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The Truth about the 1915 Riots
September 20, 2010, 7:40 pm
By Rohana R. Wasala
Mr K.T. Rajasingham, editor of The Asian Tribune, carried a part of his evidence given before the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission in his online daily news publication on September 19, 2010. It contained the following patently erroneous references to the so-called Sinhalese –Muslim Riots of 1915:
After the Kandyan Rebellion of 1817-18 to overthrow British rule, the British, by a proclamation dated November 21, 1818, greatly reduced the privileges granted to Sinhalese chiefs and changed the guarantees on religion given in the Kandyan Convention. Consequently, it was absurd that the Sinhalese wanted to celebrate a clause in a convention that was no longer in force.
Also, the government agents of Kandy had informed the trustees of the Gampola Buddhist temple that in taking their annual perahera (procession) in Kandy they would not be allowed to beat drums or play any musical instruments within 100 yards of a new mosque in Castle Hill Street.
The trustees turned to the courts, arguing that a perahera of the old Kandyan kingdom was permitted in terms of the Kandyan Convention of 1815. The District Court of Kandy decided in their favor, but on an appeal by the government the Supreme Court reversed the judgment. The trustees then appealed to the Privy Council in England.
In the meantime, Buddhist preachers went about the country urging Buddhists to demonstrate against Muslims. Incidentally, the anniversary of the birth of The Lord Buddha fell on May 28, 1915, and a procession began that night. The celebrations were marred by an incident near the mosque, where some 25 men were arrested on charges of housebreaking and rioting.
Sinhalese attacks on Muslims continued, spreading from the central province to the western and northwestern provinces until June 6, 1915. Muslims sustained heavy losses. According to available records, losses sustained included 86 damaged mosques, more than 4,075 looted boutiques and shops, 35 Muslims killed, 198 injured and four women raped. Seventeen Christian churches were burnt down…….
This article is an attempt to set the record straight on the misconceptions that such incorrect and irresponsible utterances might cause among those ignorant of the truth about the 1915 incidents. I am writing in the interests of the unity of our beleaguered nation and the promotion of fellow-feeling among the diverse communities which share Sri Lanka as their home.
The Paddy Tax, the Waste Lands Ordinance, and the legislation to permit the opening of liquor shops across the island – all measures designed to increase the revenue of a rapacious imperial government – added fuel to an already burning political agitation in the country around the beginning of the last century. The first two were particularly oppressive to the rural paddy cultivators and small landowners. The Government used the Waste Lands Ordinance to sell what it considered crown lands to capitalists for development. This caused problems for large numbers of rural villagers who had traditionally owned and cultivated lands for which they did not possess any legal titles; they were just dispossessed of those lands. The liquor taverns legislation naturally caused much opprobrium among the predominantly Buddhist native population.
Such arbitrary pieces of legislation and other similar acts of omission and commission were inflicted on the local people by a colonial government in which their participation was negligible. The only gesture towards conceding popular participation was to have one elected member in the Legislative Council to represent the educated classes in the person of Mr Ponnambalam Ramanathan. But the politically aware sections of the country who were not satisfied with a single member agitated for more representation.
It was in this context of political ferment that the 1915 Riots broke out. The colonial authorities resorted
The Truth about the 1915 Riots
September 20, 2010, 7:40 pm
By Rohana R. Wasala
Mr K.T. Rajasingham, editor of The Asian Tribune, carried a part of his evidence given before the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission in his online daily news publication on September 19, 2010. It contained the following patently erroneous references to the so-called Sinhalese –Muslim Riots of 1915:
After the Kandyan Rebellion of 1817-18 to overthrow British rule, the British, by a proclamation dated November 21, 1818, greatly reduced the privileges granted to Sinhalese chiefs and changed the guarantees on religion given in the Kandyan Convention. Consequently, it was absurd that the Sinhalese wanted to celebrate a clause in a convention that was no longer in force.
Also, the government agents of Kandy had informed the trustees of the Gampola Buddhist temple that in taking their annual perahera (procession) in Kandy they would not be allowed to beat drums or play any musical instruments within 100 yards of a new mosque in Castle Hill Street.
The trustees turned to the courts, arguing that a perahera of the old Kandyan kingdom was permitted in terms of the Kandyan Convention of 1815. The District Court of Kandy decided in their favor, but on an appeal by the government the Supreme Court reversed the judgment. The trustees then appealed to the Privy Council in England.
In the meantime, Buddhist preachers went about the country urging Buddhists to demonstrate against Muslims. Incidentally, the anniversary of the birth of The Lord Buddha fell on May 28, 1915, and a procession began that night. The celebrations were marred by an incident near the mosque, where some 25 men were arrested on charges of housebreaking and rioting.
Sinhalese attacks on Muslims continued, spreading from the central province to the western and northwestern provinces until June 6, 1915. Muslims sustained heavy losses. According to available records, losses sustained included 86 damaged mosques, more than 4,075 looted boutiques and shops, 35 Muslims killed, 198 injured and four women raped. Seventeen Christian churches were burnt down…….
