28 Facts About Philip Gunawardena

Don Philip Rupasinghe Gunawardena was a Sri Lankan Marxist politician and leftist.

Philip Gunawardena's mother was Dona Liyanora Gunasekera from Dompe in the Siyana Korale.

Philip Gunawardena's father was Don Jakolis Rupasinghe Gunawardena, known as Boralugoda Ralahamy was a local landowner who served as the village headman and Vidane Arachchi until he was imprisoned and sentenced to death under martial law during the 1915 Sinhalese-Muslim riots, sentence was later reprieved by the Governor following a petition by his wife.

Philip Gunawardena was the third child of a family of three boys and seven girls, which included Robert Gunawardena and Caroline Anthonypillai who became leftist politicians.

Philip Gunawardena's father wanted him to study in the United Kingdom and become a barrister.

Woodward has recorded that Gunawardena received his training in Marxism from Scott Nearing.

Philip Gunawardena completed Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in agricultural economics.

In 1927 Philip Gunawardena joined the League Against Imperialism in New York, where he worked with Jose Vasconcelos of Mexico, gaining a working knowledge of Spanish.

Philip Gunawardena joined the staff of the new Daily Worker and took over the Workers' Welfare League of India, an organisation founded by Shapurji Saklatvala.

Philip Gunawardena later crossed the channel to Europe and worked alongside socialist groups in France and Germany.

When Ridley and Aggarwala broke with Leon Trotsky, Philip Gunawardena sided with the latter.

At the British conference of the League Against Imperialism, in May 1932, Philip Gunawardena introduced a counter-resolution on India against those moved by Harry Pollitt.

Philip Gunawardena set out for the continent, meeting members of the Left Opposition in Paris.

Philip Gunawardena's passport was impounded by the British authorities and on the urging of D B Jayatilaka at the request of his father he was allowed to return to Ceylon.

Philip Gunawardena pioneered the founding of Lanka Sama Samaja Party in 1935.

Philip Gunawardena was arrested and imprisoned due to his open opposition to the British war effort on the Governor's orders.

On 5 April 1942, during the Japanese air raid on Colombo, LSSP leaders including Philip Gunawardena were able to escape from prison.

Philip Gunawardena who contested from the Avissawella electorate defeating Bernard Jayasuriya was elected to Parliament.

The VLSSP entered into an electoral alliance with the Communist Party and contested the 1952 general election, in which his wife Kusumasiri Philip Gunawardena was returned to parliament from Avissawella as the only candidate from the VLSSP to be elected.

Philip Gunawardena is remembered as the architect of the Paddy Lands Act which brought relief to the tenant cultivator and spearheaded the Port and Bus nationalization, introduction of Multipurpose Co-operatives movement and establishing of the Co-operative Bank.

At the 1959 May Day rally, Philip Gunawardena claimed that the government was threatened by a conspiracy within and on 18 May 1959, Philip Gunawardena resigned from his ministerial position with other VLSSP members citing differences with right wing factions of the Bandaranaike's cabinet.

Philip Gunawardena retained his seat in parliament on both occasions and later the MEP joined in with the LSSP and the Communist Party to form the United Left Front.

Philip Gunawardena established the Industrial Development Board, strengthened and expanded state industrial corporations and national private sector industries, and planned the development of the fisheries sector with the formation of the Fisheries Corporation.

Philip Gunawardena lost his parliamentary seat in the 1970 general election to Bonnie Jayasuriya of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party.

Philip Gunawardena started on a process of reorganizing the MEP before he fell ill, he died on 26 March 1972 at the age of 72 after a long illness.

Philip Gunawardena's seat was contested by his son Dinesh Gunawardena in the 1977 general election and lost to M D Premaratne from the United National Party.

Philip Gunawardena finally entered parliament in 1983 from a by-election in Maharagama.

Philip Gunawardena's niece was Vivienne Goonewardene, who married Leslie Goonewardene, another founder of the LSSP.