Is that which happened in Aluthgama-Beruwala a coming back of the Ghosts of the Past ?

It was still a British Colony called Ceylon. There were two Muslim Communities, one the Mohammadan Communities which Consisted of those who had settled down in Sri Lanka for Centuries and  learnt the necessity of living in peace with the  Sinhala respecting their religious observances,  and the other the “Hambayas”,  immigrants from the East Coast of South India.  They were not permanent settlers and did not intermarry from other Mohammadan Communities in Sri Lanka.  They were there strictly for trade.  The prosperous Hambayas rebuilt and enlarged the Mosques in Gampola and Kandy for the Mohammadan Communities.

The British Colonial rulers could not  eliminate or reduced to a minimum significance the native Sinhala people,  as they did with the indigenous population in  Canada, Australia and New Zealand,  and the American immigrants did in USA with the native Indians.

In 1912 in the British Colonial Ceylon the Buddhists were preparing to celebrate their Buddhist Esala Perahera in August, 1912,  conducting the procession through all the streets of Kandy.  The Hambayas informed the Police that they objected to the Esala Perahera of the Sinhala Buddhists passing past their newly built Mosque with the beating of drums, the blowing of  horns, and the cheering of the crowds. 

The Government Agent Mr.Saxton ordered the police to mark off the area of the Mosque, and inform the Basnayake Nilame of the Buddhist Temple that in conducting  the Esala Perahera through the streets no drums or other musical instruments should be played when going past the Hambayas’mosque indicated by the sign posts.  Surprised by this unexpected turn of event, the trustees of the Temple stopped all preparations for the conduct of the perahera, and complained to the District Court that the order of the Government Agent is against the  Convention of 1815. 

The DJ  of Kandy Paul E.Peiris ruled that the Order of the Government Agent was against the Convention and the Temple has the right to conduct the procession with elephants, playing drums and other musical instruments even in the streets where the Mosque had been built.  The Government Agent  through the Attorney General appealed against the judgement of the DJ. The Supreme court heard the case.

On the 15 January,1915, during the period before the Judgement of the Supreme Court was delivered, a Buddhist procession carrying a statue of a Buddha was going past a Muslim school improvised as a Mosque in Telliagamuwa village where the majority of the inhabitants were Mohammadans.  The Mohammadans attacked the Buddhists and damaged the Statue.  The Kurunegala police arrested 14 Mohammadans  and produced them before the Police Magistrate charged with rioting and being members of an unlawful assembly.  Further hearing was fixed for the 2 February, 1915.

However, on the 2 February,1915 the Supreme Court consisting of Judges Shaw and Sampayo delivered its judgment reversing the Order of the DJ Paul E.Peiris, in favour of the plaintiffs the Hambayas, and pronounced the  Convention is controlled and varied by the Police and Local Boards Ordinance.  The Buddhist were in despair and cried out, “…. Who has ever opposed us in our Kandyan Provinces except the newly arrived Hambayas ? ”

In the meantime the Sinhala Buddhists were preparing to Celebrate another great even the Wesak the  anniversary of the Birth, Enlightenment and the Parinibbana of the Great Buddha which fell on the 28 May, 1915.  The organisers of Wesak celebrations applied to the Government Agent for the usual licence for the Buddhist Carol Procession.  But the  Hambayas objected to the issue  of the licence.  The Government Agent having ascertained from Hambayas that the their Castle Hill  Street Mosque will be closed at midnight on the 28^th May, issued the licence on condition that the procession will not enter the Castle Hill Street before 12 Midnight.

At about  1 a.m the first procession with musicians in a decorated Carol Cart turned from king Street to the Castle Hill Street.  But the Mosque was open and  lit up with crowds of Hambayas , Mohammadans and Afghans standing on either side of the Street.  Inspector Cooray observing the defiance of the Mohammadans  stopped the procession going forward in to the Castle Hill street and turned it into a cross street to avoid the Mosque altogether.  The Carol party obediently turned to the Cross street. The Mohammadans then started clapping hands, and jeering . At that moment the Second Cart with musicians came and proceeded into the Castle Hill Street, then the first cart that had turned to the Cross Street followed the second cart into the Castle Hill Street.

In the meantime in Gampola the Hambayas attacked a Buddhist procession .  In Kandy a Sinhala youth of 18 years was murdered by the Mohammadans  under the indifferent eyes of the Police.  The Sinhala Buddhists were afraid that the Mohammadans would attack the Temple of the Tooth.  The Sinhala people came from villages and gathered in Kandy to protect the Temple of the Tooth.

http://fr.scribd.com/doc/207759720/Riots-and-Martial-Law-in-Ceylon-1915

“Alarmed by what they interpreted as a revolt against British rule, the authorities proclaimed Martial Law on June 2nd, and for three months the innocent Sinhala Buddhists were ground beneath an iron heel as ruthless as any which marched to the battlefields of distant Europe. Influential persons were arrested without a scrap of evidence against them, public servants were dismissed, and civilians tried by Courts Martial after the cessation of the riots, while the ordinary Courts of Justice were sitting uninterruptedly.”

Anagarika Dharmapala was a voice that aroused the patriotism of the Sinhala Buddhists. He  had the good fortune to be in India at the time of the Mohammadan –Sinhala riots, if not he would certainly have been arrested and shot, as his frequent visits to Japan and his efforts to regain the Buddha Gaya Temple had already made him an object of suspicion. Determined to wreak vengeance on the Hewavitarane family, the authorities arrested the Anagarika’s younger brother Edmund, tried him by Court Martial for treason, found him guilty and sentenced him to penal servitude for life. He contracted enteric fever owing to the unsanitary condition of the jail in which he was confined, and before the end of the year he was dead .”

