded by the Rev.John Bicknell in 1916 to begin the most remarkable and memorable period in the history of the College marked by the quality of education imparted and the character of the men produced who occupied prominent positions in the public life of this country including the professions, politics and teaching and among them were several eminent principals of other Colleges in Jaffna. In 1923 Mr.J.V.Chelliah became the first national to be appointed vice- principal. The Alumni of that period remembered the Bicknell era as the golden era of the College when an all-round education was provided. His pre-mature death in 1936 was widely mourned. Handy Perinbanayagam, without doubt the outstanding product of the Bicknell era both as student and teacher delivered a memorable eulogy at his funeral. He concluded his tribute with these oft quoted words; “Truly may it be said of him, there was a man sent from God and his name was John.”

The liberal tradition at Jaffna College struck root in his period. When I and my contemporaries entered the College in 1947 almost all the teachers were either old students of the College or had been recruited to the staff in the Bicknell era and they carried the stamp of that era in their personalities often talking about that era in and outside our classes. Handy Perinbanayagam, Lyman Kulathungam, J.C.Amerasingam and S.T.Jeevaratnam were the first to wear the national dress as their College attire in an era when the colonial tradition of wearing western attire – coat and tie was common. This was in the 1920s when the Gandhian national movement was ascendant in India and the Jaffna Youth Congress had been founded in Jaffna in which several key members came from Jaffna College.

In the cricket field his famous telegram from Colombo to the team was often quoted “the match is not over until the last ball is bowled.” Jaffna College was losing the match against St.Patricks, but went on to eventually win the game.

The third of the B’s was Rev.Sydney K.Bunker who assumed duties in 1937. He remained principal until he was elevated as President of the College in 1947 when the Undergraduate Department of Jaffna College was founded. Mr.K.A.Selliah became principal. The Alumni of our generation take pride in this era 1937 to1966 as the Bunker-Selliah-Kulathungam era when the College expanded reaching 1200 students plus 300 in the undergraduate department and became one of the centers of excellence in education not only in Jaffna but in the island. Large numbers of students came from Malaysia, Singapore and once we even had two students from Uganda. The College had several Sinhalese students from the South and an occasional Muslim student.

Over twenty percent of the teachers were from South India, mostly from Kerala and many of them taught the sciences. In the 1940s and 50^th there were three American couples on campus, a German Jew and later a Dutch family. Both Bunker and Selliah in their wisdom recruited these teachers leading to excellent results in admissions to the faculties of Medicine, Engineering and Science in the then one and only University of Ceylon.  Mr.S.V.Balasingam who became principal in 1965 was an eminent teacher of History, Government and Politics. In the 1950s to the sixties in the History Department of the University of Ceylon (Peradeniya and Colombo) six out of the seven Tamil lecturers had been products of Jaffna College. Thanks to Balasingam, a unique record indeed.

Bunker’s idealism was balanced off by Selliah’s pragmatism and administrative qualities. But both were men of great compassion, especially to the minor staff.  J.H.Ariyaratnam (Registrar of the Undergraduate Department) said at his memorial service in 1968  “(Bunker) was a dreamer of dreams and yet had a way of communicating his dreams to others  and making them want to give his dreams shape and form.”

Mr. Pooranampllai, former principal of Hartley College in his tribute to Selliah titled “On the earth, but not of it”, wrote that four qualities mark a successful school head – he must be a good classroom teacher, a capable organizer, a firm and tactful administrator, and a kind pastor. Selliah had all these qualities.

A memorable incident in the Bunker-Selliah period is worth recording. This was an exciting football match between Jaffna College and St.Patrick’s College on the St.Patrick’s grounds in 1947. JC had not beaten St.Patrick’s for twelve years. This time hopes ran high that the splendid team could break through the drought of winless games. The match was heading for a goalless draw and the pace became faster and faster and the excitement within the crowd ran high. At the last moment the famous centre forward Ramachandran shot the winning goal and what a win it was for JC. Selliah, Fr.Long, Bunker and S.T.Jeevaratnam (football coach) were seated together. Selliah and Jeevaratnam were so carried away that they stood up on their seats and cheered. Bunker threw his hat jubilantly into the air. JC was known for its last minute goals and a similar event repeated itself when JC was almost losing 1 – 2 in 1950 on the Bicknell field. Again it was Ramachandran nicknamed Stud who in the last minute dribbled the ball through the Patrician defense from half line and shot the goal that drew the match in an exciting finish for traditional rivals in the battle of the golds. Fr.Long declared Monday a holiday for JC and Selliah reciprocated by declaring a holiday for St.Patricks. Such events remain imbedded in the memories of the students of that generation.

