The 1915 Sinhalese-Muslim riots (also known as the anti-Muslim riots of 1915 or the 1915 Buddhist Mohammedan riots or the 1915 Ceylonese riots) was a widespread and prolonged ethnic riot in the island of Ceylon between Sinhalese Buddhists and the Ceylon Moors. The riots were eventually suppressed by the British colonial authorities.
The riots started in Kandy in the night of 28 May 1915 and spread to neighbouring villages on 30 May and to Colombo on 31 May and other towns thereafter. It was suppressed by 9 June with final incidents occurring on 11 May in Chilaw. Taking place at the time when the First World War was raging in Europe, the British authorities feared that the riots were possibly a rebellion against colonial rule; in response, martial law was first declared in the Western and Sabaragamuwa Provinces on 2 June, extended to other provinces in the following days, and terminated on 30 August. During the suppression of the rebellion, colonial forces supplemented by European auxiliaries carried out numerous summary executions and other repressive measures in an attempt to put an end to the riots.The Independence Movement – its early phases
Background
By the turn of the 20th century, Ceylon was a British colony. The last native kingdom, the Kingdom of Kandy had been ceded to the British Crown in 1815 under the Kandyan Convention. The island saw little conflict as in the past century only two anti-British uprisings (the Uva Rebellion and the Matale Rebellion) took place. The native population of the island at this time was predominately Buddhist mostly from the ethnic group Sinhalese. There existed a Muslim minority known as the Moors. The Moor community consisted of two segments, the Ceylon Moors who originated from the Arab traders who had settled in the island around five or six centuries earlier and the Indian Moors who were at the time natives and residents of South India, who had come to Ceylon for trade. By 1915, the Ceylon Moors who had controlled trade in most parts of the island had been ousted by the Indian Moors. The 1911 Census indicates that Ceylon Moors numbered 232,927 and Indian Moors 33,527. Establishing themselves in rice importation, sale, and distribution, the Indian Moors gained much wealth and established themselves across the country.Memorandum upon recent disturbances in Ceylon
The British colonial government enacted many legislations and administrative measures to codify laws and govern every aspect of life, which until then had been governed by rituals and tradition that had been practiced from time immemorial. One such measure was the regulation of noise worship under the Section 96 of the Police Ordinance, No. 16 of 1865, which forbade the beating of tom-tom drums at any time, within any town, without a license issued by the government, with punishment that included fines or imprisonment for up to three months. The Local Boards Ordinance, No. 13 of 1898, extended these regulations across Ceylon to include rural areas.
Due to the relative peaceful nature of the colony, the last British Army regiment was withdrawn from the island in 1881 and the local military regiment, the Ceylon Rifle Regiment, had been disbanded in 1873. Since then, the Ceylon Police Force maintained law and order in towns and urburn areas, with many of the Javanese and the Malay mercenaries employed in the Ceylon Rifle Regiment joining the Police Force as constables for paid employment. Rural policing was carried out Police Vidanes. The British military presence in the colony was limited to a British Indian Army infantry regiment which would be stationed in Ceylon to supplement the garrison units that was made up of four companies from the Royal Garrison Artillery and two companies of the Royal Engineers (thought the Royal Engineers were withdrawn in 1911 and replaced with the Ceylon Engineers). In addition the Ceylon Defence Force functioned as a volunteer reserve.
Religious revivalism and nationalism The late 19th Century, saw the Buddhist revivalism and Sinhala nationalist movements taking form within Ceylon. This saw the formation of Sinhala-Buddhists schools established by the Theosophical Society contesting the Christian missionary schools and the temperance movement that challenged the highly profitable liquor trade. Coinciding was the Islamic revivalist movement that had taken shape in Ceylon, with a distinct Muslim identity taking shape which was influenced by the ultra-conservative strands based on Wahhabism, which renounced music.
