NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Lanka Sama Samaja Party

The Lanka Sama Samaja Party (literally Ceylon Equal Society Party, in Sinhala: ලංකා සම සමාජ පක්ෂය, in Tamil: லங்கா சமசமாஜக் கட்சி) is a trotskyist political party in Sri Lanka. {{language |name=Sinhala |nativename=à·ƒà·’à¶‚à·„à¶½ |region=[[Sri Lanka] |speakers=13 million |familycolor=Indo-European |fam2=Indo-Iranian |fam3=Indo-Aryan |fam4=Sinhalese-Maldivian |nation=Sri Lanka |iso1=si|iso2=sin|iso3=sin |notice=Indic}} Sinhala (also Sinhalese, formerly Singhalese) is the language spoken by the Sinhalese, the largest ethnic group of... Tamil (à®¤à®®à®¿à®´à¯ ) is a classical language and one of the major languages belonging to the Dravidian language family. ... Trotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. ... A political party is a political organization that subscribes to a certain ideology and seeks to attain political power within a government. ...

At the last legislative elections, 2 April 2004, the party was part of the United People's Freedom Alliance that won 45.6 % of the popular vote and 105 out of 225 seats. Out of them, one seat belongs to LSSP. The party was founded in 1935 and emerged as a major political force in the 1940s. It joined a coalition government in 1964, and was then expelled from the Fourth International. It peaked in political strength in the 1970s, but has declined gradually during the last 30 years. A legislature is a governmental deliberative body with the power to adopt laws. ... Politics of Sri Lanka Categories: Election related stubs | Elections in Sri Lanka ... UPFA election symbol The United Peoples Freedom Alliance is a political alliance in Sri Lanka. ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... // Events and trends World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrination, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons such as the atomic bomb. ... For the Nintendo 64 emulator, see 1964 (Emulator). ... For the left communist Fourth International, see Communist Workers International. ... The 1970s in its most obvious sense refers to the decade between 1970 and 1979. ...

Name

The Lanka Sama Samaja Party was the first political party in Sri Lanka to be given an indigenous name. The Sinhala term samasamajaya was one coined by Dally Jayawardena in the Swadesa Mitraya to translate the term 'socialist'. However, the usage of samasamajaya has since been superceded by samajavadaya (which corresponds to similiar usage in various Indian languages) in everything but in the names of the LSSP and various of its splinter-groups. The Tamil term samadharmam was used to translate 'socialist', but nowadays the English term is used. {{language |name=Sinhala |nativename=à·ƒà·’à¶‚à·„à¶½ |region=[[Sri Lanka] |speakers=13 million |familycolor=Indo-European |fam2=Indo-Iranian |fam3=Indo-Aryan |fam4=Sinhalese-Maldivian |nation=Sri Lanka |iso1=si|iso2=sin|iso3=sin |notice=Indic}} Sinhala (also Sinhalese, formerly Singhalese) is the language spoken by the Sinhalese, the largest ethnic group of... The color red and particularly the red flag are traditional symbols of Socialism. ...

History

The Lanka Sama Samaja Party was founded on 18 December 1935 with the broad aims of Independence and Socialism, by a group of young people who had gathered together for that purpose. December 18 is the 352nd day of the year (353rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Origins

The LSSP grew out of the Youth Leagues, in which a nucleus of Marxists had developed. The leaders were mainly educated returnees from London, youth who had come into contact with the ideas of the European Left and were influenced by Harold Laski. Dr S.A. Wickremasinghe, an early returnee and a member of the State Council from 1931, was part of this group. The Youth Leagues campaigned for independence from Britain, notably organising opposition to the so-called 'Ministers' Memorandum', which essentially only begged the colonial authorities for more power to the ministers and not even Dominion status. The Youth Leagues were societies of young people, mainly intellectuals, who wanted independence for Sri Lanka. ... Marxism is the political practice and social theory based on the works of Karl Marx, a 19th century philosopher, economist, journalist, and revolutionary, along with Friedrich Engels. ... Part of the London skyline viewed from the South Bank London is the most populous city in the European Union, with an estimated population on 1 January 2005 of 7. ... Harold Joseph Laski (June 30, 1893, Manchester, England - March 24, 1950, London, England) was an English political scientist, economist, author, and lecturer, and served as the 1945-1946 chairman of the Labour Party. ... State Council or National Council is the name of a major governmental body in some countries. ... 1931 (MCMXXXI) is a common year starting on Thursday. ... A Dominion is a wholly self-governing or virtually self-governing state of the British Empire or British Commonwealth, particularly one which reached that stage of constitutional development in the late 19th and early 20th centuries such as Canada and New Zealand. ...

