Violet Vivienne Goonewardene (, ; 18 September 19163 October 1996), commonly known as "Vivi", was a Sri Lankan anti-colonial activist and prominent politician, serving as one of the world's first female ministers. A key figure in both the Indian independence movement and the Sri Lankan independence movement, Goonewardene was a prominent member on the non-aligned stage, where she fought against perceived injustices and was critical of the Middle East diplomacy sponsored by the United States. Goonewardene was the first and, to date, only female National Hero of Sri Lanka. By her death, she was one of the Left's most vibrant personalities, and the foremost female figure in the Sri Lankan leftist movement.
Born into an affluent family to a pro-monarchy conservative, while at secondary school, Goonewardene became involved in the anti-imperialist Suriya-Mal Movement, fighting against perceived injustices. She volunteered during the 1934 Malaria Epidemic, at which time she witnessed rampant malnutrition of the poor. Despite being disallowed by her father from pursuing higher education, her maternal uncles, Philip and Robert Gunawardena, helped her attend university, where she was often involved in activism. It was here that she met her husband, Leslie Goonewardene, who had founded in 1935 Sri Lanka's first political party, the Lanka Sama Samaja Party.
During her political career, she was instrumental in the rise of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party. With the beginning of the Second World War, Goonewardene evaded arrest by fleeing to India under a false name. There, she immersed herself in the Quit India Movement, culminating in India's independence from Britain in 1947. Upon her return to Sri Lanka, she played a large role in Sri Lanka's independence from Britain in 1948. From the 1940s to 1960s, the Lanka Sama Samaja Party was Sri Lanka's main opposition party and in the 1960s, the party led the United Front coalition; through their election landslide bringing in the first female Prime Minister. Goonewardene served as a prominent member of Parliament, and as President of the All Ceylon Local Government Worker's Union from 1949 until her death. Through this, Goonewardene attempted to reform the former British colony of Ceylon into a socialist republic by nationalising organisations in the banking, education, industry, media, and trade sectors.
Early life and political beginnings
Goonewardene was born in Colombo on 18 September 1916 as Violet Vivienne Goonetilleke. She was the eldest of five children born to Dr. Don Allenson Goonetilleke, a pro-monarchy conservative who believed in the continuous British rule of Ceylon, and his wife Emily Angeline Gunawardena.. As a physician, her father was often transferred to various parts of Ceylon. She was named Vivienne after the French nurse who had helped to deliver her. Goonewardene spent her early youth in Tissamaharama, a remote village in which her father was stationed.
Goonewardene's maternal grandfather, Don Jakolis Rupasinghe Gunawardena, was a wealthy landowner having served as the village headman under colonial governance. He was known as "Boralugoda Ralahamy" by locals; this came from him being the headman, or ralahamy, of the village of Boralugoda. He was a leader in the Buddhist revival of the early 20th Century and was one of those incarcerated by the Governor General, Robert Chalmers, under the pretext of involvement in the Sinhala-Muslim riots of 1915. Ralahamy was sentenced to death, in part as an attempt by Chalmers to eliminate regional nationalistic leaders and to suppress a possible independence movement from springing out of the disturbances. This sentence was later reprieved by the governor general following a public outcry, yet led to Ralahamy's strengthened disapproval of British rule; one which was projected onto Vivienne. Goonewardene's maternal grandmother, Gunasekara Hamine of Siyane Korale, also came from immense wealth and the landed gentry. Hamine was a large influence on Vivienne in her youth; despite her status, due to the lack of medical professionals, Hamine would personally assist in the birth of every child at a building she had funded.
Education and early activism To enable Vivienne access to a sound education, her parents agreed to send her to boarding school. Goonewardene was educated at Musaeus College, a private girls' school in Colombo along with her younger sister Tulin Kulasinghe. There, she was elected head girl in 1933. Despite her position in the school, Vivienne was noted for her acts of defiance of authority. It was while studying at Musaeus College that her interest in politics developed.
Suriya-Mal Movement and 1934 Malaria epidemic
While serving as head girl, she became deeply involved in the Suriya-Mal Movement. This movement was a protest against the proceeds of poppy sales on Armistice Day (11 November) being used for the benefit of the British ex-servicemen to the detriment of Ceylonese ex-servicemen. One of the latter, Mr. Aelian Perera, had started a rival sale of Suriya flowers on the same day. The proceeds of each sale were devoted to help needy Ceylonese ex-servicemen. While the selling of the Suriya flower had begun in 1931, by 1933 the selling of it instead of the poppy on 11 November was launched on the initiative of the South Colombo Youth League. The movement had the slogan of "against slavery and poverty and for freedom and prosperity".