This article is an attempt to set the record straight on the misconceptions that such incorrect and irresponsible utterances might cause among those ignorant of the truth about the 1915 incidents. I am writing in the interests of the unity of our beleaguered nation and the promotion of fellow-feeling among the diverse communities which share Sri Lanka as their home.
The Paddy Tax, the Waste Lands Ordinance, and the legislation to permit the opening of liquor shops across the island – all measures designed to increase the revenue of a rapacious imperial government – added fuel to an already burning political agitation in the country around the beginning of the last century. The first two were particularly oppressive to the rural paddy cultivators and small landowners. The Government used the Waste Lands Ordinance to sell what it considered crown lands to capitalists for development. This caused problems for large numbers of rural villagers who had traditionally owned and cultivated lands for which they did not possess any legal titles; they were just dispossessed of those lands. The liquor taverns legislation naturally caused much opprobrium among the predominantly Buddhist native population.
Such arbitrary pieces of legislation and other similar acts of omission and commission were inflicted on the local people by a colonial government in which their participation was negligible. The only gesture towards conceding popular participation was to have one elected member in the Legislative Council to represent the educated classes in the person of Mr Ponnambalam Ramanathan. But the politically aware sections of the country who were not satisfied with a single member agitated for more representation.
It was in this context of political ferment that the 1915 Riots broke out. The colonial authorities resorted
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Téléchargez comme PDF ou lisez en ligne sur Scribd
The Truth about the 1915 Riots
September 20, 2010, 7:40 pm
By Rohana R. Wasala
Mr K.T. Rajasingham, editor of The Asian Tribune, carried a part of his evidence given before the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission in his online daily news publication on September 19, 2010. It contained the following patently erroneous references to the so-called Sinhalese –Muslim Riots of 1915:
After the Kandyan Rebellion of 1817-18 to overthrow British rule, the British, by a proclamation dated November 21, 1818, greatly reduced the privileges granted to Sinhalese chiefs and changed the guarantees on religion given in the Kandyan Convention. Consequently, it was absurd that the Sinhalese wanted to celebrate a clause in a convention that was no longer in force.
Also, the government agents of Kandy had informed the trustees of the Gampola Buddhist temple that in taking their annual perahera (procession) in Kandy they would not be allowed to beat drums or play any musical instruments within 100 yards of a new mosque in Castle Hill Street.
The trustees turned to the courts, arguing that a perahera of the old Kandyan kingdom was permitted in terms of the Kandyan Convention of 1815. The District Court of Kandy decided in their favor, but on an appeal by the government the Supreme Court reversed the judgment. The trustees then appealed to the Privy Council in England.
In the meantime, Buddhist preachers went about the country urging Buddhists to demonstrate against Muslims. Incidentally, the anniversary of the birth of The Lord Buddha fell on May 28, 1915, and a procession began that night. The celebrations were marred by an incident near the mosque, where some 25 men were arrested on charges of housebreaking and rioting.
Sinhalese attacks on Muslims continued, spreading from the central province to the western and northwestern provinces until June 6, 1915. Muslims sustained heavy losses. According to available records, losses sustained included 86 damaged mosques, more than 4,075 looted boutiques and shops, 35 Muslims killed, 198 injured and four women raped. Seventeen Christian churches were burnt down…….
This article is an attempt to set the record straight on the misconceptions that such incorrect and irresponsible utterances might cause among those ignorant of the truth about the 1915 incidents. I am writing in the interests of the unity of our beleaguered nation and the promotion of fellow-feeling among the diverse communities which share Sri Lanka as their home.
The Paddy Tax, the Waste Lands Ordinance, and the legislation to permit the opening of liquor shops across the island – all measures designed to increase the revenue of a rapacious imperial government – added fuel to an already burning political agitation in the country around the beginning of the last century. The first two were particularly oppressive to the rural paddy cultivators and small landowners. The Government used the Waste Lands Ordinance to sell what it considered crown lands to capitalists for development. This caused problems for large numbers of rural villagers who had traditionally owned and cultivated lands for which they did not possess any legal titles; they were just dispossessed of those lands. The liquor taverns legislation naturally caused much opprobrium among the predominantly Buddhist native population.
Such arbitrary pieces of legislation and other similar acts of omission and commission were inflicted on the local people by a colonial government in which their participation was negligible. The only gesture towards conceding popular participation was to have one elected member in the Legislative Council to represent the educated classes in the person of Mr Ponnambalam Ramanathan. But the politically aware sections of the country who were not satisfied with a single member agitated for more representation.
It was in this context of political ferment that the 1915 Riots broke out. The colonial authorities resorted
Droits d'auteur :
Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Formats disponibles
Téléchargez comme PDF ou lisez en ligne sur Scribd