SJV Father of Tamil Nationalism
Expansion of speech by V. Thangavelu, President Canada TNA at the 125th birth anniversary of SJV held in Toronto
தந்தை செல்வநாயகத்தின் குடும்பத்தாருக்கும் அவையோர்க்கும் மாலை வணக்கம்!
தந்தை செல்வாவின் 125 ஆவது பிறந்த நாளை கொண்டாடும் முகமாக இந்த நிகழ்ச்சியை ஒழுங்கு செய்த Chelvanayakam Memorial Trust (CMT) (செல்வநாயகம் நினைவு அறக்கட்டளை) மற்றும் Chelvanayakam Charitable Foundation (CCF) (செல்வநாயகம் அறக்கட்டளை) இரண்டுக்கும் எனது பாராட்டுதல்களை தெரிவித்துக் கொள்கிறேன்.
திருக்குறளில் மகன் தந்தைக்கு ஆற்றும் உதவிபற்றி ஒரு குறள் இருக்கிறது.
மகன்தந்தைக்குக்கு ஆற்றும் உதவி இவன் தந்தை
என்னோற்றான் கொல்எனும் சொல் (அதிகாரம் மக்கட் பேறு, குறள் 70)
மகன் தன் தந்தைக்குச் செய்யத் தக்க கைம்மாறு, இவன் தந்தை இவனை மகனாகப் பெற என்ன தவம் செய்தானோ என்று பிறர் புகழ்ந்து சொல்லும் சொல்லாகும்.
தந்தை செல்வநாயக்தின் பிள்ளைகள், பேரப்பிள்ளைகள் தந்தைதாயார்களது பெயரில் ஒன்றுக்கு இரண்டு அறக்கட்டளைகளை நிறுவி அறப்பணியில் ஈடுபட்டு வருகிறார்கள்.
இந்த நிகழ்வில் ஒரு பேச்சாளனாக எனது பெயரை என்னைக் கேட்காமலேயே இதன் ஒழுங்கமைப்பாளர் மைதிலி வில்சன் நிகழ்ச்சி நிரலில் போட்டுவிட்டார்.
நான் தமிழில் பேசுவேன் என்று சொன்னேன். இல்லை, இல்லை சிலருக்குத் தமிழ் தெரியாது, பாதி தமிழ் மீதி ஆங்கிலத்தில் பேசுங்கள் எனக் கேட்டுக் கொண்டார். ஆங்கிலத்தில் பேசுவதில் சிக்கலில்லை. ஆனால் ஆங்கிலத்தில் பேசினால் தமிழ் படிக்க வேண்டும் என்ற எண்ணம் அவர்களுக்கு வராது. கனடாவுக்குப் புலம் பெயர்ந்த இளையோர் அல்லது இங்கேயே பிறந்த பிள்ளைகளில் 90 விழுக்காட்டினர் வீட்டில் ஆங்கிலேய மொழியிலேயே பேசுகிறார்கள். தாய் தந்தையர்களுக்கு முற்றாக ஆங்கிலம் தெரியாது போது மட்டும் அவர்கள் தமிழில் பேசுகிறார்கள். ஆனால் தமிழைப் படிக்க எழுதத் தெரியாது. விதிவிலக்கு உண்டு.
ஒன்றை மட்டும் கூறிக் கொள்ள விரும்புகிறேன். தமிழ்மொழி வெறுமனே ஒருவரோடு ஒருவர் கருத்தைப் பரிமாறிக் கொள்வதற்கான கருவி அல்ல. அது மனித பாரம்பரியத்தின் கடத்தல் (அடையாளம், வரலாற்று, கலாச்சார மற்றும் மொழியியல் பொருள்) கருவியாகும்.
தமிழ் மூவாயிரம் ஆண்டுகள் பழமை வாய்ந்த மொழி. உலகில் 2021 இல் எடுத்த கணக்கின்படி 7,139 மொழிகள் பேசப்படுகின்றன. அவற்றுள் 293 மொழிகளுக்கு மட்டும் வரிவடிவு (script) உண்டு. இந்த மொழிகளில் செம்மொழி எனத் தகுதி பெற்ற 7 மொழிகளில் தமிழ் மொழியும் ஒன்று. மற்றவை அரபு, இலத்தீன்,கிரேக்கம், சீனம், கீப்புரு மற்றும் பாரசீகம் ஆகியவை. இந்த ஏழு செம்மொழிகளிலும் தமிழ்மொழி மட்டுமே உயிர்ப்போடு வாழும் மொழியாகும்.
