253
135
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
C.O. 882/10
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-
COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
252
(c) On 27th April the Buddhists, on the application of a local low-country man, obtained the usual permission to conduct a perahera in the town. This perahera passed a mosque without stopping the tom-tom. Complaint was made by the Moors to the police, but no action was taken, as there was some doubt at the time if the so-called mosque was a place of worship. The incident led to no disturbance.
(d) On Weeak day (28th May, 1915), when the usual large crowds assembled in the town, the state of feeling between the two people was distinctly excitable, and there were indications of an attempt on the part of the Sinhalese to provoke the Moors to retaliation. The fact that no trouble took place was due entirely to the presence of the police and the refusal of the Moors to accept the challenge.
10. Excluding from consideration the riot at Balangoda, which had only a local effect, the other incidents, especially (c) and (d), which had never before been the cause of friction in Ratnapura Town, indicate a preparation for the subsequent dis- turbances, and suggest an attempt on the part of the Sinhalese, at the instigation, doubtless, of certain ringleaders acting on instructions, to bring about a disturbance and to throw the blame of it upon the Moors. Had the Moors shown any fight on Wesak day (there are about 700 Moors all told in the town to about 4,000 Sinhalese) there is good reason to believe that the Moor boutiques would have been looted that day.
11. In connexion with these incidents I wish to emphasize the following facts, namely, that in previous years Moors and Sinhalese lived together on the most friendly terms and that no such trouble or threat of trouble had ever occurred. Moors and Sinhalese on Wesak day lived as harmoniously in the town as on other days of the year. Secondly, the character of the incidents, though significant in the light of the subsequent disturbances, was not such as to give the civil authorities any indication of the nature of the riots that subsequently broke out.
12. These are the incidents that occurred before the disturbances. They indicate in March an attempt to bring home to the Sinhalese their position compared with that of the Moors, and, in April and May, the introduction of the religious element, intended doubtless to excite the feelings of the crowd and thus to justify their subsequent acts.
13. During the investigations held after the riots at the various scenes of disturbance inquiries were particularly directed to the obtaining of information which would enable one to determine whether the rioting was the result of a con- spiracy formed in each district or local riot area or whether it was part of a general conspiracy planned by some central organization having its headquarters elsewhere. After Careful consideration of all the evidence and circumstances I am forced to the conclusion, firstly, that the local disturbances were not the result of any local con- spiracy, but were initiated, if not actually organized by persons resident outside the district: secondly, that the minds of the people had been carefully prepared for the event, not only by means of pamphlets and possibly the vernacular Press, but also by agents specially sent for the purpose by a central organization.
14. My reasons for holding these views are the following:
(a) In all the more important scenes of rioting-that is, where a considerable number of Moors resided or where there were boutiques containing valuable goods- the mob, which invariably consisted of local villagers, did not take the initiative: the people either awaited the arrival of persons who were obviously agents of the central organization or they held back till a crowd of low-country Sinhalese men ioined them. For instance, in Kendangomuwa, the largest and most important Moorish quarters outside Ratnapura Town, enormous crowds of villagers paraded the streets from early morning in the most orderly manner, and made no attempt to interfere with the Moors. When the morning train from Colombo arrived (10.30 a.m.) two or three low-country Sinhalese got down, blew a whistle, and addressed the people, who at once commenced to loot. There was a similar signal given at Dumbara, but here the village mob waited until the low-country people joined them from Ingiriya and Horana. In other places where serious rioting took place, such as Parakaduwa, Beville, and Gonapitiya, the mob was led by low-country Sinhalese who were resident in the villages, and were doubtless agents of the central organization and received instructions by post or by agents arriving by train.
