by Sachi Sri Kantha, July 9, 2025
Prologue
Alfred Duraiappah in May 1970
While in his thirties, Alfred Duraiappah (1926-1975) served as an Independent elected MP for Jaffna, from March 1960 to December 1964. A Christian Tamil by birth, in a majority Hindu constituency, Duraiappah was able to squeak through with victory margins of less than 900 votes, in multi-pronged contests, among the Tamil Congress nominee (G.G. Ponnambalam Sr., 1902-1977) and Federal Party nominee (S. Kathiravelupillai, 1924-1981). Duraiappah also lost the 1965 and 1970 contests sequentially, to G.G. Ponnambalam Sr. and C.X. Martyn (1908-1991), while contesting as an Independent.
In the March 1965 general election, Tamil Congress leader G.G. Ponnambalam (9,350 votes) won the battle against Durariappah (5,918 votes) convincingly, where the latter was pushed to the 3rd place, after Cyrillus Xavier Martyn (6,800 votes), the Federal Party runner up. In the May 1970 general election, Federal Party’s candidate Martyn (8,848 votes) won over Duraiappah (8,792 votes) with a slender margin of 56 votes. Ponnambalam was placed third with only 7,222 votes. Duraiappah filed an election petition to contest the results. When this apppeal was taken up for hearing, before three justices – H.N.G. Fernando (Chief Justice), G.P.A. Silva and J. Samerawickrame, for some unexplained reasons, Duraiappah was in Tamil Nadu and submitted two medical certificates from medical practitioners in Tiruchinopolli (S. Rajendran) and Thanjavur (M.V. Bhatt, Prof of Surgery). The appeal was dismissed. For an angle on Duraiappah’s character, I provide an abridged version of this verdict (a vital, public document) in a pdf format. [New Law Reports, vol. 74, pp. 481-493]. Interestingly, the lead counsel who appeared for Duraiappah’s 1970 election petition was Nadesan Satyendra, supported by two lawyers. The first Respondent in the petition, Martyn (the newly elected Jaffna MP) was represented by a team of eight lawyers, led by C. Ranganathan QC and P. Navaratnarajah QC.
Alfred Duraiappah’s Election Petition Appeal No. 4 of 1970 – Jaffna Constituency
Cyrillus Xavier Martyn (1908-1991)
Posthumously, Duraiappah morphed into a ‘Tamil hero of sorts’ for the Sinhalese journalists in Colombo, partly due to his pimping role as a SLFP hitchhiker in Jaffna – inviting and servicing the then ‘Prince’ Anura Bandaranaike (1949-2008) for his sexual peccadillos. For proof, please check the pdf document 12.
What Duraiappah did on December 3, 1964 by absenting himself during the crucial moment of vote count, to topple the first prime ministerial tenure of Sirimavo Bandaranaike is now a historical fact mired in secrecy. Mrs Bandarnaike’s government lost by 74 votes (against) and 73 (for). Did Duraiappah receive ‘bribe money’ from those (especially J.R. Jayewardene’s camp and his intermediaries) who plotted to remove Mrs. Bandaranaike? This is indeed a conjecture. There are some vague hints? For this aspect of Duraiappah as a corrupt politician, I reserve my comments to the ‘Coda’ section.
When Sirimavo Bandaranaike began her second prime ministerial tenure, between May 1970 and July 1975, Duraiappah promoted himself as the chief SLFP organizer for Jaffna district, in rivalry with Chinnaiah Arulampalam (newly elected Tamil Congress party MP, who became a turncoat to join the SLFP) and Chelliah Kumarasuriyar (a nondescript architect, who was included in the Sirimavo Bandaranaike Cabinet). This is the synopsis of Duraiappah’s career in Sri Lankan politics.
Duraiappah Dossiers Part 1 and Part 2
Fifteen years ago, I compiled the Part 1 (July 26, 2010) and Part 2 (Aug 4, 2010) of Alfred Duraiappah dossiers, which were posted in this site, and still remain accessible. [https://sangam.org/2010/07/Duraiappah_1.php?uid=4013 and https://sangam.org/2010/08/Duraiappah_2.php?uid=4030]. Since then, I had noticed in the net’s varied platforms, smug scribblings about Duraiappah’s life had been posted by folks (gullible Sinhalese journalists, aided by self-righteous sods like Rajan Hoole), who hardly bother to study and verify the facts, available in Tamil documents. In addition to his official deeds as the corrupt Mayor of Jaffna, Duraiappah also worked overtime as the prime pimp of SLFP’s notorious, freedom-restrained rule between 1970 and 1975.
