The recent spate of articles, at least one by a kinsman, sought to lionize H.S.R.B. ("Hector") Kobbekaduwa as some kind of saint who had performed a marvelous service to Sri Lankans at the time he was a Minister, a contribution for which all Sri Lankans for eons to come should be grateful.

As one who was witness to Kobbekaduwa’s behaviour I beg to differ.

When as Minister of Agriculture in Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike’s 1970 SLFP government, imposed a ceiling on land holdings there were hosannas from several quarters.

Some of those welcoming this piece of legislation were those who believed that much of the more extensive holdings in the mid-country, in particular, were significantly under-utilized. Others were glad that a group of people seen as UNP sympathizers or supporters would be hit where it most hurt: in the bank account. Others believed that the land hunger of the Kandyan peasants who, it was alleged had their lands (mis)appropriated by the British Raj under cover of the Waste Lands Ordinance would have this historic wrong finally righted.

There was a smidgen of reality attached to every one of these expectations, though, in the final analysis, history has proved that every one of them was grossly over-stated and the only real achievement was revenge upon a sector of the population that was seen as politically opposed to what proved to be the emergence of the comprador Kandyan "aristocracy" as a powerful political force in Sri Lanka.

The writer had the opportunity of a lengthy conversation, prior to the 1971 JVP uprising, with Dr. Colvin R De Silva who was Minister of Plantations at the time. Apropos the prospect of plantation land being acquired for "a public purpose" which was the traditional method of getting at land owners who were seen as opposed to the SLFP, he had some very interesting observations to make.

His plan was to establish norms of productivity for the different crops, in different parts of the country. There would be a requirement that these norms be met by the owners of this land. If these norms were not met in the first instance, the State would stipulate what needed to be done and if, even thereafter, the norms weren’t met, the State would ensure that the practices were followed and the landowner would be required to pay the cost which, invariably, would be significantly higher than that which would otherwise be the case. In this manner, productivity would not be adversely affected but would, in fact, be significantly improved. If the land owner wasn’t able, for whatever reason, to affect the improved agricultural practices prescribed, the land would be taken over by the State with no compensation paid! In his typically charming manner, Colvin told the writer that, "We are not going to acquire land willy-nilly and disrupt and damage the plantation economy which is so important to the economy of this country, merely to visit revenge on our political opponents. However, make no mistake, at the end of the day, the State will own your land." That was Colvin with his ability to make the harshest statement with wit and charm!

What transpired subsequently, though, was totally out of whack with Colvin’s logical plan for divesting a section of the Sri Lanka capitalist class of its economic power, while maintaining the viability of a most important element of Sri Lanka’s economy.

The insurgency and a government in panic mode despite its displayed ability to crush dissent, afforded a mediocre legal practitioner, in the person of the Hon. H. S. R. B. Kobbekaduwa the opportunity to vent his spleen on a group of people for whom he had a hitherto effectively-concealed, though visceral, hatred.

Kobbekaduwa and his fellow believers expected Land Reform legislation to work on a number of levels.

1. It was expected to whack those who belonged to a class that were seen to be opposed to the SLFP government

2. It would provide the government with a large chunk of land, virtually free, which could be distributed to the peasantry, taking care of the immediate problem of landlessness, particularly in the mid-country

3. The more productive estates could be run by the State, generating revenue for the public purse

4. The LSSP’s hold over the plantation industry, then and now the primary motor of Sri Lanka’s economy, could be curtailed.

These were not the only factors, but they were certainly the most significant.

However, as that canny old Scot, Robbie Burns, said, "The best laid plans of mice and men ……….!"

In terms of taking revenge on people who were seen to be opposed to Mrs. Bandaranaike’s government, it did work. Revenge, after all, requires little other than power and authority to succeed and little in the way of planning or intelligent strategizing.

The Land Reform Act did provide land at very low cost to the government, the meagre compensation being paid a number of years after the land was vested in the Land Reform Commission and the rupee having depreciated very significantly in the intervening period. The distribution of this land among the landless proved to have its pitfalls, with "political" criteria being applied where potential recipients were concerned. This meant that, often, those most "hungry" for land did not have that hunger assuaged.

Those lands retained as plantation entities, were ill-managed, to say the least. Political stooges of MPs and their friends were appointed to "staff" positions and proceeded to enrich themselves. The "plantation legends" that emerged out of this period are numerous and, often, hilarious. On one particular estate, the Officer in Charge was seen squeezing cocoa pods to ascertain how ripe they were! The common comment was, "The superintendent arrived carrying just a small suitcase with his personal effects. When he left, before too long, he needed a couple of lorries to carry his goods and chattels with him!" On one small estate which had managed with two watchers, the new regime had six per eight-hour shift and it was said that all of them had places to which they retired on starting their shift, only to emerge out of this hibernation when they had to check out! Indiscipline and theft were, to put it mildly, rampant. Interestingly enough, the working conditions of the ordinary estate workers did not improve. Their accommodation, nearly forty years later, has seen no maintenance or repair in the intervening period and is nothing short of disgraceful. And the litany continues……..

In the matter of clipping the LSSP’s wings within the coalition government, that expectation was probably realized.

The social damage done to those in the middle of all this is significant. In an instance of which the writer is personally aware, the plantation management, such as it was, collapsed when subjected to the vicissitudes of the Open Economy of the J. R. Jayewardene years. Squatters from among the resident and village-based workforce took over blocks of land. People from even farther afield moved in as well. The latter found that it was impossible to reside on and make a living off the land they had appropriated and, in short order, moved away. The survivors were victimized and parasitized by a variety of politicians, often demanding payment for the land on which they (the workers) had squatted and to which the politicians certainly had no title! Having been, for a generation or two, residents on the estates which were now, literally, "up for grabs," many of the erstwhile resident workers of these lands were left with little choice but to grab what they could and try to make a "go" of it. The resulting mess, and there is no other word to describe it, is something to behold. The standard of living and the quality of life, of these families has deteriorated and one hears of widespread alcohol abuse; the development of a very successful kasippu industry, and many of the other indicators of a collapsing culture. The stories of neighbours indulging in petty theft from other neighbours is legion. This, of course, is assuming that the settlers on these lands are able to save what they grow from the depredations of the wild pigs, porcupines, giant and flying squirrels. The poorest of the poor stealing from each other. The quality of housing is abominable in many cases. There is a lack of medical, transportation and other services. Infant birth rates appear to be very, very low and the fact that even children attending kindergarten have to walk three and four miles each way over rugged terrain is not a recipe for good health or good learning!

Plantation workers, particularly in the mid-country of Sri Lanka, never enjoyed anything resembling a decent standard of living in the sixties and seventies and, to find that thirty-five years later, their predicament has not improved but, in fact, has worsened, says it all.

If ever there was an example of malicious governance leading to destruction and social distress, this is one of them. And, typically, those who were responsible for this abomination were never subject to the misery they visited on so many of their fellow citizens.