Dr. D. Maheswari: new a data

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{{Short description|Sri Lankan politician}}
{{more footnotes needed|date=December 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix = [[The Honourable|Hon.]]
| name = N. M. Perera
| native_name = එන්. එම්. පෙරේරා
| image = DR.N. M. Perera.jpg
| honorific_suffix =
| image_size = 271 × 168
| office1 = 1st [[Leader of the Opposition (Sri Lanka)|Leader of the Opposition]]
| prime_minister1 = [[S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike]]
| term_start1 = 19 April 1956
| term_end1 = 5 December 1959
| predecessor1 = [[S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike]]
| successor1 = [[C. P. de Silva]]
| prime_minister2 = [[D. S. Senanayake]] <br /> [[Dudley Senanayake]]
| term_start2 = 14 October 1947
| term_end2 = 8 April 1952
| predecessor2 =
| successor2 = [[S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike]]
| order3 = [[Minister of Finance (Sri Lanka)|Minister of Finance]]
| term_start3 = 10 May 1970
| term_end3 = 2 September 1975
| predecessor3 = [[U. B. Wanninayake]]
| successor3 = [[Felix Dias Bandaranaike]]
| prime_minister3 = [[Sirimavo Bandaranaike]]
| term_start4 = 11 June 1964
| term_end4 = 17 December 1964
| predecessor4 = [[T. B. Ilangaratne]]
| successor4 = [[U. B. Wanninayake]]
| prime_minister4 = Sirimavo Bandaranaike
| office5 = [[Mayor of Colombo]]
| term_start5 = 13 August 1954
| term_end5 = 28 February 1956
| predecessor5 = [[T. Rudra]]
| successor5 = [[V. A. Sugathadasa]]
| constituency_MP6 = [[Yatiyantota Electoral District|Yatiyantota]]
| parliament6 = Ceylon
| term_start6 = 1960
| term_end6 = 1977
| predecessor6 = ''seat created''
| successor6 = K. Vincent Perera
| constituency_MP7 = [[Ruwanwella Electoral District|Ruwanwella]]
| parliament7 = Ceylon
| term_start7 = September 1947
| term_end7 = 1960
| predecessor7 = ''seat created''
| successor7 = [[H. G. Somabandu]]
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1904|06|06}}
| birth_place = [[British Ceylon]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1979|08|14|1904|06|06}}
| death_place =
| death_cause =
| resting_place =
| alma_mater = [[Ananda College]], [[University College, Colombo]], [[London School of Economics]]
| years_active =
| party = [[Lanka Sama Samaja Party]]
| spouse = [[Selina Perera]]
| children =
| signature =
| website =
| footnotes =
| occupation = Economist
}}

'''Nanayakkarapathirage Martin Perera''', commonly known as '''Dr. N. M. Perera''' ([[Sinhala language|Sinhala]] එන්.එම්.පෙරේරා {{IPA|si|en em pe reaira|}}; 6 June 1904 – 14 August 1979), was one of the leaders of the Sri Lankan [[Trotskyist]] [[Lanka Sama Samaja Party]] (LSSP). He was the first Trotskyist to become a cabinet minister. He served two terms as [[Minister of Finance (Sri Lanka)|Minister of Finance]], another two as [[Leader of the Opposition (Sri Lanka)|Leader of the Opposition]], as well as one term as the [[Mayor of Colombo]].

==Early life and education==
Born to Nanayakkarapathirage Abraham Perera, a rent collector at 36 St Joseph's Street, in [[Grandpass]], [[Colombo]], and Johana Perera. He was the fifth of nine siblings, including five boys and four girls.<ref name=" pdfs.island.lk ">{{cite web|url=http://pdfs.island.lk/2009/08/13/p6.pdf|title=Dr. NM Perera: a politician ahead of his times|access-date=13 August 2009|year=2009|publisher=pdfs.island.lk|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304002907/http://pdfs.island.lk/2009/08/13/p6.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Perera started his schooling in the [[vernacular]] section of St. Joseph's School, Grandpass and was later admitted to the English section. From there he spent a year at the Cathedral Boys' School, Mutwal a branch school of [[S. Thomas' College, Mutwal]],<ref>[https://archives.sundayobserver.lk/2004/08/15/fea02.html Dr. N.M. Perera 1905 – 1979 : An honest and upright politician]</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.dailynews.lk/2007/08/14/news57.asp |title=Dr. N. M. Perera: A true visionary |access-date=28 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080222181835/http://www.dailynews.lk/2007/08/14/news57.asp |archive-date=22 February 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>[https://archive.today/20130703021229/http://www.dailynews.lk/2012/08/14/fea04.asp Doughty fighter and man of principles]</ref> then known as Cathedral Boys School, Mutwal. In 1919, he entered [[S. Thomas' College, Mutwal|S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia]] and left in 1922 to join [[Ananda College]]. At Ananda he played [[cricket]] for the college team.

