Dudley Senanayake at the White House
I was surprised to see this old photograph recently. Much has been made, quite rightly, of President Jayawardena’s state visit to the USA when Ronald Regan was President. The lavish banquet, the speeches, Frank Sinatra singing “My Way”. But Prime Minister Dudley Senanayake’s visit when Lyndon Baines Johnson (LBJ) was President has remained a mystery. So, I did some “research” on the Internet and found a load of information, and that also led to some personal reflections on my part.
One was the most powerful man in the world. The other, a three-time
prime minister of a small country. Despite the power imbalance, the photograph
shows that this was a friendly meeting, almost a one-to-one chat, although aides
and secret service personnel would have been close at hand. Despite their marked
differences – the scope of their power, family backgrounds, temperament, path
to political leadership, legacy – they did share two characteristics in common:
both were firm believers in democracy, and both were fluent speakers of
English.
But what was Mr. Senanayake doing in the USA? He was on a
private visit. Having suffered from a chronic stomach illness for many years, he
was seeking treatment at the Walter Reed Hospital, where a Dr. Lattimore could
treat him. Previously, during an election campaign in Ceylon, Dr. Lattimore had
been a “quiet” member of Mr. Senanayake’s entourage, treating him almost daily.
The doctors at Walter Reed concluded that the illness was not cancer, but a
congenital condition aggravated by stress and anxiety.
The date of the meeting may have been 17 March 1966. One
topic discussed was a request for enhanced aid to Ceylon. To Mr. Senanayake’s
disappointment, the request was turned down. Ceylon’s nationalization of
American oil companies (under the previous Prime Minister Mrs. Bandaranaike) still
rankled.
Mr. Senanayake stopped over in London on the way back to
Ceylon and was scheduled to meet the Queen for an audience, followed by lunch.
But he was taken ill again, and botched treatment apparently by a Ceylonese
physician caused him to blackout. When
the news spread, The Times newspaper of London had begun to draft his
obituary!
Family Backgrounds and Path to Political Leadership
Dudley Senanayake came from an aristocratic lineage of landowners.
The Senanayake’s were also active in the movement to gain independence from
Britain. Dudley Senanayake attended the elite S. Thomas’ College in Ceylon,
went onto Cambridge University in Britain and qualified as a barrister. His
father, D.S. Senanayake, was a leading politician and had become Minister of
Agriculture in Ceylon’s State Council. Upon
his return to Ceylon, Dudley Senanayake entered politics at his father’s urging,
winning the Dedigama seat in the State Council in 1936. He won this seat continuously
till 1970, seven elections in all.
Dudley Senanayake succeeded his father as the Minister of
Agriculture in the State Council. In 1947, the elder Senanayake became the
first Prime Minister of independent Ceylon. When he died unexpectedly in 1953, the
son was appointed Prime Minister.
In stark contrast, LBJ was born in the rugged Hill country
of Texas to a hard scrabble family. His father lost the family ranch, and humiliation
and insecurity supposedly affected LBJ throughout his life. As a young man of
18, he worked on a road gang, using a pick and shovel, and driving a piece of
heavy machinery pulled by two mules. It was backbreaking labor.
LBJ attended a local high school and, at his parents’ urging,
entered Southwest Texas State Teachers College, qualifying as a high school teacher.
His introduction to politics occurred in 1931 as an aide to a congressman from
Texas. He entered the US House of Representatives in 1937 and served till 1949.
He won a controversial victory to the Senate in 1948, being accused of voter
fraud and ballot stuffing. He served till 1960, when he was elected vice-president
under John F Kennedy. Upon Kennedy’s untimely death in 1963, LBJ was sworn in
as President.
Thanks to a meticulously detailed four volume biography of
LBJ by Robert Caro, which I have read in excerpts, LBJ’s life has been meticulously
documented.
Temperament
Dudley Senanayake has been described as kind and empathetic,
simple and unassuming, intellectual and cultured, and a compassionate leader.
What comes across is that he was not suited for the hurly burly of politics and
was perhaps a reluctant politician. He was a cricketer, golfer, pipe smoker, and
photographer, yet very much at ease with rural folk. He remained a lifelong
bachelor.
LBJ’s cruel streak and lust for power stand in sharp
contrast to Mr. Senanayake’s personality.
A reviewer of the third volume of Caro’s described LBJ as “corrupt,
cruel, callous, crude, a vicious user of women, a bully of men and a shameless
thief of elections”.
Especially as he rose in politics, LBJ is said to have
charmed, bullied, and cajoled fellow politicians. As Senate majority leader, he
was well known for “The Treatment” - his aggressive, personal style of
persuasion, used to bend politicians to his will. Fully using his 6’4” height
and booming voice, LBJ would “move in close, his face a scant millimeter from
his target, his eyes widening and narrowing, his eyebrows rising and falling. …
The Treatment was an almost hypnotic experience and rendered the target stunned
and helpless”. I have seen a few photos of LBJ rendering The Treatment, and it
is remarkable how amiable he appears at the White House meeting with Mr.
Senanayake.
Legacy
Dudley Senanayake is “respected for his simplicity,
democratic toleration, and democratic toleration.” He continued his father’s
legacy in agriculture. I recall his tenure as Prime Minster from 1965-70 as a
peaceful and quietly prosperous period, when the minority ethnic and religious
communities were treated well. Mr. Senanayake was hounded by leftist trade
unions, but he served out his five-year term.
As far as I am aware, two schools, a Central College in the
electorate he represented, and another school in Colombo, are named after
Dudley Senanayake. Lasting memorials well deserved.
As President, LBJ more than redeemed himself with his domestic
policies - the war on poverty, creation of Medicare and Medicaid, federally
insured student loans, and enlightened immigration policies. Perhaps his crowning
achievements were the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act, which he
forced through Congress amidst much opposition. But the disastrous Vietnam War
was his undoing, and he withdrew from the Presidential race in 1968.
I saw Dudley Senanayake twice. In 1964, a bye election was
conducted for the Nikaweretiya seat, and he, out of power by then, came to
campaign for the United National Party (UNP) candidate. My father was managing
a coconut estate in the area, and we stood by the road watching Mr. Senanayake
being escorted to a meeting, dressed casually and walking behind supporters
shouting “Jayawewa”. He seemed amused. My father doffed his hat and Mr.
Senanayake acknowledged with a smile and a small wave.
The second time was at Badulla, in 1973. I was teaching
there, and Mr. Senanayake addressed a political meeting. He was again out of
power by then. He spoke in the pouring rain to the massive crowd that had turned
up. Mr. Senanayake passed away in
Colombo a few days later from a heart attack.
As for LBJ, I was enrolled at The University of Texas at
Austin in the late 1980s, and although he had passed away in 1973, LBJ was
still a huge presence in Texas. His Presidential Library and Museum are located
on the university campus, and I recall seeing a replica of his Oval Office and the
Presidential limousine he used displayed at the museum. I have visited LBJ’s
birthplace, home, ranch, and grave, which are in a National Historical Park not
far from Austin. Colorful and outrageous stories about LBJ were rife, both in
print and as word of mouth. His wife, Lady Bird Johnson, was still alive at
that time.
