April 1997

Editors Notes

The second issue of "The Johnian" for the year 1997 was delayed due to unavidable circumstances. In this issue we have included an article by Dr Thevasagayam (he has sent this article from US where he is presently holidaying), who had been a former Principal of St. John's., "Life's like that" and a poem about "My precious native land". My sincere thanks to Mano for his help in the editing and publication of this bulletin.

Comments from readers are welcome. Contribution of articles for newsletters are welcome from Old Johnians

Thank you

Editor

P. Devendran

St John's College,

An Update - April l997

The College took a heavy beating during the Army Offensive of October l995. The heaviest damage was to the library, the Jubilee hall and the Principal's bungalow. The other buildings that sustained damage were the office block, the lower school block, Pooranampillai block, the lower school block, the new science complex, kitchen and kitchen staff quarters, vice Principal's bungalow and minor damage to a few other buildings. In addition, before and after the army offensive, many valuable equipment had been taken away. This included computers, typewriters, duplicators, furniture, hostel beds, kitchen equipment, asbestos roofing, and practically all that could be carried away.

Just before the offensive, the entire school population were forcibly evacuated. They moved to areas in Vadamaradchy, Thenmaradchy and south of Elephant Pass, mainly to Kilinochchi. Some managed to go over even to Colombo and the South. When the Army retook Vadamaradchy and Thenmaradchy, evacuees in those areas started trickling back to their homes in May l996, many to find their homes either destroyed or with nothing left. St. John's was reopened in May with about 200 students and 25 staff. During my visit to Jaffna with the Bishop of Colombo and others in June l996, there were 500 students and 40 teachers. A Civil engineer estimated the cost of repairing the damage around Rs 5 million. The replacement of the lost and damaged equipment was estimated to cost another Rs 3 m. Our plans to stay with the Principal of St. John's did not materialise as the bungalow was un-occupiable.

Even by this time, repair work had started mainly by replacing the tiles to protect the contents of buildings from the weather. Old tiles were available in the market from buildings completely destroyed. A few of the buildings, like the vice Principal's bungalow are too old and may not warrant the expenditure to repair. But the others have to be repaired. The Government has promised help and has provided cement and asbestos roofing from time to time and repair work is making slow progress.

There is a feeling among old boys that money should not be spent on repairing or re-building till normalcy and peace are restored as there is no guarantee that they will not be damaged again. This point was raised in l988 when as Principal, I appealed to Old Boys for funds to repair and rebuild after the devastation by the Indian Army. We still went ahead and managed to raise around Rs 4m and not only to repair but even put up a three storey Science Complex with six laboratories and 12 class rooms. We were damaged again as many had feared. But those of you who know St. John's would have wept if you had been there in June l996, as I had been, to see the state of the school. Therefore in this instance too, we feel that we should re-build and not run the school in the midst of ruins. I have been able to raise Rs 1.3 m from the British Government. which came in handy to repair the Jubilee Hall. But unlike in l988 when we received assistance from other missions too, this time they would not help as they have all committed to go in with the Government to re-build Jaffna. The government too has promised help but their first priority would be their own schools. Some foreign assistance also has been promised.

My second visit to St. John's was in February l997. At that time we had about 1 200 students (normal 1 600) and 55 teachers (normal 65). The others are caught up in the Wanni, unable to get back, or have migrated further South and may not return in the immediate future. Repairs are going on slowly as materials become available. I was able to stay in the principal's bungalow which had been made livable. The asbestos roof of Jubilee hall had been replaced. Generally things were getting back to some sort of normalcy. Sports meet had been held in February. Plans were afoot to re-start cricket by the second term. The College Magazine for l995 and l996 was published in March l997, all printing done in Jaffna.

