PATRICIANS OF JAFFNA - AUSTRALIA
BRIGADIER (DR) DAVID – OUR QUINTESSENTIAL PATRICIAN
Brigadier (Dr.) H.L.David USP psc
DBA (Lon), M.Sc. (DSS – Madras)
MBA, (PIM, Sri J)
FIMS (UK)
When I met Brigadier (Dr.) H.L.David, the Military Officer, Lecturer, Motivational speaker, Trainer, for the
first time in Bergen, Norway in July 2011, my first impressions of him was of his utter humility. Despite
the great office he holds, for which every Patrician - let alone any Tamilian Catholic, would be proud of
his achievements in his life. Like his uncle - our famous scholar and linguist, Rev Fr (Dr) H S David, he is
also a willing helper. Despite his very busy & hectic schedules he always answered my urgent e-mails
promptly, as far as time management is concerned. He is one of the sincere, genuine, passionate
Patricians that I have ever come across. Along with our current Rector Fr. Jero Selvanayagam, he was
jointly responsible in organizing the Colombo/Jaffna reunion last month. Both of them made it to the
Bergen global get together in July 2011 and Brigadier David gave a presentation of the Global Reunion
that they were planning in Sri Lanka to an assembly of worldwide Patricians, who attended the Bergen
Reunion. Within St. Patrick’s itself, he wore many hats. He is the President of the Colombo OBA, and
Colombo OBA’s representative for the Patrician Perpetual Trust Fund. Recently he was the Chief Guest
of the Holy Family Convent’s Prize giving day celebrations, where
he was also a past student, prior to joining St. Patrick’s in 1967.
.
Like his famous uncle Reverend Father David, the ‘intellectual
prowess’ seemed to have been rubbed on to his nephew as well.
Brigadier (Dr) Hermanagild Lakshman David holds the unique
distinction of being the first Doctorate in Business Administration
while in service in the Sri Lanka Army and obtained two Master’s
degrees; the Master of Science [MSc] on Defense and Strategic
Studies at the University of Madras and the Master of Business
Administration [MBA] from Post Graduate Institute of Management,
University of Sri Jayewardenepura and a Fellow of the Institute of
Management Studies [UK].
He joined St Patrick’s College from our sister convent J/HFC in
1967 and had his education up to O/L at the College. After
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completing his A/Ls, he joined the Army on 28th April 1980 as an Officer Cadet had his initial training at
the Officers’ Training Academy, India, and at Sri Lanka Military Academy, Diyatelawa and was
commissioned to the Corps of Engineers as a 2nd Lieutenant. During his career in the Army he excelled
in Rugby and Basketball. Having followed Military Engineering courses in Military College of Engineering
Risalpur, Pakistan had the opportunity to work in many field engineering projects during war and peace
situations. He had also followed special courses like Combat Engineer Instructor’s course and Combined
Bomb Disposal course at the College of Military Engineering, Pune, India. On completion of these
professional courses, he was appointed as the Commandant, Sri Lanka School of Military Engineering.
Perhaps, the Commandant’s role is one of the most prestigious one, since he is the top brass for the
entire school.
Presently he holds the appointment of Deputy Commandant of Defence Services Command and Staff
College which was established as the Army Command and Staff College (ACSC) with the aim of
developing the professional knowledge and understanding of selected Student officers both in command
and on the Staff, for the Sri Lankan Army. The ACSC was inaugurated on 17th March 1998 and now it’s
the highest learning institute for all three services. Having completed the Defence Services Staff Course
at Wellington, India, obtained First Class in MSc (Defence Strategic Studies) from University of Madras
(Chennai), and was appointed as the Chief Instructor, Sri Lanka Military Academy then again had tenure
as the Commanding Officer, Sri Lanka Military Academy. He was commended for many initiatives and
actions taken in the field of engineering and the conduct of operations. He was the first Deputy Vice
Chancellor of the Kotelawela Defence University and was actively involved during the revamping the
Academy. He is presently a visiting lecturer for the Faculty of Post Graduates Studies at Kotelawela
Defence University. He is also a visiting lecturer at the faculty of finance and management studies of the
University of Colombo.
I am absolutely certain that everyone who knows the Brigadier holds him in very high esteem. Just to
know that we have a Patrician in our midst, who in the present political climate is a source of strength,
comfort and safety to us Patricians and Holy Familians, both at home and coming from abroad. We are
truly grateful for the yeomen service that he continues to give to all of us. We are, indeed a fortunate lot.
Brigadier is/was always available to render his services within the ‘realm of his officialdom’ to both of his
Alma Mater, especially during the Global Get together.
He held the post of the President of Sri Lanka Institute of Training and Development, the Alumni
Association of St Patrick’s College Colombo Branch, and holds membership of the Sri Lanka Engineer
Association, Alumni Association of Post Graduate Institute in Management, and a life member of Royal
Aesthetic Society of Sri Lanka. He was in the panel of judges for many recent HR Award ceremonies.
He had participated in Multinational Planning Augmentation Team in June 2002 at Honolulu, Hawaii,
USA and represented Sri Lanka at the UN Conference of the Ottawa Convention on Mine Action in 2004
at Nairobi, Kenya. He had also participated in a symposium on ‘National Security and Strategy’ in
Beijing, China, held in 2007. His also led the first ever team of Explosive Experts to Pakistan where he
conducted a special course and a seminar for the special forces of the Pakistan military personnel.
