Soulbury Commission - Background To The Appointment of The Commission

Background To The Appointment of The Commission

The struggle for Independence in Ceylon had been fought on "constitutionalist" lines rather than on the strongly confrontational approach that had developed in British India. Only the Marxists, a tiny minority, had attempted to create confrontational conditions which they believed to be a harbinger of the impending proletarian revolution against Imperialism. D. S. Senanayake was the leader of the "constitutionalist" wing of the Sri Lankan independence movement. He began to develop a "Ceylonese" vision for Sri Lanka, i.e., co-operation of all the ethnic and religious groups. To this end he master-minded the appointment of Arunachalam Mahadeva, a respected Tamil politician as the minister of Home affaires(, p560). Senanayake began to formulate a draft constitution following the conditions laid down by the Colonial Secretary of State in 1943. There were three aspects to the effort. The first was the abandonment of the Donoughmore Constitution and the formulation of a Westminster Model. The second was that the Governor's reserve powers and other controls of the Imperial government would be abandoned and there would be full responsibility in internal civil matters. However, the crown's reserve powers would be retained especially in regard to limitations set upon the Ceylonese legislature regarding religious and ethnic minorities. The Crown would also retain defence and external affairs. The third was the ratification of the new constitution by a 3/4 majority in the State Council of Ceylon.