What was remarkable was that the people were happy to be back in their homes and re-start their shattered lives. Cost of living has come down drastically. Vegetables were about half the price in Colombo. Surprisingly coconuts which are selling at about Rs 12 - 15 in Colombo was only Rs 6 in Jaffna. Commodities that come from Colombo are more costly but not much more. Kerosene is available on ration through Co-ops at Rs 12.50 a litre and Rs 20 outside. Petrol is Rs 100 a litre ( Colombo Rs 40) but hardly anyone is worrying about petrol, as all cars, three wheelers and motor cycles had been converted to run on kerosene and no one wants to change. Jaffna town gets electricity at varying times mostly in the night from about 7 pm to 11 pm. The voltage is very low but people are able to watch TV and use water pumps to fill up their overhead tanks. Children still depend on kerosene lamps for their study. Chundikuli Girl's College runs their generator for a few hostel girls as well as neighbourhood students who go there to do their study, sleep in the school and return home early next morning. St. John's uses their generator for the resident staff. The hostel is yet to re-open but plans are afoot to start soon. The British Government has promised to re-electrify Jaffna and work has already begun.

Army check points are all over and every one passing is checked for identity. The army has issued special identity cards for Jaffna residents. Life goes on regardless. I was able to visit my relatives in Chavakachcheri, Kopay and Earlalai, in a car without any problem.

Travel to and from Jaffna is much better than in the recent past. There is a civilian flight each day carrying about 50 passengers. In addition, three ships ply from Trincomalee to Jaffna each taking about 250 passengers. For travel, one must obtain a permit from the Ministry of Defence which may take as much as a month. The formalities and delays at Ratmalana and Palaly are cumbersome and passengers are treated like cattle, especially at Palaly. One has to report at the esplanade at 8 am for a flight that leaves Palaly at 4 pm. From the aircraft to and from the security zone in Palaly, passengers are transported by lorry. Since my last visit, I have written to the Ministry of Defence about the hardships of people and asking the Government to provide better facilities for passengers. The cost of a return flight is about Rs 6 500, almost the same as to Madras with hardly any facilities for passengers at either end.

Chundikuli Girls College

As Chairman of the Governing Body of CMS Schools, I have the overall responsibility for St. John's and Chundikuli, as well as for Ladies College, Colombo, Mowbray and Hillwood, Kandy. As the information given above will be read by may past pupils of Chuindikuli also, I felt it my duty to give the latest on Chundikuli too. CGC celebrated their centenary in Colombo in February l996, and a commemoration stamp was released to mark the occasion. In Jaffna, it was celebrated on 31 January l997. Among other activities, they had an open air public meeting in the school at which I was to have presided but could not go as the Government clearance had not come in time. There were about 1 500 people at the Public meeting. The Centenary Souvenir is being produced by the PPA in Colombo. PPAs overseas who would like to have copies should get in touch with The President, Mrs Daisy Thevasagayam, 119/5A, Kynsey Road, Colombo 8, Tel; 686124.

Chundikuli was also damaged by the October l995 operation but not as badly as St. John's. They also lost most of the equipment. The estimated cost of rebuilding and replacing equipment was about Rs 5 m. In June l996, there were about 500 students and 30 teachers. By February l997, numbers had risen to 1 000 students and 50 teachers. The school had been readied for the Centenary celebrations and looked impressive in February l997, a sharp contrast to the scene in June l996. A new open air stage had been constructed facing the playing field to commemorate the Centenary. Work has commenced to repair the badly damaged Thilliampalam Block and the vice Principal's bungalow, both facing Old Park Road. The former should have been completed by now and the latter by the end of the year. They had their sports meet in February. Mr. Devanesan Nesiah who happened to be in Jaffna at that time was the chief guest at both Sports meets, CGC and St. John's.

As former Principal I can assure past pupils that the two school continue to occupy a pre-eminent place among educational institutions in the country and undoubtedly the most sought after in Jaffna. Academic excellence has been maintained at the highest levels, even during the most difficult days of l995 and l996. Our results at the A/L level and university admissions are second to none. We have to be especially thankful to the two principals and staff who have continued to serve faithfully under the most difficult, risky and trying circumstances. If we are to maintain these standards, it is up to us, the past pupils, to come forward to assist the schools in whatever way we can. Those of our kith and kin who have gone through so much suffering in the past ten years and lost loved ones and practically all their worldly possessions, reach out for our support. They look up to us, who have had the benefit of education in our two schools, and who have had the good fortune to have escaped the suffering and trauma of war, to keep the school flags flying high as ever.

As a past pupil ,a former teacher and Principal, and now as Chairman of the Governing Body, my appeal would be that we who have received so much from our schools should rise to the occasion to do all we can to our schools at a time of their greatest need.