தமிழ் புரியாதவர்களுக்கும், தமிழ் தெரியாதவர்களுக்கும் ஒன்று மட்டும் சொல்ல விரும்புகிறேன். உலகில் உயிரோடு இருக்கும் மொழிகளில் தமிழ்மொழி முதல் இடத்தில் உள்ளது. தமிழ் மொழி உலகம் முழுவதும் 9 கோடி மக்களால் பேசப்படுகிறது. இது இந்தியா, குறிப்பாக தமிழ்நாடு, இலங்கை, இந்தியா, சிங்கப்பூர், ரீயூனியன், கனடா, பிரிட்டன், அமெரிக்கா, அவுஸ்திரேலியா போன்ற நாடுகளில் பரவலாகப் பேசப்படுகிறது. தமிழ் திராவிட மொழிக் குடும்பத்தைச் சேர்ந்த மொழியாகும்.
எனவே தமிழ்மொழியில் பயிற்சி இல்லாதவர்கள் அந்த மொழியில் உள்ள இலக்கிய வளத்தை, வாழ்வியல் நெறிகளை, அறங்களை அறிந்து கொள்ள முடியாமல் போய்விடும். மனித வாழ்க்கைக்கு இவை மிகவும் அவசியமானவை.
தந்தை செல்வநாயகம் அவர்கள் ஒரு அபூர்வபிறவி. மனிதருக்குள் ஒரு மாணிக்கம். வாய்மை, நேர்மை, பற்றுறுதி படைத்தவர். தமிழ்மக்களுக்கு ஒரு கலங்கரை விளக்காக விளங்கியவர். மொத்தம் ஒரு 12 ஆண்டுகள் அவரோடு நெருங்கிப் பழகியவன். அவர் தொடக்கிய இலங்கைத் தமிழ் அரசுக் கட்சியின் வளர்ச்திக்கு துணையாக இருந்தவன். அன்றைய காலகட்டத்தில் அரச ஊழியர்களுக்கு அரசியல் உரிமை இருக்கவில்லை. இருந்தும் அரசாங்க ஊழியனாக இருந்தாலும் மறைமுக அரசியலில் தீவிரமாக ஈடுபட்டவன். இந்த இடத்தில் எனது தமிழ் உரையை நிறுத்தி ஆங்கிலத்தில் உரையாற்ற விரும்புகிறேன்.
As I was saying in Tamil firstly, I would like to express my appreciation to Chelvanayakam Memorial Trust (CMT) and Chelvanayakam Charitable Foundation (CCF) Chelvanayakam Charitable Foundation (CCF) for organizing this program to celebrate Thanthai Chelvanayakam’ s 125th birth anniversary.
In Thirukkural there is a Kural about father-son relationship.
To sire, what best requital can by grateful child be done?
To make men say, ‘What merit gained the father such a son?’ (Kural 70)
The way of showing filial devotion is to make others exclaim within the hearing of the father what penance the father must have performed to beget such a son. What is said about the son applies equally to daughters as well.
Thanthai Chelvanayakam children and grandchildren have established not one but two Charities to engage in charitable activities in his name.
Maithili, the organizer of this event, put my name as a speaker on the agenda without asking me. In Tamil there is a proverb that in a village where there is no sugar mill, then the flowers of Iluppai tree (Butter tree) will be called as sugar.
I told Maithili that I will speak in Tamil, since Prof. Chandrakanthan will be speaking in English. She said some people are not proficient in Tamil, they don’t know Tamil, speak half in Tamil and the rest in English. I have no problem is speaking in English, but if I speak in English, they want think of studying Tamil. A majority of young people who migrated to Canada when they were in their teens or those second generation born and bred in Canada speak English at home. They speak in Tamil only when their parents do not know English at all. Even then the children do not know how to read and write Tamil. There are exceptions. A few do speak fluent Tamil.