On Remembrance Day 1934, Goonewardene sold the Suriya flower in her school to students and teachers. She noted that it was a complete success with the students, but only a half-success with the older generation. It was from this mass-nationalist campaign that the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) was later founded. Vivienne did go further, leading fellow students to place their boxes of instruments atop the blackboards and at 11.00 a.m. to topple these, with the subsequent noise masking that of the ceremonial gun salute.
The Suriya-Mal Movement volunteered extensively during the 1934 disasters. A drought caused a shortage of rice, estimated at 3 million bushels; floods, from October onwards; and a malaria epidemic, affecting 1,000,000 people with at least 125,000 deaths, which continued through 1935, heavily affected the poor. The Goonetilleke's residence was converted into a hospital for the sick. The volunteers, including Vivienne, observed that there was widespread malnutrition among the poor, which was aggravated by the shortage of rice, and which reduced resistance to the disease.
Later education Goonewardene's father, as a traditionalist, opposed the continued education of Vivienne and believed that she should be married off to another man of wealth. As she was at boarding school and her father was often travelling, her Uncle Robert and Aunt Caroline were given the authority to remove Vivienne from school. Robert helped her, against her father's wishes, leave school to attend classes for the Cambridge Matriculation Examination, which she passed at age 16. While still residing at Musaeus College, Gunawardene was secretly tutored by her teacher, Marjorie Davidson, to sit for the University's Scholarship Examination. Here, she won an exhibition at the scholarship examination as well as a scholarship to study English Honours at University College, Colombo. Upon discovering her university acceptance, Goonetilleke refused to let Vivienne study there. Despite this, her uncles and father's friends persuaded him to allow her to study – she later completed her studies, through his efforts to hinder her.
At University College, Goonewardene boarded at the women's hostel on Queen's road. As her father did not allow Goonewardene to join the drama society, she turned to the university's debating club. Here, she faced much discrimination for her gender from the opposition in a largely male-based activity, but proceeded. Her debate partner, Horace Perera, recalled an incident in which this was displayed:
Entry into the Lanka Sama Samaja Party The Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) was founded on 18 December 1935 as the first political party in the nation.; ; It was created with the broad aims of independence from British rule and socialism by a group of young people who had gathered together for that purpose. The group at the commencement numbered six, composed principally of students who had principally returned from education abroad, influenced deeply by the ideas of Karl Marx and Lenin.
Included in its founders were Vivienne's uncles, Philip and Robert. Being so close to the founding members of the party, Goonewardene began attending meetings. She attended these meetings with her Aunt Caroline and Uncle Robert. Vivienne also joined the anti-Fascist demonstrations against Spain's Franco organised by the Party in Colombo. It was partly her rebellious nature that led Vivienne to pay the membership fee of 25 cents and join the LSSP.
Her stint in politics and education ended abruptly when her father received an anonymous letter stating that Vivienne had visited a political rally in the presence of other men. Having only completed the first year's examination, Goonewardene was brought home having despite the pleas of her teachers. Unable to attend classes and lectures, her Uncle Robert helped her pursue an external degree at the University of London, which she took as a General Degree in Arts. She continued to secretly attend political rallies in the company of her Aunt Caroline.
Raising a family
Vivienne met Leslie Goonewardene at a protest on the Spanish Civil war in March 1937. Goonewardene was a founder of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party in 1935, and served as its Secretary General and leader. He was born on 31 October 1909 in Panadura, south-western Ceylon, to the wealthy Methodist Goonewardene family, which was active in local colonial-era politics. The Goonewardene family were major proprietors of coconut property.The Methodist Recorder, December 1943 Goonewardene's mother died when he was a toddler. She was from the well-known Fernando family of 'Whitehall' Katana, one of the wealthiest families in Ceylon, privately owning very significant amounts of land.
Leslie was educated at S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia, later being sent to a Welsh Publish school and studying at the London School of Economics. At LSE, he became well acquainted with Vivienne's uncles, Robert and Philip, with whom he founded the LSSP. Leslie was considered the ideologue of the party, especially in the 1935-36 period. He was later described by Hector Abhayavardhana as "the custodian of the consciousness of the LSSP".
Following their meetings, Leslie would often drop in to the Goonetilleke's home in Diddeniya. As a friend of Philip, he was always welcome and was well liked by the Goonetilleke family. Dr. Don Allenson especially admired him, not just because he came of a family of immense wealth, but due to his lack of arrogance. Often he would instruct his sons to "be like Leslie". The 1930s were a period of rapid expansion for the LSSP, who had fielded candidates and achieved great success in the Second State Elections. They held a rally on 1 April 1937 at Galle Face Green, attracting as many as 35,000 people. Following the success in the Bracegirdle affair, Vivienne was invited to a dinner at which Leslie declared his love for her.