He chose Subodhini, Solicitor, Attorney-at-Law, LLM, and Lawyer by profession, as his life partner and is
sanctified with three children namely; Ajay, Ashwin, and Amrith. On the eve of the Silver Jubilee
Anniversary of the Sydney, Australia, OBA, we thank the Brigadier David for his ongoing contribution to
us Patricians and send our continued blessings to the entire family.
Compiled by Alfred Arulanandam CMA, ACMA, CGMA, CSC.
Note: Some Information was gathered courtesy of Google.
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nts;sptpoh tho;j;J
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me;jehs; Nghdjd;Nwh Mde;jk; Nghdjd;Nwh vd;wpd;Dk;
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ms;sp kdij mbj;jkzp Mapuk;fij nrhy;fpd;wNj!
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fr;rpjkha; kjpy; #Ok; fk;gPukhd tFg;giwfSk;
cr;rkhd fzdp gyJk; cd;djkhd E}y;epiyaKk;
nkr;rpLk; Ma;$lKkha; Nkd;ikf;F mq;F Fiwtpy;iy!
nts;is ePyr; rP&ilAk; ntw;wpaPl;Lk;;; ehYgFg;Gk;
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nts;sp Kisj;j gpd;Dk;$l tpfrpf;fitf;Fk; Qhgfq;fNs!
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tpisahl;L Xl;likjhdKk; tpLjp tpoh kz;lgKk;
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Risnfhl;Lk; ,dpikiar; Rit nrhl;lj; jUfpd;wNj!
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fl;Lg;ghl;Lf;Fs; fhisaiuf; fz;zpakha; Kiwg;gLj;jp
,l;Lr;nrd;w Mrphpaiu <bizaw;w mUl; je;ijaiu
nel;lneL %r;NrhL epidf;f neQ;rpd;Dk; tpaf;fpd;wNj!
Jbg;Gld; topelj;Jk;; J}zha;; Mz;lifj; jiyik
gbg;G kl;Lkd;wpg; gy;tifg; Nghl;bapy; gq;nfLg;G
ebg;G tpisahl;Lld; ehL Nghw;Wk; ghpnrLg;Gkha;
gpbj;jkhd gs;spNah vdJ gphpa Nrhjuf;fy;Y}hpad;Nwh!
nghpaNfhapyb Kjy; ngUfpw NjthPh;; FskPwha;
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gphpangz; Njbg; gpj;jdha;j; Jtpr;rf;fuk; Rol;bAk;
Ghpa,ayhg; gUtj;jpy; G];thzkhd fij gyJz;L!
epk;gkha;f; fre;jpLk; epyk; gl;bLk; epytuj;jpYk;
Fk;gj;Js; tpsf;fhfhJ Fd;wpy; ,l;l jPgkhf;fpa
rk;gj;jphprpahiu epide;J ,q;F rypf;fhj kdj;jpduha;
,k;ghpy; rq;fj;ij ,Ugj;ije;J Mz;L Kd;dikj;jdNu!
tpl;L te;j gs;spaq;F tpOe;jplhJ epiyg;gjw;F
gl;L nehe;j khzth;f;Fg; gw;Wf;Nfhlha; epw;gjw;F
kl;Lg;ghL NghlhJ kdkhuj; Njhs;nfhLj;j tz;zk;
fl;Lg;ghNlhL; jlkpl;l fhy;Ehw;whz;bw;fha;g; ghuhl;Lfs;!
vl;ba nts;sptpohtpy; vy;NyhUk; ,d;GW ,t;Ntisapy;
fl;bnaOg;gpa rq;fk; fd;dpah;kl cwTfis ,d;dKk;
nfl;baha;g; Gyj;jpy; gw;wpf; nfl;bj;jdkha; elg;gjw;fha;;;
jl;bNa nrhy;fpNwd; iffisj; jhuhskha; vd; ed;wpfs;!
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gjpj;jghij topapNy gioa khzt rq;fj;jpdh;;
kjpj;Jg;ghhpy;; gyh; GfoNt kdpjgzpfs; ngUf;fpNa
jpjpj;Jg; nghd;tpohit va;jpNa jplkhaijj;; jhz;bNa
cjpj;;J xspUk; cjadhf ctifG+j;j tho;j;Jf;fs;!
- kNdh n[Nfe;jpud;
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(Reproduced from the 2000 Sesquicentenary Edition of the Patricians of Jaffna Australia)
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SOME REFLECTIONS ON THE
LATE THIRTIES AND FORTIES
My mind flashes back to June 1936. Holding my
father's hand, I trembled into the hallowed portals
of St Patrick's College, Jaffna. Fr. Charles
Mathews, a revered Rector of old was handing
over the reins of office and the tall, towering Fr. T.
M. F. Long was succeeding him. Fr L. J. Augustine
was the Principal of the Primary section. After the
usual initiation, I walked into Grade I to be greeted
by Miss Aseervatham ( later Mrs Lawrence). The
first poem that I learnt 'Twinkle, twinkle little star'
is still lodged, embedded in my mind.
As I progressed into the higher classes, I imbibed the broader culture of the College with
DISCIPLINE taking high priority. The staff was adorned by a galaxy of dedicated men and
women, some of whom were institutions themselves. The names of P. Saverimuttu, B. R. Motha
(later football coaches as well), S F Santhiapillai, Subramaniam Iyer, N. C. Krishnaraja and of
course F. N. C. Saverimuttu readily come to mind; some of them ceratinly stood tall. F. N. C.
was truly a teacher par excellence.
