HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF – by Desmond Kelly “The Star of eLanka!”

Around 500 b.c. , people calling themselves Snhalese migrated from Mother India to the little Island that was once a part of it (India) as settlers, led by a man called Vijaya. “This”was also the name of the FIRST Ship, a mine-sweeper that was “presented” to our Senior Force “The Royal Ceylon Navy” in which I proudly “served” by “The Royal Navy” in England in appreciation for the “service” provided by our Sailors during World war 2.

“H.M.Cy.S. Vijaya” was not a large ship but then, we were not a large Navy, still proud of a vessel that was like a cork in heavy seas, tossing around but still afloat just like this writer, in my endeavour to give my eLanka & Lanka Times readers a very brief but hopefully interesting “history” of ” my lovely Island home’, Lanka.

Because I am now in Australia, residing here as a very proud “Lankan/Aussie”, this “reading” will only “cover” more or less the ” ancient history” & the era in which I actually lived there. The very sad & useless quarter-century “war” that was part of our most recent history, everyone knows about, and it is not part of this article anyway, & the less said about it, the better. This said, I do hope my readers will get some satisfaction from this especially edited version of history repeating itself. The “Aborigines” of “Lanka” were the “Veddha- peoples”. They were the hunter-gatherers, living in the wild, hunting with bow & arrow & generally minding their own business, when the Sinhalese came across the Palk strait, caused when a thin strip of the Indian Ocean seperated the huge Continent of India from the tiny but beautiful Island called Lanka, to live there, and make it their home. When they arrived, they were probably “aethists” who did’nt believe in anything but finding a new home. However, 240 years passed very quickly and a holy man by the name of Siddhahartha Gautama (The Buddah) , previously an Indian Prince who gave up his “high life” for poverty and the search for “Nirvana” started, not a religon but what was termed a “Philosopy” that was later named “Buddhism” in honour of this very special man.

Buddhism was then introduced into the island in 260 b.c. by a man named Mahinda, soon becoming an integral part of the Sinhalese culture.

A great builder named Dutthugemunu (161-137 b.c. united several States of ancient Lanka Into one Kingdom. He became their first Ruler and erected several superb palaces and Buddhist temples

The very first Capital of Lanka was Anuradhapura.

The staple diet of Sri Lankans was Rice.To grow rice, you need plenty of water but in the hot bloody clinate, this water soon evaporated and even the water gained during the monsoonal rainy season between Oct & April was not enough,so the people dammed Rivers and Streams because they were damned if they did & damned if they did’nt. It was a real damned nuisance.

King Mahasena (274-303 ) had to take the absolute responsibility of providing water for farming and then built a huge network of resevoirs and irrigation canals to convey water from one area to another.

In the 2nd 3rd & 4the centuries A.D. Lanka became a rich Kingdom indeed.A tiny Country with “everything”, She started trading with India, China, Persia, & even Ethiopia. She would have traded with more, but how far do you go? .

From the 5th century forward lanka suffered invasions from india in the 10th Century. The Chola Kingdom in Southern India had become very powerful and in 993 captured Northern Lanka and made Polonnaruwa the Capital. In 1017 they captured the South of the Island as well. However the Sinhalese continued to resist these attacks and in 1030 the Cholas withdrew from Rohana, in the Southeast & in 1070 the Sinhalese Ruler at the time Vijayabahu recaptured the North.

However after his death in 1111, history repeated itself when the next few Rulers succeeded him, the island once again broke up into independant States.

Then in 1153 Parakramabahu the Great became King of the Realm of Dakkinadesa and reunited Sri Lanka again and repaired the vast Irrigation Systems that had since gone into disrepair. He died in 1183.

In the 13th Cen. Sri Lankan power again declined. More invasions from India and political instability caused the Irrigation Systems to break down once again and the hungry people drifted into the fertile areas of the Southwest.. In 1255 the Capital named Polonnaruwa was totally abandoned.

In the 13th Century, Tamils took over the Nothern area of Sri Lanka & by 1505 the Island was divided into 3 seperate areas. In the North lived the Tamils, then there was a Sinhalese Kingdom in the Southwest. based in Kotte and another Kingdom smack in the Centre and East Sri Lanka based in Kandy.

Then in 1505, the Portuguese came into the picture . They were after the very valuable spice called Cinnamon. In 1517 they sent an expedition to Colombo and asked permission from King Vijayabahu to build a Fort there. King V. reluctantly assented, however, give an inch and they want a mile. The Portuguese then “ordered” K.V . to sell them Cinnamon at a priced fixed by them ( the Portuguese & when king V. refused point blank in 1518 this unruly mob used force, and “forced” the unfortunate King to give them the Cinnamon crop each year as a tribute. Not happy with what they already had, the greedy Portuguese made even more demands which led to a war in 1520/1521 which they won, and resulted in poor King Vijayabahu losing the support of his people and worse still, he was the overthrown by his 3 sons. Obviously, one was
not strong enough to do it and King Vijayabahu was later heard to say ” with my 3 Sons, who needs enemies”.