From 1922 to 1927, he studied at the [[University College, Colombo]] where he was a contemporary of [[J. R. Jayewardene]], future president of Sri Lanka. Perera graduated with a [[BSc]] degree from the [[University of London External System]]. Thereafter he left for the [[United Kingdom]], to enter the [[London School of Economics]] in 1927. He was in London from 1927 to 1933, where he studied under Professor [[Harold Laski]], gaining his [[PhD]] with the thesis on the [[Weimar Constitution|Constitution of the German Weimar Republic]]. This was followed by a further comparative study, of the Constitutions of the UK, United States, France and Germany; which gained him a [[DSc]] from the [[University of London]]. Perera was the first Ceylonese to gain a degree of Doctor of Science from the [[University of London]].<ref name="Encyclopedia of Marxism:">{{cite web|url= http://www.marxists.org/glossary/people/p/e.htm|title= MIA: Encyclopedia of Marxism: Glossary of People |publisher=Encyclopedia of Marxism}}</ref>

==Formation of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party==
Perera returned to Ceylon in 1933. The work done by Perera (as a member of the [[Suriya-Mal Movement]]) in the [[Kegalle]] district during the [[1934-35 malaria outbreak in Ceylon|malaria epidemic of 1934]] and during the subsequent floods gained for him the support of the poor and [[caste]]-oppressed people of the area, who called him ''Parippu Mahathmaya'' after the [[dhal]] (or ''parippu'') he distributed as relief supplies. In 1935 Perera was one of the founder members of the LSSP and played a leading role in the party's Trotskyist activities between 1936 and 1940.

==State Council of Ceylon==
In 1936, he contested the Ruwanwella constituency — which at the time comprised the Thun Korale areas of Yatiyantota, Ruwanwella, and Deraniyagala, along with parts of the present Galigamuwa electoral division — as a candidate of the LSSP. His opponent was the incumbent [[Adeline Molamure|Molamure Kumarihamy]] of the ''Meedeniya Walauwa'', the [[feudal]] [[Manorialism|manor]] which had tremendous power over the poor people of the [[Sabaragamuwa]] area at the time. He went on to hold this seat, or its Yatiyantota portion after the division of the constituency, continuously until 1977. Following his election, he and [[Philip Gunawardena]], the other LSSP member of the State Council, used it as a platform to voice the party's policy and objectives for complete independence from Britain, in contrast to the [[Ceylon National Congress]]<nowiki/>which advocated for self-rule.In 1937, he founded the Ratmalana Railway Workers' Union and served as the LSSP delegate to that year’s session of the [[Indian National Congress]].<ref name="i1">{{cite news |last1=Wijenayake |first1=Walter |title=Dr. N. M. Perera: a politician ahead of his times |url=https://www.island.lk/2009/08/13/features7.html |access-date=8 November 2019 |publisher=Island}}</ref>