I represented College at Cricket/Soccer from 1944 to 1947. A sad event that marred the great
sporting spirit and traditions of yesteryears took place in November 1944. St Patrick's (Second
Eleven) was playing against Jaffna Hindu College in one of the final group matches on JSSA
grounds and was leading 1-0 with eight minutes to go, when a not unruly element from the
crowd threw a stone at one of our players whilst the match was in progress and the match was
suspended for a few minutes. I was playing centre forward and was re-entering the ground
when someone from nowhere kicked me on my abdomen and I fell unconscious. Amidst
pandemonium, play was resumed and with the raucous roar of the Koddady supporters, Jaffna
Hindu won 2-1!. At the College assembly the following Monday, Fr Long blushing with anger
announced "St Patrick's will not play on J. S. S. A .grounds hereafter": and so it was for the next
almost twenty five years, with other Christian Colleges following suit in sympathy with St
Patrick's. With the passage of time, in the true Christian spirit everything was forgotten and
forgiven and play on J S S A grounds was resumed.
I wish to mention two salient facts, perhaps forgotten by the older generation and unknown to
the younger ones. St Patrick's was undefeated in Cricket, Athletics and Football for seven years
in succession during the late thirties and early forties and were stamped the 'invincibles'. Truly a
phenomenal achievement. In 1947, Singarayar and Wilfred opening for St Patrick's against
Jaffna Central in a cricket match scored 247 runs not out and the innings was declared closed.
Jaffna Central scored about 60 runs in the first innings and following on, folded up again for a
paltry sore. St Patrick's won the match by an innings, 10 wickets and over a 100 runs. This was
considered a world record then; I am sure, even after 53 years this record remains
unsurpassed!
After twelve years in Australia as I visited my Alma Mater in April 1999, nostalgic memories ran
through my frame. St Patrick's, the one-time educational and sporting giant of the North, stands
today a humbler one. The reasons may be many and varied. Perhaps the ex-patriate old boys
can find at least one answer. Let us rally to the Rector's clarion call and support the Building
Fund. May the great St Patrick's grow greater and greater! Ad multos annos.
N C Rajanayagam (Sydney, Australia)
28 7.2000
(Reproduced from the 2000 Sesquicentenary Edition of the Patricians of Jaffna Australia)
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THE RICH LIFE OF SWAMI VIPULANANDA.
By: Bhagavadas Sriskanthadas
In the latter part of the 19th century Batticaloa was almost cut off from
the rest of the main Sri Lankan (then Ceylon) cities because of its
location and the large stretch of wild elephant infested jungle one had
to traverse before reaching this town. It’s interesting to note that only
in 1928 was this eastern town linked by railway to other main towns
of the island. To reach the tiny hamlet of Karaitivu south of Batticaloa
is a journey of around 35 kilometres. To those from Karaitivu a
bullock cart remained the main mode of transport. It was here
Mylvaganam was born on March 27, 1892.
His father Samithamby was Village Headman, a position given by the
colonial rulers to a person who commanded lots of respect in the village. The position also
bestowed on the holder certain police powers and authority to conciliate minor disputes
between parties, within his jurisdiction. This position basically remained of an ornamental nature
and didn’t generate much monetary benefit. Mylvaganam’s mother Kannammai, a
compassionate lady, like many women from the village, didn’t aspire to anything other than
keeping the husband and children happy.
After gaining his primary education in his village school, Mylvaganam moved to other schools
not far from his village. In 1906 Mylvaganam was admitted to St. Michael’s College where he
was a day student. Here Rev. Fr. Bonnel taught him Mathematics. This French priest who
wasn’t inclined to suffer fools gladly marvelled at the way Mylvaganam solved tricky problems.
In 1908 Fr. Bonnel rewarded this prodigy with a teaching appointment in the same school on
hearing he had successfully completed the Cambridge Senior Examination.
At the time Mylvaganam was growing up in Batticaloa there were hardly any locals with
outstanding academic achievements. Though he was not living in the lap of luxury Mylvaganam
had hitched his wagon to a star and was determined to do a degree in science. As a stepping
stone to making this dream a reality in 1915 he got himself admitted to Government Engineering
College, Colombo and followed a two year course which led to a Diploma in Science. During the
same year he also sat for the examination conducted by the Madurai Tamil Academy, which
conferred on him the much coveted title “Pandit.” While in Colombo he also read the writings of
Swami Vivekananda which appealed to him greatly.
In the mid 1960s when I was living in Trincomalee I frequently used to meet Mr. K. Sivapaln,
principal of the local Hindu College. On one occasion Sivapalan told me of two things
Mylvaganam witnessed or experienced when he was in Colombo in 1915 that left an indelible
mark. One was the tidings coming from the World War battle fronts of death and human misery.
The other was the 1915 riots driven by religious intolerance. According to Sivapalan this
experience gave Mylvaganam, who was still in his early twenties, insight into the way human
relationships worked and their complex nature.
Though science and literature remained his area of studies, Mylvaganam kept his ear to the
ground in order to acquaint himself with what was taking place nationally and internationally. He
also keenly followed political developments in India and Ceylon. One national newspaper he
read on a regular basis was Morning Leader edited by Armand De Souza who was blunt and
forthright in his comments. Armand De Souza used his newspaper to advocate democratic
rights and freedom of expression.