The group, through the South Colombo Youth League, became involved in a strike at the Wellawatte Spinning and Weaving Mills. It published an irregular journal in Sinhala, Kamkaruwa (The Worker). In 1933 the group got involved in the Suriya-Mal movement, which had been formed to provide support for indigenous ex-servicemen by the sale of Suriya (Portia tree) flowers. The Suriya-Mal movement surged as a reaction to the fact that at the time Poppy Day funds went solely to British ex-servicemen. The movement was honed by volunteer work among the poor during the Malaria Epidemic of 1934-1935. The volunteers found that there was widespread malnutrition, which they helped fight by making pills of 'Marmite' yeast extract. {{language |name=Sinhala |nativename=à·ƒà·’à¶‚à·„à¶½ |region=[[Sri Lanka] |speakers=13 million |familycolor=Indo-European |fam2=Indo-Iranian |fam3=Indo-Aryan |fam4=Sinhalese-Maldivian |nation=Sri Lanka |iso1=si|iso2=sin|iso3=sin |notice=Indic}} Sinhala (also Sinhalese, formerly Singhalese) is the language spoken by the Sinhalese, the largest ethnic group of... 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Suriya-Mal Movement was formed in British ruled Ceylon (Sri Lanka) to sell Suriya (Portia tree) flowers on Poppy Day for the benefit of Sri Lankan ex-servicemen. ... Binomial name Thespesia populnea (L.) Sol ex Correa The Portia tree (Thespesia populnea; Family Malvaceae) is a small tree or arborescent shrub 5-10 (-20) m high that is pantropical in littoral environments, although probably native only to the Old World. ... Wreaths of artifical poppies used as a symbol of remembrance Remembrance Day or Armistice Day is a day of commemoration observed in the Commonwealth of Nations and various European countries (including France and Belgium) to commemorate World War I and other wars. ... 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Malnutrition is a general term for the medical condition in a person caused by an unbalanced dietâ€”either too little or too much food, or a diet missing one or more important nutrients. ... Marmite is a popular British savoury spread, made from yeast extract, a by-product of the beer brewing process. ...

Early period

In 1936 the LSSP contested the State Council elections in four constituencies and won two of them, Avissawella and Ruanwella. The two new members, Philip Gunawardena and N.M. Perera, proved to be a thorn in the side of the British Colonial government. 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Nanayakkarapathirage Martin Perera, better known as N. M. Perera (6 June 1905 - 14 August 1979) was one of the leaders of the Sri Lankan Trotskyist Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP). ...

The LSSP began fraternal relations with the Congress Socialist Party (CSP) of India. Mrs Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya of the CSP was invited by the LSSP for a highly successful political tour of the island. Simultaneously, the LSSP maintained a clear distance from the Indian radical left, and considered the Communist Party of India to be an extremist force. The Congress Socialist Party was founded in 1934 as a socialist caucus within the Indian National Congress. ... The Communist Party of India (CPI) is a political party in India. ...

In 1937, the British Colonial Governor Sir Reginald Stubbs attempted to deport a young Anglo-Australian planter, Mark Anthony Bracegirdle, who had joined the LSSP. He went into hiding in defiance of the Governor and the LSSP started a campaign to defend him. He made a dramatic appearance on the platform at that year's May Day rally. Bracegirdle won his case in the courts and the deportation order was quashed. The Governor was isolated and the cause of independence was very much strengthened, as the Bracegirdle incident had brought almost the entire State Council into opposition to the colonial government. 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... A governor is also a device that regulates the speed of a machine. ... Sir Reginald Edward Stubbs (1876 - 1947) was a British administrator. ... Mark Anthony Lyster Bracegirdle (born in London on 10 September , 1912, died 22 June 1999), was an Anglo-Australian Marxist revolutionary, who played a key role in Sri Lankas independence struggle. ... May Day is a name for various holidays celebrated on May 1 (or in the beginning of May). ...

Bracegirdle had been working among the plantation labourers, who were treated inhumanely, receiving very little health care, even less education and living in 'line rooms' which were worse than cattle sheds in England. Militancy among these workers was increasing at the time. In 1940 the Lanka Estate Workers' Union (LEWU) intervened in a strike at Mooloya. This became the harbinger of a wave of trade-union action on the plantations.

Meanwhile in the LSSP a number of members had become influenced by the ideas of the Left Opposition led by Leon Trotsky. Individual LSSPers, notably Philip Gunawardena, had encountered Trotskyist groups during stays in Britain and the USA. The Trotskyists within the LSSP came together and formed a secret fraction known as the "T" (after Trotsky) group. Its original members were Philip Gunawardena, N.M. Perera, Colvin R. de Silva, Leslie Goonewardene, Robert Gunawardena and Vernon Gunasekera, the Party Secretary. It was later joined by Edmund Samarakkody and V Karalasingham. Leon Trotsky â–¶ (helpÂ· info) (Russian: Ð›ÐµÐ² Ð”Ð°Ð²Ð¸Ð´Ð¾Ð²Ð¸Ñ‡ Ð¢Ñ€Ð¾Ñ†ÐºÐ¸Ð¹; also transliterated Leo, Lev, Trotskii, Trotski, Trotskij and Trotzky) (October 26 (O.S.) = November 7 (N.S.), 1879 â€“ August 21, 1940), born Lev Davidovich Bronstein (Ð›ÐµÐ² Ð”Ð°Ð²Ð¸Ð´Ð¾Ð²Ð¸Ñ‡ Ð‘Ñ€Ð¾Ð½ÑˆÑ‚ÐµÐ¹Ð½), was a Bolshevik revolutionary and Marxist theorist. ... Edmund Samarakkody was a leading Trotskyist in Sri Lanka and at one time a member of that countrys parliament. ...

Fourth International

In 1940 the LSSP split with the expulsion of the pro-Moscow fraction led by S.A. Wickremasinghe, M.G. Mendis, Pieter Keuneman and A. Vaidialingam . The expelled members formed the United Socialist Party (USP) which later evolved into the Communist Party of Ceylon (CPC). The LSSP was thus confirmed as a Trotskyist-led party. 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Peter Keuneman was a prominent Marxist member of Parliament and a leading figure in the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP). ... CPSL May Day poster in Kandy CPSL Kandy provincial election candidate, CYF President Raja Uswetakeiyyawa Communist Youth Federation The Communist Party of Sri Lanka is a communist political party in Sri Lanka. ...