==Anti-war activity and imprisonment==
With the outbreak of [[World War II]], the [[Second Board of Ministers of Ceylon|Board of Ministers]] declared its support to the [[British government]]. The LSSP opposed the move, claiming that it was an imperialist war and organized protest. In 1939, Perera formed the All-Ceylon Estate Workers' Union and lead a militant strike at Mooloya Plantation in January 1940. Perera and Gunawardana voted against the war budget in the State Council. Following complaints from plantation owners, the [[Governor of Ceylon]] declared LSSP activities against the [[war effort]] to be [[subversive]] and order the police to arrest the leaders of the LSSP. On 18 June 1940, N.M. Perera, Philip Gunawardena, and [[Colvin R de Silva|Colvin R. de Silva]] were arrested by the police with [[Edmund Samarakkody]] being arrested the following day, but [[Leslie Goonewardene]] evaded arrest. The LSSP called for a gathering to protest the arrest and carried out a protest march which was dispersed by the police with a [[baton charge]] followed by further arrests. LSSP leaders were detained at [[Welikada Prison]] but was later transferred to [[Bogambara Prison]] after it was suspected that they were planning a hunger strike. On 5 April 1942 during the [[Easter Sunday Raid]], Perera along with several other imprisoned LSSP members escaped from prison. He was smuggled into [[Bombay]] in July 1942 and worked with the [[Bolshevik-Leninist Party of India, Ceylon and Burma]] (BLPI) in the [[Indian Independence Movement]]. He was arrested in Bombay in July 1943, deported to Ceylon, and sentenced by the Magistrate’s Court of Kandy to six months of rigorous imprisonment for escaping custody. He was held in Badulla for the remainder of the war and was released in 1945.<ref name=" Encyclopedia of Marxism:"/><ref name="i1"/>

==Leader of the LSSP==
During the war, the LSSP experienced several internal divisions. The first occurred in 1940 with the split of the pro-Moscow faction led by [[S. A. Wickremasinghe]], M. G. Mendis, [[Pieter Keuneman]], and A. Vaidialingam. This was followed by a second split over the opposition of N. M. Perera and Philip Gunawardena to the proposed merger with the [[Bolshevik-Leninist Party of India, Ceylon and Burma]], which led to the formation of the ''Workers' Opposition''. After the war, this faction rebuilt the LSSP as an independent political party, with N. M. Perera emerging as its leader.<ref name="i1"/>

===Trade union activities===
Perera served as president of [[All Ceylon United Motor Workers' Union]], and [[United Corporations and Mercantile Union]] of the [[Ceylon Federation of Labour]] (CFL). During the 1946 [[general strike]], the striking workers appointed him as their chief negotiator. .

==Leader of the opposition (1947-1952)==
Having lost their seats in the State Council due to their imprisonment, the LSSP contested the [[1947 Ceylonese parliamentary election|1947 general elections]] under the new constitution. N. M. Perera was elected from [[Ruwanwella Electoral District|Ruwanwella]] and the LSSP gained the 28 seats in parliament, becoming the second largest representation, making Perera the [[Leader of the Opposition (Sri Lanka)|Leader of the Opposition]]. He opposed the [[Ceylon Citizenship Act]]. On reunification with the [[Bolshevik Samasamaja Party]] (BSSP), he remained with the LSSP when the [[Viplavakari Lanka Sama Samaja Party]] (VLSSP) split off under [[Philip Gunawardena]]. He served as opposition leader until fresh elections were called in 1952. In the [[1952 Ceylonese parliamentary election|1952 general elections]], he was re-elected, but the LSSP became the second largest party in the opposition and [[S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike]] became the opposition leader.<ref name="i1"/>

==Mayor of Colombo==
In 1954, the LSSP won a string of [[Local government in Sri Lanka|local government election]]s which included nine Village Councils and three Urban Councils and the Colombo Municipal Council, where N. M. Perera was elected [[Mayor of Colombo]], only non-[[United National Party]]-politician to win that office after 1945. He was Mayor for two years, before he was voted out of office on 28 February 1956 by the United National Party with the support of [[Ranasinghe Premadasa]] of the [[Ceylon Labour Party]].<ref name="i1"/><ref>{{cite book |title=Mohamed v. 'Gopallawa |publisher=Ceylon Law Reports |url=https://www.lawnet.gov.lk/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/100-NLR-NLR-V-58-M.-H.-MOHAMED-Petitioner-and-1-W.-GOPALLAWA-2-DR.-N.-M.-PERERA-Respond.pdf |access-date=13 July 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Abeynayake |first1=Stanley E. |title=Dr. N. M. Perera: The first Leftist Mayor of Colombo |url=https://archives.sundayobserver.lk/2006/04/30/fea08.html |access-date=13 July 2020 |publisher=Sunday Observer}}</ref>

==Leader of the opposition (1956-1959)==
N. M. Perera contested the [[1956 Ceylonese parliamentary election|1956 general elections]], where the [[Sri Lanka Freedom Party]] of the Bandaranaike gained landslide victory over the United National Party which was reduced to eight seats in parliament. Once again N. M. Perera was elected leader of the opposition in parliament, a post he held until 1959. He was a strong opponent of the [[Sinhala Only Act|Official Language Act]], and narrowly escaped death when a bomb was thrown on stage when he was addressing a crowd at the Old Town Hall.<ref name="i1"/>