In 1917 Mylvaganam went to Jaffna seeking a teaching appointment with his Diploma in
Science certificate in hand and a certificate of character given by his former teacher Fr. Bonnel
in his pocket. These were tendered to Rev.Fr. Charles Mathews OMI, rector of St. Patrick’s
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College, who gladly gave a teaching appointment to this science teacher from Batticaloa.
Mylvaganam remained at St. Patrick’s College until he obtained his BSc. certificate from the
University of London in 1920.
On graduation he assumed duties as principal of
Hindu College, Manipay where he taught science
and Latin as the records show. During this period
he moved closely with several progressive
intellectuals who were to play an active role in the
Youth Congress.
However in 1922 he took the most important
decision in his life by joining the Ramakrishna
order of monks as a novice. After completing
training at Mylapur, South India he became a fully
fledged monk at a simple ceremony and was
given the name Vipulananda by the senior monk
of the order.
During his days at Mylapur, Swami Vipulananda
was entrusted with work related to some of the
RamaKrishna Mission publications. This was the
time Swami cut his editorial teeth as the editor of
the Vedanta Kesari, an English periodical of the
RamaKrishna Mission. His editorial skills were
well recognized by his mentors who entrusted him
with the work of several publications, both in
English and Tamil.
Swami realized the significance of education and always felt removing illiteracy would pave way
for a healthy society. With this intention he worked to open several schools and Shivananda
Vidiyalaya, Batticaloa is a living monument to his service in the field of education. In India and
Ceylon whenever his advice was sought by the governments or individuals related to education
he proffered it readily. In the field of education and literature Swami had dialogue with a wide
spectrum of society cutting across race and religion. Muslim intellectual, former Senator Mr.
A.M.A. Azeez was a very close friend of his and had referred to the Swami in his writings.
When Annamalai University in India was founded, Swami was appointed as the first Professor
of Tamil. This gave him an opportunity to engage in research about an extinct string musical
instrument known to classical Tamil scholars as ‘Yal.’ ‘Yal’ is believed to be the precursor to
Veena which has a vital role as an accompanying instrument in South Indian music
performances. His understanding of the Tamil canon and also his knowledge of Physics and
Mathematics combined with several discussions he had with leading oriental musicians allowed
him to make headway in this research. After several years of hard work finally he was able to
physically recreate the ‘Yal’ and got it played by leading Veena exponents before a large
audience of music lovers in 1947. This was an emotional moment for the monk! Swami
Vipulananda’s research work ‘Yal Nool’ undoubtedly considered his magnum opus, is extremely
technical and said by many to be esoteric.
Swami also strongly felt no community could live in isolation and emphasized to his students the
need to get a broad knowledge of literature that enriched other languages. With this in mind he
published ‘Mathangaculamani’ considered to be a treatise on theatre. This amongst others
contains several translations of Shakespeare’s plays, probably written with the idea of
introducing the bard to ordinary Tamil readers.
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This monk excelled as a great poet. When tidings of the death of a friend who was a great
grammarian reached him he composed a poem in the form of a letter. This Tamil poem loosely
translated as ‘An epistle left in the Ganges’ is considered to be an example of rich poetic
imagery. The poem exceeds twenty five verses and takes the form of a dialogue between
Swami and the moon. The monk keeps grilling the moon about death and life after death. He
keeps on badgering the moon till he manages to extract word that his friend is quite safe in the
company of learned men who predeceased him!
To Swami, love towards humanity is an important aspect of life. In a Tamil poem he wrote to
children titled ‘Offering that pleases the Lord’ his advice to children was not to entice God by
offering beautiful flowers. The poet tells them in simple language that what God expects is pure
love and nothing else.
In order to give local readers a taste of English verse he translated certain poems by Milton,
Shakespeare, Wordsworth and Tennyson into Tamil. With similar intention to give a glimpse of
the richness of Tamil language to the outside world he translated into English great works of
Hindu Saints Thondar- adip- podi and Tirumangai-Azhvar.
Swami was one of the first academics to identify Subramanya Bharathi as a great poet and coauthored an article in 1931 to highlight the beauty and simplicity of his poems.
This monk in saffron robes always thought of the ordinary people. The ‘Dictionary of Technical
Terms on Chemistry’ was compiled by him to bring science within the reach of the ordinary
people.
In 1943 he was appointed the first Professor of Tamil in the University of Ceylon a post he held
until his untimely death on July 19, 1947.
Note by Editor
Sri Bhagavadas Solicitor & Barrister, LLM (Sydney), M Inte. Study (Sydney), M A (UNSW), worked for
Aboriginal legal services for ten years. As an academic, and a prolific free lance writer, Sri epitomizes
the true Patrician spirit in every sense of the word. He is nature’s own gentleman!
_____________________________________________________________________
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The God Particle
On Fourth of July, while Americans all over the world celebrated their independence from Great
Britain, the world in general and the scientific community at the CERN laboratory in Geneva in
particular, celebrated what is believed today to be perhaps the greatest scientific discovery of
the 21st century, namely the confirmation of the existence of the Higgs boson subatomic particle
or the so called “God particle”. The term “God particle” itself is a corruption of the more colourful
and appropriate “Goddamn particle” given by the Nobel prize winning Physicist and former
Director of Fermilab, Professor Leon Lederman, as it proved so elusive to find.
