Senator Tiruchelvam Stood For The Unity Of The Country
By C.V. Wigneswaran -November 4, 2013
C.V Wigneswaran
Senator M Tiruchelvam QC
The 106th birth anniversary of Senator Murugeysen Tiruchelvam QC, former Cabinet Minister and Solicitor-General takes place this month. Mr. Tiruchelvam was the only member of the Federal Party to become a Cabinet Minister. He served in the UNP-led coalition government from 1965 to 1968. This remains the last instance of the main party of the Sri Lankan Tamils being represented in the Cabinet.
We reproduce excerpts of a speech delivered on 1st February, 2008 by Justice CV Wigneswaran for the launch of Senator Tiruchelvam’s Legacy, a collection of his speeches in the Ceylon Senate. Justice CV Wigneswaran is now the Chief Minister of the Northern Province.
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Mr.Chairman, my dear brothers and sisters!
The release of “Senator Tiruchelvam’s Legacy” is very timely. It reflects the staid sobriety of a by-gone age during our own mundane human existence, quite out of step with the belligerent,blithering,bullying,barbaric and boorish outfit of today boastfully though beguilingly referring to itself as benignant and beneficient,benevolent and even blessed. Those of us bred in the Western public school traditions yet having also imbibed the perennial virtues of our Eastern values find it difficult to classify the negative norms and superficial standards of the present era into anything worthwhile Eastern or Western, traditional or modern, national or international.
A hybrid new culture alien to Western and traditional Eastern culture though possibly borrowed from the seedier sides of those two cultures, seems to be taking root in this country. Naked selfishness, rank self interest and the spirit of self aggrandizement, conceit and egotistic imperatives seem to motivate today’s possessors of power and authority. Holding on to the reins of government at any cost has become the principal dogma and doctrine to be pursued. Destroying one’s opponents using any means or modes has become a cult. Dead men do not talk has become the principal motto of their outlook .Read More
