About Fr. Peter Pillai, Rector St Joseph College,
Darley Rd Colombo, and creator of Aquinas
College, Borella.
The Josephian swimming pool too was
constructed with his efforts. The rest that
as students we did not quite know is given
below.
As students in the 1950s, what we
experienced with him was quite as in
this article.
Short and dark, with deep set eyes,
he was known as the wise man in the east.
Looking back, his foresight was unparalleled.
Never talked politics.
His lectures on religious knowledge at 1 pm
had some students sleeping, but he would
just say ‘Wake up, Wake up….’ and carry
on, though at other times he was a strict
disciplinarian.
Susiri Weerasekera
A great Sri Lankan.
Subject: Rev Dr Fr Peter A Pillai
:
Rev. Fr. Dr. Peter A Pillai
Apostle of Social Justice
Peter Alcantara Pillai was born on 19th
October, 1904 at Wennappuwa.
His parents Jacob and Anna Pillai, school
teachers hailed from Kayts, Jaffna.
His schooling began in his mother tongue
Tamil in the school where his parents
were teachers. Later he joined St. Benedict’s
College, Kotahena, Colombo at the age of
nine years. In 1918 he passed the Cambridge
Junior with eight distinctions. He was then
only 14 years.
He passed the Cambridge Senior at the
age of 16 years in 1920 also with eight
distinctions becoming the first in the
whole of the British Empire. Subsequently
he became an undergraduate of the then
University College of Colombo and
obtained the BSc degree with a first
class in 1923. In the next year, 1924,
he also got through the BSc Hons
Mathematics in the first division.
Peter Pillai was most deservingly
fortunate to win the annual government
scholarship in science awarded to the
best student and proceeded to the
University of Cambridge where he
obtained his BA and MA (Cantab).
Thereafter he passed the MSc (London)
quite easily. He would have entered
the much lucrative CCS (Ceylon Civil
Service) – the plum of government
service got an academic part in the
University.
However, he opted to become a
Catholic priest to serve his God
and man. His elder brother
Fr. Cadjetan Pillai, a teacher at
St. Joseph’s died of plague whilst
administering to the sick.
His two other brothers too had
already joined the clergy. Armed
with PhD and DD (Doctorate in Divinity)
– Rome he was ordained in 1934. On
his return to the motherland, he was
appointed to the staff of St. Peter’s
College, Bambalapitiyaand warden
of Aquinas Hall, the University
Student’s Catholic Hall.
No other Sri Lankan educationist
had such high qualifications.
To fight against the twin evils of the day
– 1930s – namely, injustice and
exploitation, he created two journals,
‘Social Justice’ (English) and ‘Samaja
Samaya’ (Sinhala).
His campaigns and untiring efforts
resulted in the enacting of the Shop
and Office Workers’ Ordinance,
Wages Boards Ordinance, Employees
Provident Fund Act, Industrial
Disputes Act etc. all in the field
of Labour or Industrial Law.
He also advocated and expounded
the theories of worker participation
in management, profit-sharing, better
housing and living conditions for the
working class.
In 1940 Rev. Fr. Dr. Pillai was appointed
as the first Sri Lankan Rector of St.
Joseph’s College, Colombo, the premier,
Catholic Collegiate school in the island
which post he held with great acceptance
and distinction for 21 years till 1961.
Highly concerned with moulding the
character of youth besides serving in some
government commissions, he was the
president of the Headmasters’ Union,
member of the University of Ceylon
Senate, founder of the Catholic
Students’ Federation, the Graduate
Federation, the Catechetical Institute,
the Xaverian Movement – and the
Aquinas College of Higher Studies.
Further, as a result of his championing
social reforms, it resulted in bringing
to statute books such welfare legislation
as the National Housing Act, Debt
Conciliation Board Ordinance and Land
Redemption Act.
An extrovert, a great trait of his character
was that he was not at all a racist or
communal minded – in that he
treated Sinhala, Tamil, Moor,
Malay, Burgher students alike.
He was not only a tower of
strength to Catholic students,
specially Josephians but also
equally to Buddhist, Hindu
and Islamic (Muslim) students
aspiring for higher studies.
When he passed away untimely
on September 27th 1964, he was
only 60 years of age, 10 years
short of the psalmists span of life
– three score and ten, which
means 70 years. He lived exactly
like three score years – 60 years
due to ceaseless, unfatigable
exertion of his strength in the
service of humanity. His excellent
services to the country are immemorial.
May he rest in peace!
written by :
Stanley E. Abeynayake
14 October 2006
Ceylon Daily News