It took the scientists 48 years to finally detect it. The possibility of existence of the Higgs boson
was first recognized in 1964 by Prof. Peter Higgs. His “eureka” moment came when he was just
34 years old, while he was a lecturer at the Edinburgh University in Scotland. Some of his
colleagues were skeptical. One journal rejected his paper. Even Prof. Stephen Hawking, the
one time Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University, doubted if such a particle
would be found. On 4th July, Hawking lost his bet of $100. The latest subatomic particle is
named after two outstanding Physicists, Prof. Peter Higgs from the UK and the late Satyendra
Nath Bose from India. There are already calls for Prof. Peter Higgs to be given the Nobel Prize
for Physics and a Knighthood but Bose was never honoured by the Nobel Academy.
Satyendra Nath Bose was an intellectual Bengali who was a contemporary of Einstein. As a
student at the Hindu High School in Calcutta, he was awarded 110 marks out of 100 since he
was able to solve a problem by more than one method! He was Professor of Physics at both
Universities of Dhaka and Calcutta. Just as the Indian Mathematical genius, Srinivasa
Ramanuan sent his paper to G.H. Hardy in Cambridge, Satyendra Bose sent a paper to Albert
Einstein in 1924 describing a statistical model that led to the subsequent discovery of the BoseEinstein Condensate (BEC) phenomenon. This became the basis for describing two
fundamental subatomic particles, namely “boson” after Satyendra Bose and “fermion” after
Enrico Fermi. BEC is the fifth state of matter after solid, liquid, gas, and plasma. Gas
temperatures are cooled to very near the absolute zero when microscopic properties of
quantum mechanics will govern the bahaviour of a macroscopic system. The credit for
observing the first elementary particle however goes to the British Physicist and Nobel Laureate
J.J. Thomson in 1897.
According to Hindu mythology, the universe creates and destroys itself in an endless cycle.
Today, a theory of the early universe widely accepted by astronomers known as the “Big Bang”
has become “the standard model” that describes all the particles, forces and interactions that
make up our universe. The alternative theory is the so called “steady-state model” of Hermann
Bondi, Thomas Gold and Fred Hoyle according to which the universe has always been just
about the same as it is now. Fred Hoyle found the concept of the Big Bang distasteful,
comparing it to the jumping of a ‘party girl’ out of a cake. When the discoverer of quantum
mechanics, Dr Paul Dirac once sat for Michael Noakes, the portrait painter of the British royal
family, he casually mentioned that Creation was one vast Bang and dismissed the steady-state
as nonsense, Noakes responded by asking: “But if nothing existed beforehand what was there
to bang?”
So, about 14 billion years ago, instead of the Word, there was the Bang! As the Nobel Prize
winning Physicist Steven Weinberg points out, it was “an explosion which occurred
simultaneously everywhere, filling all space from the beginning, with every particle of matter
rushing apart from every other particle”. The matter that came rushing out following the big bang
was made up of a variety of elementary particles, the building blocks of our universe, of which
the Higgs boson is the latest and most expensive. 2,400 people including some of the world’s
greatest scientific brains worked as a group 70 m below ground in Geneva at the CERN
laboratory using the 27 km long, 6 billion dollar equipment known as the Large Hadron Collider
(LHC) that straddles the Franco-Swiss border, to find the elusive particle at last. They were able
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to smash protons in the LHC at the speed of light and search the debris for traces of particles
that sprang into existence just for a fraction of a second before disintegrating. They are
99.999% sure that they have got the Real McCoy. Although it may appear to a layman as if it is
a case of “mountain labored and brought forth a mouse”, the scientific community ranks the
discovery of the Higgs boson on par with Newton’s Theory of Gravity and Einstein’s Theory of
Relativity. It may even rival the discovery of the structure of the DNA by James Watson &
Francis Crick in 1953.
The Higgs boson was the missing piece in the jig-saw puzzle of the standard model of Particle
Physics. With this in place the theoretical model can predict the forces that control our universe.
It is vital to our understanding of how the universe is built. In our universe, some particles have
mass while others such as photons of light do not. Higgs field is supposed to fill all space, and
as the particles move through the field and interact with it, they acquire mass and bind together
into the familiar matter that we observe. It is this subatomic particle that gives all matter its
mass. Higgs is perhaps the heaviest of all subatomic particles having a mass of 126 billion
electron volts. The mass is a measure of how much stuff the particle contains. The Higgs
bosons permeate the universe creating an invisible energy field. If not for the Higgs field, the
subatomic particles would be shooting and zipping through the universe at the speed of light
and so would never have fused to form our stars, planets, plants, animals and ourselves.
Without it, as the Texan saying goes, our universe would be “all hat and no cattle”. The
discovery of the Higgs boson is proof that science is progressing in the right direction.
Charles Santiapillai & V. Sivakumar
University of Peradeniya
Editor’s Note:
Profile of Charles Santiapillai: Charles is the eldest son of Mr S.F.Santiapillai who taught Latin
to the Seminarists at St Patrick’s College. Charles was a student at SPC from 1953 to 1963 and
entered the University of Peradeniya to follow a course in Bio-science and specialized in
Zoology. He got his PhD from the University of Southampton (UK) and retuned to Ceylon and
worked at University of Peradeniya as a Lecturer in Zoology. His research interest was on
wildlife ecology. He retired in 2010.