In this respect I just want to say one thing. Tamil is not just a tool for communicating with others and exchanging information between two or more people. Tamil is at least two thousand five-hundred-year-old language. We have a grammar book Tholkappiyam which is about 2,200 yeas old. As of 2021.
There are 7,139 languages spoken all over the world. Among them only 293 languages have script. And Tamil is one of the 6 languages that are recognized as classical languages along with Arabic, Latin, Greek, Chinese and Persian.
According to Prof. George Hart Tamil is a classical language based on 4 criteria among others.
(1) Considerable antiquity, it predates the literatures of other modern Indian languages by more than a thousand years.
(2) It has its own poetic theory, its own grammatical tradition, its own esthetics, and, above all, a large body of literature that is quite unique.
(3) The quality of classical Tamil literature is such that it is fit to stand beside the great literatures of Sanskrit, Greek, Latin, Chinese, Persian and Arabic. and
(4) Tamil is one of the primary independent sources of modern Indian culture and tradition.
Language is a carrier of human heritage (in identity, historical, cultural and linguistic material. Language is the instrument of transmission of human heritage (identity, historical, cultural and linguistic material).
For those who are not proficient in Tamil or don’t know to speak Tamil, I would like to say they are losing a part of the rich Tamil heritage. Tamil Language is the oldest living language in the world. Tamil language is spoken by 9 crores of people all over the world. It is widely spoken in countries like India, especially Tamil Nadu, Ceylon, India, Singapore, Reunion, Canada, Britain, USA, Australia etc. Tamil belongs to the Dravidian language family.
My first brush with politics and political parties was during the elections for the first parliament in 1947. In the Jaffna electorate there was battle royal between the All-Ceylon Congress Party (ACTC) and the United National Party. The contestants were the charismatic and popular leader GG Ponnambalam, QC the leader of the of the ACTC and Arunachalam Mahadeva contesting on the UNP platform. A. Mahadeva, Home Minister in the DS Senanayake is the son of Ponnambalam Arunachalam, brother of Ponnambalam Ramanathan. The battle cry was “Down with Mahadeva, the traitor who killed Kandasamy!” (“கந்தசாமியைக் கொன்ற துரோகி மகாதேவா ஒழிக”).
On 05, June 1947 Kandasamy a young member of the GCSU, was killed while participating in a demonstration called by the left parties. The Police fired several rounds at the demonstrators injuring quite a few and killing Kandasamy. A bullet went through his left eye to shatter his brain.
ACTC leader GG Ponnambalam lost no time to exploit the brutal death of Kandasamy. He carried his body to the Fort railway station and flew to Jaffna to receive the remains of Kandasamy. Unfortunately, Mahadeva has to accept responsibility since he was the Home Minister in charge of law and order. (To be continued)
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SJV Father of Tamil Nationalism
Expansion of speech by V. Thangavelu, President Canada TNA at the 125th birth anniversary of SJV held in Toronto
Continued from last week………….
During these tumultuous and turbulent times sustaining the morale of AES members was difficult. On 04, December 1961 a new Treasury Circular No. 560 stipulated that Tamil public servants must pass a proficiency test in Sinhala language. There was no requirement that a Sinhalese who is not proficient in Sinhala should study and pass exams. Sinhalese public servants were presumed literate in their mother tongue. According to Circular No. 560, a Tamil public servant is required to pass a test in Sinhala at 3rd standard level within one year from 1st January 1961, a test at 5th standard level within two years and at J. S. C. standard within three years. The Circular provided for suspension of increment falling due after February 17, 1962 in case an officer failing the test. Kodeeswaran did not present himself for the requisite examination and, therefore, his annual increment of Rs.120 which fell due on April 1, 1962 was suspended.
Out of fear for their future, some members with family to support succumbed to the relentless psychological pressure exerted by the government. It was, therefore, no surprise a few of our colleagues’ broke ranks and clandestinely started attending Sinhala classes conducted by the government. At the beginning the exams were made easy and almost everyone who sat for the exam passed. That was a subterfuge the government adopted to break the boycott by the Tamil public servants not to study Sinhala language. Later, the government applied the brake and made passing exams much more difficult and almost impossible.