The eldest son became King Bhuvanekbahu V1 ( if you don’t mind ). He reigned in 1551 and, not being selfish, he decided to “give” his two younger brothers Principalities of their own in Kotte to Rule. The largest of these became the Kingdom of Sitavaka. The smallest was based on Rayigama but when it’s ruler the youngest brother, died in 1538 this kingdom was absorbed into Sitavaka.

In time, the states of Kotte and Sitavaka began to quarrel The rulers of Sitavaka began to resent the increasing influence of the Portuguese in Kotte . As a result, Kotte and Sitavaka waged a number of wars between themselves each time Kotte was forced to look to the Portuguese for help.so, what happened? , Nothing much, except the Portuguese influence increased.

In 1551 King Bhuvanekbahu was assassinated and the Portuguese installed a puppet ruler in Kotte. What his name was, is not known but lets call him King bloody Bhuvanpuppet. In the meantime Catholic Missionaries were at work in Kotte. Where they came from, no-one knows, but they wore long garb & shiny black hose. In 1557 the “puppet-ruler became a Catholic & many of his subjects also converted to Catholicism.

In 1597 the Portuguese got fed-up and finally annexed Kotte and Sitavaka Then they got thoroughly fed-up and annexed Jaffna ( in the north) in 1619 as well. This made Kandy ( in the Centre) the one & only lonely, but Independent Lankan Kingdom
Never satisfied, the Portuguese made several more attempts in 1594, 1603 & 1629 to conquer Kandy as well and make it a “clean-sweep” but all good things must come to an end and they were unsuccessful attempts. New brooms don’t always sweep well.

In 1636, 300 years before I was born , King Rajasinghe of Kandy turned to the “Dutch” for help. This was because Dutch-Power in the World was steadily on the increase while Portuguese-Power was going the other way. In 1637 King Rajasinghe requested some Dutch Envoys to a special meeting , after which, in 1638, when the Portuguese invaded again ( they simply would not give up), they were crushed by the Dutch at the battle . Not only that, they were badly beaten.Then King Rajasinghe wanted his allies to “get”
Gannoruwa, after which the Dutch agreed to capture all the Portuguese-held Ports in Sri Lanka in return for their expenses. Gannoruwa sounds like a disease but it was simply another “Port” in Lanka.

Between 1638 & 1640 the Dutchies did capture more Ports ( the Portuguese being good fighters too ), but instead of handing them to Kandy & King Rajasinghe.

Saying that their expenses had not been fully paid by the King , hung onto the Ports they won (clever, these Dutchies), The Dutch & Portuguese then made peace ?, in 1640 but war resumed in 1652 ( so whats new ?), Once again, the Kingdom of Kandy formed an allience with the Dutch. This time the Dutch attacked Colombo and captured it in 1656., however, refused point blank to hand Colombo over to Kandy. Instead, they pushed inland & in 1658 they capturedJaffna as well. That was the end of the Portuguese rule in Sri lanka .

The Dutch extended their rule & in 1665 they captured Trincomalee on the east coast. “Trinco”, was then reputed to have the biggest ” natural harbour” in the World. THE Dutch were great “Sailors” and it was nice to have a magnificent harbour to sail into.

Kandy was still independent and remaind so, uneasily, besides the Dutch Colony until
1760 when, guess what ?, war broke out between them. The Dutch won the war and forced Kandy to accept a most humilitating treaty. Kandy was forced to recognize Dutch Sovereignty over ALL the Sri Lankan Coastline, even those parts that formerly belonged to Kandy, to a depth of 4 Sinhalese miles (imagine that !!)

In 1796 however, the Dutch Rule gave way to the British. During that same year, the British annexed Colombo & Jaffna and the Dutch rule was suitably extinguished. The “lights” had gone out, for the Dutch.

Then, the British were eager to conquer Kandy. So what did they do ?, In 1815, they did just that.
Sri Wicramarajasinghe ( 1798-1850 ) was a rather cruel King, at the time, and being very unpopular with his subjects”, some of his “nobles” conspired with the British to get rid of him. The British agreed and their army invaded Kandy. And were met with little resistance. The King fled abroad ( which could have been anywhere ).He did not forget his cobcubines either. In 1817/1818 there was another rebellion against the British but it was unceremoniously
crushed.

At first, the British trod cautiously. They introduced “Trial by Jury” in 1811 and they went on to build a wide network of roads. Then , in 1833 they introduced wide-ranging reforms, one of the most important being the fact that they made “English” the official Language of the Country.

