Canon R. S. De Saram, Warden of S.Thomas’ College. In His prize Day speech in 1958 said the following.
Seated up front was the Chief Guest – SWRD Bandaranaike.
” This is said to be the age of the common man. It May be so. But it is certainly also the age of the Demagogue (jdpd,hd ), the man with the loud voice and fluent vocabulary and specious tongue who debases his gifts by devoting them to misrepresentation of facts, the stirring up of hatred, the vilifying of persons and causes to which he is opposed ;
the man with much cleverness but little wisdom who is prepared to sacrifice the peace and prosperity of the country to the gaining of some petty personal or party triumph.
Our time has been described as a period of transition.
If it is not to be a period of breakdown we must bend our selves to put before our people values which are of permanent and abiding worth.
The persons of whom I speak want to run the country on Slogans or what are vulgarly described as STUNTS. “
S W R D Bandaranaike knew that the Warden was speaking of him and was furious, But he did nothing.
The era of political thuggery to silence a critic had yet to dawn.
