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Samuel Dias Bandaranayake (1 December 1917 – 3 June 2014) was a Sri Lankan socialist politician and a member of parliament representing Gampaha.[1]

Early life and education

Born to a wealthy family, his father was Conrad Peter Dias Bandaranayake, Muhandiram of the Guard and Siyane Korale and his mother was the daughter of Mudaliyar Ekanayake from Matara, his grandfather was Conrad (Peter) Petrus Dias Wijewardena Bandaranaike, Maha Mudaliyar. He was a cousin of S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike. He was educated at S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia, St. Thomas' College, Matara and studied agriculture at the University of Travancore. While in India he met figures such as Subhas Chandra Bose and Rabindranath Tagore. On his return he joined the newly formed Ceylon Agricultural Corps as a Commandant during World War II.[2]

After the war he entered politics, campaigning for S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike and joined his newly formed Sri Lanka Freedom Party. He was elected to parliament in 1952 general election from the Gampaha electorate, however he did not accept the office due to disagreements with S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike on the Sinhala Only Act. However, he was instrumental in stopping J. R. Jayewardene's march to Kandy in protest of the Bandaranaike–Chelvanayakam Pact.[3] He was re-elected in the next four elections in 1956, 1960 March, 1960 July and 1965. He lost his seat to A. T. Basnayake of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, having contested the 1970 general election as an independent.

He was involved in the 1971 JVP Insurrection against the SLFP led government under Sirimavo Bandaranaike. The Criminal Justice Commission which was set up to prosecute insurgents found him guilty of two counts of being a member of the JVP and attending the five lectures. He was given a suspended sentence of two years. In 1977, he was reelected in the 1977 general election from the Sri Lanka Freedom Party.[4][5]

Family

His son, Pandu, is one of the sitting members of parliament for Gampaha (1994-present).[6]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Hon. Bandaranayake, Samuel Dias, M.P." Directory of Past members. Parliament of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  2. ^ "Former Gampaha MP S.D. Bandaranayake the Colourful Maverick Known as "Imbulgoda Veeraya" Passes Away at 97 Years of Age". 14 June 2014.
  3. ^ "JR's Kandy march against B-C Pact". The FT. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  4. ^ "The Island - Opinion". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  5. ^ "Death of senior SLFP politician S. D. Bandaranayake". Archived from the original on 13 August 2014.
  6. ^ Jeyaraj, D.B.S. (14 June 2014). "Former Gampaha MP S.D. Bandaranayake the Colourful Maverick Known as "Imbulgoda Veeraya" Passes Away at 97 Years of Age". Retrieved 15 September 2020.
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