149th birth anniversary : Sir Arunachalam Mahadeva; An inspiration to youth of Sri Lanka

by Kalasuri Wilfred M. Gunasekara

'The talent of success is nothing More than doing what you can do Well without a thought of fame. - Longfellow

saying goes that sons of great men very seldom achieve greatness. When it comes to the third generation, genius dries up completely. "Bright ran the Roman way and ended up in the mire. But not so in the case of Sir Arunachalam Mahadeva's family. His father, Ponnambalam Mudaliyar of the Governor's gate was a giant; he himself was great and his son was brilliant.

orn 149 years ago on September 14, 1853, who was also known to some as Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam, educated at the Colombo Academy, the forerunner of the Royal College of today from 1860-1869. "In my forty years experience in the instruction of youth I have never met with any pupil who gave greater evidence of ability, declared the principal Dr. Barcroft Boake."

aving won a queen's Scholarship in 1871, he entered Christ College, Cambridge with a certificate from the then Director of Public Instruction which stated "an Eastern youth of exceptional merit and promise." Incidentally, Christ's College Cambridge was the College of Milton and Darwin whose tercentenary and centenary, respectively, had just been celebrated.

n his return to Sri Lanka after qualifying for the Bar from Lincoln's Inn, he sat for the Ceylon Civil Service in 1875. Into this sacred position of the white man "Arunachalam became the first Ceylonese to enter the Civil Service".

he Administration reports issued by him while he was Registrar-General (1888-1902), "are a vivid testimony to the thoroughness with which he did his duties, but they are only the routine by-products of a program of energetic administrative reform."

is epoch-making publication was the Census of Ceylon 1901. It ran into four Volumes. As a contemporary writer puts it this report can still be read with pleasure and profit. Its four massive volumes contained more concentrated information about Ceylon than had ever been before assembled in a single volume except perhaps by Sir Emerson Tennet, Lond. 1859, 1860.

hese reports were described by the Times of London as "the most comprehensive authority on the ethnology of Ceylon and of its varied people, their history, their religions, languages and literature'. Echoing the praise of the Times, Mr. Armand de Souza, Editor of the Editor of the then Morning leader wrote, "Perhaps the most luminous dissertation on the ethnological, social and economic conditions of the Island. In it would be found the language of Addison, the eloquence of Macauly and the historical insight of Mommsen."

e retired from Public Service in 1913 and his services to the country were recognised by the grant of a Knighthood.

t the request of our late Mr. D.R. Wijewardene, Founder of the Lake House Group of Newspapers, Sir Arunachalam Mahadeva addressed the Ceylon National Congress, as its first president (1919-1922) on "Our Political Needs". This speech was acclaimed as 'one of the greatest political speeches ever delivered in Ceylon."

hen the 'Ceylon Daily News' was founded he made use of its first issue of January 3, 1918, and published "a message to the country".

e wrote "In our zeal for political reform we must be on our guard against making it an end.

We must seek it only as a means to an end.

We seek it not to win rights but to fulfil duties - duties to ourselves and our country... people, like individuals, have each a divinely appointed end, a distinct task to perform, I look to our youth to spiritualise public life and I believe they will do it.

hey will each seek his own well-being in the well-being of all, will identify his own life with the life of all and his own interests in the interest of all. They will lay at the feet of our dear Motherland the love offerings of passionate service.

hey will work in unity that, in the words of Dante, all the intellectual and spiritual forces diffused among men may obtain the highest possible development in the sphere of thought and action. With our youth inspired by such a spirit and such ideals, I look to see our country rise with renewed splendour, paling the glory of Parakramabahu the Great, and be a beacon light to all lands".

hen the House of Representatives met on Wednesday June 11, 1969, I witnessed the large gathering at the premises of the old Parliament come to pay homage to the late Sir Arunachalam Mahadeva. Late prime Minister Hon. Dudley Senanayake moving a vote of condolence said that the country had lost an outstanding personality who had played a prominent part in the public life of the country.... Mr. T.B. Illangaratna said that the death of Sir Arunachalam Mahadeva was a matter of great regret for all Ceylon... Among the leaders of his time, the late Sir Arunachalam was one who sincerely sought national unity and a sovereign Ceylon in the true sense of the word.

He had not only believed on his ideals, but also worked hard for their fulfilment, and dedicated his life to that purpose.... His life and work were an example to others who laboured in that sphere. Mr. S.M. Rasamanickam (the FP Paddirippu) as a representative of the Tamil people he took an active role in campaigning for the independence of the country, that was in 1919... Sir Arunachalam was one of the most respected individuals among all communities.

When Sir Arunachalam was in the political field there was unity among various communities. Today the same situation did not prevail and he would most certainly have been saddened by that. It was necessary to think of the unity that Sir Arunachalam stood for particularly today.

e was the President of the Ceylon branch of the Royal Asiatic Society (presently Royal Asiatic of Sri Lanka (RAS - SL) from 1913-1916 and to which he contributed the following:

. Jnana Vasisthtam or the dialogues of Vasishta on wisdom - Vol XXI, 62, 1909, 303-324, 2. Kandyan provinces, Vol. XXII, 63,1920, 103-123; 3. Political relations of Ceylon with China during the Middle Ages (Presidential Address), VI. XXIII,67, 124-135) - (Annual Reports), 4. Polonnaruwa Bronzes and Siva worship and Symbolism, Vol.XXIV,II,68,1915/16, 189-222; 5. and the Worship of Muruka or Skanda (the Kataragama God); Vol. XIX,I-IV,77,1924, 234-261.

shall conclude this essay with the words of W. Thalagodapitiya, retired Commissioner of Assize on subject of my essay on Arunachalam Mahadeva "Administrator and educationist, lawyer and statesman, savant and patriot, no man in the last hundred years had done more for the political and social advancement of the country than Arunachalam.

If one traces back to their roots the various schemes of progress of which we are most proud today, one find Arunachalam there with his undimmed vision, in indomitable will and unquenchable faith.

statue erected six years after his death by a grateful people stands in the grounds of the Legislative Council, to inspire his countrymen to high endeavour.