Lyman Kulathungam was a veteran teacher of English Literature and Latin and at times of Government and Politics. He excelled in acting Shakespeare plays and was a much sought after public speaker. He was one of the accomplished teachers on Shakespeare in the country. Entrance to the University of Ceylon with English was a tough deal. The University admitted only 40 students to the English department and most of them came from the Colombo schools. But Lyman Kulathungam’s great contribution was to be able to send students from JC with English as a subject. He was editor of the Miscellany for 32 years and also of the Morning Star for 42 years.  At the Round Table farewell dinner to him when he retired in 1963 Bunker referred to him as a forgiving man. Rev.D.T.Niles once referred to him as one having one of the fundamental qualities of being a Christian – the capacity to compromise. As warden of the senior hostel the most troublesome hostel in the College he would hold disciplinary inquiries into the early hours of the morning until warring factions among students reconciled.  A favourite poem he often repeated was from Browning’s – Rabbi Ben Ezra – “Grow old along with me, the best is yet to be.”  

From the 1960s the college had to face many challenges. The nationalization of schools in 1962 forced Jaffna College to go private non-fee levying which placed a great deal of pressure on the then administration. In 1965-68 the holding of University of London examinations, (GCE A/L, B.A, B.SC. and B.Sc Economics) were terminated in a short-sighted and foolish move by the government and was a major blow to the college the community and the country.

It was in this context that the brief tenure of Balasingham took place succeeded by the -Kadirgamar- Rajasingam  period. These years are of recent memory. The forcible take-over in 1975 of the best part of the College campus to establish the science faculty of the University of Jaffna with a mere 48 hours notice was the biggest blow the College faced. The excellent library was moved to the Thirunelvely campus. The Board of Directors panicked and closed the Undergraduate Department. The vision of a Collegiate education from 1823, revived in 1872 and again in 1947 came to an abrupt end. The College never recovered from this blow.

In another move by the Board of Directors in 1980 lacking in wisdom and practicality was their decision not to accept the grant-in-aid paying the salaries of teachers by the Jayawardene government, thereby becoming totally dependent together with the Uduvil Girls’ College on funding from the Trustees in the USA. All the private schools in the Island including Roman Catholic, Anglican and Methodist accepted the new scheme. Valuable foreign funding was now used to pay salaries of teachers, thereby depriving the College of focusing on facilities, such as hostels, sports, information technology, the teaching of English, and the training of teachers here and abroad in the pursuit of excellence in education both Secondary and Collegiate.

The war from 1983 to 2009 placed a heavy burden on the staff and administrators who had to make great sacrifices to keep the College going.

In the post Rajan Kadirgamar period (1988 to 2002) there were three principals. They were Rev. Jebanesan, later Bishop, Rajanayagam and Rev. Paul. The present principal Noel Vimalendran assumed duties as principal in 2003.

Concluding Remarks

Why go back to a History of the College at this time? The war is over. Now is a time for new opportunities. We now have new generations of students educated in the Tamil medium that deserve a better education leading to meaningful employment. Jaffna College had a unique history and names mentioned in this article and many others had a vision that was sustained for over a century and a half. That vision must be restored. It is a vision that has been repeatedly stressed in successive issues of the Miscellany (initially published in 1880) which is a rare source for our history, especially the notable roles played by hundreds of teachers. Sadly the Miscellany ceased publication.  Hopefully some youth today in the College will recapture this vision and Jaffna College will return to its status as a leading centre of education in the country (all Ceylon or Lankan) and possibly in the Asian region. A heritage once destroyed or lost will take decades to be revived. But a beginning must be made now. The Colombo Alumni even as we celebrate this special anniversary seeks to keep this hope alive.

Mr.N.Sabaratnam was an old boy of the Bicknell era and a distinguished educationist and principal of Jaffna Hindu College. He was also for many years after retirement writer of the editorial in the Jaffna based Eelanadu.  He paid a great tribute to Sellliah and Kulathungam when both died in 1983.

He wrote “It is not given to everyone to serve and be associated with one’s alma mater for such a long period – more than sixty years, as was given to these two veterans. And that brings me to the point that explains what is crucial to this wonderful phenomenon. Education as a preparation for life or social living may sound old fashioned today; but read between the lines there lurks the secret that a school organized as a free and happy community turns out men of character that are in short supply now.

Jaffna College was always well known for its liberal tradition. Character involves disciplined behavior; such discipline is self-imposed. When we consider the crooks of our society we realise that mere intellect does not develop character.” (Selliah-Kulathungam number of the Miscellany 1983)

Mr. Sabaratnam wrote these thirty years ago. Today the crooks, the bribe givers and takers, the charlatans and opportunists have multiplied a thousand fold. And they are in the three branches of the state, the legislature, the executive and the judiciary, in our universities and schools, the professions, the medical services, in the NGOs (Non-Governmental Organisations) and most disturbing even in the religious institutions of all faiths including churches. This is a challenge that has to be faced and must begin with education that provides character building and self-imposed discipline.