==Split in the party==
He was re-elected in the [[March 1960 Ceylonese parliamentary election|1960 March general election]] and the [[July 1960 Ceylonese parliamentary election|1960 July general election]] from [[Yatiyantota Electoral District|Yatiyantota]] and sat in the opposition.
When LSSP was divided over possible government participation in the early 1960s, Perera was the principal leader of the wing that wanted to enter into government with the [[Sri Lanka Freedom Party]], which led to LSSP's expulsion from the [[Fourth International]] in 1964.

==Minister of Finance (1964)==
A short lived coalition government was formed in 1964 known as the [[United Front (Sri Lanka)|United Front]] and Perera was appointed [[Minister of Finance]] in it. He had to step down as minister when the United Front was defeated in the [[1965 Ceylonese parliamentary election|1965 general elections]] and sat in the opposition having retained his seat in parliament.

==Minister of Finance==
He was reappointed as Minister of Finance in 1970, when the [[United Front (Sri Lanka)|United Front]] won the [[1970 Ceylonese parliamentary election|1970 general elections]]. He served as Minister of Finance from 10 May 1970 to 2 September 1975. Facing a substantial budget deficit, Perera first attempted to increase government revenue through taxation. In October 1970, he initiated the [[Prevention of the Avoidance of Income Tax Act|demonetization of the 50- and 100-Rupee notes]] in an effort to flush out black money. The measure, however, failed to generate significant additional revenue and imposed considerable operational costs on the Central Bank. The [[1971 JVP Insurrection (Sri Lanka)|1971 Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) Insurrection]] took the leftist government by surprise and threatened to topple it. In the aftermath, Perera advanced a program of nationalizing private property and industries. These measures, however, discouraged both domestic and foreign investment, while unemployment and inflation remained unresolved.{{sfn|Richardson|2005|pp=321–322}}{{sfn|''The Anniston Star''|1970|p=42}}{{sfn|Phadnis|1971|p=273}} By 1974, the budget deficit had reached $195 million, and Ceylon was facing a severe foreign exchange crisis. This situation was partly due to global economic pressures such as the [[1973 oil crisis]] and partly the result of domestic policies — including the Bandaranaike government’s efforts to centralize the economy and enforce price controls — which contributed to declining revenues from coconut, rubber, and tea exports, as well as increased food-importation costs. In September 1975, N. M. Perera and other LSSP ministers were dismissed by Prime Minister [[Sirima Bandaranaike]]. In the [[1977 Sri Lankan parliamentary election|1977 general elections]], which the [[United National Party]] won with a landslide of 5/6 of the seats, the LSSP, along with other leftist parties, suffered a complete defeat and lost all parliamentary representation. Perera himself lost his long-held Yatiyantota seat.<ref name="i1"/>

==Later years==
From 1977 to 1978, he served as Chairman of the [[Sri Lanka Cricket|Board of Control of Cricket in Sri Lanka]], and worked hard to obtain [[test status]] for Sri Lanka. In 1978, he represented Sri Lanka at the [[United Nations Conference on Trade and Development]] as an adviser. He died on 14 August 1979 at the Colombo National Hospital following gall-bladder complication, aged 75 and his funeral gathered large crowds.<ref name=" dailynews 2 ">{{cite web|url=http://www.dailynews.lk/2009/08/14/fea01.asp|title=Colossus among political leaders|access-date=14 August 2009|year=2009|publisher=dailynews|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090817185144/http://www.dailynews.lk/2009/08/14/fea01.asp|archive-date=17 August 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Abeynayake |first1=Stanley |title=Dr N M Perera's 33rd death anniversary : Doughty fighter and man of principles |url=http://archives.dailynews.lk/2012/08/14/fea04.asp |access-date=8 November 2019 |work=Daily News}}</ref>

==Personal life==
He married fellow LSSP founding member and later party secretary, [[Selina Perera|Selina Margaret Peiris]] on 6 March 1936. N. M. Perera was an avid [[cricket]] fan and a keen tennis player.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Epasinghe |first1=Premasara |title=Dr N M Perera, colossus among national leaders |url=http://archives.dailynews.lk/2013/06/01/news40.asp |access-date=8 November 2019 |work=Daily News}}</ref>

