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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :-

TICO. 882/10

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25. Similar figures for Colombo Mudaliyar's division are:-Moorish property damaged, destroyed, or looted, nearly three lakhs; Moors known to have been murdered, three. It is possible there were one or two more whose deaths were not accounted for. Others were injured more or less severely. The number of Moors temporarily displaced was about 800. Amongst the property damaged or destroyed were three mosques, three tanneries, and several large bungalows belonging to wealthy Moormen.

26. In Alut Kuru Korale South the total damage amounted to about Rs.40,000, and included the only mosque in the Korale. No Moors are known to have been killed; a few received slight injuries. The total Moor population temporarily dis- placed was about 400 to 500.

27. The numbers of rioters shot in the three Korales were as follows:-

Killed.

Wounded.

-

Total.

Korale.

Hewagam

Colombo Mudaliyar's division Alut Kuru Korale South

3

10

13

Total

3

10

13

28. Having given a short résumé of occurrences in certain portions of the dis- trict one may proceed to some discussion as to the origin of these disturbances and, at the outset, one or two of their peculiar features may be noted. First, firearms were very extensively carried, but only in two cases which came under my notice, viz., at Walgama and Kottawa, were they used by the rioters, and in the latter case the victim was a Sinhalese and not a Moorman. The incident, then, was probably the outcome of some old grudge between some of the rioters and the Sinhalese owner of a boutique let to Moors.

29. Second, the actual riot was directed solely against the Moors. Members of other communities, provided they did not interfere with the rioters, appear to have been perfectly safe in their midst, and their property was not attacked. Two typical instances may be quoted. A bungalow belonging to a Moorman at Nawala, close to Colombo, was rented to a Burgher family. The mob attacked and wrecked the bungalow, but no harm was done to the inmates or their property. Numerous similar cases could be mentioned. Again, on 2nd June, when the whole countryside was moving in armed mobs westward along the road from Hanwella towards Colombo, an English gentleman in a car was making his way to Colombo. Seeing the whole road filled with armed rioters he made inquiries whether it was safe to proceed, and was assured by the people that he would be perfectly safe with the Sinhalese but they could not answer for the Moormen

30. Again, it appears to have been the intention of some at any rate of the pro- moters of the disturbances to preserve the Moors from personal violence. Influen- tial Sinhalese, while conniving at or actively instigating the looting of Moorish property, endeavoured in many instances to ensure the escape of the Moors them- selves or even shelter them, taking care, however, to arrange for them to be sent safely away at the earliest opportunity. It would, indeed, appear that barbarous and dastardly attacks upon the persons of the Moors were due to the mob getting out of hand and were not part of the original programme.

In

31. Another outstanding and most discreditable feature of the whole out- break was the apathy or worse of many of the Sinhalese Government officials, from a Police Magistrate down to the village headmen. In many instances the influence of these men was either not used at all or was used against the Government. many cases the impression they evidently conveyed to the mob was that they were in sympathy with its objects. With regard to the divisions I have had most oppor- tunity of studying, viz., Siyane Korale East, Hewagam Korale, and Colombo Mudal- iyar's division, it is my most emphatic opinion that had the Sinhalese Government officials and the headmen as a body done their duty the riots would either never have occurred at all or been reduced to very small proportions.

32, Another point, and one somewhat difficult of explanation, may be noted in the Colombo District. The 1st of June was devoted pretty generally all over the district to the business of looting Moormen's boutiques. On the 2nd a deliberate attempt, evidently organized from Colombo, was made to raise the whole country under arms by the sedulous circulation of false rumours. These were spread by men in motor-cara or on bicycles, who hastened from one village to another, calling

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out to the people that an army of Moors was approaching, destroying pansalas or churches and the homes of the Sinhalese. The point said to be attacked was in every case a place from three to four miles off, making immediate verification of the truth of the rumour impossible. The extraordinary thing is how these stories were believed by the villagers. In many places an absolute panic followed. Women and children left their homes and fled in terror into the nearest jungle to hide. Some even took to the paddy fields and immersed themselves in mud and water. Meanwhile, the able-bodied men seized guns, catties, clubs, or any weapon available, and gathered in hundreds for the defence of their homes and sacred places, or marched in an army to meet the Moors. Buddhists and Catholics alike were brought out in this In some places even elephants were taken out to assist in the battle. The mob thus got together were then incited to commit desperate assaults upon mosques or any remaining Moor property.

way.

33. The rioting on the 2nd was, generally speaking, mere serious than on the 1st, due, probably, partly to the fact that the religious fanaticism of the people had been roused and partly to the criminal element having by this time got thoroughly out of hand. Dynamite was frequently used, and any Moors unfortunate enough to fall into the hands of the mob were very severely handled. Three, if not four, murders were committed on the 2nd in the village of Welikada alone, and enormous destruc- tion of property effected. A pitched battle was fought at Walgama, and a number of mosques in different places were destroyed.

34. Another noticeable feature was that numbers of the villagers appeared to look upon the whole enterprise as a war, “yuddaya,” of the Sinhalese people against the Moors. A flag was carried, the mob obeyed its leaders, and in some places showed a considerable amount of discipline. In one place there is even evidence that a number of villagers marched a long distance upon the orders of their Ralahamy, much against the inclination of many of them. A letter was discovered upon a Buddhist priest which alluded to the calling out of all men between certain ages for the "war."

35. Another peculiarity which has been most marked throughout the subse- quent inquiries is the refusal in nearly every case of the rank and file of the rioters to give information against their leaders, even when the latter had played them false. This is not, I believe, due merely to fear of possible consequences in the future, but appears to point to some preconcerted arrangement. Similar remarks would apply to a certain system which occasionally appeared in the construction of alibis.

36. Of those touched on perhaps the two most disquieting features are, first, the extraordinary inflammability of the villagers and, second, the unreliability or treachery of numbers of the Sinhalese Government officials.

37. Having noted these few peculiar features one may proceed to deal with some of the various elements, the sum total of which resulted in this extraordinary outburst. Buddhist fanaticism, the Sinhalese national spirit, the love of the vil lager for his sacred places and his home, the jealousy of the Sinhalese trading classes for their more successful Moorish rivals, the lust of the criminal for destruc- tion and plunder, were all exploited or skilfully utilized to augment the disturb- ance. A general feeling of unrest, partly caused by the war, partly created by mis- thievous persons, supplied an atmosphere favourable to an outbreak.

38. To deal with these elements in detail:-There is no doubt whatever that the criminal element was deliberately organized and utilized to start disturbances in places where the ordinary people would scarcely have ventured alone to defy the law. Gangs of "Wanawahalas,” or jaggery caste rowdies, ran from one bazaar to another, broke open the Moorish boutiques, flung out the goods on to the roads and then ran on to the next place, leaving the local people to complete the work of pil- lage. Evidence recorded in the inquiries at Dompe shows that bands of Sinhalese villagers gathering to attack Walgama made inquiries from people coming the other way whether the "Wanawahalas” had yet arrived to attack the Moorish stronghold. The headmen or others who had called out these villagers had evidently arranged beforehand for professional assistance from Wanawahala, as the Moors were known to be strong! Unfortunately, these hired ruffians largely escaped punishment as they could not be identified far from their own villages by the local Moors or other witnesses.

39. The organizing of these gangs one may shrewdly suspect was largely the work of rich Sinhalese traders of the same caste. interested in driving out their