As July 27th marks the 50th anniversary of the death of Duraiappah, I have compiled Part 3 of The Alfred Duraiappah dossier, consisting of sixteen items. All items, excluding one (item 12, a ‘wailing lament of Mrs Duraiappah’-1975) are new additions, and presented chronologically. All these publicly available items project specific high-lights of Duraiappah’s corrupt political career. Especially of interest is item 13 – an Airgram A-97 From the [US] Embassy in Sri Lanka to the Department of State, document, Colombo, November 23, 1976. This was declassified by the US Department of State on Oct 11, 2007. In this document, the Embassy official who had drafted this document (identified as Donald Camp), had grouped Duraiappah, C. Arulampalam, C. Kumarasuriyar and A. Thiagarajah as ‘Tame’ (Government) Tamils’ and derisively labeled this group as ‘head-in-the-sand variety of Tamil politician who considers his personal position within the government to be more important than challenging the status quo. These Tamils are not very influential within their community’. Also of interest was that the incipient Tamil militant groups were tagged as ‘The Independence Fighters’. This was during President Gerald Ford’s brief tenure. Then, 20 years later, during President Bill Clinton’s tenure, ‘The Independence Fighters’ morphed into ‘Terrorists’!
Abbreviations used in the eleven items are provided ahead, for convenience: CP = Communist Party, FP = Federal Party, CP = Communist Party, GA = government agent, LSSP = Lanka Samasamaja Party, LTTE = Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, MPCS = Multi-Purpose Corporative Society, PM = prime minister, SLBC = Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation, SLFP = Sri Lanka Freedom Party, TC = Tamil Congress, UF = United Front (comprising of SLFP, LSSP and CP)
Item 1: Decision to dissolve Parliament.
Hindu Organ (Jaffna), Dec 4, 1964, p.1.
The voting on the Address of Thanks to the Speech from the Throne, could not be held over for more hopeful time. At eight pm yesterday the nation’s grievances were answered by the Members of Parliament, seventy four of them combining in rare exhibition of the courage of their conviction defeated the Government by a single vote.
Mr. C.P. de Silva, followed by thirteen of his mode of thinking, bade farewell to the govt. party and made history in staging the biggest cross over from the Front benches to the Opposition.
Mr. S. Thondaman, appointed MP could not summon sufficient strength of mind to caste his vote against the Government as was done by Mr. Singleton Salmon. He joined Mr. Alfred Duraiappah, MP for Jaffna, in maintaining mute indifference.
Item 2: ‘I received the blessings from Pope, for Tamils’- Independent candidate Duraiappah, at an election propanda meeting
EelaNadu (Jaffna), Mar 19, 1965, p. 4.
‘I visited the Pope in Rome, and received his blessings for Tamils. I also facilitated water supply to Jaffna city and took actions to offer free books to the needy children. Among the many services I had done for Tamil folks, these are a select few.’ so claimed, Mr. Alfred Duraiappah, who contest as an Independent in the Jaffna constituency, at a supporters meeting held in Gurunagar, presided by ex Municipal council member Mr. A, Joseph.
Mr. G.G. Ponnambalam says that in Gurunagar I’ll get only 32 votes. But, I don’t know he can assert this now, after watching the assembled audience now. Duraiappah also said, that literate brainy individuals should use their gifts to help the needy.
Item 3: ‘I have the capability to serve people’ – T. Duraiappah
EelaNadu (Jaffna), May 16, 1970, p. 2.
“Some say that I don’t have adequacy to stand in an election. But, I have a big capability as one who could serve people. Due to this, people respect me much. Because of this, I could defeat a big leader [in the past].’ – so claimed Mr. Alfred Duraiappah at a sponsored meeting held at Jaffna Hospital street, to support his candidacy. At this meeting, presided by Mr. S. Ramaiah, Mr. Duraiappah talked further: The two Tamil parties fight with each other due to rivalry and jealousy. Without looking after the interest of people, they focus their attention on protecting themselves. But, I offer my service to the people, and my policy is to help those who are keen on receiving specific items.
Item 4: Rambling Notes – Stalemate in the North.
Editor, Tribune (Colombo), Oct. 27, 1973, p. 6.
[Note by Sachi: Only the pertinent reference to Duraiappah is included here.
….The Political Authority for the North is Mr.[C.] Arulampalam, a renegate TC member of parliament, and in the weeks preceding the visit of the PM to the North he has used public funds (and the time of officials) in a bid to organize a mighty political tamasha to prove to the PM that he and his fellow turncoat TC MPs could deliver the Tamil masses into the PM’s lap. This attempt was resented even by Tamil SLFP stalwarts Duraiappah and his coterie of flag-wavers, who were extremely anxious to show that they could organize better gimmicks and tamashas than Arulampalam to impress the PM how powerful they were in the North. This in-fighting within the pro-Government ranks in the North had placed a great strain on the officials who were only keen about getting the food production going…”
Item 5: In Three Years we will receive the rights for Tamils – Mr. Duraiappah
Eelanadu (Jaffna), Feb 12, 1974, p. 8.
[Note by Sachi: Duraiappah’s speech in Tamil, as it appeared in the Eelanadu newspaper, is translated literally. Lack of coherence and logic in expressed thoughts of Duraiappah is a separate issue!]