Dr. E. S. Thevasagayam

THOUGHT FOR THE MONTH

"He who guards his lips

guards his life,

but he who speaks rashly

will come to ruin"

Prov. 13:3

My Precious Native Land

At the end of each evening when the day is gone;

at dusk the skies a tawny grey in the flush of eventide;

I see columns of mist roll over the Brindabella hills

and lights from the homesteads twinkling into the night;

I think of my land,

my precious native land.

I picture the sites I knew, the place where I was born;

where cries of agony no echo through a war torn land;

in my mind I hear children crying, women weeping;

the sound of gun fire permeating through the beautiful isle;

sadly I cry for,

my precious native land.

I think of those days when peace reigned supreme;

from days of my childhood to the time of my youth,

when every person in the country, man, woman and child;

walked in peace over that ground head held high in pride;

that was my land,

my precious native land.

I could hear a voice from Sri Lanka, cry like a mother;

chiding her children for squabbling; you are both mine

born out of my womb she seems to say;

stop quarrelling, this land belongs to you equally.

it is one land, your land,

your precious native land.

I hear this mother say in sadness, in anguish;

you vanquish your brother and bask over his blood

for the sake of dust. she asks, why do you fight?

Is it not over your brother you show might?

on a land that is already yours,

your precious native land.

I like to walk through the wide fields that were once free;

those fields where my brother and I used to frolic;

my pigtails flying when I ran on the ridges;

it was a carefree life, so full of fun;

that land was mine,

my precious native land.

While I sit in comfort, in safety, in my Canberra home,

with a sigh I wish I could roam through my native land;

although I hear tales of distress, blood shed and tears;

I want to stroll in that land, though with fear and uncertainty;

because that is my land,

my precious native land.

The fields that once abounded with golden paddy plants,

are now an habitat for bold soldiers they say;

but I know the fighting and the war will soon cease;

and return the country to its pristine calm and peace;

to the land I once knew,

my precious native land.

Courtesy: Neela Liyanagedera, "Accents" An Anthology of multicultural writing - published by the ACT Writers Centre, Australia.

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An Appeal

The St.John's College OBA has decided to have an entertainment programme during the month of September /October1997. One of the item in the programme is to stage a short comedy play by the Old Boys of St. Johns. We need volunteers from our association to take part in the play. Please be good enough to give your names to the President or to the Secretary of our Association, at your earliest.

Laughter is the best medicine.

( Ladies take it as a joke)

After a quarrel, a wife said to her husband, "you know, I was a fool when I married you" and the husband replied, "yes, dear, but I was in love and didn't notice it."

Pastor to a married man-"A happy marriage is a matter of give and take,"

Husband - "yes Pastor I give whatever I earn, and my wife takes."

Married man said this to his friend-- "you know first year of our marriage, I spoke and my wife listened, second year my wife spoke and I listened, now we both speak and the neighbours are listening."

Friend in reply said- that is why they say- " marriage is an institution in which husband loses his bachelor's degree and the wife gets her Master's."

A lady told her friend, " It is I who made my husband a millionaire". "and what was he before you married him" asked her friend. The lady replied, "he was a multi- millionaire".

A little boy asked his father, "Daddy, how much does it cost to get married?" And the father replied, "I really don't know, son, I am still paying for it."

An Appreciation

Dr. Tambiah - an outstanding lawyer and judge

By

Chelvatamby Maniccavasagar

Appeared in Daily News of 15th May 1997

Dr. H. W. Tambiah, former Supreme Court Judge and High Commissioner for Sri Lanka in Canada from September 1975 to December 1977 who passed away recently in Colombo at the age of 91 was a towering figure whose name will be writ large in the annals of Sri Lanka's Judicial history.

His profound scholarship, his brilliant record as a Supreme Court Judge and his significant service in the field of legal, judicial and above all his high moral character marked him out as one of the greatest Lankans of modern times.

Dr. Tambiah lost his mother at the age of 3 and father at the age of 12, but on account of his hard work, superior intelligence and indomitable will, worked his way from poverty to plenty and soon obtained what anyone could wish of worldly celebrity.