References

Chelliah.J.V. 1922 (Reprint 1984). A Century of English Education, the Story of

Batticotta Seminary and Jaffna College, Jaffna College, Vaddukoddai.

Jaffna College Miscellany, Jubilee Number 1947

Jaffna College Miscellany, Bunker – Balasingham Memorial Number 1970

Jaffna College Miscellany, Centenary Publication 1981

Jaffna College Miscellany, Selliah – Kulathungam Memorial Number 1983

Lakshman S Perera (Dr.) The Colebrooke Commission and Educational Reforms, Chapter 33 in Education in Ceylon, A Centenary Volume, Part II, The Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs, Ceylon 1969

Ben Bavinck

Ben Bavinck

Bandung,  25 February, 1924

Amsterdam, 11 August 2011

A tribute delivered at the St.Pauls Church, Milagiriya, Colombo on Tuesday, August 16, 2011 (day of the funeral)

Colombo Branch of the Jaffna College Alumni Association

Silan Kadirgamar

Our thoughts at this time are very much with the members of his family. Those of us who were teachers and students during Ben’s period at Jaffna College do remember his children – a lively bunch of kids making the best of it in that rural setting that is Vaddukoddai and in that exceptionally homely campus that was Jaffna College.

Ben Bavinck was, teacher, colleague, a committed Christian activist, a social worker and friend.

 Ben came to Jaffna College in its heyday as a missionary -teacher. A period in which Jaffna College reached heights of excellence in the academic field, sports, literary associations, residential life and the liberal ethos that was pervasive in the College Community. I place stress on the word Community – for we were a closely knit community with a significant multi-ethnic and international component. At one stage we had several Sinhalese students, an occasional Muslim, and students of Ceylon Tamil descent from Malaysia and Singapore and once we had two students from far away Uganda. This was partly because we had an Undergraduate Department preparing students for the external exams of the University of London.

The College having been founded by American missionaries, naturally the American presence on the teaching staff and extra-curricular activities was strong. Few people today are aware that we had Pastor Sussbach, a German Jew who had sought exile from fascist Germany and on a later date a Japanese -American couple – the daughter of the famous Japanese Christian leader Kagawa. In addition at one time 20 per cent of the teaching staff was from South India - mostly from Kerala.

It was into this setting that a 30 year old young man from Holland arrived in 1954. I have vivid memories of the day he arrived. He was mobbed by the younger students in the College as he playfully interacted with them. At that time I little realized that this was to be the beginning of a long and intimate relationship with the people of Jaffna – a relationship that lasted a good fifty-five years covering three generations. I am inclined to believe that his latter day commitments were shaped by the experience of living among the people of Jaffna at a crucial period in our history.  His theological awareness based on the Servant hood of the Master influenced his practice which in turn further sharpened his theoretical and theological understanding of society and mission.

The choice that Ben made to learn TAMIL was to stand him in good stead in subsequent years. He may not have achieved what he eventually did if he had not made this vital decision as linguistic nationalism took over and we became a monolingual society. He became a vital link and bridge-builder among the various communities in the divisive times that we have been through. This is testified to in the diaries he maintained.

In recent years he translated into English these diaries he maintained in his own language. He lived to see the publication and release OF TAMILS AND TIGERS – A journey through Sri Lanka’s war years, Part I: 1988-1994, the diaries of Ben Bavinck, edited by Maithreyi Rajeshkumar (Rajani Thiranagama Memorial Committee),Vijitha Yapa Publications, Colombo, April 2011. This valuable publication in the old tradition of missionaries and officials in the public service will last the test of time. It will remain a lasting testimony to the man and his indefatigable commitment to the people of this country in one of the worst times in our history.

Another facet of his life and personality was his simple life style and adaptability to local conditions. In one sense he belonged to the missionary tradition of the nineteenth century of simple living and being one with the people. In this sense he had much in common with Sister Hutchins of Karuna Nilayam in Kilinochchi and Sister Elizabeth Baker of Navajeevanam in Paranthan – referred to by the village folk there as  “bicycle riding Baker Amma.”  Both were able to communicate in Tamil. He like them was among the last of LIFE TIME missionaries

His life style was simple and frugal- when in Colombo he always travelled by bus and in Jaffna in the war years on his bicycle. I observed the same when I met him once in Amsterdam, on another occasion in Chennai and when he visited us in Tokyo. He returned to work for the NCC in 1986. In Holland he was Associate Director of the World service Department of the Reformed Churches (Algamin Diaconal Bureau of Netherlands), a humanitarian social work agency. A friend from the WCC once remarked to me that Ben was very tight-fisted when it came to funding for social work and understandably so. He had strong commitment to stewardship in the use of funds, marked by his own life style – that funding must reach the poorest segments of society.  And he was deeply agitated and hurt by those who plundered and embezzled such funding.