‘We wish to offer a change in political intellect for our youth. We need to function in a national party, and not in short-sighted Tamil communal parties.’ This is what Jaffna Mayor Alfred Duraiappah told while presiding a meeting at the Jaffna Municipal Council, day before yesterday. At this meeting, Mr. Anura Bandaranaike, Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa MP, ex-Senator Mr Dixson Silva also participated and spoke. Further utterances made by Mr. Duraiappah were, ‘For nearly twenty to thirty years, Tamils had supported the Federal Party and Tamil Congress. We cannot split this country. Tamils should live with equal status.
If they need a separate state, Let the Federalists contest the Mannar by-election on this plank and win. If they cannot accept the New Republican Constitution, why are you asking for the Kankesanthurai by-election? Federalists did not vote in the Tamil Courts proposal and walked out of Parliament. One cannot destroy Tamil language. It will bloom for one thousand years.
One cannot receive rights from the Government by simply shutting the shops. We can receive rights only by talks. Within the next three years, we will definitely get our rights.
Item 6: Tamil United Front is a vanity roll – Duraiappah states
Eelanadu (Jaffna), July 29, 1974, p. 1.
‘The leaders of two major parties haven’t joined together? As such, how can we accept that there is Tamil United Front? Has S.J.V. Chelvanayakam and G.G. Ponnambalam joined as of now? Did they appear together in a [political] stage? Have they issued a joint report to the newspapers? They haven’t achieved anything. Under the Tamil United Front, people are being fooled’ While opening a Sri Lanka Freedom Party branch at Jaffna electricity board street, day before yesterday, Jaffna Mayor Mr. Alfred Duraiappah stated these words.
‘If G.G. Ponnambalam is supporting the Tamil United Front, why he hasn’t appeared in a stage? He is opposed to them. Those who had joined this grouping are simply keen to regain their lost privileges and constituencies. Among the 19 divisions of Jaffna Municipality, representatives of 3 divisions do not cooperate with us. Nevertheless, we don’t neglect the needs of citizens in those divisions. We provide all facilities to them.
Four Tamil MPs are supporting the current [SLFP-led] regime. As such, there is no meaning in saying that Tamils are discriminated and Tamil language is abandoned. The days, when votes were earned depending on language cry had vanished. To promote the Tamil quality, I have opened branches. I’ve also taken efforts to preserve the dignity of Nallur temple in a new angle. I do work to propagate Tamil and Hinduism’, so said Mr. Duraiappah.
Item 7: Is it True? – Jaffna Municipal MPCS.
Tribune (Colombo), Jan 25, 1975, p. 20.
Is it not true that there is a great deal of justifiable satisfaction in all circles in Jaffna that some action has at last been taken against the Jaffna Municipal MPCS in regard to goods that had been overdrawn by its various depots? That the Daily Mirror of January 18 had reported under the heading ‘Rupees One Million racket bared in Jaffna Municipal MPCS’. That the report read as follows: “The investigations conducted on the instructions of the GA Jaffna, Mr Wimal Amarasekera, into allegations of malpractices in the Jaffna Municipal MPCS have revealed that the losses are in the region of Rs 1 million. It was alleged that authorized dealers and managers of MPCS depots had drawn weekly consumer rations for in excess of what they were entitled to draw according to the number of ‘B’ slips in the possession of each authorized dealer and MPCS depot. There are 82 authorised dealers and 44 Municipal depots in the City. Police have been asked to take into custody an employee of the Jaffna Municipal MPCS who it is alleged can throw much light into these happenings. The GA Jaffna has written to the President of the Jaffna Municipal MPCS, Mr Alfred Durayappah to make good this loss on or before the 18th of this month.”
Is it not a fact that for a long time now, for well over 18 months, there has been talk in informed circles in Jaffna and also in knowledgeable circles in Colombo that all was not well with the Jaffna Municipal MPCS? That there is no doubt that some of these stories about the Jaffna MPCS were part of contemporary political mythology? That the blackmarket in Colombo was fed by various MPCS from different parts of the island and that the Jaffna Municipal MPCS probably took a leading place in the matter of feeding this blackmarket? That it was ironic that the consumers in the Jaffna Municipal area were not only denied the benefit of the goods allotted to them but were also deprived of goods in the blackmarket (to which citizens in the Colombo Municipal area had ready access)? That the press reports indicate that the goods collected by the Jaffna Municipal MPCS were far in excess of the number of people registered in their various depots and branches?
Is it not surprising that from the press reports that the matter has been treated as a ‘civil matter’ and that the MPCS in question has been asked to make good the ‘excess’ of about Rs 1 million? That more than being a ‘civil matter’ these actions of the Jaffna Municipal MPCS constitutes a grave anti-social crime with far reaching criminal implications? That if these actions of the MPCS do not constitute fraud of the highest anti-social nature nothing else could be termed a crime? That it had whispered for a long time that investigations into this matter were going on? That it was said that political influence would help to provide the MPCS with a kind of immunity which an ordinary citizen could not hope to get? That the immunity has now come in the form of the matter being regarded as a ‘civil matter’ where the MPCS authorities had been ‘surcharged’ a million rupees? That it would be interesting to know who was going to pay the surcharge? That if the top boys of the MPCS have their way they will pass the burden on the ordinary folk who are compelled to buy all their essentials from the depots of the MPCS? That it is important to know who had profited by these supplies that had gone into the blackmarket? That the first scandal big of this year is no doubt the Jaffna Municipal MPCS fraud? That the term ‘massive fraud’ is the only appropriate term to describe what has been revealed in the press reports? That a ‘civil’monetary surcharge will be rightly considered a cover-up? That the Watergate cover-up had led to fateful results in the USA? That any attempt of a cover-up in Jaffna will have equally damaging and fateful consequences?
