Myths and truths about the 1915 ethnic conflict .....

The Sinhalese were all parties to the Kandyan Treaty signed on 2nd March 1815, handing over the Sinhalese kingdom to the King of England. This is strong evidence that no other ethnic group had a legal claim to the rule of the country at that time. However, exactly 100 years later, in 1915, a minority group attacked the religious freedom of the Sinhalese. The Sinhalese, enraged by this attack, attacked the minority in return. It is apparent from certain documents published at this time that the true history of the ethnic conflict, which caused great suffering to the Sinhalese by imposing martial law and shooting dead 66 people, including two women, convicting 5,193 people by civil and military courts, detaining a large number of others without trial, extorting money for their release, and forcibly confiscating vehicles and livestock, is now beginning to emerge. I wanted to write this after reading a newspaper article recently, which analyzed the British government's attempt to create a conflict between the Sinhalese and Muslims, who had lived in harmony and peace for a long time, by applying the "divide and rule" principle, which is used as a "panacea" for any issue by many who talk about the British rule, to this issue as well. It is said that the Sinhalese and Muslims had been very friendly since the past, and that the Muslims had even acquired the title of "King" from the Sinhalese kings because of that friendliness, and that when the Portuguese arrived in Sri Lanka in 1505, a large Muslim population was residing in Colombo and lived in harmony with the Sinhalese without any conflict, and that the British government used this strategy to destroy that situation. 

The article also stated that the most successful tactic was to create a Sinhala-Muslim riot. Even calling the 1915 conflict "Sinhala-Muslim riot" is misleading to the present generation. The elders who witnessed and faced the incident called it "Marakkal riot". The term Muslim was not in common use at that time. Calling the conflict a Muslim riot is unfair to other Muslim communities who were not involved in it, such as the Malays, Boras and Afghans, and also expresses the misconception that the Muslims, the third largest community in Sri Lanka, were the root cause of this conflict. In Hundred Days in Caylon under the Federal Law, written by Armand de Souza, who was the editor of the Morning Leader newspaper at the time - Mr. Yasapala Wanasinghe, who translated the book "1915" into Sinhala, has mentioned this fact as follows. These conflicts that occurred in 1915 have been confirmed in Sinhala society as "Sinhala Marakkala - Kolahala. Therefore, I have named my translation accordingly." - (Sinhala - Marakkala Kolahala - Page 13) In searching for the essence of this riot and which community was the source of it, it is also important to understand the communities living in the country at that time. In the 1911 census, the third largest community in the country, the Muslims, were listed as two groups. 233901 Sri Lankan Muslims and 32724 Coastal Muslims (Coast movers). The Muslims of Sri Lanka are considered to be the Muslims who came from the Arabian Peninsula and settled in the villages of Sri Lanka for a long time, engaged in trade and agriculture. The coastal Marakkala are also recorded as a group who came from the Malabar coast of India and settled in the coastal areas of Sri Lanka. Since they sailed in a special type of vessel called a sampan or hamban, they were called Hambantota by the Sinhalese, and the port where they landed was called Hambantota. 

 The Hambantota people who migrated inland during the Kalyana period established small shops in the villages, buying the villagers' trade crops and selling the goods they needed. Europeans called them Jews because of their greed for money, heartless exploitation, and their practices of acquiring land plots from the villagers by giving money at interest. Since these vagabonds did not bring women with them when they came to Sri Lanka, they were disliked by the Sinhalese for seducing and raping the women who came to their shops, keeping them as concubines or marrying them, but there was nothing that could be done because of the economic ties they had with them. In 1915, when a war broke out in Europe, public disapproval of them was further intensified because they took advantage of it and used it as an opportunity to increase the prices of goods. The vagabond traders, who had become rich by exploiting the villagers, became arrogant in attitude as they prospered in terms of money and trade. The result was that the Marakkala people of Lanka were bold enough to encroach on the religious freedom of the Sinhala-Buddhist people in a way that had never been done before by the Marakkala people. It is a well-known fact that the Sinhala-Marakkala riots of 1915 occurred because the Marakkala people attacked the Vesak Carol procession in Kandy that year. However, its origins go back a few years to the Hamba Marakkala people obstructing the Gampola Wallahagoda Devala Perahera. This Devala Perahera, which had been held since the Sinhala kings, was held annually even after the British took over the Kandyans in 1815. The only change made by the British government was to require a permit to be obtained before the procession could be held. There were two churches on the route of the Wallahagoda Devala Perahera to Lankathilaka Viharaya. 

