Dudley Senanayake at the White House-By George Braine
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 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.
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 the 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 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 well 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 LBJ’s biography by Robert Caro 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 the 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 in the photograph at the White House 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 period 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 derserved.
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 failing 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. Despite the pouring rain, the turnout for the meeting was huge. He 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 is located at the university campus, and I recall seeing a replica of his Oval Office and the actual 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.