On Thursday, 12 June,2014, it was the Poson Poya a sacred day for the Buddhists.  Venerable Ayagama Samitha Thera  of the Kurunduwatte Sri Wijayaramaya was being driven in a vehicle to Pathiragoda Temple to deliver a sermon through Durga town. It was a narrow road, there was a motor cycle and a three wheeler stopped on the middle of the road.  The driver of the vehicle taking Venerable Samith Thero tooted the horn of his vehicle to give notice of his vehicle and asked the driver of the three wheeler and the motor cyclist to make way for him to proceed. The Muslim youths the owner of the motor cycle and the driver of  the three wheeler  then started shouting back , and pulled the driver of the vehicle  taking the priest, out of the vehicle and hit him , the priest then got out hoping to help his driver, then the Muslim youth beat the  Venerable Samitha thera.”  The other Muslims in the area had come to their rescue.   That was the beginning of what happened that Poson Poya day in Durga Town.

Of course there could be various versions of it, and denials. Hambayas also had their supporters, and the Colonial police turned their heads away. Hambayas had recruited Afghans to defend themselves against the Sinhala Buddhists.   There are  already different version to inculpate Bodu Bala Sena for what happened on the 12 June,2014.  Hamabayas are not there now but may be others like them are infiltrating into Sri Lanka. Profiting from the situation the opposition to government invent their own versions. They say the people had been transported from out side.

There is nothing surprising in  what happened in 1915 as Sri Lanka was then under colonial rule, what is happening now is under a National Government of our own which seeks unity amoung different communities. 

Then we had Venerable  Megettuwatte  Gunananda thero, who was ready to raise his voice against the enemies of Buddhism and the Sinhala Culture.  He was not denounced by the Americans as they do today to  Venerable Galagoda Atthe Gnanasara thero.  

When Venerable Megettuwatte Gnananda Thero spoke out  against the British Missionaries he was heard by a great philanthropist and a man of wisdom in America Colonel  Henry Steel Olcott, who came to Sri Lanka with his friend Mme Blavatsky of Russian origin accepted  Buddhism.  What a difference from America of to-day ?

Colonel Steel Olcott and Mme Blavatsky became a great strength to the Sinhala patriots to  stop  the Christian Colonial trap of converting the natives to their religion to make them reliable servants of the of the British Crown.  Colonel Olcott opened 300 Buddhist Schools in different parts of Sri Lanka to bring back the prestige of the Buddhist heritage of Sri Lanka and impart education to the Sinhala Buddhists in Buddhist Schools.

Anagarika Dhammapala was influenced by this great American Olcott and  his friend Mme Blavatsky.  Anagarika Dhammapla saw the necessity to awaken the Sinhala Buddhists from their lethargy and meek acceptance of their lot under the British Missionary influence.  He used strong language to make people stop and take stock of the situation of Buddhism and the Sinhala people. Venerable Galagoda Atthe Gnanasara thero  uses stronger language perhaps appropriate as we have lot more dangerous people now in Sri Lanka,  than the Hambayas of those days.

We also had  the great patriotic poet who came from outside, Venerable Tibet Jathika S.Mahinda thera from Sikkim in India.  He wrote powerful lyrics to awaken the Buddhists. He is venerated as a great patriot of Sri Lanka.  He also spoke to  Sinhala Buddhists in strong words like Galagoda Atthe Gnanasara thero speaks to the sleeping Buddhists to awaken them and warn them of the dangers against Buddhism and Buddhist Culture.

 

Later on Catholic Church started their own conversions to destroy Buddhism and we had   L.H.Mettananda who fearlessly came forward to point out the dangers of Catholic action in Sri Lanka, and spoke out to make the people aware of the danger to Buddhism, and the Buddhist Culture.

Buddhism and the Sinhala Buddhists were constantly under attack either by the Muslims, or by the Christians, and there were  always great patriots who came forward to save the Country, the Sinhala Buddhists, and Buddhism.  When the Tamil terrorists were almost ready to divide Sri Lanka we had  great patriots from the South Mahinda and Gotabhaya Rajapaksas who under all odds eliminated that disastrous  monster.  But we are still  not free from danger.  The USA and its allies have  made it their objective to destroy the development  of Sri Lanka into a prosperous peaceful country. The Tamils and Muslims are knowingly or unknowingly in partnership with  USA and  its allies to weaken the present Government and its leadership and put in place a puppet government to carry out its political agenda, to push back China and Russia seeking unchallenged global leadership.

The enemies of Sri Lanka are now pointing their fingers of accusation against Champika Ranawaka and Gotabhaya Rajapakse who are following in the steps of our great patriots to awaken the Sinhala Buddhists and warn them of the return of the ghost of the past, now more dangerous with the USA and the West to back them.  Navi Pillai is one of their tools to implicate our patriotic leaders,  and soldiers who gave their lives to bring peace to this country and gave a new lease of Life to the Sinhala Buddhists.

Sinhala, Tamil and Muslims owe their freedom to move about and speak freely against the government to the President Mahinda Rajapakse, Gotabhaya Rajapakse and the Armed Forces.  We also owe much to Bodu Bala Sena, and Champika Ranawaka for speaking to the Sinhala Buddhists as they do to awaken them and make them aware of lurking  dangers.  

They are doing that service to the Muslims as well as the ordinary Muslims are not aware of the dangers from political Muslims coming from outside.  Let us unite as a nation not accusing each other but by  getting  together to discus to find ways to keep away dangers clouding the Unity of the Sri Lankan Communities