Soulbury Commission - The Aftermath

The Aftermath

An important piece of legislation, enacted in 1948, and modified in 1949, was the Indian Citizenship act, which limited citizenship to Indian workers who had at least 10 years of residence in the country This was similar to the requirement which was then current in most European countries. Although Senanayake had consistently supported their citizenship under less strict conditions as early as 1923, and as late as 1941 in the Indo-Ceylon talks, this change of attitude was a reaction to the increasing agitation of the Marxist trade-unionists whose power was misjudged by the colonial administration as well as most politicians of that era. Thus Senanayake was supported by many Tamil leaders including Ponnambalam, and constitutionalists like Dr. Ivor Jennings, in regard to the Indian citizenship act. The Soulbury commission had also recommended a "status quo" with regard to Indian workers. However, this was criticized by Senator Natesan, S. J. V. Chelvanayagam and followers who represented the emerging Tamil-nationalist fringe.

Although Ponnambalam moderated his politics and moved to the center, there was thus no shortage of ultra-nationalists or militant groups who attacked Senanayake's synthesis of all moderate groups within his United National Party of Ceylon. Because the "constitutionalist" approach of Senanayake and others led to independence without the fire and violence of the Indian program, many contended that the "independence" was illusory. Fears were expressed, mainly by the Marxists, of secret clauses and a hidden treaty. Events were to prove that these claims were false(, p. 569).

An ultra-nationalist Tamil movement which had previously grouped as the league of Tamil Federations denounced Ponnambalam and other Tamils as "traitors" and formed the Ilankai Thamil Arasu Kachchi(ITAK), or the Tamil Government Party. This party would present a deeply separatist agenda in its Tamil-language publications, but presented a more moderate picture in its English language presentations, where it was known as the Federal party. The Federal party and the Marxist parties began to attack the Senanayake government, but at that time their support in the country was minimal. The greatest threat to Senanayake's policies came when Bandaranaike left the Senanayake cabinet and formed the Sinhala nationalist Sri Lanka Freedom Party (Sri Lanka Nidahas Pakshaya)(SLFP). Senanayake died in a horse riding accident in 1952, and after that the low-key, behind-the-curtain approach of Senanayake was displaced by direct communal agitation for lingusitic and other demands of the two communities, led by the SLFP and the ITAK. The "satyagraha" sit-ins of the ITAK developed into violent confrontations which, over time lead to the emergence of the Tamil United Liberation Front TULF which in 1976 declared, in the city of Vaddukkoddei, a policy of a separate state for the Tamils. This was an idea which had been part of the thinking of the ITAK since its inception, although it did not come to the fore-front till 1976.