The cultural affinity shared between India and Sri Lanka is a bond which cannot be fathomed from the normal measurements of geopolitics. It echoes the deepest spiritual heritage derived from Buddhism and continues regardless of the discontent the two States faced occasionally. India’s first premier Jawaharlal Nehru always had a soft spot for Sri Lanka as a culturally knitted island for the Indic civilisation. For some Sri Lankans, especially for the first generation of Anglophone Ceylonese politicians, Nehru was an arrogant statesman striving to expand India’s gaze towards the neighbouring countries.
This was quite a logical concern when DS Senanayake pushed the British to form a defence pact prior to granting Dominican status to Ceylon. But, realistically Nehru never showed the ambition of annexing Ceylon, albeit his abhorrence for the class of statesmen who took over political power of Ceylon from the British.
Renounced worldly desires
It might be an interesting factor to disclose that he adored one particular Sri Lankan more than any other known Sri Lankan politician. Nehru did not have time to pamper the Maha Mudaliyar’s son, SWRD Bandaranaike when he requested a private audience from Nehru in 1928. Ironically, the Ceylonese who was revered and adored by Nehru was a commoner without any link to the higher echelons of Ceylonese politics. He ended up with a decorated life filled with different tantrums as a Bhikkhu who renounced all worldly desires.
Narcissus Anthony Fernando was an extraordinary person. Originally groomed to be ordained in the Jesuit Order, he was sent to India as a missionary. However, for reasons that remain inexplicable, he chose to live as an ordinary man, mingling with the cosmopolitan gatherings in Mumbai, Calcutta and other Indian cities. Eventually, Narcissus grew weary of his flamboyant lifestyle in India and converted to Buddhism. At the same time, he was inspired by the movement led by Mahatma Gandhi. He travelled to Poona, where he became a devoted disciple of Gandhi under the guidance of nature cure physician, Dr. Dinkshaw Mehta. Together with a small group that included Raifi Ahmad Kidwai, RajkumariAmrit and G.V. Mavalankar—who later became the first Speaker of Parliament of independent India—Narcissus travelled across the subcontinent to support Gandhi’s movement.
Gandhi’s acolyte
When a senior delegation from Sri Lanka that included political giants of the likes of JR Jayewardene, and Dudley Senanayake was not given time to meet Gandhi due to his busy schedule, Narcissus simply appealed to Gandhi saying “Babuji a delegation from my country has come all the way to meet you and you don’t have time for them”. Gandhi was shocked by this and met the delegation from Ceylon finally proving the extraordinary influence that Narcissus Fernando maintained with Mahatma Gandhi. In 1945, when an Indian movie company wanted to film the life of the Buddha, Narcissus was responsible for moving a strongly worded resolution at a largely represented meeting in Mumbai which put an end to the project.
The resolution had Mahatma Gandhi’s fullest support. In 1945, Gandhi sent Narcissus Fernando as his personal envoy to represent him and preside over the prize-giving at the Mahatma Gandhi College in Kandy. His acquaintance with Nehru ran parallel to his involvement in Gandhi’s movement. The austerity and detachment of life were fine principles that buttressed Narcissius’ journey in India and Nehru truly admired his altruism. Even after becoming the Prime Minister of the largest democracy in the world, Jawaharlal Nehru had time to hear Narcissus who had changed his name at that time to Ananda Meemanage.
From Ananda Meemanage he became Ven. Ananda Mangala Thera when he took to yellow robes as a bhikkhu at the age of 40. Nehru sent him on a private mission to Missamari and Buzaduar to keep track of the Tibetan refugees.
A Nehru favourite
His mission was akin to espionage as the Chinese aggression was on its way, Nehru wanted to understand the realistic picture of the emerging conflict. between 1958 to 1961 he submitted personal reports to Nehru explaining the situation in the North East. The way Nehru indulged him was somewhat uncanny as he always entertained Ven. Amanda Mangala Thera regardless of his busy schedule.
Being an admirer of simplicity, Nehru perhaps found in him a simple soul, an emotional man who had sat at the feet of Gandhi, a son of Sri Lanka who was struggling to find his own place in the Buddhist world. The way Nehru gave his time to Ven. Ananda Managala Thera, astounded the Indian media as sometimes Nehru even went beyond the limits of bureaucratic rules. Once Ven. Ananada Mangala Thera wanted to bring a tape recorder from Burma to India and the Indian Customs control rules hindered his plan, Ven. Mangala Thera did not lose hope and knew the Indian Premier would always stand by him. His letter to the Premier Nehru received a prompt reply with the instruction for him to land in Madras. When he finally landed in Madras, as expected the Customs pounced on him and he produced the letter he received from Nehru. It was then found that Nehru had sent a cheque from his personal account for Rs 150 to cover the duty and Ven. Ananda Mangala left the airport as a hallowed VIP.
On another occasion, Ven. Mangala Thera expressed his interest in becoming a citizen of India and Nehru duly arranged it for him in Colombo by requesting the Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka, Y.D Gundevia to issue an Indian passport to Ven. Ananda Mangala. This was the spirit of the camaraderie that both Nehru and Ven. Ananda Mangala Thera maintained. In Ven. Mangala Thera’s memoirs, he recalls his last meeting with Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1963 January. Nehru was seated in a chair in the garden of the Prime Minister’s residence, Teen Murti Bhavan in New Delhiand when Ven. Mangala Thera went close to him him, he saw the Prime Minister’s pale face and became emotional. Nehru got up slowly and made the former sit. “You are a Buddhist savant and should not give in to such emotions”, he had said. In his memoirs, Ven. Mangala Thera states “When I left, I knew I was seeing him for the last time”. Nehru passed away in May 1963.
(The writer is a lecturer affiliated to the Department of International Law, Faculty of Law, General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University)
