D. P. Atapattu

Don Peter Atapattu (Sinhala: දොන් පීටර් අතපත්තුcode: sin promoted to code: si ; [dˈɒn pˈiːtə ˈatɐpˌatuː]; 17 September 1899 – 14 December 1976) was a Ceylonese politician and a Member of the Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) Parliament. He was a representative of Beliatta in the Hambantota district of Ceylon from March 1960 to July 1960 and again from 1965 to 1970. He helped start the United National Party (UNP), and he was also the Parliamentary Secretary^[a] to the Cabinet Minister of State, J. R. Jayewardene.

Don Peter Atapattu was born on 17 September 1899,^[2] in Nakulugamuwa Walawwa, Beliatta.^[3] His parents were Don Johannes Atapattu and Kadawedduwage Dona Carolina Wijekoon.^[2] In 1915, his father was in charge of recording births and deaths for Nakulugamuwa for a short time. He later had the title of Muhandiram in 1938.^[4][5]

Atapattu had six younger brothers: Don Charles, Buddhadasa, Luvi, Sugathadasa, Piyadasa and Charles. He also had one sister, Soma, who was the mother of Karunasena Kodituwakku's wife.^[3]

Atapattu first learned in S. Thomas' College, an Anglican school in Mount Lavinia. His classics master, T. B. Jayah, saw that Atapattu's ideas were different from what the headmaster, William Arthur Stone, expected. So, he recommended him to transfer to Ananda College in Colombo.^[6] At Ananda, Atapattu learned under his new principal, P. de S. Kularatne, who had fresh ideas for Ceylonese education. The teachers, including V. T. S. Sivagurunathan, were very passionate about the students there, which influenced Atapattu.^[7]

After finishing at Ananda College, Atapattu studied law at several schools, including Mahabodhi College. There, he was a teacher for older students and also oversaw their drills and games during the school year of 1922–23.^[8]

In 1919, Atapattu joined the Ceylon National Congress (CNC). He represented the Hambantota District in Southern Province, Ceylon.^[9] He was interested by the harmony among the Sinhalese and Tamil leadership. However, he felt disillusioned when the Sinhala leaders of the CNC fought with the Tamils over the reserving of the Colombo seat. ^[10]

In 1927, Atapattu received the call to the bar as a proctor to the Supreme Court of Ceylon.^[11] He then started his legal practice in legal affairs, in the Unofficial Bar in Tangalle.^[12] He made Tangalle eligible to be raised to an Urban Council. As a result, he became the town's first chairman in 1945. Later, he also became a crown proctor of the Hambantota District.^[13]

When D. S. Senanayake started the United National Party (UNP) in 1946,^[14] Atapattu joined the party. Early on, both Atapattu and D. A. Rajapaksa fought for Beliatta in the Hambantota District. However, Rajapaksa left UNP in 1951 to join the Sri Lankan Freedom Party,^[15] which made Atapattu compete with his former member in the elections.

Atapattu lost the 1947 parliamentary election, when Rajapaksa defeated him by a majority of 14,007 votes.^[16] In the 1952 and 1956 Ceylonese parliamentary elections, Atapattu lost the seat with 13,750 and 10,382 votes, which was 3,632 and 15,833 votes less than the opposition, respectively.^[17][18] In the March 1960 parliamentary election, Atapattu won the Beliatta seat.^[19] However, when the UNP government was brought to an end because it did not have a majority,^[b] his opponent regained the seat in the July 1960 parliamentary election.^[21]

In the 1965 parliamentary election, Atapattu won the Beliatta seat again with 20,735 votes.^[22] He became the Parliamentary Secretary to the Cabinet Minister of State, J. R. Jayewardene, until 1970.^[23]

In 1965, Atapattu led the Ceylonese delegation to the 11th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in Wellington, New Zealand.^[23]

Atapattu died on 14 December 1976 at Tangalle after he had long been ill. K. B. Ratnayake, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Sports, gave the vote of condolence six days later.^[24]

While still in the Unofficial Bar in Tangalle, Atapattu married Daya Dahanayake in 1932.^[2] They had two children: Ranjit, who became the Minister of Health in 1982, and Indrani, who later moved to Australia.^[25]

On 26 September 1999, former Secretary General of the Parliament of Sri Lanka Sam Wijesinha wrote an article in The Sunday Times Plus Section, "Reflections on the life and times of D.P. Atapattu, JPUM, Crown Proctor and Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry State". He wrote that Atapattu justly served to the Ruhuna people and that reflecting (thinking about) on his time, one hopes that future generations would continue to help prevent an unknown future.^[26]