Ahamed Lebbe Sinne Lebbe
Mudaliar Ahamed Lebbe Sinne Lebbe, also known as Ahamedlebbe Sinnalebbe (born 2 June 1902), was a former Member of Parliament[1] representing Batticaloa District.
Ahamed Lebbe Sinne Lebbe | |
---|---|
Member of the Ceylon Parliament for Batticaloa | |
In office 1947–1952 | |
Preceded by | seat created |
Succeeded by | R. B. Kadramer |
Personal details | |
Born | 2 June 1902 |
Political party | United National Party |
Relations | Ahamed Rizvi Sinnalebbe (grandson) |
Children | Abdul Lathiff Sinnalebbe (son) |
At the 1st parliamentary election held in 1947 Sinne Lebbe ran, as the United National Party candidate, in the seat of Batticaloa. He received 4,740 votes (35.4% of the total vote) defeating four other Independents.[2]
On 16 January 1948 Sinne Lebbe tabled before parliament the following motion;
"Subsequent to signing the Upcountry Agreement in 1815, I hereby propose to this honourable assembly that the royal flag of King Sri Wickrema Rajasinghe depicting on a yellow background a lion carrying a sword in its right paw, on a red background as the official flag of independent Ceylon."[3][4]
The motion however was drafted by J. R. Jayewardene, the member for Kelaniya, who persuaded Sinne Lebbe to move the motion,[5] as he was a Muslim thereby creating confusion amongst any likely opposition by the Tamil members of parliament.[6] The motion was seconded by A. Ekanayake Gunasinha, the member for Colombo Central Electoral District.[7] Sinne Lebbe did not participate in the ensuing debate.[6]
As a result of the opposition to the motion, the Prime Minister D. S. Senanayake, on 27 January 1948, formed of a parliamentary committee, which resulted in the royal flag, with the addition of two strips of orange and green, being adopted as the national flag.[8]
Sinne Lebbe sought to be re-elected at the 2nd parliamentary election held in May 1952 but was unsuccessful losing to R. B. Kadramer, an Independent, by 3,460 votes (Sinne Lebbe only securing 41% of the total vote).[9]
Both Sinne Lebbe's son, Abdul Lathiff and his grandson, Ahamed Rizvi, served as members of parliament representing Batticaloa in 1965-1970 and 1985-1989 respectively.[10]
References
- "Hon. Sinnalebbe, Ahamedlebbe (Mudaliar), M.P." Parliament of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
- "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1947" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
- "The proposer of the lion flag: Mudlr. Sinnalebbe". Daily News. 4 February 2004. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
- Herath, H. M. Mervyn (2002). The National Flag and the National Anthem of Sri Lanka: History & Significance. p. 17. ISBN 9789559748311.
- Vivekananthan, C. V. (14 August 2017). "Heart of the land". Daily News. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
- De Silva, K. M.; Wriggins, William Howard (1988). J.R. Jayewardene of Sri Lanka: 1906-1956. University of Hawaii Press. p. 196. ISBN 9780824811839.
- Nizam, Ifham. "All National Struggles Remembered On Independence Day". Sunday Leader. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
- Vithana, Sriyani Ajantha (27 October 2017). "Batticaloa MP Sinna Lebbe proposed Lion Flag". Ceylon Today. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
- "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1952" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
- "SLMC MP Rizvi Sinnalebbe dies". The Island. 3 October 2001. Retrieved 12 January 2018.