Profile
Charles Santiapillai left St. Patrick's College, Jaffna in 1963 and graduated from the University of
Peradeniya in 1969 having specialized in Zoology. He then joined the teaching staff at the Department of
Zoology in Peradeniya and proceded to England where he obtained his PhD in Mammalogy in 1975 from
the University of Southampton. In 1983, he accepted the offer from the World Wildlife Fund International
to work in Indonesia as Senior Scientific Officer in the Asia Program. In 1994 he re-joined the University
of Peradeniya and retired in 2010 as Associate Professor of Zoology. His field of research is wildlife
ecology with special reference to the Asian elephant. He was a one time Deputy Chairman of the
IUCN/SSC Asian Elephant Specialist Group, Editor of its Journal, Gajah, and a co-author of the Action
Plan for the Asian Elephant Conservation. For his services in wildlife conservation, he was awarded a
Gold Medal & appointed the Knight of the Golden Ark by HRH Prince Bernhard at the Soestdijk Palace in
Baarn, The Netherlands in 1990. He lives in Kandy, Ceylon with his wife Anoma and remains active in
wildlife conservation and management.
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Good Governance at a glance
By: Anton X. Rajinthrakumar
Why a big fuss about Good Governance
It’s fair to state at the outset that recently the term “good governance” has
been widely used in economic and political arenas. Bad governance is
being increasingly regarded as one of the root causes of failures of
projects and developmental programmes especially in developing
nations. In some cases, bad governance is being regarded as one of the
root causes of all evil within our societies.
Good Governance has been the buzz word since the early nineties in the
development literature. When we look around the world today, the complex relationship between
stability, good governance and economic development is abundantly apparent. There is a spectrum of
circumstances, ranging from the war-torn and ungovernable to the vibrant and thriving, and everything in
between.
Over the last couple of decades, a greater importance has been given to both governance and the
corruption that arises due to bad governance.
Governance can be used in several contexts such as corporate governance, international governance,
national governance and local governance. It is important to note that when politicians declare that they
are striving to improve governance, they are often using a diplomatic way of saying that reducing
corruption is a priority.
What is Good Governance
Given that the term "governance" means different things to different people , before going any further in
elaborating the importance of Good Governance - we have to answer the question “What is exactly
meant by Good Governance?” There is no single and exhaustive definition of “good governance” and
thus no common assessment tool. However, based on the consensus among various stakeholders ,
Governance can be defined as the set of processes, policies and laws affecting the way a country,
institution, society, etc., is directed, administered or controlled. In other words, governance means
the process of decision-making and the process by which decisions are implemented.
Essentially, Good Governance is anti-corruption whereby authority and its institutions are held
accountable. Corruption is a universal, historic issue which occurs in both wealthy and poor countries
and in public and private sectors as well as both profit and non- profit sectors. Corruption, from petty
bribery, nepotism to large-scale larceny, can have a devastating impact and far reaching consequences.
Undermining development, destroying public trust and burdening the lives of many, in particular the
vulnerable, corruption’s reach is insidious and effect destructive. The debilitating effects of corruption call
for a firm action against it and that in fact stresses the importance of Good Governance loud and clear.
Good governance is about good practice and not merely about good structure. In the context of
democratically elected entities, people must be diligent in evaluating the performance of the elected
officials to ensure that the governance system is working. In order to get things done, elected officials
must be able to influence and get agreement with numerous and diverse stakeholders, from constituents
to support staff. Good governance can facilitate to effectively influence and foster consensus among
people with different needs and viewpoints to ensure ongoing success.
Key attributes of Good Governance
According to subject matter experts, Good governance has 8 major characteristics. It is participatory,
consensus oriented, accountable, transparent, responsive, effective and efficient, equitable and
inclusive and follows the rule of law. It assures that corruption is minimized, the views of minorities
are taken into account and that the voices of the most vulnerable in society are heard in decisionmaking. It is also responsive to the present and future needs of society.
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Depending on the context and the overriding objective sought, good governance has been said at
various times to encompass: full respect of human rights, the rule of law, effective participation, multiactor partnerships, political pluralism, transparent and accountable processes and institutions, an
efficient and effective public sector, legitimacy, access to knowledge, information and education, political
empowerment of people, equity, sustainability, and attitudes and values that foster responsibility, caring
& sharing , solidarity and tolerance.
Good Governance, Human Rights and Development
Number of declaration by International Community stresses the interconnection between good
governance, human rights and sustainable development. Good governance and human rights are
mutually reinforcing. Human rights principles provide a set of values to guide the work of governments
and other political and social actors. They also provide a set of performance standards against which
these actors can be held accountable. Moreover, human rights principles inform the content of good
governance efforts: they may inform the development of legislative frameworks, policies, programmes,
budgetary allocations and other measures.
Civil society is about people contributing to the governing of their country through their participation in
the community. It is difficult to participate if you are poor, unemployed, hungry, homeless and
uneducated. People who live under these conditions are being denied their economic, social and cultural
rights. Good governance cannot truly occur until these rights are guaranteed by a government willing to
take responsibility for the social security of its people. At all levels, Governments must set up political
and legal frameworks, where good governance can take solid roots for sustained development.
The fact that developed countries providing development assistance, along with international
organizations such as the IMF or the World Bank are becoming more sensitive to accountability issues is
just another reason why better governance is becoming crucial for the success of developing nations.
Major donors and international financial institutions are increasingly basing their aid and grants on the
condition that reforms that ensure "good governance" are undertaken by the authorities at all levels of
government in a holistic manner.