At the outbreak of the Second World War the party was forced to go underground due to its opposition to the British war effort. The experience gained in hiding Bracegirdle proved valuable for the illegal and underground activities of the war years. The two State Council members of the party and others on its Central committee were arrested and jailed. ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (472x622, 168 KB) Author unknown, Personal collection of Anil Moonesinghe File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (472x622, 168 KB) Author unknown, Personal collection of Anil Moonesinghe File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ...

On 20 April 1941, a secret conference, attended by 42 delegates, was held. Leslie Goonewardene, who was in hiding, attended this conference at which the new programme and constitution were adopted. An openly functioning section of the party was established, led by Robert Gunawardena, S.C.C. Anthonipillai, V. Karalasingham, K.V. Lourenz Perera and William de Silva. The 'open' section of the party led a stike wave in May 1941 and strikes in 1942 and 1944. April 20 is the 110th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (111th in leap years). ... For the movie, see 1941 (film) 1941 (MCMXLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... P. H. William de Silva, a 20th century Ceylonese politician. ... This article is about the month of May. ... For the movie, see 1941 (film) 1941 (MCMXLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... This article is about the year. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Following the Japanese raid on Colombo on 5 April 1942, the imprisoned leaders escaped and fled to India. In India, the emigre LSSPers merged their party into the Bolshevik-Leninist Party of India, Ceylon and Burma (BLPI). LSSP thus became the Ceylon section of BLPI. Through the BLPI, the Lankan trotskyists attained their formal membership in the Fourth International. April 5 is the 95th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (96th in leap years). ... This article is about the year. ... Bolshevik-Leninist Party of India, Ceylon and Burma (BLPI) was formed in Indian groups and Lanka Sama Samaja Party of Ceylon. ... For the left communist Fourth International, see Communist Workers International. ...

During the war there was a split in the movement. N.M. Perera and Philip Gunawardena opposed a merger into the BLPI and formed the 'Workers' Opposition'. After the war, they reconstructed LSSP as an independent party. Members of the other section, formed out of the exiled BLPI nucleus, effectively maintained a separate party, the Bolshevik Samasamaja Party. The latter group functioned as the Ceylon section of BLPI and was led by Colvin R de Silva, Leslie Goonawardena and Edmund Samarakkoddy, who had been the second tier of the party leadership at the beginning of the war. The Bolshevik Samasamaja Party was the Ceylon section Bolshevik-Leninist Party of India, Ceylon and Burma (BLPI) after 1945 and of the Fourth International in 1948-1950, after the dissolution of the BLPI. After the war there was a split in the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP). ...

The relation between the two groups was often antagonistic. The BSP accused the LSSP of 'organisational Menshevism'. The LSSP accused the BSP of being introvert doctrinaires. LSSP wanted to build a mass-based party, whereas the BSP concentrated on building a cadre party. On 25 October 1945 fist-fights broke out at between the two groups at a meeting of the BSP. [1] [2] The Mensheviks were a faction of the Russian revolutionary movement that emerged in 1903 after a dispute between Vladimir Lenin and Julius Martov, both members of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party. ... October 25 is the 298th day of the year (299th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 67 days remaining. ... 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Mass Party

The LSSP and the BSP were both at the helm of the strike waves that occurred in the post-war period. In 1946 there was a brief reconciliation between the two factions. At the general election of 1947 the LSSP emerged as the main opposition party, with 10 seats. The BSP obtained 5 seats. They also had the support of the Ceylon Indian Congress (CIC - which later became the Ceylon Workers' Congress) of Natesa Iyer, which had 6 members in Parliament and of various independent members. However, SWRD Bandaranaike and his Sinhala Maha Sabha backed the newly formed United National Party (UNP), which was thus able to form a government under DS Senanayake. 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Ceylon Workers Congress is a political party in Sri Lanka. ... ... The Sinhala Maha Sabha were a political party in Sri Lanka (Ceylon at the time) founded by Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike in 1937, in order to promote Sinhalese culture and community interests. ... The United National Party (UNP, Sinhalese:(pronounced Eksath Jathika Pakshaya), Tamil: à®à®•à¯à®•à®¿à®¯ à®¤à¯‡à®šà®¿à®¯à®•à¯ à®•à®Ÿà¯à®šà®¿) is a political party in Sri Lanka. ... Don Stephen Senanayake (October 20, 1884â€“22 March 1952) was an independence activist who formed the Sri Lankan United National Party, which demanded independence from Britain. ...

The BLPI-affiliated BSP became an independent party in 1948, and was recognised as the Lankan section of the Fourth International, when the BLPI was dissolved. 1948 (MCMXLVIII) is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ...

In 1948, the country was granted Dominion status by the Britain. The armed forces continued to be commanded by British Officers and the Royal Navy and the RAF continued to have bases on the island (at Trincomalee and Katunayake). The Government was heavily pro-British and anti-Soviet. 1948 (MCMXLVIII) is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... A Dominion is a wholly self-governing or virtually self-governing state of the British Empire or British Commonwealth, particularly one which reached that stage of constitutional development in the late 19th and early 20th centuries such as Canada and New Zealand. ... The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the senior service of the British armed services, being the oldest of its three branches. ... The Royal Air Force (often abbreviated to RAF) is the air force branch of the British Armed Forces. ... Trincomalee is a port city on the northeast coast of Sri Lanka, about 110 miles northeast of Kandy. ... Katunayake a town is situated on the west coast of the island of Sri Lanka close to the commercial capital of Colombo. ... State motto (Russian): ÐŸÑ€Ð¾Ð»ÐµÑ‚Ð°Ñ€Ð¸Ð¸ Ð²ÑÐµÑ… ÑÑ‚Ñ€Ð°Ð½, ÑÐ¾ÐµÐ´Ð¸Ð½ÑÐ¹Ñ‚ÐµÑÑŒ! (Transliterated: Proletarii vsekh stran, soedinyaytes!) (Translated: Workers of the world, unite!) Capital Moscow Official language None; Russian (de facto) Government Federation of Socialist republics/ Communist state Area - Total - % water Largest on the planet 22,402,200 kmÂ² ?% Population - Total - Density 3rd before collapse 293,047,571 (July...