Having been betrayed and let down by our Sinhalese colleagues, we decided to seek support from the ITAK. Almost daily we used to meet at Thanthai Chelvanayakam’ s house at 16, Alfred Gardens to discuss the problems caused by the implementation of Sinhala as the only language of administration. The government gave deadlines after deadlines to non-Sinhalese officers to learn Sinhala and pass exams or face dismissal.
After lengthy discussion and consultation, it was decided to mount a legal challenge to the Sinhala Only Act itself. Our Lawyers whom we consulted, told us to look for a member of the AES who has not sat for Sinhala language exams and as a consequence his increments withheld. A few came forward to file the petition, but backed out at the last minute out of fear and/or pressure from their families. At that time Kodeeswaran, a member of the AES, was attached to the Kegalle Kachcheri. I knew him earlier having worked with him (1957-59) at the land branch of the Trincomalee Kachcheri. We stayed in a cottage near N.R. Rajavarothiam, MP’s house. While working Kodeeswaran was preparing for his London BA exam. He soon graduated and his degree helped him to gain admission to the Law College and qualify as an Attorney at Law. Unfortunately, after 1966 I lost contact with him.
As an Attorney-at-law Kodeeswaran was practicing in Jaffna and when I went there in 2004, I couldn’t meet him. Kodeeswaran passed away on February 15th 2019 at the age of 85 at his Colombo residence after ailing for some time. He will be remembered for his selfless service and as an indefatigable fighter for Tamil people rights
In 1957 – 59 the state aided Allai – Kanthalai Sinhalese colonization was wrapping – up. This colonization scheme was at Kantale (Kantalai) tank where peasants from outside Trincomalee District were settled in the then Tamil dominant village of Kantale (Kantalai), 39 km south-west of the Trincomalee town.
Under Allai-Kantalai colonization scheme 65% of the allotments was given to Sinhalese and 35% to Muslims. Under Kantalai colonization scheme the intake was 77% Sinhalese and 23% Tamil speaking. Under Morawewa (Muthalikkulam) scheme – though initially allotments were made on a proportionate basis, subsequent violence directed against Tamil settlers on a regular basis by the Sinhalese forced the Tamils to evacuate. Today it is a 100% Sinhalese colony. In 1972 Nochchikulam was re-named Nochiyagama and Sinhalese were settled down in 5,000 acres of land forcibly acquired from Tamils living in Kappalthurai and Paalampoddaru.
The colonization scheme was extended to Tamil speaking areas of Anuradhapura District as well. A scheme was started at Padiviya Tank (Pathavik Kulam), 65 km north-east of Anuradhapura town. Parts of the scheme lay in Trincomalee District but were administered by the Sinhalese majority Anuradhapura District. Land Development Department employees from this scheme took part in the 1958 anti-Tamil riots. More on this subject later.
Since, Kodeeswaran had refused to study the Sinhala language and declined to sit for exams, his increment was stayed in 1962. So, he was the ideal person to sue the government on the ground that the Treasury circulars were unreasonable and illegal as the Official Language Act of 1956 transgressed the prohibition against discrimination provided for in section 29(2) of the Soulbury Constitution.
When Kodeeswaran was contacted, he without batting an eye came down to Colombo and signed all the legal documents required to file the case at the Colombo District Court. Ironically Kodeeswaran was fluent in his Sinhalese both reading and writing! Later in 1965, Kodeeswaran was elected President of AES uncontested and myself General Secretary after a fiercely contested election by a majority of 4 votes!
AES proceeded to challenge the Sinhala Only Act in the courts for a declaration that Kodeeswaran was entitled to an increment of salary, with effect from April 1, 1962. The sole question for determination was whether the he was entitled to for the payment of increments withheld by the government and the validity of the Official Language Act, 1956, and the effect of the Treasury Circular, No. 560 of December 4, 1961. Kodeeswaran was appointed on November 1, 1952, to a clerkship in the general clerical class of the general clerical service of Ceylon. He was, promoted to the Executive Clerical Class on 1st October, 1959 on the results of a competitive examination.