Gampola perahera incident
In Gampola, a dispute arose between the Indian Moors and the Buddhist Temple authorities of the Wallahagoda Dewala in 1912. The Indian Moors objected to the Police on the Buddhist Perahera (religious pageant) procession from the Wallahagoda Dewala traveling through Ambegamuwa Street en route to the Mahaweli River past their newly built mosque with music, even though older mosques along the same route belonging to Ceylon Moors did not object. G. S. Saxton, the Government Agent of the Central Province, as the head of the police in the province, ordered the police to erect markers 100 yards from the mosque and informed the Trustee of the Wallahagoda Dewale to conducted the Perahera without music within the markers on 27 August 1912 as required by the Police Ordinance, No. 16 of 1865 and the Local Boards Ordinance, No. 13 of 1898. Tikiri Banda Elikewela, the Basnayaka Nilame (Chief Trustee) of the Wallahagoda Dewale, consulted the other trustees of Buddhist Temples in the province on the order preventing them conducting the a practice carried-out from time immemorial, safeguarded by the terms of the Kandyan Convention. Due to this, the procession was not held that year.
Basnayaka Nilame Vs Attorney General The Basnayaka Nilame when filed action through C. A. La Brooy in the District Court of Kandy on 30 September 1913 against the Attorney General for a declaration of rights granted under the treaty of the Kandyan Convention. The Attorney General responded through F. C. Liefching, with Thomas Garvin, Solicitor General assisted by V. M. Fernando. The trial came up before the District Judge of Kandy Paul Pieris; Sir Stewart Schneider with C. A. La Brooy, E. W. Perera, Charles Batuwantudawe and D. R. Wijewardena appeared for the plaintiff. After review evidence, the District Judge gave his judgement in favor of the Temple trustees citing that its rights were protected under the terms of the Kandyan Convention. On the insistence of the Government Agent, the Attorney General Anton Bertram, KC, referred the judgement to the Supreme Court of Ceylon. The case was heard in February 1915, by the bench of Justices Walter Shaw and Thomas De Sampayo, Bertram with James Van Langenberg, KC, Solicitor General and V. M. Fernando, Crown Counsel representing the crown and Benjamin Bawa, KC with E. W. Perera and D. R. Wijewardena represented the Basnayaka Nilame. The court ruled that granted leave to appeal and set-aside the earlier judgement of the District Court, on the basis that the Kandyan Convention does not invalidate the provisions of subsequent legislative enactments in this case the Police Ordinance and the Local Boards Ordinance. An appeal to the Privy Council was filed against the decision of the Supreme Court.
Events
Kurunegala incident On 27 January 1915, while the Supreme Court was deliberating, a Buddhist religious procession few miles from the town of Kurunegala was attacked by Moors, as the procession reached a building used by them for worship. Kurunegala police were called in and arrested 14 Moors on rioting and unlawful assembly, produced before the Police Magistrate.
Castle Hill Street, Kandy incident In May, the Buddhist Temple authorities in Kandy sort a police permit from the Government Agent to conduct its customary Perahera procession through the streets of Kandy on the night of 28 May 1915. Embolden by the Supreme Court judgment, the Indian Moors in Kandy objected to the Buddhist Perahera processions from passing their mosque in Castle Hill Street, Kandy. The elected members of the Kandy Municipal Council unanimously recommended that the license be granted. Government Agent, having ascertained that the closing time of the mosque was midnight, issued the license on the condition that the Perahera procession does not enter Castle Hill Street until past midnight. He failed to deploy adequate police personal to the location. At 1 AM, 29 May 1915 when the lead group of the Perahera procession entered Castle Hill Street, they found the mosque lit up with Indian Moors and Afghans preventing their passage instructing them to move through a side street. At this point Police Inspector F. T. Cooray intervened and directed the procession to turn towards the side street. As the procession to turn towards the side street, hooting and derision of the Indian Moors followed. With a larger group of the procession arriving and proceeded along Castle Hill Street, which was soon attacked by stones and empty bottles. The members of the procession responded and a fight ensued. The crowd entered the mosque and shops from which they were attacked and caused damage. Inspector Cooray and the six constables present could not control the crowd and he called for reinforcements from the police station. Several Sinhalese and Moors were injured as well as the Inspector Cooray and 25 were arrested.
Rioting Kandy