Sir Lalitha Abhaya Rajapakse:
A man of moral uprightness
Sir Percy Spender who was the Australian External Affairs Minister who subsequently became the President of the International Court of Justice in his authoritative publication ‘Exercises in Diplomacy” in recalling the Commonwealth Foreign Ministers’ Conference of 1950 at which Foreign Minister of Great Britain, Earnest Bevin, Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru and our Prime Minister, D.S. Senanayaka among others, participated, had recorded his impression of Sir L.A. Rajapakse K.C., Minister of Justice, “an able and delightful man whose eloquence was matched only by his faultless English diction, a matter of surprise to at least one member of my delegation who could not reconcile himself to the idea that an Asian could excel himself in his own language.”
Sir Lalitha’s command of the French language was equally admired. Sir Lalitha was accredited as our Ambassador in France in 1966. He created a sensation when he presented his credentials to President Charles de Gaulle in Sinhala and immediately proceeded to deliver a speech in impeccable and elegant French.
Louis Alexander Rajapakse, born on May 3, 1900 commenced his scholastic career at Ananda College, Colombo, and ended up at St. Joseph’s College, Colombo during the era Rev. Father Le Goc reigned supreme. He was the grand nephew of the distinguished Orientalist and scholar, the first Maha Mudliar Louis de Zoysa, Chief Government Translator and Interpreter. He would have been named after his distinguished grand uncle Louis, but he opted to change his name to Lalitha Abhaya subsequently.
He represented the Josephian cricket team led by Albert Peris. He represented the school at soccer, tennis and athletics, hurdles and sprints being his favourite events. He won the SC Obeysekara Gold Medal for the best athlete at the Sinhalese Sports Club and as a swimmer, he had few equals. He was the first cricket captain of the University College. He was a member and represented the Indian Gymkhana Club at cricket.
In 1922, he graduated in Arts, in 1923, he graduated in Law, in 1923, he passed out as a Barrister-at-Law from the Lincoln’s Inn and was placed first in order of merit and obtained a first class pass in Roman Dutch Law. He was called to the Bar in 1924, which in itself is a fascinating story. On that particular day, he was representing the Indian Gymkhana Club in a cricket match which was played at the Lord’s cricket ground. He scored a century and informed his captain that he was to be called to the English Bar that day and requested his permission to leave the ground early. He was granted permission, but had commented he should keep to the appointment with the girl.
When young Louis as he was then known walked in to take his oaths as a Barrister, he was informed he could not be called to the Bar that day.
Louis was unperturbed, cool and collected and told the gentleman in no uncertain manner, that he has his pen, there was ink in it, is capable of reading the oath to be taken and is capable of signing all the papers in order to be called to the Bar, but he was informed that the relevant papers were not ready.
He had told him politely, but firmly that if the papers were not ready, he could come the following day, if the papers were still not ready, he could come the day after or in a week’s time or in a month’s time, then he was requested to wait and pretending the papers were finalised at that moment, he was called in and was called to English Bar.
On inquiry, young Louis found out that he was mistaken for one of those barristers who were to leave the shores of England the following day for Ceylon. He crowned his outstanding academic career by obtaining the prestigious Doctor of Laws degree in 1925 being the first and the youngest Ceylonese to date to receive a Doctorate in Law from any University in the English speaking world. In 1968, when Sir Lalitha returned to the United Kingdom as Ceylon’s High Commissioner, his alma mater honoured him by making him a Fellow of the University and his portrait was unveiled in the Hall of Fame. He was a lecturer and examiner at the Ceylon Law College and devoted his time and energy for legal education of those hardly younger to him, from 1926. With his brilliant academic career and lucrative practice in the apex court, it was no surprise as a comparative junior practitioner of 14 years, in 1939, he was invited to serve on the Council of Legal Education. He reached dizzy heights at the Bar being made one of His Majesty’s Counsel learned in the Law at a comparatively young age of 44 years with only 19 years at the Bar in 1944.
Sir Lalitha never hesitated to sacrifice his lucrative practice whenever other calls were made on his talents. He served as Commissioner of Assize in 1946.
