Wilfred Senanayake
Encyclopedia
Wilfred Senanayake former MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 representing the electorate of Homagama
Homagama
Homagama is a town situated 24km from the city of Colombo in the Western Province of Sri Lanka. The Homagama pradeshiya sabha consists of the Homagama divisional secretariat division and 10 GN division of Padukka DS division. The total Land area is about is 137 km² of 90 GN division. The...

.

He was educated at Nalanda College Colombo. Unbeknownst to his parents, he joined the Army.

He joined the Lanka Sama Samaja Party and was the first Leftist chairman of the Village Council in his area.

When LSSP members who were imprisoned by the British
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...

 were released in 1945, Wilfred Senanayake took the initiative to organise rallies throughout the country.

He led the Hartal
Hartal 1953
Hartal 1953 was a country-wide demonstration, commonly known as a hartal, held in Ceylon on August 12, 1953. It was organized to protest of the policies and actions of the incumbent United National Party government, and resulted in the resignation of the Prime Minister Dudley Senanayake...

 in the Kelani Valley in 1953.

He was elected to Parliament from Homagama in 1970. The late Wilfred Senanayake was a representative of the poor and ordinary people. He protested that the extent of lands that could be owned by one person should be limited to 25 acres (101,171.5 m²) while there was a suggestion that it be limited to 250 acres (1 km²) under the 1972 Land Reform
Land reform
[Image:Jakarta farmers protest23.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Farmers protesting for Land Reform in Indonesia]Land reform involves the changing of laws, regulations or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution,...

. Later the extent was limited to 50 acres (202,343 m²).

In 1982, together with politicians Anil Moonesinghe
Anil Moonesinghe
Anil Moonesinghe was a Sri Lankan Trotskyist revolutionary politician and trade unionist. He became a Member of Parliament, a Cabinet Minister, the Deputy Speaker of Parliament and a Diplomat. He authored several books and edited newspapers and magazines. He was Chairperson and General Manager of...

, Cholomondely Goonewardena and G. E. H. Perera he formed the Sri Lanka Sama Samaja Party
Sri Lanka Sama Samaja Party
The Sri Lanka Sama Samaja Party was formed in 1982, when the LSSP split over the question of a coalition with the Sri Lanka Freedom Party ....

(SLSSP).

He offered his lands to the poor people when their lands were acquired for road development projects.

In appreciation of his yeoman service to the people of Homagama, the Wilfred Senanayake Ground was established there.
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