The new government proceeded to disenfranchise the plantation workers of Indian descent, the Indian Tamils, using the the Citizenship Act of 1948 and the Parliamentary Elections Amendment Act of 1949. These measures were intended primarily to undermine the Left electorally. Of these acts Dr. N. M. Perera said: 'I thought racialism of this type died with Houston Chamberlain and Adolph Hitler. I do not believe that anyone claiming to be a Statesman would ask us to accede to a bill of this nature ... We cannot proceed as if we were God's chosen race quite apart from the rest of the world; that we and we alone have the right to be citizens of this country.'[3] The Indian Tamils or Hill-country Tamils, are descended from indentured labourers sent from South India to Sri Lanka in the 19th and 20th centuries to work in coffee plantations there (and, after the collapse of coffee planting in Sri Lanka, in tea and rubber plantations). ... 1948 (MCMXLVIII) is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... Events Belgian astronomer Jean Meeus asserts that the orbits of all nine planets were within the same 90% arc of the solar system on 1 February 949. ... Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945, standard German pronunciation in the IPA) was the Führer (leader) of the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazi Party) and of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. ...

The split between the LSSP and the BSP had weakened the movement, and in particular the BSP which was clearly the smaller of the two parties. A process of reunification was initiated, and in 1950 the BSP merged into the LSSP. Through the reunification LSSP became the Lankan section of the Fourth International. However, Philip Gunawardena opposed the reconciliation with the BSP. Thus he left LSSP and formed a new party, Viplavakari Lanka Sama Samaja Party (VLSSP). 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... For the left communist Fourth International, see Communist Workers International. ... Viplavakari Lanka Sama Samaja Party (Revolutionary Ceylon Equal Society Party) was a group that broke away from the Trotskyist Lanka Sama Samaja Party, since Philip Gunawardena (of one the two principal LSSP leaders) refused to reconcile with the Bolshevik Samasamaja Party. ...

At the 1952 general election, there was a set-back for the party. The country was relatively prosperous due to the price of natural rubber being driven up by the Korean War. Also, the disenfranchisement the Indian Tamil estate workers by the UNP government deprived the LSSP of one of its main bases. Moreover it damaged the electoral fortunes of its ally, the CIC, which went unrepresented. 1952 (MCMLII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Korean War, from June 25, 1950 to cease-fire on July 27, 1953 (technically speaking, the war has not yet ended), was a conflict between North Korea and South Korea. ...

Hartal and after

In 1953 the LSSP took the lead in organising the Hartal. The immediate cause for the Hartal was a hike in the price of rice from 25 cent to 70 cent per measure by the UNP government. At the time J.R. Jayawardena was the finance minister of the the country. Maintaining the price of rice at 25 cent had been an electoral promise given by UNP in the 1952 elections, and when the new rates were introduced to the public there was a massive anger against it. Other harsh ingredients of the 1953 budget included suspension of the meals given to schoolchildren and hikes in rail ticket fares and postal fees. 1953 (MCMLIII) is a common year starting on Thursday. ... Hartal 1953 was a demonstration of the tremendous power of the masses in action. ... Binomial name Oryza sativa L. Rice (Oryza sativa) is a species of grass in the genus Oryza, native to tropical and subtropical southeastern Asia, where it grows in wetlands. ... Junius Richard Jayewardene (September 17, 1906 November 1, 1996), famously abbreviated in Sri Lanka as JR, was the president of Sri Lanka from 1978 until 1989. ...

A hartal is a form of general strike, which attempts to bring all commercial activity to a standsstill for a limited period. Prior to 1953 it was a relatively unknown concept in Ceylon. But the LSSP leaders who had been in exile in India during the war had witnessed the immense impact of the hartals during the Quit India Movement. Hartal is an Indian term for strike action, used often during the Indian independence movement. ... A general strike is a strike action by an entire labour force in a city, region or country. ... The Quit India Movement was a call for immediate independence for India issued by MK Gandhi on August 8, 1942. ...

The Communist Party and VLSSP supported the Hartal. SLFP and CIC expressed sympathy for the demand of the Hartal, but did not actively support the call for strike. The Ceylon Mercantile Union supported the demands of the strike, but in not take part in it. Rather CMU encouraged their members to go to work wearing black armbands as a means to protest. The Ceylon Mercantile Union (CMU) is one of the largest trade unions in the commercial sector in Sri Lanka. ...

The Hartal took the country to a complete standstill. Afraid of a revolution in the making, the government cabinet in safety on the HMS Newfoundland, a British warship offshore. The mass upsurge that accompanied the action of the strikers caused Dudley Senanayake to resign from the premiership. The Hartal emoboldended LSSP to start to consider that the party might be able to seize state power. HMS Newfoundland was a Crown Colony-class cruiser of the Royal Navy. ... Dudley Shelton Senanayake (June 19, 1911 April 13, 1973) was a Sri Lankan politician who served as prime minister of Sri Lanka three times during the 1950s and 1960s. ...