He was aware that funds that come for humanitarian relief through churches is often donated not by the rich and affluent classes but by ordinary working people with a very limited income in the developed countries of the world. Many of the missionaries that I have known retired without wealth. Some had to work after returning to their homelands, after a life time of service here. They were relatively poor in the affluent west, having given the best years of their lives to us here.

Though as I have mentioned he belonged to the nineteenth century tradition in missionary work those of us who knew his thinking and intellectual bent know how much he belonged to the contemporary era in which live.

He was very close to and deeply influenced by the Rev. Dr. D.T.Niles, who was responsible for bringing him to Jaffna. Like D.T., Ben became a very ecumenical person. He was widely read both on theology, secular and contemporary issues. By interacting with people in all walks of life he developed insights regarding our problems in this country, especially on the long unresolved national question, justice to workers, environmental and other issues. He impelled us to look at things from the other point of view – always challenging. At the same time he never failed to encourage with a short note from Jaffna of from Amsterdam when one had taken a stand that he thought was right and just. He sent us a signal that we were on the same wave length. His own experiences of life under fascist rule and the negative impact of narrow and belligerent nationalism, made him abhor extreme nationalist posturing be it Tamil or Sinhalese.

After an evening of serious and heart rending discussions it was always a pleasure to end the day with his bubbling humour, and his apt and inimitable expressions in Tamil. He enjoyed Lankan food and our ways of life. Many of us here will miss the remarkable friendship and fellowship enjoyed with this long time friend. As we say farewell to Ben Conrad Bavinck we shall always acknowledge the indelible mark he made on our lives and in some cases for over half a century.  

Lakshman Kadirgamar - A tribute - Cathedral of Christ the Living Saviour Colombo, 20 August 2005

A Service of Thanksgiving for the Life and Work of Lakshman Kadirgamar P.C. was held on the 20th August 2005 at the Cathedral of Christ the Living Saviour, Colombo 7. Members of Diplomatic Corps, officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a very large circle of relatives, friends and members of the general public were present.

The names of those who participated are:

The service was led by the Ven Crishantha Mendis, Archdeacon of Colombo.
Opening Thevaram: Mrs.Jeevanam Watson (niece)

Opening Prayer: The Rev.Sathiaseelan K.Kadirgamar (cousin)

Tributes:  Mr. Silan Kadirgamar (cousin) and Mr Ragi Kadirgamar (son).
Lessons: Mr Ragi Kadirgamar (son) and Mr. Keira Perera (grandson).
Sermon: The Rt. Revd Duleep de Chickera (Bishop of Colombo)
Intercessions: Ms Ajitha Kadirgamar Perera (daughter).
Closing Prayer: H E Monsignor Mario Zenari (Apostolic Nuncio of the Holy See).
Choir: Directed by Mr. Mano Chanmugam

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Service of Thanksgiving for the Life and Work of

Lakshman Kadirgamar P.C.

Cathedral of Christ the Living Saviour

Colombo 7

20 August 2005

A Tribute

Santasilan Kadirgamar

I have been requested to say a few words on behalf of the family. I have followed the career of Lakshman from the time my family returned from Malaysia in 1946, after the Second World War and consider it a great privilege to be given this opportunity at this service, which in our tradition is a service of thanksgiving and a celebration of life.

In the many exchanges of letters in the last few days I had this piece from my eldest brother in Toronto who has vivid memories of the Kadirgamar home “Lalitha” at Queen’s Road, where Lakshman grew and was nurtured.

“A splendid era,” he writes “one of which we were all proud of and relished being associated with has gone.” And he adds, “I cannot forget my early childhood days in the 1930s visiting the home of uncle and aunty. Lakshman was a little boy of three or four with lovely locks of long curly hair.” 

I wish to dwell on two facets missed in the flood of tributes we have read since the tragic assassination. Lakshman’s personality and values were to a great extent shaped and influenced by his distinguished father, outstanding brothers and sister. He was the youngest in a family of five brothers and one sister. Few are aware that he lost his mother Parimalam nee Mather at the tender age of eight, and the task of taking care of him fell very much on his sister Easwary Richards. The second facet relates to the Lakshman we knew before he entered parliamentary politics. Born, bred, educated and having lived the greater part of my life in Jaffna, a visit to the Kadirgamar home at Queen’s Road was an occasion looked forward to. In the first of my visits in the mid-50s the room allotted to me was Lakshman’s. He was away in the UK. There I had my first exposure to his mini-library – a collection of books that made a permanent impression on me, revealing the man, the ideas and the values that shaped his life.