Is it not interesting that the President of the Jaffna Municipal MPCS, Mr. Alfred Duraiyappah should write to the Daily Mirror on 21/1/75 in connection with the paper’s report published on 18/1/75! That this is what his letter stated:
‘The Jaffna Municipal MPCS has nothing to do with the so-called fraud which was spotlighted in the Daily Mirror of January 18, 1975, under the caption Rs. 1 million racket bared in the Jaffna Municipal MPCS. It was I as President of the Municipal MPCS who detected the discrepancy in the ‘B’ slips and immediately informed the Hon. Minister by letter and also requested the Government Agent, Jaffna, to take immediate action in this connection. Up to the receipt of two letters from the Govt Agent asking the management to pay this amount, no effort was made to contact the management much less to inquire from the management regarding these malpractices. It is an elementary principle of natural justice that both sides should be heard and inquiries conducted either way before any decision is taken in any matter. The Govt. Agent apparently has arrived at this decision of finding the MPCS guilty of an ex-parte inquiry. As this is a mass scale racket between some of the depot managers and kachcheri officers I am writing to the Minister to institute a full inquiry into this whole matter and bring to book the culprits whoever they may be. I hope you will give the same prominence to this statements as to the Jaffna correspondent’s report regarding this racket.’
That a comprehensive Inquiry by an Independent Committee (not a whitewash committee) is absolutely essential in the public interest? That many believe that this inquiry will turn out to be a mini-Watergate in regard to Jaffna politics?
Item 8: Editorial – Mourning for Mayor of Jaffna.
Hindu Organ (Jaffna), Aug 1, 1975, p.4
He went to worship at the Feet of Lord Krishna but remained to receive the shots from a revolver. That is the last chapter of the lively life of Mayor Alfred Duraiappah. A zestful career has been suddenly snapped not in the normal course of events but by the bullets released by butcherly assassins from a rifle that was running riot. The North has been put to lasting shame by miscreants whose mission has not been traced by investigation so far.
Mayor Duraiappah was a mystery man in modern politics. He had the spotlight of political adventure turned on him when he walked into the shoes of his father as a member of the premier local body in the North. Ups and downs he had, but as Mayor of Jaffna he became the target of talk, bouquets and brickbats. ‘He wears worries who wears the mayoral robes’ applied to him most appropriately.
Against all these trials, Mayor Duraiappah had achieved credit for himself and for this city. He was the Mayor who had done much for our City. The Public Library in its extended form, the Stadium comparing favorably with the modern athletic grounds of the metropolis, the Open Air Theatre as an object lesson in plain planning, the Super Market, symbolic of urban utility, the broadened bypath, now known as Muneswaram Road, the many houses of the Civil Hospital that stand in attractive array as the Hospital Home of the city, and above all those statues erected to commemorate the patriotism of the leaders of the past speak in unmistakable terms of the many deeds of the Mayor who had done much for the Northern City.
Within the short space of two decades, this small made Mayor had left behind a story that vividly describes the large efforts of an ambitious public worker unmindful of upsets and undeterred by opposition. Mayor moved among the masses and was moved to do something for them. He did succeed. Hence his tragic and would mean martyrdom.
Item 9: City in Mourning for Cremation of Dead Mayor’s body in Stadium Grounds.
Hindu Organ (Jaffna), Aug 1, 1975, p.4
The last journey of the assassinated Mayor of Jaffna was a moving scene of mourning of the people. The cremation took place at the Stadium yesterday at 5 pm in the presence of an immensely large gathering. The Premier Mrs Sirimavo Bandaranaike, arrived by helicopter yesterday noon and paid her respects to the body that was lying in state at the Town Hall. Several ministers, Members of Parliament, Party workers and representatives of Associations joined in this ceremony.
Ministers T.B. Ilangaratna, C. Kumarasuriyar and Dr Badi Udeen Mahamud were among those who paid tributes to the memory of Mr Thuraiappah referring to the several services rendered by him to the people.
Mrs Dr Thuraiappah arrived from Brunei by plane on Wednesday.
Item 10: Alfred Duraiyappah.
