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Christine Jayasinghe in Colombo
Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga has unveiled a statue of the late Saumyamoorthy Thondaman, the astute Indian Tamil politician who gave leadership to thousands of fellow Tamils for over half a century.
The statue has been erected at the presidential secretariat grounds in Colombo.
It was unveiled in the presence of Indian High Commissioner Gopalkrishna Gandhi, Indian Minister of State for Commerce Digvijay Singh, Thondaman's grandson and successor, Arumugam Thondaman, and other dignitaries.
Thondaman, who was dubbed kingmaker for his unique style of allying himself with successive governments of different hues, now rubs shoulders with other national leaders whose statues also stand on the lawns of the former legislature building.
Wielding tremendous clout after winning citizenship rights and the franchise for Indian Tamils, Thondaman came to Sri Lanka, then called Ceylon, as an 11-year-old in 1924.
The son of a plantation worker, Thondaman started the Ceylon Workers' Congress that progressed from trade union to powerful political party.
He died in October 1999. The CWC is now a constituent party of the People's Alliance-led ruling coalition.
President Kumaratunga paid tribute to the late leader for sacrificing his personal life in the interest of Tamils of Indian origin who are largely employed on the island's tea and rubber plantations.
Singh, carrying a message from Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, said Thondaman was remembered in India "as a champion of human dignity and a steadfast Gandhian."
Indo-Asian News Service
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