Conclusion
We are living in a rapidly changing and increasingly interdependent world facing multiple challenges and
trends that require coordinated and focused action.
It is important to note that general public has a crucial role when it comes to improve local governance.
In order to achieve this, though, it has to be well informed, interested, organized, and empowered,
actively pursuing it. Just as the dancer cannot be separated from the dance, the organs or actors
executing governance in their respective spheres should take front and centre stage.
The importance of Good Governance and the disastrous ramifications of poor governance and
corruption will surely continue to occupy the central stage in our societies and political arenas. Let’s hope
that Good Governance leads to the realization of human rights, including the elimination of poverty and
ensuring a satisfactory livelihood for all the people. It’s worthy to strive for the ideal of Good Governance
step by step and one after the other to create a society free of corruption that takes great pride in Good
Governance for the benefit of all its citizens.
Profile of Anton X. Rajinthrakumar
Mr. Anton Xavier Rajinthrakumar B.Sc., A.C.I. (U.K.) is an investment finance risk management
professional holding senior managerial positions in major Canadian Banks for 15 years and presently
working for a leading pension plan in Ontario. Anton has been actively involved in volunteer service and
one of the Board of Directors of Society for the Aid of Community Empowerment (SACEM) in Toronto
and a recipient of Govt. of Ontario Volunteer Service Award. He was an expatriate Mathematics &
Physics Teacher in Lesotho and Johannesburg, South Africa for 5 years before migrating to Canada in
1992. Anton obtained a diploma in Politics and Social Change from Ecumenical Centre in White Field,
Bangalore, India. He studied at St. Patrick's College Jaffna for 10 years and the Head Prefect of the
College in 1982. Anton has been the General Secretary of the SPC Jaffna Alumni Association Ontario in
Toronto, Canada for the past three years.
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THE LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE BY Reuben Canagaratnam
Jamaica, West Indies
It is a privilege and honour to contribute to the OBA of Patrician’s of Jaffna, Sydney, Australia's
Silver Jubilee Souvenir. First of all let me congratulate the committee and the members on this
great milestone. When I think about my childhood and schooling, I always remember the fond
memories of my friends, class mates, teachers, rectors who contributed immensely, moulding
and shaping my skills, character and my career. It is those opportunities, teachings, advice,
atmosphere, including the strict discipline contributed to who I am today. My "Alma Mater" has
played a significant role in my success. Out of all those people who played a role in my life, I
had the opportunity and distinct pleasure to work closely and to get to know Rev. Fr.G.A.
Francis Joseph - then Rector during my days at St.Patrick’s (we affectionately called him
Michael Joseph) and J.A.J. Phillips - my English teacher from grade 6 to Advanced Level.
These two fine gentlemen were instrumental in bringing out my talents and developing my skills
in leadership, communication, teamwork, commitment and attention to details. It will be fitting to
dedicate this article in honour and memory of them.
I have been in the “leadership role” for quite some time and thought of sharing my views on
leadership and its challenges today. You do not need to be in a position of authority to be a
leader. Leadership is not what we all think; it is something that most of us can relate to in a day
to day environment. I often hear people say that when they become a leader, they will do this
and that, including reading leadership books. Such people will never lead and will not become
leaders. They will be waiting for that opportunity to come, but that perfect opportunity will never
come. In my view, we all lead in some way or other, whether at home, within family, church,
clubs why even in sports.
Being a leader presents real challenges in today’s world. With the fast pace of change,
leadership ability is continuously being challenged both for the individual and the team.
In John Maxwell’s book “5 levels of leadership”, he notes Level 1 as ‘positional leadership’
where people follow you because they have to. This is where the leadership title is bestowed
upon you by the organisation. By the way, John Maxwell is an evangelical Christian Author,
Speaker and Pastor, who has written more than 60 books on Leadership, primarily focusing on
Leadership.
If you had to rate yourself on a ‘Leadership Scale’ of Levels 1 through 5in the ascending order,
where would you be? Many leaders are unfortunately stuck at Level 1. They have the title but
are unable to effectively earn the trust of the team. They struggle with defining a clear and
compelling vision and sticking to it. The world economy is changing rapidly enough that leaders
are reassessing long term vision on a daily basis. This sometimes makes it difficult to rally
employees around to hold a unified disciplined line in executing the vision and breaks trust
between the leader and the group. It doesn’t help that analysts are quick to pounce on earnings
shortfalls and punish share prices accordingly; forcing leaders to constantly take a short/long
view to try to determine which deviation is less costly to the firm today. How would your staff
rate your leadership today? What is the one thing that would make your contribution more
meaningful? When you determine the answer to that question, act on it.
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In the Management book titled “Good to Great”, its author Jim Collins outlines how companies
move from ‘Good to Great’. He notes, ‘First who, then what’. The ‘First who’ is about ensuring
that you have the right people in your bus and I would go further to say having the right people
in the right roles. Matching the right people to the right roles is also now proving to be a great
challenge. The seasoned workforce who have the experience and people skills sometimes
struggle with the ‘pace of change’ and are becoming costly for employers, as their health
declines. The 28-35 age group workforce population has significant salary and promotion
expectations that often cannot be met as the older employees are not moving on fast enough
and the under 28 workforce is different in terms of expectations and communication. The
younger generation is motivated greatly by purpose than pay and many organisations are
finding it challenging to connect with these employees to motivate them to give their best. There
also comes the logistical challenge of a different way of being. Picture this example. A
Department Manager, who is 45 years old, has come up through the ranks, worked long hours
to get ahead and believes that a 100% commitment to the organisation is required. Now picture
the 25 year old MBA graduate who sits at his desk listening to music with a headset,
occasionally answers BBM and Face book and has every expectation that if he delivers the task
at hand he will be rewarded even if he walks out of the office at exactly at 5pm. It creates an
interesting leadership dynamic, as employers struggle to define the ‘right’ employee and then
ensure that all the ‘right’ employees can work as a team.
