My father as a young man. He must have already known a storm was headed his way. He was to spend five years in prison, tortured by the Sri Lankan state before standing trial and being acquitted. Years in the underground were to follow.

He learned to read English in prison, with a dictionary and works by Marx and Engels. He never broke down under torture. They called him “the silent one”

A young Sinhalese man from the depths of the rural south, a life marked by poverty and deprivation, he broke early with many other Sinhalese political activists over the treatment of Tamil people. He was resolutely and instinctively anti-racist.

Over time he challenged himself further about the treatment of women in society. He says my mother taught him how to exist in the world in a new way, to be a different kind of revolutionary. He thought he’d never be able to live with us, but in his 40s he became a single parent.

During his years in the underground he held his nerve to get out of life and death situations by staring down soldiers confidently, persuading civilians to hide him, running very fast and disguising himself as an army soldier on one occasion.

I saw him respond to aggression and threats with great humility- he never lost his temper or his nerve. He always had a very shrewd assessment of how to get out of scrapes. In English workplaces this was misread as weakness - a mistake many made to their cost!

In England, he worked 7 days a week, did all the housework and cooked dinner every night. He did not want his two daughters to miss out on more of their childhood. He never pressured us about school work, just wanted us to be happy.

I used to truant school a lot - he suggested I go if I felt able to. He did however teach me how to write essays to a very high standard. He would talk me through my weekly 2am essay crisis and say “call me again if you want to”.

At the same time, he would always take advice from me from a very early age, especially if it was about my life. He once asked me whether he should be more like other Sri Lankan parents and I expressed my opinion very forcefully!

My father’s political ideas and actions changed over time but at its core was a deep message of love, compassion and justice. He learned this from his mother, a wonderful and loving woman, and he shared it with his daughters. At its heart also, is my mother, his compass & guide.

Anyway, though I’d end this thread with a photo of him now. He spends his time reading books, taking walks and posting his political analysis on Facebook!