Tribune (Colombo), Aug 2, 1975, p.4
The shooting of Alfred Duraiyappah by three masked gunmen in Jaffna last Sunday must be condemned by all sane and right thinking people. Duraiyappah was a controversial political figure generating intense opposition as well deeply ardent support. He was, for long, a lone ranger who had succeeded in breaking through the stranglehold established by the giants of Tamil political hierarchy entrenched in the FP and TC into a position of prominence and influence in the North. In recent years he has been closely associated with the SLFP. If his killing was politically-motivated, it is futile act which will make him an SLFP martyr in the North. History has shown that political assassination solved no problems, but on the other hand gave rise to a new chain of events which had the most fateful consequences, hardest on the innocents inhabiting or resident in a particular territory. If the killing was motivated by personal vendetta, the danger is that it will nevertheless have political consequences as the victim was a politician. Murder has solved no problems, moreover, even in resolving personal feuds. Gang warfare and murders are not unknown in Jaffna (where smugglers and a criminal underground flourish as much as anywhere else), but this is the first time that a Tamil politician who felt that he was on the threshold of big things has been eliminated in this way. In Sri Lanka, as a whole, assassination has been rare, and the only politician in recent history who was assassinated was S,W,R.D. Bandaranaike. The kind of revulsion which had swept over the whole island when Bandaranaike was assassinated is bound to engulf Jaffna even among those who were and still are bitterly critical of Duraiyappah’s politics. It is a far more civilized and humane way to eliminate a political rival (or even a political undesirable) through the ballot box in an election or in a public campaign of political exposure than to murder him. The killing of Duraiyappah is a further indication that the spirit of killing – leopards, deer, buffaloes, human beings – is abroad in Sri Lanka. It is time that something is done to purge this new canker from the soul of Sri Lanka – and everybody knows that sermons alone will not do.
Item 11: Confidentially column – Duraiyappah’s funeral.
Tribune (Colombo), Aug 9, 1975, p. 20.
Is it not true that there has been a great deal of comment that no top level LSSP or CP leader attended the funeral of Mayor Duraiyappah in Jaffna last week? That if messages and statements had been made officially by these parties or the party leaders they have not been given the prominence they deserved either in our newspapers or over the SLBC? That there were no reports that leaders of these UF partners had attended the various ceremonial functions in connections with the funeral? That many observers have begun to wonder why the LSSP-CP leaders did not play a prominent part in the funeral arrangements of the late Mayor? That Duraiyappah was undoubtedly one of the top most leaders of the UF in Jaffna? That as the chief SLFP Organiser for the prestigious town electorate he held an important position in the UF set up in the North? That as a politician Duraiyappah was a remarkable figure? That he broke into politics on his own as an Independent? That he first came into the limelight when he won, the Jaffna seat beating the redoubtable G.G. Ponnambalam and an equally redoubtable FP nominee? That although he had squeezed through on a very narrow majority he had thereafter developed a power base in the Jaffna town electorate? That though he had not been successful in subsequent parliamentary elections (even when the elections were three-cornered), he had a major foothold in the Municipal Council where he has recently been a force to contend with? That as an independent (he had not been enamoured with the communal Rightist policies of the FP and TC, on the one hand, of the Leftist politicies of the LSSP or CP, on the other), he had gravitated towards the centrist SLFP in the map in Jaffna? That the fact is that part of the influence and prestige he had enjoyed was because of the patronage he had been able to distribute after the SLFP and the UF had come to power? That there is also no doubt that he has got for Jaffna a great deal of patronage from the Government which no other Tamil politician has been able to get from Colombo in the past? That UNP organisers in Jaffna from 1947 to 1956, and from 1965 to 1970 were not able to get benefits from the government in Colombo (cynics will say crumbs from the high table) in the measure that Duraiyappa has got from 1970 to 1975? That this was the real basis of his politics and as such it was very precariously perched? That whatever be the motive for the assassination (there are several possible non-political motives for it) the elimination of Duraiyappah is a big set back for UF politics in the North? That it is not merely a blow for the SLFP although the SLFP is the major loser? That the UF cannot easily find a replacement?
Item 12: ‘Wailing Lament of Mrs. Duraiappah’ (1975) – in Tamil
I had included this humorous dirge (oppari, in Tamil) document in the Dossier 1, with my English translation. Sold for 10 cents, I bought it in Colombo. Unfortunately, I don’t know the identity of the author of this humorous dirge. The name in the document ‘Kachathivu Kavirayar’ is a pseudonym. For it’s historical relevance in providing details on the political career of Duraiappah with humor, I provide a pdf file for digital preservation. To the best of my knowledge, a similar dirge was not openly released following the death of any other Tamil politician in post-independent Sri Lanka. I retained the original in 2010. Unfortunately, I have lost it now.
Item 13: Item 102 Airgram A-97 From the [US] Embassy in Sri Lanka to the Department of State. Colombo, November 23, 1976
[declassified Oct 11, 2007]
Tamils in Sri Lanka: Separatism or Compromise
[Note by Sachi: Only the sentences where Duraiappah’s name is mentioned are presented below. Spelling of Tamil names, are as in the original.]