One of the churches was built by the Lanka Marakkala people during the Sinhala king's reign. The other church was built by the Hamba Marakkala people 30 years ago. There was no objection from the Lanka Marakkala church or the Christian church to the Wallahagoda Devala Perahera proceeding on that route as usual. However, in 1907, when the perahera passed in front of the Hamba Marakkala church, they had a clash. After that clash, two pillars were erected 100 yards apart on either side of the church and it was ordered that the perahera should proceed without musical instruments within that distance. Although the smaller religious processions in the area complied with this order, the Wallahagoda Devalaya procession continued to march in front of it as usual until 1911. In the application submitted by the Diyawadana Nilame of the Dalada Maligawa for the year 1912 to the Government Agent for the permit, the obstruction caused by the Marakkala Mosque was described and requested to be removed. The Agency reduced the 100-yard limit of the mosque to fifty yards when granting the permit. Although some writers have accused the Government Agent of acting incompetently in this regard, on closer examination it appears that the unnecessary problem was created by the Diyawadana Nilame's attempt to mention the 100-yard limit of the Marakkala Mosque in his application. If the Diyawadana Nilame had only requested the permit as usual, it could have been obtained according to administrative procedures. Since the need for the church was also in the Diyawadana Nilame's application, the agent should have given a decision on that too. Therefore, it can be thought that he reduced the 100 yard limit to 50 to show that he had done justice to both parties. However, this order did not please either party. 

The government agent's response to the appeal filed by the Diyawadana Nilame was to completely prohibit the procession in front of the church. Dissatisfied with this decision, the Basnayake Nilame filed a case in the Kandy District Court demanding that the procession be suspended and the rights of the temple be protected, recalling the terms of the 1815 Kandyan Treaty. The case was decided in favor of the Basnayake Nilame. However, the Supreme Court, which heard an appeal against it, overturned the decision on 15 February 1915. The Hamba Marakkalas, who were very excited by the victory of their appeal, then began to act indiscriminately not only against Buddhists but also against Hindus. Within two weeks of the verdict, disputes broke out in the cities of Kandy, Kurunegala and Badulla. While a Buddhist procession was moving along the main road in Theliyagonne, Kurunegala, a group of Muslims asked the procession to stop playing drums. The Buddhists complied. However, due to the desire to create a dispute and show their power, the procession was forced to stop and disperse because stones were thrown at the procession and mud was thrown at the statues. Then on 4th May 1915, a Kankani named Perumal was attacked during a procession held on a permit for the protection of his family near the Marakkala Mosque on Castle Street, Kandy. As the panicked crowd fled, they were also attacked by a group near another Muslim mosque. This was complained to the Government Agent and the Superintendent of Police, but no investigation was conducted. The Buddhists felt that the police were being bribed by the wealthy and powerful traders. When Mr. Paul Fernando, the vice-president of a Buddhist association in Kandy, requested permission from the Municipal Council Secretary to build temporary sheds for the Vesak Dansela that he had been running for 13 years, it was refused. The reason given was that the vendors had been throwing rice at the market and had objected to it because if the Dansalas were allowed to be held, their business would decrease and they would incur losses. Finally, the license was obtained by promising to pay for any losses incurred by the vendors and depositing Rs. 50/} as an advance. Mr. Salgado, who was a prominent Buddhist figure in Kandy at that time, had his house opposite the Marakkala Church on Castle Street. It was customary for the Vesak procession to come and sing in front of his house, which had provided a large amount of financial support for Buddhist activities. In 1815, a special permit was obtained from the Superintendent of Police to sing devotional songs if there was no service in the church on Vesak Day. But what happened was as follows, as reported by Armand de Souza. 

 The procession was preceded by a carol group riding on two decorated bullock carts. As the procession approached the junction about 120 yards from the church, the police inspector who came forward ordered the organizers to turn the procession around. The organizers first offered penance. They argued again. The argument escalated. The first cart driver, not seeing that the police inspector was obeying, angrily turned the cart to the left onto a side road. The police inspector ordered the second cart to turn to the right. Accordingly, the procession was disrupted. The excited people gathered around the church insulted and mocked the Buddhists, disrespected the sadhu, made imitation noises and shouted, thus arousing the anger of the Buddhists. The angry people turned the first cart back onto the road towards the church and moved forward rapidly. A hail of stones was thrown from the hambas. The enraged people, further enraged by this, attacked the church and caused severe damage to it. 

They also attacked the hambas shops nearby. Seeing that the situation was getting worse, the police inspector immediately went and brought a police force. The people fled. 28 people were arrested. This is how the Marakkala riots of 1915 began. As news spread that a group of Marakkala people from Colombo had razed the Temple of the Tooth to the ground, Sinhalese from the surrounding villages flocked to the city the next evening. This news was not without truth. On 29 May, a group of about 25 to 30 Marakkala people who had arrived by train from Colombo were detained by the police in Kadugannawa. On 29 May, a night vendor shot a Sinhala youth walking on the road from the upper floor of his shop and he died after being taken to the hospital. However, the police did not arrest the person who had fired the shot. Due to this bias on the part of the police, the public attacked the Marakkala shops until nightfall. On the 31st, the leaders of both sides united and requested the government to intervene to defuse the situation and issue a public statement promising justice, but he refused. Meanwhile, news that a Sinhalese clerk traveling on the highway had been stabbed to death by a marakkal, the people gathered there went to the scene and four people from both sides died in the clash that ensued. At this time, Britain was at war with Turkey, a Muslim state, and there was a widespread belief that the government was not taking the attacks on Muslims lightly. Taking advantage of that war, Muslim traders in Colombo raised the price of a cup of tea so high that the workers at the railway station could not afford it. The unrest that erupted over this ended in several Muslim shops being attacked. That evening, the gates of the railway station did not open on time. 

