In appreciation of Professor Kumar David

Professor Kumar David

By Siritunge Jayasuriya and 

Kusal Perera

Professor Kumar David, once an academic in the Engineering Faculty, Peradeniya University, and a Fellow of the Institution of Electrical Engineers in the UK and Hong Kong has left for eternal rest, last Monday while in Los Angeles, USA. We believe the “left” leaning English reader would miss Kumar’s forays into political controversies, with his own reading of issues that often provided dissenting, but populist perspectives, he developed over the decades since leaving the NSSP in 1980 July. Politically, he was advocating for “unity in the scattered left”.

Professionally too, he stood out as an exceptional, pragmatic thinker and was accepted for that. We believe he still remains the youngest to be appointed to the Director Board of the CEB way back in 1970, perhaps after the change of government in July. Kumar would not have been 30 years then. He was also a strong critic of the Mahaweli Development power generation scheme in 1979, when the blueprint was out for academic observation. 

For us, Kumar was an interesting polemicist in our initial group of young Samasamaja activists, when we were into “entryism” trying to turn around the LSSP to its pre-coalition, Trotskyite politics of 1964. From among other academics including Wickramabahu, Sumanasiri, Shantha de Alwis, Nalin de Silva, Chris Rodrigo, who were key players in this small activist group labelled “Waama-Samasamajaya”, Kumar stood out as a frank and a blunt intervener in any discussion, when he had to disagree. He was a unique character in many ways. He was hard-hitting, sarcastic and witty in debates, at times consciously mispronouncing Sinhala terms or using them at the wrong place, gaining all the attention he wanted in discussions.

Kumar’s strength was his ability to politically see through issues. We remember his reading of the outcome on the 1980 July strike. A fortnight before the July strike he resigned from the NSSP Central Committee wanting to take up an academic post in Zimbabwe. We met him crossing the Jawatte Road, opposite his residence in the early afternoon, on the day he was to leave Sri Lanka for Zimbabwe. He asked us how the strike was turning out. Ridiculing our optimism he said, “Macho, JR would simply crush the whole strike mercilessly, in a few days. What general strike with some clerks? This era you need to have the CEB and Rupavahini out on strike, if you want Jayewardene to listen to your demands.” He was no doubt right.  

At barricades too when protesting on political issues, he would guess the response of the police, just looking at them. He often stood right in front with his broad frame, far taller than all others, with an untanned brown beard, creating an elite, dominant personality in him that police officers too respected when engaging with him. He was from a very elite background no doubt, with high profile Jaffna Catholic family roots. His father was a district judge and few others in the immediate family circle too were judges and lawyers.

A frequent visitor to Sri Lanka on a Sri Lankan passport, for he was no dual citizen, Kumar was quite familiar with local political issues and wrote his own interpretation on them in mainstream media. His high-flown English was very readable with his knack for wit and sarcasm and most would not miss his name in print media. So were we, despite our political differences and perspectives. 

He was a dominating personality in any forum and his interventions would be missed by most in “left of centre” Sri Lankan politics. We share our grief with Rohini and his family, and with that of all others in Sri Lankan “left” and democratic politics. Thank you Kumar for all your contributions and companionship, we cherish with camaraderie.

(Siritunge Jayasuriya is General Secretary, USP, and Kusal Perera 

is a Political Essayist.)