(b) The wide distribution of the disturbances and the fact that the riots did not all take place simultaneously lends colour to the theory that the local Sinhalese, though obviously in most cases prepared for the event, were awaiting the signal from outside It will be observed that, though rioting commenced on 2nd June in four
widely distant villages and that the bulk of the rioting took place on the 3rd June- at some places in the morning and at other places in the afternoon and evening--my theory is that the instigators came to Ratnapura District by train and then dispersed to the various places where they knew Moors were living. This affords an explana- tion of the somewhat late looting of the boutiques on the 4th June, which were all situated in out-of-the-way places.
(c) The fact that the Sinhalese assembled in their villages or in the neighbour- hood of Moor quarters without at once commencing the looting indicates the existence of a preconcerted plan to attack the property of the Moors. Their minds were prepared for the event, but they failed to take immediate action, probably because they awaited instructions from outside, the proposed action depending possibly on the turn of events in Kandy or the deliberations of the chief con- spirators. It is significant in this connexion to note that for some days before the actual rioting very few women and children were seen on the public roads, and that small groups of men were observed on the roads at a time when they are generally engaged in their occupations.
(d) Though many suspicious strangers were arrested on the road and in the trains--against whom nothing definite could be proved except the fact that they were low-country men and unable to give a satisfactory account of themselves-it is significant that the Moors, in their evidence, rarely referred to any strangers as ringleaders (they mentioned the "whistlers" at Kendangomuwa, but could not identify them), but almost invariably named local men, the explanation being that the low-country man was merely employed to instigate the mob. It was only in localities bordering the maritime districts (such as Dumbara), or where gangs of Matara coolies are employed on estates or in road construction (such as at Kaha- watta, Karawita, Houpe, and Beville), that the low-country men took a prominent part in the actual rioting and ensnared the villager-not usually against his will— into the looting. It is practically certain that in these localities, if the rioting element in the person of the low-country man had not been predominant, no dis- turbances would have occurred, for in certain villages beyond Kahawatta (on Rakwana road)-—such as Welandura, Godakawala, and Madampe, and all the villages up the Haputale road for Balangoda, where there are numbers of Moor boutiques and houses--it was in some degree the failure of the low-country men to enter the towns and villages, owing, doubtless, to the presence of European guards, to which must be attributed their immunity from attack. Further, it is well attested that in other places (such as Madampe and Malwala-the latter place is four miles from Ratnapura), though the villagers were urged to loot, they refused to have anything to do with the disturbances. Evidence of the part played by the low- country man, whether resident or arriving at the moment, is so abundant that there is no room to doubt that it was he and not the Kandyan who was the root of the trouble, and that it was he who originally spread the propaganda intended to prepare the minds of the people and who subsequently gave the signal for the com- mencement of the work of destruction.
(e) The absence of any temperance or other kind of society, and the fact that the movement did not everywhere meet with the universal sympathy, furnish further proof of the fact that the disturbances did not originate in the district, and emphasize, as well as explain, the necessity for the preparation of the minds of the people for the event. In this respect Ratnapura stands in striking contrast to the Kegalle District, where the numerous local societies, to which my assistant mainly attributes the origin of the disturbances in Kegalle, were doubtless in full com- munication with the central organization, and had no difficulty in spreading its propaganda On the other hand, in Ratnapura only one society, called The Sons of Lanka," has been traced, and, though the members are for the most part loading local men, there is no proof, or even suggestion, of its implication in the recent troubles. That the movement did not attract unusual sympathy is evident from the fact that in many villages the property of the Moors was taken charge of by the Sinhalese and returned to them after the disturbances were over. I mention one case in which a local Kandyan lady was entrusted in this manner with over Rs.7,000 in cash. In another village, because the Sinhalese had not looted a Moor's boutique, a low-country man visited the village and attempted to incite them to do so. These incidents are related to show that the conspiracy, whatever its origin and extent, was not, so far as this district is concerned, so widespread and deep-seated as was at first sight imagined, and that, though where rioting took place it was systematically and thoroughly carried out, its objective did not everywhere meet with the approval either of the simple villager or the educated man.