In the tributes that have been paid to him I have noted two comments relevant to what I have to say today. H.L.de Silva the eminent lawyer and his close friend used the phrase “to the manner born – an icon to be treasured for generations.” Professor of Archaeology Sudarshan Seneviratne, on TV stressed the exceptional manner in which he engaged people in discussions. I know what Sudarshan was exactly talking about having had the privilege of indulging in long discussions with him, an opportunity rare and far between that I looked forward to. These interactions ceased after he entered parliamentary politics and assumed office. I have had similar frank discussions over the years with two of his brothers Sam and Rajan. The three of them shared qualities that in the context of the tributes pouring in today, I perceive as attributes that ran in the family. These were qualities of openness and intellectual honesty, an uncompromising commitment to principles and in the context of challenges faced in their lives the demonstration of immense courage.  

Lakshman’s father Sam J.C.Kadirgamar was a well-known figure in the public life of this country in the first half of the 20th century. He gave his time to many causes. He was president of the Law Society and a much-respected member of the Board of Directors of the Colombo YMCA for nearly four decades, and President for a period. When the Jaffna Diocese of the Church of South India and this one time congregational church adopted episcopacy, he was called upon to donate the bishop’s throne made of pure Palmyra wood, which to this day adorns the altar of the Vaddukoddai Cathedral in which two of Lakshman’s uncles later served as pastors.

He had obviously great ambitions for his sons, which did not work out the way he willed. The spacious Queen’s Road house was built in anticipation that the boys will enter the then University College. As it turned out Lakshman went to Trinity College and became the single member of the family entering the Faculty of Law in the neighbouring campus.  His brothers Sam, Bhai and Rajan, independent minded as they were, were attracted to the security forces during the Second World War. Later Sam took to the legal profession and became a distinguished Q.C. The brothers Bhai and Rajan remained in the services, the former seeking early retirement having reached the rank of Major and Rajan reached the rank of Rear Admiral at a relatively young age, much loved and revered by many who served under his command. A fourth brother Mana died young under tragic circumstances in a motor accident.

A word about the ancestry of the Kadirgamar family and roots that go deep into the past both on the paternal and maternal side would be in place. These reach back into the history of Jaffna but are first documented with the arrival of the American Mission in Ceylon with the founding of the Batticotta Seminary in 1823, now Jaffna College in Vaddukoddai, and the Uduvil Girls School the following year.  The Rev. Francis Asbury, a fifth generation ancestor, was among the first converts. He accompanied the Rev. Dr. Daniel Poor, the American principal of the Batticotta Seminary in establishing the first Congregational Mission in Pasumalai, Madurai in the 1830s, which in turn led to the establishment of the American College. It may be noted that one of Lakshman’s uncles studied briefly at Tagore’s Santiniketan and spent time at Gandhi’s Ashram.

This established a tradition leading to the family members having a long and intimate relationship with India, which Lakshman carried forward in a remarkable way into the political realm and the public life of India.

His paternal grandfather was, a first generation convert, who hailed from Pt. Pedro – from an orthodox Hindu family that is known to have been associated with the building of the Sivan Temple in Pt. Pedro. Karthigeyan Christian Kadirgamar did not give up this very Hindu name when he was baptized. My uncle once told me that we have given a great deal of trouble to the world in adopting this family name. A name, which I have noted, that none of my many good Sinhalese friends can either spell or pronounce correctly. Grandfather K.C.Kadirgamar was an interpreter Mudaliyar in the Supreme Court of those days, sowing the seeds for a career in the legal profession in which father and two sons excelled.

Robert Ashbury, the son of Francis Ashbury and a great-grandfather was among the first natives appointed to the Faculty of Jaffna College when it replaced the Batticotta Seminary. He was one of the founders of the Jaffna College Miscellany and the Alumni Association in 1879. He also published two books in English. One was on Education and the other on Poetry. Ashbury and his cousin Strong took over the American Ceylon Mission Press when the mission did not have the resources to run the press and publish the bilingual weekly “The Morning Star”, founded in 1848. Robert Asbury edited the paper until it was handed back to the mission.

On his maternal side Lakshman was the grandson of Edward Mather, who in turn belonged to the well-known family that engaged in business and commerce and in subsequent years in the professions and the Christian ministry.