Additionally, Kodeeswaran asked for a declaration that the Official Language Act (Sinhala Only Act) was an infringement of Clause 29 (2) of the Soulbury Constitution of independent Ceylon. Clause 29(2) exclusively written to safeguard the rights of minority communities and groups said; “No law shall make persons of any community or religion liable to disabilities or restrictions to which any person of other communities or religions is not made liable.” It also said it should not “confer on persons or any community or religion any privilege or advantage which is not conferred on persons of other communities or religions.” Yet, violating Clause 29, the first Parliament in its first year adopted the Citizenship Act No.18 of 1948 and the Ceylon Parliamentary Election (Amendment) Act No. 48 of 1949 that together and de-citizenised and disfranchised the Hill country Tamils who were then citizens and voted at the first parliamentary elections in 1947. (To be continued)
Thanthai Chelvanayakam arranged M. Tiruchelvam QC and C. Ranganathan QC and P. Navaratnarajah, QC to appear for the case. The case was filed in the district court of Colombo presided over by O.L. de Kretzer. Attorney General Victor Tennakoon, who later got promoted as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, appeared for Respondent. In order to avoid an awkward hearing on the validity of the Sinhala Only Act, the Attorney General raised a preliminary objection that a public servant was not entitled to sue the Crown (i.e., the State) for arrears of salary. He holds office at the pleasure of the Crown. This objection was over-ruled by the presiding Judge O.L. De Krester.
R. Balasubramaniam, the then General Secretary of the AES toiled hard to do all the groundwork in connection with the case. When M. Tiruchelvam became Minister of Local Government following the Dudley – Chelva pact in June, 1965, R. Balasubramanian became his personal secretary. He too like Kodeeswaran joined the law college and passed out as Attorney at Law. He practiced in Jaffna and I used to meet him very often when I was attached (1966 -1972) to the Jaffna Municipal Council
During the trial in the Colombo District Court, M. Tiruchelvam fell ill, his place was taken over by C. Ranganathan, another able lawyer. Later, when an appeal was filed against the verdict of the Ceylon Supreme Court to the Privy Council, Ranganathan went to London to assist the English lawyers who argued the appeal.
In a carefully considered judgment O.L. de Krester, Colombo District Court Judge, inter-alia – stated thus:
If the members of each community were able to speak, read and write the language of each of the other communities, then it is obvious that the selection of the language of one community as the Official Language could not cause any handicap to the members of the communities whose language was not chosen, however much they resented the fact that their own language was not given pride of place. But every member of the community is not literate in the language of the other communities and then the selection of the language of one community cause at least inconvenience, if not disability, to the communities who are not literate in that language.
The learned Judge further concluded that the purpose of an Act must be found in its natural operation and effect. While it was a legitimate function for parliament to decide in what language official business should be carried out and in making that decision the language spoken by the largest number of people would ordinarily be the choice, the Act gave advantage to one community which the community did not have. Accordingly, he held that the Official Language Act to be an infringement of Section 29 of the constitution and, therefore, void.
Stung by the judgment delivered by the Colombo District Court Judge O.L. De Krester in 1964, the Attorney General appealed against it to the Supreme Court. The case was argued before a bench comprising Chief Justice H.N.G. Fernando and Justice G.P.A. Silva. The team for the Crown (Defendant – Appellant) was led by Walter Jayawardena QC, Acting Attorney General, who was assisted by H. Deheragoda and H.L. de Silva. The lawyers for Kodeeswaran (Plaintiff-Respondent) were led by C. Ranganathan QC.
Walter Jayawardena QC, Acting Attorney General, who appeared for the state, submitted that the relationship between a government servant and the state was governed by the English Common Law which does not permit a public servant to sue the state for arrears of salary. Ranganathan Q. C. who appeared for Kodeeswaran submitted that the relationship was governed by the Roman Dutch Law which did permit a public servant to sue the state.
H, N, G. Fernando CJ, in his judgement, ruled in favour of the state, holding the relationship between the state and its servant was governed by the English Common law and Kodeeswaran could not sue for arrears of salaries and set aside the verdict and decree of the District Court. He also stated in his judgement that he had not called upon Jayawardene to submit his arguments on the Sinhala Only Act, since the action had been decided on a point of a general law.