In 1956 the LSSP went into a no-contest pact with the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (People's United Front) of SWRD Bandaranaike, which he had formed with Philip Gunawardena and the VLSSP. The MEP won a landslide in the polls held that year. The LSSP once again became the main opposition party, and N.M. Perera became the Leader of Opposition. LSSP supported the reforms initiated by the new government, but opposed the policy of 'Sinhala Only'. In July 1959 both LSSP and the Communist Party withdrew their support for the government, as inner-party feuds within the SLFP had resulted in a temporary victory for the right-wing and expulsions of leftist ministers like Philip Gunawardena. ImageMetadata File history File links LSSP_Youth_League_Kalubowila_banner_c1960. ... ImageMetadata File history File links LSSP_Youth_League_Kalubowila_banner_c1960. ... 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In March 1960, the LSSP contested the general elections on the slogan 'forward to a Sama Samaja Government'. The votes won by the LSSP, the Communists and the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (a new party, not the 1956 front) of Philip Gunawardena, were sufficient to have made them the biggest bloc in Parliament. However, due to their contesting separately, the LSSP and the MEP won just 10 seats each, the CP a mere 3. Elections were held again in July and the LSSP had a no-contest pact with the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) of Mrs Sirimavo Bandaranaike, which was thus able to form a government. The Fourth International was highly critical of the electoral tactics of LSSP, and the LSSP chose not to attend the World Congress of FI the following year. 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (Peoples United Front) is a left-wing political party in Sri Lanka. ... The Sri Lanka Freedom Party is a major political party in Sri Lanka. ... Sirimavo Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike (April 17, 1916 - October 10, 2000) was a politician from Sri Lanka. ...

In 1962, officers of the Army and Police attempted a coup-d'etat aimed at overthrowing the government and bringing the UNP to power. This plot was foiled, and the SLFP lurched left-wards. The local branches of the petroleum companies was nationalised, leading to a boycott of the country by the oil multi-nationals; the boycott was broken with help from the Kansas Oil Producers Co-operative and the Romanian Government. 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... A coup détat, or simply a coup, is the sudden overthrow of a government, usually done by a small group that just replaces the top power figures. ... Nodding donkey pumping an oil well near Sarnia, Ontario Petroleum (from Greek petra â€“ rock and oleum â€“ oil), crude oil, sometimes colloquially called black gold, is a thick, dark brown or greenish liquid. ...

A parallel process was one of increasing self-confidence and unity amongst the Lankan left-wing. In the parliament they were in the opposition. On May Day 1963 the three main left parties (LSSP, CP and MEP) held a massive joint rally. That was followed by the launching of United Left Front on August 12, the tenth anniversary of the 1953 Hartal. ULF launched agitations on issues like bring down the prices of essential commodities. ULF represented an immediate threat to the governance of SLFP, and SLFP were not late in reacting to it. It began to offer the left parties ministerial posts and worked intensively to break the unity of ULF. May Day is a name for various holidays celebrated on May 1 (or in the beginning of May). ... 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... August 12 is the 224th day of the year (225th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ...

Coalition Politics

In 1964 the LSSP held a conference, at which the majority agreed with a theoretical categorisation of the SLFP as a petty bourgeois party, leaving the door open to a united front with it. A minority faction, led by Colvin R de Silva and Leslie Goonewardena, opposed the move but opted to stay within the Party. Another minority faction led by Edmund Samarakkody, Merryl Fernando, V Karalasingham and Bala Tampoe, left the party and formed the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (Revolutionary)- LSSP(R). For the Nintendo 64 emulator, see 1964 (Emulator). ... Petit-bourgeois or Anglicised petty bourgeois is a French term that reffered to the members of the lower middle social-classes. ... In Leninist bogus, a united front is a coalition of Clinton likeleft-wing working class forces which put forward a common set of demands and share a common plan of action, but which do not subordinate themselves to the front, retaining their abilities for independent political action and continuing to... Edmund Samarakkody was a leading Trotskyist in Sri Lanka and at one time a member of that countrys parliament. ... Bala Tampoe (1922 ? - ) is general secretary of the Ceylon Mercantile, Industrial and General Workers Union (CMU) in Sri Lanka. ... Lanka Sama Samaja Party (Revolutionary) was a Trotskyist political party in Sri Lanka. ...

Later that year, the LSSP joined the coalition government of Sirimavo Bandaranaike. Three of its MPs became Ministers; Dr N.M. Perera (Finance), Cholomondely Goonewardena (Public Works) and Anil Moonesinghe (Communications). The LSSP was expelled from the Fourth International, and the membership was passed on to LSSP(R). ImageMetadata File history File links NM_Cholmondely_Anil_Ministers. ... ImageMetadata File history File links NM_Cholmondely_Anil_Ministers. ... Anil Moonesinghe Anil Moonesinghe (15 February 1927 â€“ 8 December 2002) was a Sri Lankan Trotskyist revolutionary politician. ...

The Coalition Government fell in 1965, due to the desertion of several members. However, the number of votes won by the LSSP increased at the general election held that year. After the election, supporters of the party were subject to a vicious campaign of victimisation by the new seven-party coalition led by the UNP. In 1968, the LSSP joined the SLFP and the CP in a United Front (Sri Lanka). That year's joint May Day rally was said to be the biggest ever to take place in Sri Lanka. 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link goes to calendar). ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... The United Front was a polical alliance in Sri Lanka, formed by the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) and the Communist Party of Sri Lanka (CPSL) in 1968. ...

