Vivienne Goonewardene

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.

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.

Violet Vivienne Goonewardene (වයලට් විවියන් ගුණවර්ධන, வயலட் விவியென் கூனவர்தன; 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.

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.

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".

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.