There are now four roughly-differentiated categories of politically involved Ceylon Tamils. They are divided by their approach to the future of the Tamil minority within (or without) the national of Sri Lanka. On a rough continuum from the radicals to those satisfied with the status quo, they range as follows
- The Independence fighters: The only formal organization of which we are aware is the Ela Viduthalai Por Eyakam (EVPE – translated variously as the Tamil Youth Revolutionary Front or the Ceylon Independence Struggle Front). To this group is attributed responsibility for the assassination in July 1975 of Jaffna mayor Alfred Duraiyappah and the subsequent murder of at least one village-level government supporter in the Jaffna peninsula.
- The Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) MPs and other ‘gradualists’.
- Tamils seeking constitutional changes to provide for increased minority rights.
- ‘Tame’ Government Tamils. These are those Tamils who support, or hold office in, the government, and whatever their private feelings do not criticize the current minority policies.
[On the Independence Fighters]
Although undoubtedly small, the group has made a name for itself through its violent activities, the most spectacular of which was the assassination in July 1975 of Jaffna mayor Alfred Duraiyappah, a Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) supporter….
In Sri Lanka, the radicals have been slowed down, but not stopped, by the arrest of around 20 of their activists, soon after the Duraiyappah assassination last year. Seven of the detainees (as well as two still at large) have finally been indicted for the murder and will come to trial before a High Court-at-bar, now scheduled to convene November 29, but liable to postponement depending on the outcome of the current Supreme Court appeal of the voiding of the Emergency Regulations under which trials-at-bar were authorized.
[On ‘Tame’ (Government) Tamils]
This is the head-in-the-sand variety of Tamil politician who considers his personal position within the government to be more important than challenging the status quo. These Tamils are not very influential within their community and generally are not elected officials. They are the prime targets of the would-be terrorists among the radical youth. Former Jaffna mayor Alfred Duraiyappah, assassinated in July 1975, was an archtype. Post and Telecommunications Minister C. Kumarasisar (an appointed Member of Parliament), C. Arulampalam, Political Authority for Jaffna District (elected to Parliament in 1970 as a member of the Tamil Congress, he later switched to the SLFP), and A. Thiagarajah (like Arulampalam, he was a Tamil Congressman who defected to the SLFP) are three other prominent members of the non-critical school of Tamil opinion..
Item 14: Tamil Problem. by Jack Van Sanden
Tribune (Colombo), Nov 26, 1977, p. 23.
…When I was in the Police Service, I was the ASP in charge of the Trincomalee district during the 1958 communal disturbances and later SP, Batticaloa and after that SP, Northern Province, till 1965. In my experience I find the Tamils to be a peace-loving and hardworking people. In the NP, I won their confidence and they went to the extent of assisting me build a Sports Stadium for them. When I left Jaffna, the then Mayor, Mr Alfred Thuraiappa named the Stadium after him and called it the ‘Thuraiappa Stadium’.
I had the highest regard for the Tamil politicians, the late Mr Chelvanayagam and Messers Amirthalingam, Navaratnam, Kathiravelupillai, Ratnam and the rest. In the same way they were of great assistance to me and assisted me to maintain law and order. They were gentlemen who were very reasonable and had their countrymen at heart.
If not for them the Tamils would have been in a sad plight and would have been down-trodden. None of the political parties in power took any trouble to solve the Tamil problem but made empty promises – nothing came of them. The Tamils in the past were discriminated in various ways and this has to be rectified so that all communities will henceforth live in peace and harmony…
J Van Sanden
18, Seventh Avenue,
Camgroie, NSW,
Australia
30.10.77
Item 15: Vernon Abeysekera – Images of Jaffna [Government Agent’s Recollections], SLAM Publishing Service, Victoria, Australia, 1989, p.18
One of the Tamil leaders who was out of the limelight at this time was Alfred Duraiyappah, who had been MP for Jaffna. He wore an Independent badge, but was known to be a supporter of the SLFP. Duraiyappah was a hail-fellow well-met type and was very prominent at social get-togethers. He was also a good trouper and was very happy to help out in a production of Shaw’s Arms and the Man, which I did at the time. He was caste as the Russian officer and had little to do besides click his heels, shout a few orders out of the stage window and speak half a dozen lines. He did all three with gusto.
(In 1974, six years after I left Jaffna, Alfred Duraiyappah came to a tragic end. He was shot and killed, but the assassin was never arrested and brought to trial. This was the first in a long line of political murders in Jaffna.)
[Note by Sachi: Mr. Abeyesekera had erred in the year Duraiyappah was killed. It was 1975.]
Item 16: Rajan Hoole – Palmyrah Fallen – From Rajani to War’s End, University Teachers for Human Rights, Jaffna, 2015. 506 pp.
[Note by Sachi: This item provides pro-Duraiappah sentiments. But, focuses only on the assassination of Duraiappah, at the expense of ignoring his rotten deals as a pimp of SLFP during 1970-75 period. I offer my challenge to these pro-Duraiappah sentiments subsequently.]
