S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike
Who was S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike?
Prime Minister from 1956-1959 who championed Sinhalese nationalism and made Sinhala the official language, before being assassinated by a Buddhist monk.
Biographical data adapted from Wikipedia’s article on S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Biography
Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike was born on January 8, 1899, in Colombo, Ceylon, into a well-known Govigama family. Educated at Christ Church, Oxford, he became a barrister and returned to Ceylon to work in law and politics. He climbed the ranks of colonial politics before founding the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, a left-wing, Sinhalese nationalist group that changed the country's political direction. He was famous for his speaking skills and was known as 'The Silver Bell of Asia.'
Bandaranaike was the fourth Prime Minister of Ceylon from 1956 until he was assassinated in 1959. He came to power by forming the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna coalition, which won the 1956 elections with a focus on Sinhalese nationalism and democratic socialism. This coalition defeated the United National Party, and Bandaranaike quickly started implementing his plans. One of his most significant and controversial actions was the Sinhala Only Act, which made Sinhala the only official language, pushing aside English and marginalizing the Tamil-speaking minority. This caused serious ethnic tensions and is seen as a key point in worsening Sinhalese-Tamil relations in Sri Lanka.
During his time in office, he also introduced several left-wing reforms. His government nationalized bus services and worked to eliminate caste-based discrimination. In foreign policy, he pushed for Ceylon to be more independent from Britain by ending the 1947 UK-Ceylon Defense Agreement and making diplomatic ties with several communist countries, indicating Ceylon's intention to stay neutral during the Cold War.
On September 25, 1959, Bandaranaike was shot at his home in Colombo by a Buddhist monk, Venerable Talduwe Somarama, and died of his injuries the next day, September 26, 1959. Somarama was arrested, found guilty, and executed for the murder. After Bandaranaike's assassination, Minister of Education Wijeyananda Dahanayake became acting Prime Minister, appointed by the Governor General and approved by Parliament.
Bandaranaike's wife, Sirima Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike, whom he had married and had several children with, later led the Sri Lanka Freedom Party to a majority in Parliament and became the world's first female prime minister. The Bandaranaike family continued to have a strong influence on Sri Lankan politics for many years after his death, with his daughter Chandrika Kumaratunga eventually becoming president.
Before Fame
Solomon Bandaranaike was born into one of Ceylon's wealthiest families. His father was knighted and held a senior role in the colonial government. Bandaranaike went to top schools, eventually studying law at Christ Church, Oxford, and becoming a lawyer. This background gave him access to high society, and he initially joined the Ceylon National Congress, staying within the political mainstream.
In the 1930s and 1940s, Bandaranaike became increasingly frustrated with the Westernized elite dominating Ceylonese politics. He embraced a more Sinhalese cultural identity, switching to traditional dress and converting from Christianity to Buddhism. These changes were seen as both personal beliefs and strategic moves. In 1951, he left the ruling United National Party to start the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, becoming a voice for the rural Sinhalese Buddhist majority who felt neglected by a foreign-educated, Western-focused political elite.
Key Achievements
- Founded the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, the first major left-wing and Sinhalese nationalist political party in Ceylon
- Led the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna to a landslide general election victory in 1956, ending the dominance of the United National Party
- Passed the Sinhala Only Act of 1956, making Sinhala the sole official language of Ceylon
- Formally abrogated the 1947 UK-Ceylon Defence Agreement, advancing Ceylon's full sovereignty and non-aligned foreign policy
- Nationalized Ceylon's bus services and introduced legislation to prohibit caste-based discrimination
Did You Know?
- 01.Bandaranaike was baptized and raised as a Christian but publicly converted to Buddhism as an adult, a move that reinforced his image as a champion of the Sinhalese Buddhist majority.
- 02.Despite championing Sinhala nationalism, Bandaranaike was educated entirely in English and at Oxford, and belonged to a family that had been closely aligned with British colonial administration for generations.
- 03.His assassin, Buddhist monk Talduwe Somarama, shot him at point-blank range in his own garden while Bandaranaike was receiving a delegation of petitioners, a common practice at the time.
- 04.His wife Sirimavo Bandaranaike, who succeeded him politically, became the world's first female head of government when she was elected Prime Minister in 1960.
- 05.Bandaranaike's coalition name, Mahajana Eksath Peramuna, translates roughly as 'People's United Front,' reflecting his appeal to mass Sinhalese Buddhist sentiment against the Colombo-based English-speaking elite.