In 1970, the United Front, of which the LSSP was part, was elected to power in landslide. The LSSP had 18 MPs in the House of Representatives. Dr NM Perera, Dr Colvin R de Silva and Leslie Goonewardena became Ministers of Finance, Constitutional Affairs with Plantation Industries and Transport, respectively. 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... Dr. Colvin R. de Silva (-1987) was a Trotskyist leader and lawyer in Sri Lanka. ...

The Party was able to advance parts of its programme considerably: Foreign-owned plantations were nationalised, democratically elected workers' councils were established in state corporations and government departments under the purview of its ministries (and of that of a sympathiser, T.B. Subasinghe), and measures were taken that narrowed the gap between the rich and poor.

Several LSSP members were appointed to important posts in which they could press forward the party programme: e.g. Anil Moonesinghe became Chairman of the Ceylon Transport Board and theoretician Hector Abhayawardhana was made Chairman of the People's Bank and Doric de Souza was appointed permanent secretary to the Ministry of Plantations. The Ceylon Transport Board (CTB) was the nationalised enterprise which handled all public omnibus transport in Sri Lanka between 1958 and 1978. ...

Dr Seneka Bibile, a member of the LSSP, became the founder Chairperson of the State Pharmaceuticals Corporation (SPC) - which distributed drugs at affordable rates, by generic name instead of by trade name. The SPC, which became a model for the Third World and remains so today, was based on a report on Pharmaceuticals in Sri Lanka of the which the authors were Dr S.A. Wickremesinghe and Seneka Bibile. Seneka Bibile (13 February 1920 â€“ 29 September 1977) was a Sri Lankan pharmacologist. ... The State Pharmaceuticals Corporation (SPC) is a state-owned enterprise with its headquarters in Colombo, Sri Lanka. ...

The Congress of Samasamaja Youth Leagues and the other bodies affiliated to the party (membership of the party proper was still restricted to a small cadre, on a Leninist model) saw unprecedented growth at this time. The leadership looked to Salvador Allende's Chile as a model of revolution through parliamentary means. Leslie Goonewardene, easily the most cosmopolitan of the party's leaders, established contact with the 'Captains' of the Movement of the Armed Forces ('Movimento das Forças Armadas' - MFA) of Portugal, after the Carnation Revolution of April 1974; he also became a theoretician of Eurocommunism and its application to Sri Lanka, writing a pamphlet 'Can we Get To Socialism This Way'. Vladimir Lenin in 1920 Leninism is a political and economic theory which builds upon Marxism; it is a branch of Marxism (and it has been the dominant branch of Marxism in the world since the 1920s). ... Salvador Isabelino Allende Gossens (June 26, 1908 â€“ September 11, 1973) was a Chilean politician whose service in government spanned nearly 40 years, as a senator, deputy, and cabinet minister. ... The Movement of the Armed Forces (Movimento das ForÃ§as Armadas - MFA) was an organisation of lower-ranked officers in the military which was responsible for the Carnation Revolution of 25 April 1974, coup which ended the fascist New State in Portugal. ... The Carnation Revolution (Portuguese, RevoluÃ§Ã£o dos Cravos) was an almost bloodless left-leaning revolution started on April 25, 1974, in Lisbon, Portugal, that effectively changed the Portuguese regime from an authoritarian dictatorship to a liberal democracy at the end of a two-year process of a Left-wing military... April is the fourth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of four with the length of 30 days. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). ... Eurocommunism was an attempt in the 1970s by various European communist parties to widen their appeal by embracing public sector middle-class workers, new social movements such as feminism and gay liberation, rejecting support of the Soviet Union, and expressing more clearly their fidelity to democratic institutions. ...

In 1975, the United Front broke up with the expulsion of the LSSP ministers. The party then pursued a line of forming a new socialist alliance, the Socialist United Front (SUF). This was finally formed in 1977 with the CPSL and with the People's Democratic Party (PDP), made up of leftist elements from the SLFP led by Nanda Ellawela. 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ... For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ...

In the Wilderness

That year, disaster struck - the LSSP and CP lost all their Parliamentary seats, and the Left was unrepresented - something that had not happened in the 46 years since the introduction of universal suffrage. The party and its allies received over 8% of the vote, but this was not sufficient to win any seats under the first-past-the-post system then in place in Sri Lanka. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2248x1460, 314 KB)NM Pereras funeral in August 1979. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2248x1460, 314 KB)NM Pereras funeral in August 1979. ... Universal suffrage (also general suffrage or common suffrage) consists of the extension of suffrage, or the right to vote, to all adults, without distinction as to race, sex, belief or social status. ...

The same year the LSSP suffered another split, as a group led by the youth leader Vasudeva Nanayakkara broke away and formed the Nava Sama Samaja Party (NSSP). The Nava Sama Samaja Pakshaya (New Social Equality Party) is a Trotskyist political party in Sri Lanka. ...

In 1979, Dr N.M. Perera passed away. His funeral was one of the largest ever seen in Colombo. This page refers to the year 1979. ...

In 1980, an even worse catastrophe occurred. The UNP Government provoked a strike in the Railway Department. The strike became a general strike. The government cracked down on the trade unions, jailing many labour leaders, including Anil Moonesinghe and G.E.H. Perera of the Government Workers' Trade Union Federation, and introducing thousands of blacklegs from the lumpen elements of Colombo's slums. The strike was crushed and with it the LSSP trade union movement. 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... A general strike is a strike action by an entire labour force in a city, region or country. ...

