Sri Lanka as a small nation has its few sources of pride that we can place on a platform for future
generations to aspire to reach for. We have those men and women, who have helped our island
nation, become a household name, who have given us a sense of pride that it was the land upon
which we were born that has produced such extraordinary individuals who are a cut above the
rest.
On the 12th of April in 1932, a person who would become a shining beacon of pride for all Sri
Lankan‟s in decades to come was born. A Tamil Christian family by the name of Kadirgamar
welcomed to the world their youngest son – Lakshman. The Kadirgamar family was a well
achieved, educated one - Mr. Samuel J.C.Kadirgamar Sr, his father was the President of the
Colombo Proctor's Association and the founder President of the Law Society of Ceylon. His
brother‟s achievements were no less admirable – one being a Queen‟s Council lawyer, another
being the head of the Royal Ceylon Navy and the third in line a Major in the Ceylon Army. But
Lakshman Kadirgamar was to eclipse them all, and become undeniably to date one of the most
celebrated and incredible individuals Sri Lanka has ever produced.
Lakshman Kadirgamar was educated at Trinity College, Kandy and left his mark in school as an
excellent debater, sportsman, and student. He left school in a blaze of glory as a Senior Prefect
and Ride Gold Medalist – and then proceeded to read Law at the University of Colombo,
completing his academic career on a high note with a scholarship to the University of Oxford. He
continued, after his return to Sri Lanka, to climb from high to high, establishing a successful
legal practice, being appointed Presidents Council in 1991 and then in 1994 taking on what was
to be his defining post - Foreign Minister under the Presidency of Chandrika Kumaratunga.
All accolades and achievements aside – what the people remember today of this great man is his
fearlessness in standing up for what he believed in and the fact that he gave up his life for this.
Lakshman Kadirgamar bowed to no pressure, his values and his principles were compromised
for no one, and while many simply talk – he did what many never would – give up his life for his
country. He was a Sri Lankan in the truest sense of the word, his pride of being one outshone any
labels of race, religion and class that others attempted to thrust upon him.
When one talks about Lakshman Kadirgamar, one cannot avoid talking about the LTTE – the
two and hand in glove. In his tenure as Foreign Minister, he focused determinedly on getting the
West to condemn the movement as a terrorist organization – cutting off their major strength in
terms of funding. The organization responded by labeling him as a traitor of the Tamil people -
and received a beautifully articulate reply. In an interview with the famous BBC talk show „Hard
Talk‟ Kadirgamar said “At birth I was given a label. If having been given that label the LTTE,
nobody else, wants me to accept and approve everything that they do, the suicide bombers, the
child soldiers, the political assassinations, the extortion of ordinary people, if being opposed to all that makes me a traitor, which is what they call me sometimes, I am absolutely delighted to
accept that appellation. I do it with pleasure”
John F. Kennedy once said, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for
your country” and one would be hard pressed to find a man who espoused this in practice better
than Lakshman Kadirgamar. The taking of his life was a hard blow to our nation, but the lessons
he left us with are even more relevant today than they have ever been. He stuck to his principles
and values against all opposition, used his privilege to create a platform to teach us these lessons
and did this all with incredible class. He so flawlessly stated something that every Sri Lankan
should live by and strive to achieve, “I believe there should be a united Sri Lanka. I believe that
all our peoples can live together, they did live together. I think they must in future learn to live
together after this trauma is over. We have four major religions in this country, Buddhism,
Islamism, Hinduism, and Christianity. All these religions exist very peacefully. They get on very
well. I see no reason why the major races in the country the Tamils and Sinhalese cannot again
build a relationship of confidence and trust. That is my belief. That is what I wish for and in
working for that I will not be deterred by having some labels pinned on me”. What a nation we
could be if every one of us thought like that
generations to aspire to reach for. We have those men and women, who have helped our island
nation, become a household name, who have given us a sense of pride that it was the land upon
which we were born that has produced such extraordinary individuals who are a cut above the
rest.
On the 12th of April in 1932, a person who would become a shining beacon of pride for all Sri
Lankan‟s in decades to come was born. A Tamil Christian family by the name of Kadirgamar
welcomed to the world their youngest son – Lakshman. The Kadirgamar family was a well
achieved, educated one - Mr. Samuel J.C.Kadirgamar Sr, his father was the President of the
Colombo Proctor's Association and the founder President of the Law Society of Ceylon. His
brother‟s achievements were no less admirable – one being a Queen‟s Council lawyer, another
being the head of the Royal Ceylon Navy and the third in line a Major in the Ceylon Army. But
Lakshman Kadirgamar was to eclipse them all, and become undeniably to date one of the most
celebrated and incredible individuals Sri Lanka has ever produced.
Lakshman Kadirgamar was educated at Trinity College, Kandy and left his mark in school as an
excellent debater, sportsman, and student. He left school in a blaze of glory as a Senior Prefect
and Ride Gold Medalist – and then proceeded to read Law at the University of Colombo,
completing his academic career on a high note with a scholarship to the University of Oxford. He
continued, after his return to Sri Lanka, to climb from high to high, establishing a successful
legal practice, being appointed Presidents Council in 1991 and then in 1994 taking on what was
to be his defining post - Foreign Minister under the Presidency of Chandrika Kumaratunga.
All accolades and achievements aside – what the people remember today of this great man is his
fearlessness in standing up for what he believed in and the fact that he gave up his life for this.
Lakshman Kadirgamar bowed to no pressure, his values and his principles were compromised
for no one, and while many simply talk – he did what many never would – give up his life for his
country. He was a Sri Lankan in the truest sense of the word, his pride of being one outshone any
labels of race, religion and class that others attempted to thrust upon him.
When one talks about Lakshman Kadirgamar, one cannot avoid talking about the LTTE – the
two and hand in glove. In his tenure as Foreign Minister, he focused determinedly on getting the
West to condemn the movement as a terrorist organization – cutting off their major strength in
terms of funding. The organization responded by labeling him as a traitor of the Tamil people -
and received a beautifully articulate reply. In an interview with the famous BBC talk show „Hard
Talk‟ Kadirgamar said “At birth I was given a label. If having been given that label the LTTE,
nobody else, wants me to accept and approve everything that they do, the suicide bombers, the
child soldiers, the political assassinations, the extortion of ordinary people, if being opposed to all that makes me a traitor, which is what they call me sometimes, I am absolutely delighted to
accept that appellation. I do it with pleasure”
John F. Kennedy once said, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for
your country” and one would be hard pressed to find a man who espoused this in practice better
than Lakshman Kadirgamar. The taking of his life was a hard blow to our nation, but the lessons
he left us with are even more relevant today than they have ever been. He stuck to his principles
and values against all opposition, used his privilege to create a platform to teach us these lessons
and did this all with incredible class. He so flawlessly stated something that every Sri Lankan
should live by and strive to achieve, “I believe there should be a united Sri Lanka. I believe that
all our peoples can live together, they did live together. I think they must in future learn to live
together after this trauma is over. We have four major religions in this country, Buddhism,
Islamism, Hinduism, and Christianity. All these religions exist very peacefully. They get on very
well. I see no reason why the major races in the country the Tamils and Sinhalese cannot again
build a relationship of confidence and trust. That is my belief. That is what I wish for and in
working for that I will not be deterred by having some labels pinned on me”. What a nation we
could be if every one of us thought like that