Dr. Tambiah's ambition was to become an engineer. He never planned to be a lawyer. Indeed he had an initial aversion for the legal profession. An old boy of St. John's College, and Central College, Jaffna, he entered the university and secured honours in the BSc degree in 1928 with double Maths and Physics.

Thereafter, he served on the tutorial staff of the Physics Dept. for one year until he was lured by the attraction of the legal profession of which his brother was a member.

The turning point came when he read the Rishi-Vakkiam. There on an ancient Ola leaf he found what he believed was his entire life written out years before he was born. He checked and found that the record of his life up to then had been right. It was foretold in this document called Shapta Rishi-Vakkiam that he would be a Judge.

Thereafter, he changed his course of life and took to law. In 1930 he joined the Law College and in 1933 he came first in first class of the advocates examination held that year. The same year he obtained the upper second class in the LLB examination of the London University and was placed first in the whole overseas examinations.

He practised both in the appellate and original courts and became the leader of the appellate courts. In 1954 he was called to the Inner Temple and in the same year he obtained the doctorate of the philosophy in law in London University.

He was made a Queen's Counsel in 1956 and was elevated to the Bench the same year and he served in the capacity of Commissioner of Assize for five years and thereafter elevated to the Bench of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka (Ceylon). He was made a member of the Judicial Service Commission, in which capacity he served for three years.

After his retirement from the Bench in 1968 he was awarded the Nuffield Scholarship of the University of London for Research.

Dr. Tambiah always believed that the study of law is one of the finest studies one can engage in, because it deals with actual human problems. The greatest satisfaction that he obtained in the practice of law came to him in the actual conducting of the case. Indeed it gave him great pleasure.

He gave credit to late H. V. Perera and late N. E. Weerasooriya and the late N. Nadarajah for having taught him much. Dr. Tambiah was of the opinion that it is better to have some other degree before taking a law degree, because it helps him to give a wide vision.

A law degree will come in useful even for practical administrative purpose. Besides, he always believed that the lawyer must work up gradually from the lowest court as it would give him full knowledge of the legal structure.

Dr. Tambiah was a Judge of the Supreme Court for 11 years and preserved the dignity of the courts and image of justice. He always believed that the judges should discharge their duties without fear or favour, affection, ill will or bias.

Dr. Tambiah was a visiting lecturer, at the Sri Lanka Law College for fifteen years and for three years a visiting lecturer at the University of Ceylon. There he collaborated with the late Sir Ivor Jennings. He had been chairman of the Board of Examiners for the final examiners for the Barristers and Solicitors for fifteen years, Examiner for the LLB Examination and for the Civil Service and Accountancy Examinations and also for the PhD Examinations.

He has been a member of the council of the legal education of the Board of Studies and the member of the Royal Commission appointed to recommend land reforms a member of the Judicial Service Commission, Vice President of the Royal Asiatic Society, Ex-co Member of the Commonwealth society and of the Asian Law Teachers Association.

Besides, he led the Ceylon delegation to the Asian African Consultation Committee Sessions held in New Delhi and Cairo. He was also an observer on behalf of the Asian-African Legal Consultations Committee at the International Law Commission Sessions held in Geneva.

Dr. Tambiah while serving as the Justice of Appeal in the court of Appeal in Sierra Leone was specially appointed President of the Court of Appeal in Sierra Leone to hear the appeals of 12 prominent citizens of Sierra Leone including the former Attorney-General, the Force Commander, the Commissioner of Police and other leading citizens. They had been found guilty of treason and sentenced to death by the Supreme Court of Sierra Leone after trial which was regarded as one of the most important and most lengthy in Sierra Leone history.

Dr. Tambiah was associated with Sir Ivor Jennings in founding the Faculty of Law at the University with late Francis Soertsz as Professor. He was also the national reporter to the encyclopaedia of comparative law to which leading jurists of the world make contributions.

In 1973 he was awarded the LL.D degree of the London University for the notable contributions he made on the laws of Sri Lanka.

Dr. Tambiah was appointed High Commissioner for Sri Lanka in Canada from September 1975 to December 1977. Dr. Tambiah was an author of several law books.

When the history of this country in this century comes to be written Dr. Tambiah will certainly be acknowledged as one of Sri Lanka's outstanding Judges who maintained tremendous courage and high degree of judicial statesmanship.