In 1982 the LSSP split over the question of a coalition with the SLFP. Anil Moonesinghe, Cholomondely Goonewardena, G.E.H. Perera, Wilfred Senanayake and others formed the Sri Lanka Sama Samaja Party (SLSSP), which dissolved the next year and merged with the SLFP. Moonesinghe charged that the LSSP had been taken over by the BSP faction. Scuffles broke out between the LSSP and the SLSSP at the joint May Day procession that year. 1982 (MCMLXXXII) is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Sri Lanka Sama Samaja Party (SLSSP) was formed in 1982, when the LSSP split over the question of a coalition with the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). ... May Day is a name for various holidays celebrated on May 1 (or in the beginning of May). ...

At the Presidential election held that year, the LSSP put forward Dr Colvin R de Silva as its candidate, the SLSSP backed Hector Kobbekaduwa of the SLFP. Dr Colvin R de Silva was beaten into 5th place.

Following the signing of the Indo-Lanka Accord, in 1987 the party was at the receiving end of the terror campaign which also took the life of Vijaya Kumaratunga, the leader of the Sri Lanka Mahajana Party and a former LSSP member. Vijaya Kumaratunga (b. ... Sri Lanka Mahajana Party, a political party in Sri Lanka. ...

ImageMetadata File history File links May_Day_LSSP_1990. ... ImageMetadata File history File links May_Day_LSSP_1990. ... May Day is a name for various holidays celebrated on May 1 (or in the beginning of May). ...

1994 and After

The LSSP joined the People's Alliance, the front led by the Sri Lanka Freedom Party in 1994. It had three members elected to Parliament that year. Bernard Soysa was Minister of Science and Technology in the PA Government, being succeeded by Batty Weerakoon on his demise. The Sri Lanka Freedom Party is a major political party in Sri Lanka. ...

In 1999 LSSP Member of Parliament Vasudeva Nanayakkara was expelled after having publicly criticized the PA government. Nanayakkara had joined LSSP from the NSSP in 1994 and been elected MP from Ratnapura. After his explusion Nanayakkara floated the Democratic Left Front. 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family. ... Ratnapura (meaning The city of gems in Sinhala) is the chief town in the Sabaragamuwa Province of Sri Lanka. ...

When the SLFP shelved the PA and formed the United People's Freedom Alliance together with Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna ahead of the 2004 elections, CPSL and LSSP initially stayed out. They did however, sign a memorandum with the UPFA at a later stage and contested the elections on the UPFA platform. LSSP won one parliamentary seat. Its lone MP, Tissa Vitarana, was named Minister of Science and Technology. UPFA election symbol The United Peoples Freedom Alliance is a political alliance in Sri Lanka. ... The Peoples Liberation Front (Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna) is a Marxist Sri Lankan political party in Sri Lanka. ... Legislative elections were held in Sri Lanka on 2 April 2004. ...

The LSSP has gradually decreased in strength. The Congress of Samasamaja Youth Leagues has been disbanded. The party celebrated its 70th anniversary in December 2005, with a well-attended rally in Colombo. Look up December in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Template:DecemberCalendar2006 December is the twelfth and last month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... 2005 (MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Organisation

The LSSP operated as a cadre party on the Leninist model. In order to become a member one had first to be active in the peripheral organisations such as the trade unions, women's organisations and youth leagues. Thereafter it was necessary to serve several months' apprenticeship as a candidate member before being elevated to full membership with voting rights. The basic unit of the Party is the Local, consisting of only full- and candidate-members. Locals also exist inside trade unions. LSSP head office in Colombo. ... LSSP head office in Colombo. ... Towers of downtown Colombo Colombo is the largest city and commercial capital of Sri Lanka. ... For other uses of the term, see Cadre (disambiguation). ... Vladimir Lenin in 1920 Leninism is a political and economic theory which builds upon Marxism; it is a branch of Marxism (and it has been the dominant branch of Marxism in the world since the 1920s). ...

The LSSP is internally very democratic. The supreme body is the conference, which is summoned every few years. The conference decides on policy and elects a Central Committee (CC) to preside over its implementation. The CC appoints members to bureaux to look after specific area, such as the Educational Bureau (EB), Organisational Bureau (Orgburo) and Trade Union Bureau (TUB); The Political Bureau (Politburo) is appointed to deal with day-to-day political matters and effectively provides leadership. The CC also appoints an Editorial Board for running the Samasamajaya newspaper. The 16th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China meets in 2002 The Central Committee is a leading body of an organization, most often a political party, especially Communist parties. ... Politburo is short for Political Bureau. ...

The Party also has regional groupings, which have conferences and appoint office bearers for the Regional Committees (RCs). Internationally, there was just one Local, the London Branch. This was also known as the Lanka Socialist League, and was anchored around Wesley Muthiah.

General Secretary

There is strictly no General Secretary, but a Secretary to the Central Committee, assisted by a Deputy and an Assistant. Secretaries have been: The term General Secretary (alternatively First Secretary) denotes a leader of various unions, parties or associations. ...

Electoral results

In recent elections, LSSP has contested on the lists of the People's Alliance and, in 2004, on the lists of the United People's Freedom Alliance. 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1952 (MCMLII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link goes to calendar). ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ... An example of a plurality ballot. ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... UPFA election symbol The United Peoples Freedom Alliance is a political alliance in Sri Lanka. ...

