Hector Kobbekaduwa

Hector Senarath Rajakaruna Bandara Kobbekaduwa (29 August 1916 – 17 September 1983) was a Sri Lankan politician and lawyer. He was the Sri Lanka Freedom Party candidate in the 1982 Sri Lankan presidential election and the Minister for Agriculture and Lands from 1970 to 1977.[1] He is remembered for nationalizing privately owned land and restricting the ownership of private land to 20 hectares for the purpose of giving land to landless peasants. He created collectively owned settlement programs called Janawasas in some of the land that was acquired.[2][3][4][1] He contested the 1982 presidential election and lost. The campaign of the SLFP led by him advocated for restoring previous Sri Lanka Freedom Party policies. His opponents ran an effective campaign criticising the closed economy & socialist policies of his Sri Lanka Freedom Party – led regime from 1970-1977, they blamed the SLFP policies for creating scarcities of essential goods and unemployment.[5][6] Although the SLFP led by him lost the 1982 Sri Lankan presidential election, he managed to gain a significant number of votes in Tamil speaking areas like Point Pedro defeating Tamil nationalist parties.[2]

Hon. Hector Kobbekaduwa
හෙක්ටර් කොබ්බෑකඩුව
Minister for Agriculture and Lands
In office 1970–1977
Prime Minister	Sirimavo Bandaranaike
Preceded by	M. D. Banda
Succeeded by	Lionel Senanayake
Member of the Sri Lanka Parliament for Yatinuwara
In office 1970–1977
Preceded by	S. S. Abeysundara
Succeeded by	S. S. Abeysundara
Majority	5,493 (1970)
Personal details
Born	(1916-08-19)19 August 1916
Died	18 September 1983(1983-09-18) (aged 67)
Nationality	Sri Lankan
Political party	Sri Lanka Freedom Party
Occupation	Politician
Profession	Advocate

Early life and education

Born to a prominent family from Yatinuwara, his father was Dr Tikiri Banda Kobbekaduwa, the first British qualified physician from Kandy and his mother was Sangamitta Dullewe Kumarihamy from Matale. Educated at Trinity College, Kandy, he studied law at the Ceylon Law College, taking oaths as an Advocate in 1942. He started his legal practice in Kandy.[2]

Political career

Entering politics in 1947, Kobbekaduwa joined the Mahanuwara Samajawadi Peramuna founded by Herbert Sri Nissanka, QC and T. B. Ilangaratne. He became a member of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), when it was formed in 1952. In 1954, he contested the Ampitiya Ward and was elected as a member of the Kandy Municipal Council, where he served until 1960. He was appointed by the Mahajana Eksath Party which was led by S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike to a fact-finding mission to formulate what was to become the Paddy Lands Act. In 1960, he was appointed as Chairman of the Public Services Commission by Sirimavo Bandaranaike.

Minister for Agriculture and Lands

In the 1970 general elections, he was elected as a Member of Parliament from the Yatinuwara electorate, and was appointed Minister for Agriculture and Lands by Sirimavo Bandaranaike. During his tenure he introduced the Land Reforms Act which nationalized private land and limited private holdings to 50 acres. From the nationalized lands he initiated the Janawasas scheme which gave land to the landless. He initiated the Agrarian Research and Training Centre (ARTI) in 1972 as well as the Land Reforms Commission and the State Plantations Corporation. He established Agricultural Productivity Centres at the village level. His tenure was marked with a major food shortage in the country, which resulted in the defeated of his party 1977 general elections in which he lost his seat in parliament.[7]

Presidential candidate

When presidential elections were called in 1982, the leader of the SLFP Sirimavo Bandaranaike could not contest as she had had her civic rights suspended by parliament in 1980 for seven years. Therefore, the SLFP nominated Kobbekaduwa as its candidate. He gained 39.07% of the votes against the incumbent J. R. Jayewardene who gained 52.91%.[8][9][10][11]

Legacy

The Land Reforms Act resulted in a major social change in the country as the old landed gentry lost their primary source of wealth and reduced their political influence. The Agrarian Research and Training Centre was renamed as the Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute in his memory.[1]

References

1. "Hector Kobbekaduwa remembered". Sri Lanka Guardian.
2. "Champion of peasant rights". Daily News (Sri Lanka).
3. Samarawickrama, Salr (3 July 2014). "The plans implications of Janawasa settlements in Sri Lanka" – via dl.lib.mrt.ac.lk. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
4. "Call to abolish Sri Lanka's land reform law". www.economynext.com.
5. ELECfiONS AND CONFLICf IN THE STATE (1982 - 1987)
6. "The 1982 Referendum & July 1983". 7 January 2017.
7. "Hector Kobbekaduwa remembered".
8. "1982 Sri Lanka Presidential Election Results". LankaNewspapers.com. Archived from the original on 10 June 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
9. "1982 - Presidential Election". Manthree.com. Archived from the original on 16 December 2012. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
10. "Hector Kobbekaduwa Remmebered". Sri Lanka Guardian. 19 September 2008. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
11. "Result of Presidential Election 1982" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 March 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2013.