==Publications==
* ''Parliamentary Democracy'' (1931)
* ''The Case for Free Education'' (1944)
* ''External Economic Assistance'' (1964)
* ''The Economy of Ceylon: Trends and Prospects'' (1971)
* ''Critical Analysis of the New Constitution of the Sri Lanka Government'' (1979)<ref name=" Encyclopedia of Marxism:"/>

==See also==
*[[Lanka Sama Samaja Party]]
*[[GCSU Sri Lanka]]

==Further reading==
*''Dr. N.M. Perera's Policies and Achievements'' by Prof. B. Hewavitharana<ref name="NM-Book">{{cite news|url=http://www.dailynews.lk/2007/01/10/fea01.asp|title=Dr. N.M. Perera – Parliamentarian – par excellence|work=Daily News|date=10 January 2007|access-date=22 March 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080321235904/http://www.dailynews.lk/2007/01/10/fea01.asp|archive-date=21 March 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080608095013/http://www.dailynews.lk/2008/06/06/fea02.asp Dr N.M. Perera a colossus among leaders]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20100910053923/http://www.dailynews.lk/2001/08/08/fea01.html 'Why Implant a New System of Government?' Part I]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20100910060515/http://www.dailynews.lk/2001/08/09/fea02.html 'Why Implant a New System of Government?' Part 2]
*{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20150601224255/http://www.samasamaja.org/ Official Website of Lanka Sama Samaja Party]}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080322230438/http://www.nmperera.org/index.html Official Website of DR.N.M. PERERA TRUST]
*[https://archives.sundayobserver.lk/2004/08/15/fea02.html Dr. N.M. Perera 1905 – 1979 :An honest and upright politician]
*[http://www.dailymirror.lk/article/Double-Doctor-and-only-non-UNP-Mayor-of-CMC-130329.html Double Doctor and only non-UNP Mayor of CMC]

{{Sri Lankan Leaders of the Opposition}}
{{Sri Lankan finance ministers}}
{{Members of the 2nd State Council of Ceylon}}
{{Members of 1st Parliament of Ceylon}}
{{Members of 2nd Parliament of Ceylon}}
{{Members of 3rd Parliament of Ceylon}}
{{Members of 4th Parliament of Ceylon}}
{{Members of 5th Parliament of Ceylon}}
{{Members of 6th Parliament of Ceylon}}
{{Members of 7th Parliament of Ceylon}}
{{LSSP}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perera, N. M.}}
[[Category:1904 births]]
[[Category:1979 deaths]]
[[Category:Alumni of Ananda College]]
[[Category:Alumni of S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia]]
[[Category:Alumni of the Ceylon University College]]
[[Category:Alumni of the London School of Economics]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of London]]
[[Category:Alumni of University of London Worldwide]]
[[Category:Escapees from British Ceylon detention]]
[[Category:Ministers of finance of Sri Lanka]]
[[Category:Fugitives wanted by Sri Lanka]]
[[Category:Lanka Sama Samaja Party politicians]]
[[Category:Leaders of the opposition (Sri Lanka)]]
[[Category:Mayors of Colombo]]
[[Category:Members of the 2nd State Council of Ceylon]]
[[Category:Members of the 1st Parliament of Ceylon]]
[[Category:Members of the 2nd Parliament of Ceylon]]
[[Category:Members of the 3rd Parliament of Ceylon]]
[[Category:Members of the 4th Parliament of Ceylon]]
[[Category:Members of the 5th Parliament of Ceylon]]
[[Category:Members of the 6th Parliament of Ceylon]]
[[Category:Members of the 7th Parliament of Ceylon]]
[[Category:Prisoners and detainees of British Ceylon]]
[[Category:Sinhalese people]]
[[Category:Sri Lankan academics]]
[[Category:Sri Lankan actor-politicians]]
[[Category:Sri Lankan independence activists]]
[[Category:Sri Lankan politicians convicted of crimes]]
[[Category:Sri Lankan prisoners and detainees]]
[[Category:Sri Lankan socialists]]
[[Category:20th-century Sri Lankan trade unionists]]

N. M. Perera - Revision history

Dr. D. Maheswari: new a data