The verdict was delivered in 1967 by H.N.G. Fernando CJ, setting aside the verdict and decree of the District Court (70 NLR 121). The arguments used are both illuminating and at the same time problematic. Below are extracts from the lengthy judgment of the Supreme Court of Ceylon presided by H. N. G. Fernando, C.J., and G. P. A. Silva,
APPEAL from a judgment of the District Court, Colombo.
H. N. G. Fernando, C.J.
The plaintiff was appointed an Officer of the General Clerical Class of the General Clerical Service on 1st November 1952, and on 1st October1959 he was promoted to Grade II of the Executive Clerical Class of the General Clerical Service on a salary scale of Rs. 1,620 to Rs. 3,780 per annum with annual increments of Rs. 120. An increment of Rs.10 per month fell due to the plaintiff on 1st April 1962, but on 28th April 1962 he was informed by a letter (P2) from the Government Agent, Kegalle (at that time the Head of the Department in which the plaintiff was serving), that the increment had been suspended under the provisions of a Treasury Circular No. 560 of 4th December 1961. The plaintiff sought in this action a declaration that the Circular is unreasonable and/or illegal and not binding on the plaintiff, and that the plaintiff is entitled to payment of the increment which fell due on 1st April 1962. This appeal is from the judgment of the learned District Judge granting such a declaration.
At the time when the plaintiff was promoted to the Executive Clerical Class, the Minutes applicable in relation to recruitment, conditions of service, and salary scales were those published in the Gazette of October 1,1955. Paragraph 5 of the relevant Minute provided that appointments to the Executive Clerical Class will be made from among members of the General Clerical Class (to which the plaintiff belonged until 1959) on the results of a competitive examination.
The regulations and syllabus for the examination were set out in Appendix D to the Minute which prescribed three subjects of examination, i.e., (1) Accounts, (2) Regulations, procedure and office system, and (3) Sinhala or Tamil. The plaintiff, who is Tamil by race, chose Tamil as his language subject for the examination. Paragraph 7 of the Minute provided that Officers in Grade II of the Executive Clerical Class must pass an examination in National Languages prescribed in Appendix C before they proceed beyond the Efficiency Bar at the stage of R s. 3,180. Appendix C required clerks of Sinhala, Tamil or Moor parentage to pass in one language. Thus, under Appendix The plaintiff could have chosen Tamil as his language subject for this examination as well. (To be continued)
SJV Father of Tamil Nationalism
Expansion of speech by V. Thangavelu, President Canada TNA at the 125th birth anniversary of SJV held in Toronto
Continued from last week………….
Thanthai Chelvanayakam arranged M. Tiruchelvam QC and C. Ranganathan QC and P. Navaratnarajah, QC to appear for the case. The case was filed in the district court of Colombo presided over by O.L. de Kretzer. Attorney General Victor Tennakoon, who later got promoted as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, appeared for Respondent. In order to avoid an awkward hearing on the validity of the Sinhala Only Act, the Attorney General raised a preliminary objection that a public servant was not entitled to sue the Crown (i.e., the State) for arrears of salary. He holds office at the pleasure of the Crown. This objection was over-ruled by the presiding Judge O.L. De Krester.
R. Balasubramaniam, the then General Secretary of the AES toiled hard to do all the groundwork in connection with the case. When M. Tiruchelvam became Minister of Local Government following the Dudley – Chelva pact in June, 1965, R. Balasubramanian became his personal secretary. He too like Kodeeswaran joined the law college and passed out as a Attorney at Law. He practiced in Jaffna and I used to meet him very often when I was attached (1966 -1972) to the Jaffna Municipal Council
During the trial in the Colombo District Court, M. Tiruchelvam fell ill, his place was taken over by C. Ranganathan, another able lawyer. Later, when an appeal was filed against the verdict of the Ceylon Supreme Court to the Privy Council, Ranganathan went to London to assist the English lawyers who argued the appeal.
In a carefully considered judgment O.L. de Krester, Colombo District Court Judge, inter-alia – stated thus:
If the members of each community were able to speak, read and write the language of each of the other communities, then it is obvious that the selection of the language of one community as the Official Language could not cause any handicap to the members of the communities whose language was not chosen, however much they resented the fact that their own language was not given pride of place. But every member of the community is not literate in the language of the other communities and then the selection of the language of one community cause at least inconvenience, if not disability, to the communities who are not literate in that language.
