Daya Ananda Piyasiri Hewapathirana, also known as Daya Pathirana, was born and raised in Matara, Aparekka. He pursued his Advanced Level education in the science stream at Rahula College and was also a skilled cricket player who earned school colours. Later, he was admitted to the Faculty of Science at the University of Colombo, where he rose to leadership in the Independent Students’ Union.
By the mid-1980s, violent clashes erupted within the University of Colombo between the student organization affiliated with the then-banned Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), the Jathika Chinthanaya Group led by Gevindu Kumaratunga, and the Independent Students’ Union. Ideologically, the Independent Students’ Union recognized Tamil’s right to self-determination, while the JVP and Jathika Chinthanaya opposed this stance and leaned towards Sinhala nationalism.
Amidst these ideological and violent conflicts, on December 15, 1986, Daya Pathirana and his close associate, Somasiri Punchirala, were abducted after being lured into a fake discussion. “The abduction was not carried out by state security forces or police intelligence. It was done by an armed group associated with the JVP,” said Dayapala Thiranagama, a political activist linked to the Independent Students’ Union.
Following Daya Pathirana’s assassination, the Independent Students’ Union within the University of Colombo was forcefully subdued by the JVP’s student organization and the Jathika Chinthanaya Group. Daya Pathirana’s successor, K.L. Dharmasiri, was later assassinated while leading an armed group against the JVP.
Daya Pathirana was tortured and brutally murdered by having his throat slit near an ambalama (a resting place) close to the Hirana Ferry on the present Panadura-Piliyandala Road. Somasiri Punchirala, who was also subjected to torture, later recovered.
According to Professor Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri, the legacy of Daya Pathirana played a crucial role in shaping his political thinking.
In a book later written about Daya Pathirana, Premakumara de Silva, Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri, Upul Shantha Sannasgala, Jagath Wellawatta, and Shiral Lakthilaka state on the cover that his assassination was the first political student leader assassination in Sri Lanka. The event marked the beginning of the second southern insurgency.
Following the assassination of Daya Pathirana, a case was filed in the Panadura High Court against four individuals. Three of them were convicted, but by the time the trial concluded, they had been killed during the crackdown on the insurgency.
Below are photographs:
Daya Pathirana’s house, one of his letters, and his deceased body.