However, as usual, the gates were opened after all the trains going to their hometowns had departed. Since the workers who came out of the gates had to spend the night on the highway, they created a commotion in the streets. At dawn the next day (June 1), the city's hawkers attacked Muslim shops and began looting. As happens in any incident, rumors spread throughout the country. Such malicious false information included the rape and murder of Sinhala maids in Muslim homes, the demolition of temples and the destruction of villages. However, the government was forced to control it because opportunists turned it into a robbery. After martial law was imposed in the Western Province on June 2, it was also implemented in the Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Northwestern and Central provinces on the same day. After about 5 days, the unrest gradually subsided after it was confirmed that the government had come forward to protect the Marakkalas. However, during the 3 months of martial law, many people, including Sinhala leaders, had to pay compensation with their lives and in various other ways because martial law was implemented without a fair verdict as to who was guilty and who was innocent. The colonial government, which had been silent and silent at the time when the rebellion could have been crushed, then handed over the responsibility of suppressing it to the British planters, the army and the police, which ultimately resulted in the Sinhalese falling into a deep depression. Considering this background, I think it is quite clear that the 1915 rebellion was not planned and created by the British imperialists with the aim of creating a conflict between the Sinhalese and Muslim groups and dividing the nations. 

Accordingly, the concept of divide and rule was not implemented in it. Nor was there any strange benefit that the British rule could gain by dividing the small number of Hamba Marakkalas with the Sinhalese. The idea that the Sinhalese and Muslims were very friendly since ancient times is also a flattering statement made without understanding. Muslims came here from far away to trade for their own benefit, not to live with us in brotherly love. When they came, they had a unique behavior pattern that captivated the hearts of the native people. Understanding this behavior pattern as friendliness was a mistake for many in our country. There is a strong belief among historians that at the time of the Portuguese arrival in Sri Lanka, a Mahamadik chief named Samorin, who maintained naval power in the Indian Ocean, was roaming around Sri Lanka with an army to arrest the Sinhalese king and capture the country. After the arrival of the Portuguese, the Muslims who were expelled from the Colony had joined the Seethawaka Mayadunne and after the collapse of the Seethawaka kingdom, they fled to the Kandyans. There, they were sheltered by King Wimaladharmasuriya. Winning the king's heart with valuable gifts was also a characteristic of the Yataki commercial behavior. Here, our attention should be drawn to another point that was stated by the writer we mentioned at the beginning of our article. That is, the most important lesson we should learn from this riot is to develop goodwill among nations and to give priority to intelligence over slavery to ideas. It goes without saying that acting with intelligence as a priority is good. 

But in doing so, goodwill among nations will be preserved only if all nations act with that objective in mind. In the past, whenever bombs exploded in the capital or the outlying provinces, causing horrific human deaths and property destruction, the governments in power at that time repeatedly announced the advice "Calm down, be peaceful." But there has been no peace for thirty years. Peace came about by directly confronting the problem. It is clear from the statement of the writer Bhavata that either he is unaware of the treasure of the 1915 crisis. Or the desire to purge the party that caused the conflict and deliberately blame the Sinhalese nation for it. It has become fashionable among some scholars to present the minority groups that intervened in every ethnic conflict that has occurred in the past as having acted humanely and to present the Sinhalese as a group that acted racistly. In our opinion, the lesson we should learn from the 1915 incident should be concluded by considering the social history of two or three hundred years before that. It is no secret that the churches of the Marakkala people who attacked the Kandy Vesak procession in 1915 were built on lands donated to the Tooth Relic by previous kings, and owned by the Malwatte and Asgiri Maha Viharas. Permission to build churches on those lands was granted because of the compassion and greatness of the sons of Buddha who lived in those viharas. Apart from that, they reside in many other parts of the country on lands acquired from the Sinhalese. They have become rich not from the resources they brought here from their countries but from the profits they earned from dealing with the indigenous people of this country. But when the Hamba Marakkalas saw an opportunity to attack the Sinhalese processions, the majority of the Lanka Marakkalas not only did not come forward to stand up for the rights of the Sinhalese people who helped them, but also saw an opportunity to attack the Sinhalese. This was done with the belief that the British rule would remain forever and that the Sinhalese would never be able to raise their heads in this country again. 

But with the unexpected independence of the country and the universal suffrage, a government with a Sinhalese majority was able to be formed, and the Sinhala-Buddhist national and religious rights have been protected with great effort. However, the Sinhalese have not been able to stop the Sinhalese from being pushed out from the north and east and the destruction of Buddhist antiquities. In the cities and villages where the minority ethnic group is dominant, conflicts of power and power display are periodically taking place. Meanwhile, organized programs are being implemented to increase the number of their people and to expand land rights. Against this background, the lesson to be learned from the 1915 riots is that if in the future the percentage of the Sinhalese community drops to the fifty percent mark and they lose power, then this may be the last lesson they will have to learn. 

Vijayapala Weerawardena.... 

http://www.divaina.com/2011/08/03/badada01.html