by
Mala Hewavitarne Weerasekera
It is opportune at this moment that a true understanding of the Anagarika and his message to the people is properly conveyed.
His clarion call to the Sinhala People is in grave danger of being misinterpreted and misused by elements who are out to cause religious and racial disharmony.
First, let us consider the period in which the Anagarika emerged as a Stalwart and Nationalist. It was the time of the Martial Law. A. E. Goonesingha comments on Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan’s speech in the Legislative Assembly in 1915. “He stood like a colossus alone in the Legislative Council and vindicated the honour and dignity of the Sinhalese Nation. He spoke with tears in his eyes. He described the brutality committed by English Men with impunity under the name of British Justice. He said it was not justice but downright murder by the ruling race and it was an act of misgovernment for the ruling race to ignore all these atrocities.”
They were very harsh times of colonial rule. It is evident that Anagarika himself held Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan in very high esteem. He says “The day you are taken away from Ceylon, from that day there will be no one to defend the poor, neglected Sinhalese. They are a doomed people with no one to guide and protect them.” These were his comments after listening to his speech at the Legislative Assembly of 1915 (according to Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan’s memorial lecture in 1994 delivered by Hon. Lakshman Kadirgarmar, Minister of Foreign Affairs) naming Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan as a guide and protector of the Sinhalese people, which further confirms his nonracial mind-set.
The unjust and unfair accusations aimed at the Anagarika that he is historically responsible for the present day mayhem and madness of Racial and Religious extremes should stand corrected.
He moved very closely with other religious leaders in a joint struggle on behalf of all people of this Country.
The renowned writer Gunadasa Amarasekera has written that Anagarika Dharmapala’s National political action was mainly two fold – the first was his struggle to liberate the Sinhalese people from the weak mindset of aping the foreign rulers and proudly embracing western values and culture.
The second, he also led a socialist struggle to rebuild a society with high values. This, Amarasekera named as an economic struggle.
The Anagarika though highly involved in the revival of Buddhism especially at its origin (Buddha Gaya) was not a hermit nor a recluse spearheading a social cause in his home country, Ceylon.
His famous call to the people “Sinhalaini Nagitive” (Sinhalese wakeup!) often taken out of context as a racial instigation was really to shake the Sinhala community for their lethargy to join forces with the other communities. He often held the Tamil and Muslim communities as examples of a more energetic people. He called for unity of action with a view to self rule and freedom from the colonial dictates.
The harshness of the Colonial rule and how it affected the near and dear of the Anagarika is further illustrated in the stories of the 1915 riots.
As the Anagarika Dharmapala was in India at that time, the Colonial rulers in Ceylon arrested his brother Edmund on a false pretext and sent him to Jaffna Jail. There he succumbed to the deadly decease of the tropics, enteric fever contracted in prison. The patient lay on a mat on the floor with no treatment when recovery was hopeless. Five days before his death the Colonial rulers permitted his younger brother Dr C. A. Hewavitarne to attend to his dying brother – but it was too late!
Edmund Hewavitarne died in November 1915, five months after he was sentenced by an Army Officer to a life of “Rigorous Imprisonment”.
A large gathering honoured Edmund Hewavitarne as a patriot not as a traitor at his funeral. A 13 page petition of appeal was sent to the British Authorities by his widow Sujatha Hewavitarne together with petitions and affidavits of leading monks and lay persons of different communities and by Mallika Hewavitarne (mother of Edmund and the Anagarika). The petition was carried to London by Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan, addressed to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, Andrew Bonar Law asking that Edmund Hewavitarne’s name be cleared. The petitions were upheld.
Sir Robert Chalmers KCB the Governor and Commanding Chief over the Island of Ceylon was recalled to Britain for his mishandling of the riots. The new Governor Henry William Manning apologized on behalf of the British Empire to Mrs. Edmund Hewavitarne for the miscarriage of British Justice. He and Lady Manning later became personal friends of the Hewavitarne family.
The Anagarika participated in the World Congress of Religions in Chicago in 1893 at the age of 29 years “representing diverse religions”.
(The writer who is a grand-niece of Anagarika confirms that he was not a raciist but with vision against Colonial rule for the development of his country).