The learned Judge further concluded that the purpose of an Act must be found in its natural operation and effect. While it was a legitimate function for parliament to decide in what language official business should be carried out and in making that decision the language spoken by the largest number of people would ordinarily be the choice, the Act gave advantage to one community which the community did not have. Accordingly, he held that the Official Language Act to be an infringement of Section 29 of the constitution and, therefore, void.
Stung by the judgment delivered by the Colombo District Court Judge O.L. De Krester in 1964, the Attorney General appealed against it to the Supreme Court. The case was argued before a bench comprising Chief Justice H.N.G. Fernando and Justice G.P.A. Silva. The team for the Crown (Defendant – Appellant) was led by Walter Jayawardena QC, Acting Attorney General, who was assisted by H. Deheragoda and H.L. de Silva. The lawyers for Kodeeswaran (Plaintiff-Respondent) were led by C. Ranganathan QC.
Walter Jayawardena QC, Acting Attorney General, who appeared for the state, submitted that the relationship between a government servant and the state was governed by the English Common Law which does not permit a public servant to sue the state for arrears of salary. Ranganathan Q. C. who appeared for Kodeeswaran submitted that the relationship was governed by the Roman Dutch Law which did permit a public servant to sue the state.
H, N, G. Fernando CJ, in his judgement, ruled in favour of the state, holding the relationship between the state and its servant was governed by the English Common law and Kodeeswaran could not sue for arrears of salaries and set aside the verdict and decree of the District Court. He also stated in his judgement that he had not called upon Jayewardene to submit his arguments on the Sinhala Only Act, since the action had been decided on a point of a general law.
The verdict was delivered in 1967 by H.N.G. Fernando CJ, setting aside the verdict and decree of the District Court (70 NLR 121). The arguments used are both illuminating and at the same time problematic. Below are extracts from the lengthy judgment of the Supreme Court of Ceylon presided by H. N. G. Fernando, C.J., and G. P. A. Silva.
APPEAL from a judgment of the District Court, Colombo.
H. N. G. Fernando, C.J. – The plaintiff was appointed an Officer of the General Clerical Class of the General Clerical Service on 1st November 1952, and on 1st October1959 he was promoted to Grade II of the Executive Clerical Class of the General Clerical Service on a salary scale of Rs. 1,620 to Rs. 3,780 per annum with annual increments of Rs. 120. An increment of Rs.10 per month fell due to the plaintiff on 1st April 1962, but on 28th April 1962 he was informed by a letter (P2) from the Government Agent, Kegalle (at that time the Head of the Department in which the plaintiff was serving), that the increment had been suspended under the provisions of a Treasury Circular No. 560 of 4th December 1961. The plaintiff sought in this action a declaration that the Circular is unreasonable and/or illegal and not binding on the plaintiff, and that the plaintiff is entitled to payment of the increment which fell due on 1st April 1962. This appeal is from the judgment of the learned District Judge granting such a declaration.
At the time when the plaintiff was promoted to the Executive Clerical Class, the Minutes applicable in relation to recruitment, conditions of service, and salary scales were those published in the Gazette of October 1,1955. Paragraph 5 of the relevant Minute provided that appointments to the Executive Clerical Class will be made from among members of the General Clerical Class (to which the plaintiff belonged until 1959) on the results of a competitive examination.
The regulations and syllabus for the examination were set out in Appendix D to the Minute which prescribed three subjects of examination, i.e., (1) Accounts, (2) Regulations, procedure and office system, and (3) Sinhala or Tamil. The plaintiff, who is Tamil by race, chose Tamil as his language subject for the examination. Paragraph 7 of the Minute provided that Officers in Grade II of the Executive Clerical Class must pass an examination in National Languages prescribed in Appendix C before they proceed beyond the Efficiency Bar at the stage of R s. 3,180. Appendix C required clerks of Sinhala, Tamil or Moor parentage to pass in one language. Thus, under Appendix The plaintiff could have chosen Tamil as his language subject for this examination as well. (To be continued)
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