Indika Gunawardena was born on 8 February 1943, the son of Philip Gunawardena and Kusumasiri née Amarasinghe. His brothers included Prasanna Gunawardena former mayor of Colombo, Lakmali Gunawardena state award winner of literature, Dinesh Gunawardena cabinet minister, and Gitanjana Gunawardena former minister. Gunawardena was educated at the Royal College, Colombo.
