It is with profound grief that we share the passing away of renowned co-operator and leader Mr. R.B. Rajaguru on March 4, 2019. He died after a short illness at the age of 92. Mr. Rajaguru was the Regional Director of ICA-AP between 1977-1986. Mr. Rajaguru’s journey with cooperatives began with his appointment as the Assistant Commissioner of Cooperative Development, Sri Lanka in 1958. He was absorbed into the Ceylon Administrative Service in 1963 where he served as the Principal, School of Cooperation; and subsequently as the Commissioner of Cooperative Development upto 1976. He joined ICA-AP in 1977 and during his time, many new projects were launched such as the Small Farmers Cooperative Development Project with the Tropical Institute in Netherlands, Cooperative Teachers Training Project, and the Women’s Consumer Education through Cooperatives initiated by the Swedish Cooperative Centre-ICA collaboration.

Upon his return to Sri Lanka, in recognition of his services nationally and internationally, the Government appointed him as the High Commissioner for Sri Lanka to Pakistan. At a time, which was crucial in terms of regional relations, he created a balance in the SAARC Region. After his term in Pakistan, he was made the Chairman of the Sri Lanka Institute of Cooperative Management, a state consultancy outfit for cooperatives. He introduced new management systems in line with a cooperative ideology, which strengthened the character of cooperatives. At the end his term there, he worked for a while with the ILO, Colombo on Cooperative Legal Reforms.

(L-R) Mr. R.B. Rajaguru and Mr. Balasubramanian Iyer during the latter’s visit to Sri Lanka in November 2014.

Drs. Robby Tulus, former ICA-AP Regional Director (1996-2001), fondly recalls his time spent with Mr. Rajaguru- “A very sad news. I knew Rajaguru very well. When I was Asia Region Director of CCA, I met him several times at the Bonow House. When he retired as Regional Director, I wanted to use his expertise and assigned the research project about cooperative policy and legislation in South Asia.” Drs. Tulus also shared an interesting anecdote about Mr. Rajaguru, “He was an expert swimmer too. He saved Mr Lumunon, Secretary General of DEKOPIN in the early 1980s when he almost drowned in the Negombo beach!” Mr. Upali Herath, currently the Managing Director of Cooperative Insurance, Sri Lanka, shared his interactions with Mr. Rajaguru. “I met Mr. Rajaguru, when I was posted to the Dept. of Cooperative Development as an Asst. Commissioner of Coop Development in 1970, when he was a Deputy Commissioner. Rajaguru was a die hard cooperator, who did not compromise on the ideals and practices of cooperation, as he was thorough in his knowledge gathered from various countries such as Canada and UK and the practical issues in actual cooperative scenarios. With his departure, Sri Lanka lost the last pioneer of cooperative leadership after independence.”