The legal profession, the Christian ministry including its service organizations such as the YMCA, teaching and the armed services have been four strands in which several members of the extended family excelled. Lakshman served on the legal committee of the YMCA for several years and I was told only yesterday that he was a life member of the Bible society. He broke new ground and was the first in the family’s long history to enter the hazardous, risky and controversial arena of politics in contemporary Lanka – a subject on which I need not dwell except for a brief comment at the end of this tribute.

Many of my own recollections of Lakshman have been covered by the extra-ordinary media coverage his death brought to him. In one of his interviews he revealed that he had received tons of abuse in his mail. This last week he has received tons of adulation and appreciation from people from all walks of life. One recalls his being among the four athletes carrying the torch on Independence day in 1948, his breaking the public schools record in the hurdles thereby becoming a role model for his Jaffna cousins at Jaffna College and St.John’s who excelled in the same event.

A little known fact is that Lakshman could have lost his life in a plane crash in Greece in the early 80s. He was the last to leave the plane and had to jump off the emergency exit and was bed-ridden for three months.

Though Colombo based he had demonstrated an interest in Jaffna in his early years. As private secretary to Justice Gratien he accompanied him to Jaffna in the 1950s and participated in the annual student dinners at Jaffna College. Soon after his return from Oxford in 1960 he gave top priority in visiting Jaffna for two largely attended lectures. The first, under the auspices of the Undergraduates Union of Jaffna College was on the “The Rule of Law.” The second was at the Jaffna YMCA interestingly titled “From Plato to Srimavo.”

 

In his own quiet way and known only among very intimate circles he helped many a person in need in material terms, for educational purposes and in some cases to settle abroad. Unassuming and self-effacing he was a gentleman to the core. 

We are living in an age of religious fundamentalisms and religious bigotry that fuel senseless conflict. This can only be contained by meaningful dialogue among peoples of all faiths.  Lakshman was essentially an inter-faith person. Justice Weeramantry in today’s Island and Eymard de Silva Wijeyeratne in an earlier article have drawn attention to this. His theology, if I may say so, was explicitly stated in his Celestine Fernando memorial lecture in October 1992 before he became a minister. His religious convictions perceiving common values in the four great religions, has struck a responsive chord in me as among others, and I wish to affirm in the strongest terms have nothing to do with his assumption of office. As a student of Indian history I place him in the great tradition in Indian history from Asoka to Akbar, Ramakrishna, Vivekananda, Tagore and Gandhi - inclusive and not exclusive.

If there is anyway way in which his family and friends would like to perpetuate his memory, I plead that we give the highest priority to and carry forward his ideals in inter-faith dialogue in a world increasingly torn asunder in the name of religion, leading to far greater tragedies than we have already experienced in this country, the Indian sub-continent, West Asia and narrow de-humanising religious sectarianism that is fast emerging in the western world breathing oppression, violence and destruction. His lasting legacy is a commitment to pluralism and multi-culturalism.

He has carved for himself a permanent place, in the life of this country and the South Asian region, which will increasingly be seen in perspective as the years roll by. When the dust and heat has settled on the conflict that has torn this country apart, and it surely will someday sooner or later; and when we have our own truth and justice commission in the great South African tradition, when the perpetrators of violence and injustice have made their confessions and made peace across the ethnic divide, I hope and believe the people of this lovely island in the sun will jointly celebrate the life and work of Lakshman Kadirgamar. We pray that that day come soon.

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.”

I conclude in the first prayer my father taught me and one that we heard at the state funeral last Monday, “Om Shanthi, Shanthi, Shanthi”, and in the opening words of a song immortalized by the great D.K.Pattamal in January 1948, and now sung beautifully by her grand daughter Nithyasree, which in English I would read “Let there be peace everywhere, Let spirituality triumph in the world, Let peace prevail in the universe.”

“Engum Shanthi Nilava Vendum, AthmaShakthi Oonga Vendum Ulahile, Engum Shanthi Nilava Vendum”.       

The Liberal tradition at Jaffna College

     The Liberal tradition at Jaffna College

Celebrating 185 Years of Education

Silan Kadirgamar

The Freedom to think and discuss

The Youth Congress, Jaffna, originally named the Students’ Congress. Jaffna, was born in the mid 1920s and had a great impact on Jaffna politics in the early 1930s. By 1920 under Gandhi’s leadership the Indian struggle for independence entered its militant phase. Students in India played an important role in the struggle. The political stirrings in India had their impact on Jaffna. The Gandhian movement in India captured the imagination of Jaffna’s youth. To many of these young men who were pioneers of the Youth Congress, "bliss it was in that dawn to be alive."

The impact of western ideas on the youth of Jaffna was another factor. Schools and colleges founded by American and other missionaries followed later by schools founded by Hindu patriots had a major influence in transmitting western liberal values, and democratic and nationalist ideas. The major centre for the flowering of these was of course Jaffna College, Vaddukoddai.