In January 1988, the LTTE had closed the paper [Eelanadu] by bombing its press when its editor N. Sabaratnam, former Youth Congress activist and emeritus principal of Jaffna Hindu College, called for the implementation of the Indo-Lanka Accord and asked the LTTE not to ride the clay horse of negotiations with the Government of Sri Lanka (about which there were then early rumours). Sabaratnam’s position in society saved his life. Sabaratnam himself was very critical of narrow nationalism and had attended the funeral of Jaffna Mayor Alfred Duraiappah who was killed by the LTTE in 1975. While the killing was greeted by cheers from nationalists, Sabaratnam had noted the mass turnout of ordinary people who came as mourners. [page 77]
Mr. N. Sabaratnam of the Youth Congress and later principal of Jaffna Hindu College, told this writer [i.e, Rajan Hoole] that he made it a point to attend Alfred Duraiappah’s funeral and was amazed by the huge crowd, signifying a man whom many really missed. Sabaratnam’s purpose in relating this in 1986 was to counter statements like this one, which appeared in [Prof] A.J. Wilson’s book on Chelvanayakam: ‘This political killing did not meet with universal abhorrence; on the contrary many Tamils had disapproved of Duraiappah’s activities on behalf of the SLFP’ [Note by Sachi: italics, as in the original.] Wilson says nothing about Chelvanayakam’s attitude regarding the Duraiappah’s murder, but we may take it that neither Chelvanyakam nor other senior aprty colleagues condemned it. Mr. K. Nesiah, a member of the Youth Congress who later came to be associated with Chelvanyakam, was among the few who did. [page 156]
Alfred Duraiappah Duraiappah, whom the LTTE killed, commanded a voter base largely of non-Vellalas and Muslims. [page 174]
Response to Rajan Hoole’s three details, on WHY Duraiappah met his fate?
I detect an anachronism in Rajan Hoole’s assertion about his description of Namasivayam Sabaratnam’s view when he met him in 1986. He states, “Sabaratnam’s purpose in relating this in 1986 was to counter statements like this one, which appeared in [Prof] A.J. Wilson’s book on Chelvanayakam.” Well the fact is, Chelvanayakam biography by his son in law was published in 1994! Thus, the anti-Duraiappah sentiments which Mr. Sabaratnam was attempting to counter could NOT have been from Prof. Wilson, but from other observers of Jaffna scene in 1975. What has been conveniently omitted by Rajan Hoole, following the sentence he quotes from Prof Wilson’s book also deserves inclusion.
“During this phase the police arrested a number of Tamil youths on suspicion and kept them for long periods in detention where they were subjected to torture. They were to be the indispensable forward troops of the future militant Tamil insurgency.”
Was there an opinion poll taken in July 1975, to assess people’s sentiment that the killing of Duraiappah was a positive deed or a negative deed? The answer is negative. Considering his then position as the Editor of Eelanadu newspaper, the view held by Mr N. Sabaratnam has to be taken as a minority view of a closet fence-sitter. Neither N. Sabaratnam nor Rajan Hoole did suffer like the Tamil youths held in detention and torture during the first half of 1970s. So, on what moral basis they criticize the sentiments and deeds of such suffering Tamil youths? Can Hoole show any positive proof now that Duraiappah used his ‘SLFP influence’ to bring relief to such victims? Sabaratnam had died in 1992.
We also should not forget the hypocrisy of Mrs Bandaranaike’s family deeds. While restricting access to the Tamil students who deserved entry into the local universities via a devious standardization scheme and also restricting funds for those affluent students who could enroll in foreign universities, at the same time, she educated her father-orphaned two children (Chandrika and Anura) in Paris and London. Chandrika ‘holds a Degree in Political Science from the prestigious Political Science Institute (Science Po) of the University of Paris and entered a Ph.D. Program in Development Economics at the École Pratique des Hautes Études, University of Paris, where she studied from 1970-1973’ (Colombo Daily News, Sept 21, 2018). Anura graduated with a B.A honours degree from the University of London in 1973.
In this, I’m supported by Prof. K.M. Silva, whose ‘A History of Sri Lanka’ (1981, pp. 540-556) offers ample details. Chapter 38 of this work entitled, ‘Sri Lanka, 1970-1977; democracy at bay’ had critically analyzed the misrule of primeminister Sirimavo Bandaranaike. This was mostly from a Sinhalese academic’s perspective, though he had touched about the Tamil sentiments of those times marginally. Rajan Hoole and his coterie conveniently turns a blind eye to the historical realities of that period. I list a few notable facts.
✦Postponement of the Kankesanthurai by-election for over two years for dubious reasons, from October 1972 to February 1975.
✦Implementation of the notorious media-wise standardaization scheme for university entrance, by Mrs B’s Rasputinic minister of Education, Badiuddin Mahmud
✦Detention and torture of 42 Tamil youth in prison under various pretext.
✦SLFP patronage peddling in the Northern province and over spending the public funds for political propaganda.
✦Corruption and racketeering perpetrated in the Jaffna Municipality while holding the position of Mayor.
✦Last but not the least, an indirect role in the loss of 8 lives on the final day of the 4th International Tamil Conference Seminar, held in Jaffna (January 1974).
For some details on the SLFP patronage-peddling deeds of Duraiappah, I provide below five items, detailed in the Sutantiran weekly for a limited period of two months.