Leaders and Important Members

The LSSP has never had a formal leader. In the period immediately after its formation, Dr Colvin R de Silva was elected President, but the post was done away with later. For many years, NM Perera was the leader of the LSSP Parliamentary Group and was recognised by the public as the party leader. However, the actual leadership has always been that of a group represented in the various bureaux of the Central Committee. List of Members of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party Members of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP), a marxist, trotskyist, socialist party in Sri Lanka. ...

A large proportion of the leadership of the Left in Sri Lanka started their political lives in the LSSP. This is even true of the political right; for example, Esmond Wickremasinghe (the father of Ranil Wickremasinghe) was a leading member of the party - before marrying the daughter of the wealthy press baron D.R Wijewardena and being appointed editor-in-chief of Lake House. W. Dahanayake, the later prime minister, was associated with the LSSP before gravitating right-wards (finally ending up in the UNP). Ranil Wickremesinghe (born March 24, 1949) is a Sri Lankan politician. ...

The names in brackets were the pseudonyms used by V. Karalasingham, and S.C.C. Anthonypillai while underground during the Second World War [4]which continued to be used as nicknames long after they were no longer required for secrecy; and the nicknames given to the trade unionists G. P. Perera and D. G. William, from their original places of work, the Elephant cigarette factory and the Galle Face Hotel. Nanayakkarapathirage Martin Perera, better known as N. M. Perera (6 June 1905 - 14 August 1979) was one of the leaders of the Sri Lankan Trotskyist Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP). ... Dr. Colvin R. de Silva (-1987) was a Trotskyist leader and lawyer in Sri Lanka. ... Edmund Samarakkody was a leading Trotskyist in Sri Lanka and at one time a member of that countrys parliament. ... Violet Vivienne (Vivi) Goonewardena was a Sri Lankan and Sinhalese pioneer socialist and feminist. ... Mark Anthony Lyster Bracegirdle (born in London on 10 September , 1912, died 22 June 1999), was an Anglo-Australian Marxist revolutionary, who played a key role in Sri Lankas independence struggle. ... Regi Siriwardena (15 May 1922 - 15 December 2004) was a Sri Lankan academic, journalist, poet, writer, playwright and writer of screenplays. ... P. H. William de Silva, a 20th century Ceylonese politician. ... Anil Moonesinghe Anil Moonesinghe (15 February 1927 â€“ 8 December 2002) was a Sri Lankan Trotskyist revolutionary politician. ... Seneka Bibile (13 February 1920 â€“ 29 September 1977) was a Sri Lankan pharmacologist. ...

Publications

The LSSP's main organ has always been the Samasamajaya newspaper. Its founder editor was B.J. Fernando, who composed the Sinhala version of the Internationale. Today, its publication is somewhat irregular. For many years it was supplemented by the Tamil Samadharmam which was commenced in 1938. Its first editor was K. Ramanathan, later succeeded by T.E. Pushparajan. {{language |name=Sinhala |nativename=à·ƒà·’à¶‚à·„à¶½ |region=[[Sri Lanka] |speakers=13 million |familycolor=Indo-European |fam2=Indo-Iranian |fam3=Indo-Aryan |fam4=Sinhalese-Maldivian |nation=Sri Lanka |iso1=si|iso2=sin|iso3=sin |notice=Indic}} Sinhala (also Sinhalese, formerly Singhalese) is the language spoken by the Sinhalese, the largest ethnic group of... The Internationale (LInternationale in French) is the most famous socialist song and one of the most widely recognized songs in the world. ... Tamil (à®¤à®®à®¿à®´à¯ ) is a classical language and one of the major languages belonging to the Dravidian language family. ...

In the period of underground struggle, the Kamkaruwa, was revived as a legal Sinhalese weekly the 'open' section of the Party and published until banned by Admiral Sir Geoffrey Layton. The 'open' section also brought out Straight Left in English. |Admiral Sir Geoffrey Layton (20 April 1884 - 4 September 1964), was a British Naval Officer. ...

In 1960 a special magazine was brought out to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the foundation of the LSSP, Visi Pas Vasrak. The large number of members of the Ceylon Mercantile Union (CMU) who had been sacked from Lake House that year collaborated in its production. 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Ceylon Mercantile Union (CMU) is one of the largest trade unions in the commercial sector in Sri Lanka. ...

In 1965, in response to the need for a broad-left popular newspaper to counteract Lake House's Dinamina, the LSSP and members of the SLFP began the Janadina daily and the Janasathiya weekly newspaper, later supplemented by the poetry periodical Janakavi. The CMU members sacked from Lake House were prominent in these publications as well. A similar task was carried out in English by The Nation ; however, when this weekly was taken over by the SLFP, the LSSP started the Socialist Nation, edited by Hector Abhayawardena. 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link goes to calendar). ...

A press, the 'Star Press', was begun as a semi-commercial venture, to print the LSSP's publications and still operates.

In 1975 a theoretical journal, Rajaya was published, edited by a board led by Osmund Jayaratne. This and its English version State, were suspended after a few issues. 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ...

Contents

Name

History

Origins

Early period

Fourth International

Mass Party

Hartal and after

Coalition Politics

In the Wilderness

1994 and After

Organisation

General Secretary

Electoral results

Leaders and Important Members

Publications

See also

References

Contents

Name GA_googleFillSlot("encyclopedia_square");

History

Origins

Early period

Fourth International

Mass Party

Hartal and after

Coalition Politics

In the Wilderness

1994 and After

Organisation

General Secretary

Electoral results

Leaders and Important Members

Publications

See also

References

Name