Jaffna College (1872) and its precursor the Batticotta Seminary (1823), unlike many a missionary institution and state school in Ceylon, had stressed the study of Tamil literature. Students from this college were amongst the first graduates of the Madras University in the 1850s. The products of this institution were not culturally divorced from the people of the Peninsula, in contrast to the English educated elite that emerged in the Western Province, and in Colombo in particular. The very ‘Indianness’ of the Gandhian movement struck responsive chords amongst the English educated in Jaffna both young and old.

At this time in the 1920s the Principal of Jaffna College was the American missionary the Rev. John Bicknell known for his liberal views of freedom of thought, speech and action. "In the 1920s," said Handy Perinbanayagam, "the movement in India had a tremendous effect upon the youth of Jaffna. Probably because of the comparative freedom that prevailed at Vaddukoddai, this impact was more acute at Jaffna College." In fact Handy Perinbanayagam specifically traces the remote beginnings of the Students Congress to the debating and literary societies at Jaffna College, especially the ‘Brotherhood’, which was the Senior Literary Association in 1918—1919 when Handy was a student.
The freedom to think and discuss at Jaffna College is illustrated by the kind of subjects debated at the meetings of the literary societies. Beginning with subjects like "Home rule should be granted to Ireland," and "Labouring men have a right to strike," the students of Jaffna College went on to debate as early as 1920 subjects like "Territorial representation is better than racial"; "The headman system should be abolished ", and "The Ceylonese should not send their representatives to the Legislative Council according to the new reform scheme". By 1921-22 they were debating such radical subjects bordering on the treasonable, such as: "Gandhi was justified in burning foreign clothes ". "Self-government should be granted to Ceylon": "The Principal should be a native", and "Students should wear the national costume ". In 1923 the students had debated, "Mahatma Gandhi in prison is more dangerous than Mahatma Gandhi out of prison." In these school-boy debates, as Handy was to comment later, no subject except sex and probably denial of God was taboo. Abolition of corporal punishment, co-education, national independence, the dowry system, the caste system were debated not only with the callow cocksureness of adolescence but with the seriousness of philosophers who believed that vital consequences would follow from their debates and decisions.
Teacher patrons who exercised influence and authority had the right to attend meetings.

The principal was the patron of the senior society, the Brotherhood. But the student chairman had the right to order and ask him to sit down. On one occasion the principal John Bicknell was indeed asked to sit down and he did so with a blushing face. The Jaffna College ethos at that time was one of freedom.

In 1919 a symposium was held on "An Up-To-Date Literature in Tamil". The Hon. Mr. K. Balasingam, the Rev. S. Gnanaprakasar, and Rev. G. G. Brown participated amongst others. Mr. Balasingam expressed the view that if Tamil was to become a progressive language it must become the language of government, and Fr. Gnanaprakasar stressed the need to educate our people to appreciate their own language. But the most radical proposal came from Rev. Brown who said, "Do not allow any boy to be promoted who fails to pass a worthy test in Tamil reading, grammar and composition. Create a sentiment in the country which will make a student feel ashamed to be able to speak and to write in English, while he cannot do equally well in Tamil." In the school curriculum in the teaching of history where European and British history enjoyed a monopoly changes were made whereby Ceylon history and Indian history were introduced in the lower forms in the early twenties.

There was among the teachers and students a growing commitment to certain specific aims such as national independence, the abolition of caste and the removal of social disabilities. In 1922 some of these young men at Jaffna College, formed themselves into the Servants of Lanka Society. It was more of a study group. in which, papers were read and discussed on the country’s problems and the remedies for its ills.
From Jaffna College, Handy Perinbanayagam went to the University College in Colombo."While we were at the Union Hostel", he later reminisced, " Our warden Mr. C. Suntheralingam’s dictum was that within the four walls of the hostel we could talk the most rabid treason with impunity. Something similar was the atmosphere at Jaffna College also in the Bicknell days. In our debating societies and the classroom we were free to give unbridled expression to our convictions. The radicalism that spread at Vaddukoddai grew in strength at Guildford Crescent under Suntheralingam’s patronage. His name at that time was one to conjure with.