A reward for ground carpet service to Duraiappah (Sutantiran, Oct 13, 1974, p.1). The period of three local governments in Jaffna district, including that of Jaffna Municipal Council, has been further extended.
Parents rebuke the crazy dance of Drohappar, on the issue of 42 Tamil youths held in detention. (Sutantiran, Oct 20, 1974, p.5).
Rs. 20,000 ruined from Jaffna Municipality funds – for welcoming the Prime Minister (Sutantiran, Oct 27, 1974, pp. 1 and 4). Tax payers are angered that, without receiving due permission from the Municipal council, Duraiappah spent Rs 20,000 for a splashy welcome to the PM.
Boxing rivalry among the brokers (Sutantiran, Oct 27, 1974, pp. 1 and 4). SLFP brokers in the Northern region are engaging in ‘boxing rivalry’ for their survival. As a consequence, minister Kumarasuriyar had lost his perch. During the recent visit of Sirivma B’s to Jaffna, only the photos of Alfred Duraiappah and Nallur Arulampalam were seen postered. One couldn’t detect a single photo of Kumarasuriyar.
4,000 deceptive coupons fraud in the MPCS of Jaffna Municipal council, headed by Duraiappah. (Sutantiran, Nov 11, 1974, pp. 1 and 5).
Many pro-Duraiappah sentimentalists like Rajan Hoole and the Tamil notables of the aging generation such as Mr N. Sabaratnam and Mr. K. Nesiah, simply skirt around the ‘why’ question. My answer is this: Duraiappah became the ugly symbol of the repressive Sirimavo Bandaranaike regime of 1970-1975. Had he remained as an Independent politician, devoid of being a patronage-peddling poodle and pimp of a repressive regime, he could have been blessed with a long life. Two maxims from the Bible fit well for Duraiappah’s shortened life. These were, ‘The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him, and he is caught in the toils of his sin. He dies for lack of discipline, and because of his great folly he is lost’ [Proverbs, 5: 22, 23]
Coda
Gibberish is spread in the net about the Duraiappah stadium in Jaffna – that it was built/renovated to preserve the memory of Duraiappah. The real fact was, as described by Jack Van Sanden (1913-2003) in Item 14, the stadium was built from publicly collected funds on the initiative taken by Van Sanden. Duraiappah was serving as a member of the stadium committee. Then, after Van Sanden left Jaffna, in a vainglorious move, charisma-challenged Duraiappah tagged his name to the stadium!
Now to my conjecture of what happened in the parliament on Dec 3, 1964, when Duraiappah failed to register a ‘Yes’ vote to save Mrs. Bandaranaike’s government. Details are marginally covered in the 2nd volume of biography of J.R. Jayewardene (1994, Leo Cooper/Pen & Sword Books, London), authored by Prof. K.M. de Silva and Howard Wriggins. The second author, an American, was considered as a specialist on Ceylon affairs in 1950s and 1960s, and he served as the US ambassador to Sri Lanka, during President Carter’s tenure.
Available details presented between pages 138 and 141, covers the sad spectacle of toppling Mrs. Bandaranaike’s government. Though what is revealed is interesting, what is omitted in these pages appears more significant. Of course, Duraiappah’s name is NOT revealed. But, a source is foot-noted in page 138, as “J.R. Jayewardene MSS File 320”, for the sentence “J.R.’s papers contain lists of these defectors and the assurances given them.”
The paragraph following sentence is of intrigue. I provide the text of this paragraph here. “There was yet another category of disgruntled SLFP MPs, those who asked for a financial consideration to vote against the government. Negotiations with them were left to intermediaries. J.R. and Dudley Senanayake were aware of these transactions and did nothing to discourage intermediaries engaged in these acts of bribery. The money was found from various sources. With the evidence at our disposal it would appear that the bulk of those who eventually voted against the government did so for political or personal reasons; very few took money for their votes.”
Prof. Kingsley de Silva is a superb wordsmith, in hiding the unpleasant facts. Please check the last sentence. “With the evidence at our disposal, it would appear…”, he hardly provides the evidence they found to the readers. How did they check conclusively that majority among the 14 ‘defectors’ and ‘those who avoided voting’ (like Duraiappah) on that night refused bribe money or some other form of remuneration?
The key messages in this paragraph were: (1) bribe was offered to induce those folks who voted against or failed to register their vote at the specific moment. (2) Though Jayewardene and Dudley Senanayake ‘were aware of these transactions’ they tolerated ‘these acts of bribery’ which favored their plot. (3) Very few MPs received bribe money. My conjecture is, (considering the political deeds and complaints against him, since he entered the Jaffna Municipal council prior to his election as a MP in 1960, and after he was defeated in the parliamentary elections since 1965), Duraiappah couldn’t be excluded from this ‘bribe accepting’ category. To verify my conjecture, pro-Duraiappa fans can check the cited source “J.R. Jayewardene MSS File 320”. I’m not sure where this source can be located now. Whether it is still preserved as it is, after 31 years is a big question mark.
****