Social Media also presents a changing and challenging dynamic. How much time is Social
Media costing employers and is there an opportunity to leverage this medium for the good of the
Firm? There is no doubt that this camaraderie has expanded from bars to the social media
world and this makes the connectivity web far more expansive. The power of an ill spoken word
on Twitter is instantaneous and punished by the public swiftly. Leaders have to tread carefully
here in ensuring that employees feel free to ‘network’ but are not irresponsible with time spent
at work or trade secrets for that matter. Furthermore what is the social media footprint of the
leader? Is it open to employees or private? Is it appropriate and how will the employees
perceiving the leader? A Social Media presence that is different from the leader at work may
also lead to employee mistrust. Many leaders are opting not to have a social media ID
identifiable by staff but that may be a missed opportunity to humanise the leader and motivate
employees.
A ‘results focus’ is the mark of any good leader. But what constitutes ‘good’ results in this
environment? For years the economy of most countries expanded and particular sectors just
went up and up and up. Despite a realisation that the global economy is fragile, expectations
continue to be that companies can continue to profit even facing soft demand. This can only
realistically be achieved by squeezing the expense line. In most expense statements,
remuneration and benefits account for 30-60% of expenses thus the easiest way to control
expenses is through staff attrition, deliberate or voluntary. Leaders are now facing tough
decisions about which staff should be laid off and whether vacancies should be filled even when
workload may not have shrunk commensurate with demand. This fosters a sense of uncertainty
and at its extreme, mistrust within the department. No doubt this is harmful not just for the
organisation but for society, as a whole as stressed out wives and husbands carry the
consequences of this into the home and young adults loaded with student debt wonder what’s
coming next. To what extent are leaders now called upon to ‘fight’ for employees, to challenge
stakeholders to ensure there is a balance and profit does not come at the complete expense of
employees? Surely this is a tough and unpopular conversation. Financial success is important
but it is relative. For instance if a company manages moderate growth or a moderate decline,
we have to be willing as leaders to contextualise this for shareholders and have the courage of
our conviction, if the company is on the right path. Remember you know more than the
shareholders do.
‘Personal’ and ‘Team Development’ must continue even in the face of cost cutting. Training and
Development are typically some of the first budgets to be cut, yet it could be argued that in
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challenging times, the opposite should be done. Research has shown that employee
development and training improves employee effectiveness, engagement, quality of work and
profitability, but the investment must be made for the results to come. Employees should be
equipping themselves with the skill to tide over the difficult times and be positioned for future
opportunities.
The rewards of ‘effective leadership’ are many. Great pay, motivating a team, seeing top talent
rise to their full potential, shaping young careers, but this only happens with individuals
committing to daily growth in their leadership abilities. In the end, we must remember that we
are a quilt. No decision is isolated. The decision of one affects the whole and there is a societal
impact to everything we do. As leaders, we do not have to be perfect but we have to strive to
be, to look at decisions from every angle before they are taken and to ensure we build trust. We
must ensure our legacy has a positive impact. If you were out of the door tomorrow, how would
your employees define your legacy?
Before I conclude, let me give you the 5 levels of leadership according to John Maxwell. Reflect
on your leadership style and you can be your own judge in assessing to see where you are
today and where you want to be tomorrow. Once you know where you want to be then put a
SMART action plan and work on your week areas, so that you can move upwards in your
leadership journey. If you need to read more about the 5 levels, I strongly recommend that
every Patrician and non Patrician alike reading this article, to get hold a copy of John Maxwell’s
“The 5 Levels of Leadership” and relish it. You will enjoy it immensely.
Level 1 - Position - People follow you because they have to
Level 2 - Permission - People follow you because they want to
Level 3 - Production - People follow because of what you have done for the organization
Level 4 - People Development - People follow you because of what you have done for
them
Level 5 - Pinnacle - People follow you because of what you are and what you represent
Author’s Profile:
Reuben Canagaratnam is a Regional Vice President for one of the leading banks in
Canada. He has been with the organization for over 23 years. He has held progressively
senior roles in Canadian Branch Banking & Contact Centres, Sales & Service, and Non
Branch Channels within International Banking Division. Currently he is posted in
Jamaica and has been there for the last 5 years. He heads a large unit within the bank
and has led his team to win many international awards. He had his primary education at
St.Michael's College, Batticaloa before his parents moved to Jaffna. He hails from
Chundikulli, Jaffna and studied at St.Patrick's for 11 years. He is married with two
children. He has a passion for photography and travel.
___________________________________________________________
Do not make second mistake, to rectify the first mistake
An important lesson is not to worry too much if something did go wrong and specifically
not to make another mistake to rectify the first mistake. This concept was reinforced
with the story of the dog that sat too close to the railway track and a train came and cut
off its tail. The dog tried to bite the train and in the process got its head cut off. The
moral of the story is, “Don’t lose your head over a piece of tail”.
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