Periasamy Chandrasekaran, Upcountry People’s Front Leader, former parliamentarian and Minister of Community Development and Social Inequity Eradication is still in the memory of those closely associated with him, even after a decade of his demise.
The country had lost a fearless voice and a brave leader who fought for the rights and wellbeing of Indian Origin Tamil speaking people in Sri Lanka.
My friendship with the late Chandrasekaran began in June 1991, when we both shared the same cell in the 6th floor of the CID Building.
P. Chandrasekaran had been arrested and detained for allegedly aiding and abetting Joint Operation Command (JOC) bomb attack suspect Varadhan. This blast happened on April 6, 1991. However, it was revealed later that the bomb suspect was not known to Chandrasekaran and that there was never any affiliation with the JOC bomb attack suspect.
In fact Varadhan, under the guise of a journalist, had gone to the Estates to meet V. T. Dharmalingam, a polit bureau member of UPF; he had falsely stated that he had come there to collect data on plantation people for his research paper. This caused several UPF members to be arrested.
I was detained under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) on October 24, 1990 for allegedly helping the JVP’s former leader Somawansa Amarasinghe. The late Amarasinghe was on the run from law enforcement officials and death squads after the crushing of the insurgency where most of the politburo members of the JVP had been apprehended and killed in the latter part of 1989.
Amarasinghe who feared for his life sought my assistance to leave the country which I subsequently arranged, for him and his family to proceed to India. After my arrest I managed to save my life due to the timely intervention of the then Industrial Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, the Ceylon Workers Congress leader late S. Thondaman, the then Foreign Minister A. C. S. Hameed, ‘Dinakaran’ Editor R. Sivagurunathan, and ‘Veerakesari’ Editor A Sivanesanselvan (the late Ranasinghe Premadasa was the President then). I was subsequently released from detention in April 1992 after being held for two years.
This association with the late Chandrasekaran begun in the 6th floor cell of the CID was the beginning of a long friendship which ultimately resulted in my appointment as his Media Secretary when he became a Minister in April 2002. From then onwards I really came to know the great qualities of the late Chandrasekaran, his vision for the country and his thorough knowledge of the ethnic problem.
He was anxious and worried about the Stateless people of Indian Origin and was very much concerned that this issue should be resolved through negotiations between the Governments of India and Sri Lanka. This took him to India several times, meeting Indian leaders and espousing the cause of the Tamils in Sri Lanka to them; I happened to accompany him as his media secretary.
After Chandrasekaran was released from prison, in 1994, he extended his support to Mrs. Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaranatunga, to form a government with a one seat majority in Parliament. Chandrasekaran could have demanded a Cabinet portfolio for himself in the new government which he was instrumental in bringing into power; however he was content with the post of Deputy Minister of Trade and Commerce offered him.
After functioning for a short period as Deputy Minister of Trade and Commerce, Chandrasekaran realized he needed to serve and be useful to the Upcountry People more and therefore requested for a change of portfolio; he wanted to handle a ministry in which he will be close to the people and be able to help the plantation community. The dire need of the Plantation Population at that time was housing. And so he became the Deputy Housing Minister. As Deputy Minister of Housing, he implemented several successful programs in the districts of Badulla, Nuwara Eliya, Matale, Kandy, Kegalle and Ratnapura.
During this period he had built over 12,000, seven perch individual houses for estate worker families under the Plantation Housing Scheme project. However, with the sudden appointment of Thondaman as the Cabinet Minister, he was unable to carry out his work freely as he had to face many obstacles.
From 2001, Chandrasekaran had been requesting the Indian Government to commence housing schemes in the Upcountry area. This request has been fulfilled now with several housing projects funded by the Indian Government commencing in the Badulla and the Nuwara Eliya districts.
He also requested the Ranil Wickremesinghe government to increase the number of Pradeshiya Sabas and AG divisions from two to four in the Nuwara Eliya District. This request too has now become a reality.
My leader was also associated closely with the Indian Congress government, led by Dr. Manmohan Singh and had a good rapport with the then Union Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs, Vayalar Ravi. (Minister Ravi had sent a condolence message when he was informed about the untimely death of Chandrasekaran.)
P. Chandrasekaran introduced many young leaders to politics such as, P Digambaram, who continued the good work of Chandrasekaran, particularly in the housing sector. He also introduced K T Kurusamy and S Kugawaradan to politics. Kurusamy entered the Colombo Municipal Council and subsequently resigned from the UPF and joined Mano Ganesan’s Democratic People’s Front (DPF). He was then appointed to the Provincial Council contesting under the DPF.
Kanagaraj and Kanakaratnam, introduced to politics by Chandrasekaran, later joined Arumugam Thondaman’s CWC.
The late Chandrasekaran played a decisive role in forming the UPFA government in 1994. However, his significant contribution was not recognized by the President Chandrika led government. As a result the UPF decided to shift allegiance and support the UNP.
In the 2000 General Election the UPF supported the Ranil Wickremesinghe-led UNP and according to the agreement the UPF was offered 3 seats to contest elections. P. Chandrasekaran won the election securing 54,681 votes in the Nuwara Eliya district. It was in this election that Chandrasekaran allocated a seat to Mano Ganesan to contest in the Colombo district that made him popular. He also introduced A. Aravinda Kumar to politics in the Badulla district.
Chandrasekaran brought Digambalam to the Central Province Provincial Council in 2004. In the 2005 Presidential Election Digambalam, however, decided to support the candidacy of Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Chandrasekaran created history, securing more than 125,000 votes in the Nuwara Eliya district in the 2002 General Election.
In my association with the late Chandrasekaran I was amazed at the compassion and understanding he showed toward the plantation community.
The late leader led a simple life and was very much attached to his family. He was of the firm conviction that he was elected by the people, and his service should go to them in full. His main concern was to uplift the living conditions of the plantation people; he was a promoter of brotherhood in the plantation community.
His untimely demise deprived the Plantation community of a genuine leader and caring politician with a political will and commitment.
After his death, his wife Shanthini Chandrasekaran took over the leadership of the UPF. However, she failed to give proper leadership to the party. Then came the young leader, V. Radhakrishnan, to don the mantle of UPF chief; he is now successfully leading the party and carrying forward the programs initiated by the late Chandrasekaran.
Ranil Wickremesinghe as Opposition Leader in Parliament said in his speech at the Vote of Condolence on the late Chandrasekaran:
“The late Hon. Chandrasekaran was really actively involved in improving the livelihood of the persons of Indian Origin, especially of those who worked in the plantations and whose access to education and health was denied. The Hon. Chandrasekaran’s activities were not restricted to the plantation community. He was one of those who took up the cause of labour in general, of trade unions in general and trade union rights and whether it was the Tamils, Sinhalese or Muslims, he was always committed to it. It is unfortunate he disregarded his health and we lost his services to this country.
– H.H. Wickramasinghe