When the Ceylon National Congress led by D.S. Senanayaka and the Sinhala Maha Sabha led by S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike merged to form the United National Party by common consent, he was made its propaganda secretary. When an invitation was extended to him by D.S. Senanayaka to be the Leader of the Senate and serve in his Cabinet of Ministers as the first Minister of Justice, he accepted the offer and was sworn in as the Minister of Justice on September 26, 1947. Sir John Kotalawala was reputed to have published a cyclostyled version of “The Premier Stakes” in which hitherto unknown facts in respect of politics, part played by Lake House, intentions of the Soulbury Commissioners to become Governor General of Ceylon were among a host of other things.
On the contrary, Sir John denied having anything to do with it.
Sir John in calling for Sir Lalitha’s resignation had suggested that he could advise Sir Lalitha on how best he could serve the country, Sir Lalitha in his letter of resignation informed in no uncertain terms that he knew what to do and also added that Sir John himself handed over a copy of “The Premier Stakes” to Sir Lalitha.
The Sri Lankan public owes a debt of gratitude to Sir Lalitha for the authority provided for the confirmation that “The Premier Stakes” was a creation and the brainchild of Sir John.
There was a drawer in his writing table which he used exclusively to collect money to charity. An exact percentage of every fee collected went into it and most of the money so collected was used to uplift his native village. Sir Lalitha, founded, maintained and financed Revatha Maha Vidyalaya, Balapitiya, which is a National School today, until it was handed over to the Government. The lands on which the Teachers’ Training College, Balapitiya, stands was a gift of Sir Lalitha, to the nation.
He donated a laboratory to the General Hospital. No one will ever know of the numerous acts of benevolence he was unostentatiously responsible for yet, what was known was sufficient for the Queen to recognise his services to the Nation as a philanthropist, a statesman, a legal luminary, lecturer and scholar to be conferred Knighthood.
On attaining three score years, he gave up his lucrative practice in the Apex Court and devoted himself entirely to the study and practice of Buddhism. At the request of Wathuregama Somalanka Maha Thera (better known as the Kolonnawa Priest), Sir Lalitha was mainly responsible for the erection of a life size statue of the orator monk Mohottiwatte Gunananda Maha Thera in his native village Mohottiwatta in Balapitiya which was opened by the then Prime Minister Dudley Senanayaka at the request of Sir Lalitha.
Sir Lalitha was always a man of virtue both in public and private life. His moral goodness was never in question, nor was his quest for justice, prudence, temperance, fortitude, faith and charity ever in doubt. There was no one who was his equal in knowledge of elephants and elephant lore. When Sir Lalitha addressed the Judges in courts, they would listen to him with rapt attention.
He was every inch a gentleman. Sir Lalitha when on his feet was a treat to listen to with his brilliant wit, beauty of diction, flow of the language, aptness of the words, all these kept one spell-bound as one listened to him. He was certainly one of the greatest lawyers the country had seen, when one considers his academic achievements which none has surpassed and his brilliant arguments in the apex court.
When he considered that there was a threat to democracy, he came out of retirement in 1965 and went round the country explaining to the people the ills of autocracy. Most of Sir Lalitha’s descendants are Lawyers, his son Bimal is a Barrister of Lincoln’s Inn. Daughter Ramaine is an Attorney-at-Law, who heads the All Ceylon Women’s Buddhist Congress, Bimal’s son and Venetha’s daughter are also Attorneys-at-Law.
He was invited to Law College to deliver a speech in the first part of the 1960s and on seeing a number of lady students, he commented, “When I was a lecturer, there was only one lady student in Law College, I could not fall in love with her.
I did the next best thing by falling in love with her sister.” Such was his sense of humour. The lady student referred to was Ruby Mendis Gunasekara who was destined to be the first lady Proctor in Ceylon. Her sister is Christoble Rajapakse nee Mendis Gunasekara whom Sir Lalitha married, both of whom are no more.
May he attain the Supreme bliss of Nibbana!
T. Senarat Mendis