The Founding of the Jaffna Youth Congress

In June 1924 Handy Perinbanayagam sat the B. A. examination and thereafter returned to teach at Jaffna College. He began work for the setting up of an organisation for national independence." During holidays and weekends Handy would meet like-minded friends. These included S. Kulandran, C. Subramaniam, S. Nadesan, S. U. Somasegaram, Swami Vipulananda, M. Balasundram, S. Durai Raja Singam, P. Nagalingam, A. E. Tamber, S. Subramaniam, V. Thillainathan, S. Rajanayagam, K Navaratnam, V. Muthucumaru, J. C. Amerasingham, S. S. Sivapragasam, J. W. A. Kadirgamar, A. M. K. Cumaraswamy, V. K. Nathan, S. J. Gunasagaram, K. Nesiah, Sam Sabapathy, S. C. Chithamparanathan and several others. Some of them were senior students in the colleges in Jaffna. An exploratory meeting was held at the then Y. M. C. A. Jaffna on first November 1924. From its very beginnings the Students’ Congress had an all-island perspective and was committed to national unity and independence for Ceylon.

Handy Perinbanayagam set out the aims of the proposed Congress in a lengthy letter to the Daily News. He wrote of a new venture marshalling the forces of the students of this country, for solving the social, political, cultural, economic and political problems they faced and for the betterment of this land. He gave expression to the vision of a new Ceylon. Youth at this time, particularly in Jaffna were known for their docile acquiescence without question to the actions of their elders. This invitation to youth to form an organization for concerted action was by itself a radical venture in Jaffna in the 1920s. The movement was to embrace young people of all races, creeds and castes. This was a period when divisive forces were at work creating religious and racial animosity.
The first sessions of the Students Congress was held at the Ridgeway Hall, Jaffna in December 1924. About three hundred students together with recent graduates and undergraduates attended these inaugural sessions. The Morning Star reported that seating was in ‘national’ style on carpets and all present were in ‘national costume’.

Mr. J. V. Chelliah of Jaffna College was elected President of the Congress. In his presidential address he said that "all the greatest reforms effected in society were the work of young men. Jesus Christ when he started his mission had only just completed his twenties. Buddha’s renunciation took place when he was a very young man." He deplored the existence of communal jealousy between different communities in the island and appealed to them to make national unity one of their main planks of activity. He referred to the curse of untouchability and the evil effects of the dowry system and called on the youth to translate ideals into practical action. He emphasised the role of the youth in eradicating the social evils prevalent in the country."

Handy recalling J. V. Chelliah’s speech later said, " I remember the simile he had used to portray the unity he had in mind. It was the rainy season. The landscape from Vaddukoddai to Jaffna was for long stretches covered with paddy fields. To the passenger in the car the fields were like a spreading sea of emerald green but there were ridges marking boundaries. National unity was obvious. The differences however real should be played down".

Handy Perinbanayagam once related a memorable event in his life. He and Lyman Kulathungam were the first two students to pass the London Inter-Arts examination at Jaffna College. This was in 1922 when Jaffna College was celebrating the one hundredth anniversary of the founding of the Batticotta Seminary. The two successful students were to deliver orations at the Prize Day function, an honour that no student would forego. But Handy had made it known that he would go to the function in national dress. Principal Bicknell having heard about this, called young Handy and insisted that he should wear trousers and coat. The young idealist politely refused to do so. Bicknell then ruled that he would not have the honour of delivering the Prize Day oration. The honour went to Lyman Kulathungam. Handy later recalled that it was a painful incident to him. Bicknell had been like a foster father to him. Lyman Kulathungam, later vice-principal of the college, adopted  the national dress and wore it for the rest of his life.

Boycott of the King’s birthday celebrations

Developments in India continued to have their impact on the students in Jaffna. It was the practice every year to celebrate the King’s birthday. In Jaffna the main event was an inter-school sports meet. The students of Jaffna College, Vaddukoddai, made a sudden decision not to participate in the sports meet and celebrations in June 1930.
The idea of a boycott of the celebrations occurred to some of the younger teachers at the college. Bonney Kanagathungam, A. S. Kanagaratnam and C. J. Eliyathamby were among those who canvassed support for a boycott among the athletes who responded favourably. In a country where there was hardly any kind of action against British rule, the students of Jaffna College at that time took legitimate pride in an action of this nature that had political overtones. There is no doubt that the students had been influenced by the activities of the Students’ Congress. The students spontaneously decided that so long as Mahatma Gandhi was in gaol and the ‘ mother country’’ was in travail for her Independence it was not possible for the people of Jaffna to partake of the festivities in honour of the King.

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Published in:

The Souvenir of the Jaffna College Alumni Association (Colombo Branch), 2007, commemorating the 185th Anniversary of the Batticotta Seminary (1823) and its successor Jaffna College (1872).

The extract is from HANDY PERINBANAYAGAM: A  MEMORIAL VOLUME: first published in Jaffna in 1980, The Thirumakal Press, Chunnakam. Revised edition March 2012, Kumaran Printers, Colombo.

Published in the Sunday Island 7 September 2008