A great patriot and extraordinary son of Mother Lanka

“When comes such another,” said Mark Antony referring to the mighty Emperor of Rome Julius Caesar in the acclaimed play by Shakespeare.

The remarkable life and achievements, the sheer versatility, multi-faceted life led by this great patriot and national leader are unsurpassed and bring the above quotation into focus.

Some of the late Sir Baron’s achievements and activities are stated in point form for the sake of brevity.

President Ceylon National Congress 1923.

Leader of the House in the State Council of Ceylon following constitutional reforms of the Donoughmore Commission (1931) - first elected leader of Sri Lanka/ Ceylon through the voting rights of the people of this country. Minister of Home affairs (1931. Member of Parliament for Kelaniya, elected unopposed (1931). Representative of Government of Ceylon in India - 1943. Vice-president of Legislative Council of Ceylon - 1930. Elected President of Ceylon National Congress - 1923. Flagbearer of Buddhist Education. Principal of Dharmarajah College Kandy.

Principal of Ananda College Colombo.

Founder of Sri Dharmaloka Maha Vidyalaya Kelaniya, now a reputed National School.

General Manager and subsequently Secretary of Buddhist Theosophical Society which managed Buddhist schools including Ananda ,Nalanda, Dharmarajah , Visakha.

President Vidyalankara Sabha. Refined editions of Sinhala texts such as Dhampiya Atuva Getapada, Saddharma Ratnavaliya, Sikavalanda Vinisa, Buduguna Alankaraya were a reflection of his deep love for the Teachings of Buddha.

Founding Chief Editor of the monolingual etymological Sinhala dictionary 1927-1941. Founder of Young Men’s Buddhist Association (YMBA) in 1898 and President until his death in 1944. President Ceylon branch of Royal Asiatic Society 1935 – 1941. Started Ceylon Temperance Movement - 1914.

Education

Scholar of Sinhala, Pali, Sanskrit learnt at Vidyalankara Pirivena with mastery of English.

Passed Junior and Senior Cambridge Examinations as a student of Wesley College, Colombo. BA University of Calcutta - 1896; BA - University of Oxford - 1913; MA - University of Oxford. Called to the Bar as a Barrister by Lincoln’s Inn and became advocate of the Supreme Court of Ceylon. Sir D.B., as he was popularly known, was a national leader, patriot, a doughty freedom fighter for constitutional reforms. An educationist, philanthropist, scholar par excellence and a statesman extraordinaire, D.B. could “Walk with Kings, nor lose the common touch.”

He was knighted by the British Government for his services to the country.

Dignity, humility, gentleness and intellect were personified, and once publicly stated “my sole expectation is to serve my motherland. Today’s youth are the leaders of tomorrow.”

The 150th Birth anniversary is due to be commemorated in February, 2018.

This article is written not only as a tribute to an extraordinary son of Mother Lanka, who bestrode the stage like a colossus, but also to highlight what an outstanding and rare all-rounder he was.

Sir Baron was, as stated, the principal of Ananda College. He was the first non-European to do so. A poem by Longfellow comes to mind, learnt by this writer whilst a student at Ananda, from Mr. K.D. de Lanerolle, a reputed head teacher and distinguished man of letters.

“Lives of great men all remind us We can make our lives sublime, And, departing, leave behind us, Footprints on the sands of time” “When comes such another” indeed. -Haritha haritha1@ hotmail.co.uk