Slavery was abolished in 1844.( about time too).

In the early 19th Century, the British established large Coffee plantations and thus, Coffee became became a favourite drink, imports duties on Coffee in Britain were reduced and Ceylon-Coffee exports boomed. Large numbers of Indian labourers were brought in and COFFEE flourished for awhile. However in Ceylon, entire crops of this fabulous drink were devastated by the slow spread of fungus called “hemileia vastratrix”
from the 1870’s onwards and it was during the late 19th Century that TEA replaced Coffee as the favourite “brew”. Rubber & Coconuts came later and also featured as important crops for this little Island.

Also, in the late 19th Century, both Hinduism & Buddhism were revived in Ceylon.With all the wars going on, religons were forgotten for a while.

In the early 20th Century, “The Ceylon National Congress” was formed in 1919 and C.N.C. that was Sri Lankan nationalism grew in leaps & bounds.

In 1910, the year my dad was born, the British “allowed” the Ceylonese Community to elect one member of the “Legislative Council”& in 1924 , they made further concessionsvto ease the tensions but the Ceylonese were not satisfied & in1931, were granted a new constitution that said “From now on, Legislature will be elected by “Universal Suffrage”, put that in your pipe and smoke it”.

The Ceylonese were now demanding complete independence. Yet another constitution was then Introduced in 1946, but in 1947 Britain announced that India was to become independent. The Ceylonese , now demanded their own Idependence & in 1947 the British agreed to make Sri Lanka a “Dominion of the Realm”

Sri Lanka became “Independent” on the 4th of February, 1948. I remember it well. I was just 5 months short of 12 years old, but read & re-read about it in either the “Ceylon Observer” or the “Times of Ceylon”. They certainly WERE “the good times”. So, we were Independent now! .

MODERN CEYLON.

The first Prime Minister (and, the best, as far as I am concerned),was a fine figure of a man, his Excellency Don Stephen Senanayake. Unfortunately, after a comparatively short term as P.M., he fell off his horse on the “Galle-face” green, when the animal stumbled, and died, as a result, in 1952. His son, Dudley took over the reins but, not being experienced enough just yet, resigned in 1953 and handed the job over to Sir John Kotalawala. These three great Men were members of of the United National Party. (U.N.P).

IN 1956, Sir John fell from power, “English” lost it’s significence, I lost my own Independence but gained my first “Son & Heir”Michael Anthony Kelly (I should have gone to America immediately after) because the next P.M. became S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike whose main claim to fame was his “Sinhala-only” Policy , which not only caused an unnecessary rift between Sinhalese and Tamil people, but also caused the mass-exodus of the “Burgher Community” who fled the Country because half of them did not know where the hell they were going in Ceylon. Even the bus-destinations” were printed in “Sinhala” If you caught a bus in Dehiwala, wanting to get off at Bambalapitiya (for any reason, whatsoever) but then ended up in Hambantota, where were you going next ?. It should not have been Australia, because, believe it or not, at the same time the “Sinhala-only” Policy was “law” in Ceylon, Australia had it’s own stupid “Policy”, “The White-Australia” Policy. This being the case, many “Burghers” had to walk in “Cemetary-Street” to find out whether their ancestors were 75% “Europeon” so they could come to Australia. Speaking from my own personal experience, I had to do the same thing . Anyway, watch out Australia, because due to the fact
that a young Tamil womsn’s breast being tampered-with and one “nipple” being sliced off, BIG TROUBLE BEGAN in 1958 in Midern Ceylon. It all started there, my friends, IT ALL STARTED THERE! !.

S.W.R.D.Bandaranaike was assassinated in 1959 and his wife Sirimavo “took over” the running of the Country. This Lady had no experience in Politics whatsoever and thereby did’nt know what was going-on. Because, more than anything else, she wanted to “prove herself” she was determibed to carry on with her husbands “work” & keep it going at any cost. She continued “on the same road” as her husband , continued with the “Sinhala-only ” Policy & brought in also the Nationalization Policy to all schools in the Island. “LEARN SINHALA OR FAIL YOUR “EXAMS”.
I was very good with the “Sinhala Language”could have safely stayed with my steady job in the Royal Ceylon Navy, but realizing that our children would’nt stand much of a chance for decent employment in my Motherland ( which I still love dearly ), We decided to “migrate”. I arrived in Melbourne in the autumn of 1962 and “White Australia Policy” or “Brown Australia Policy”, I am glad we came. My children cannot speak a word of Sinhala but I still “keep in touch.

Mrs. Bandaranaike stayed on as P.M.until 1965 In 1965, she was replaced by a much more experienced Dudley Senanayake who “ran” the Country for another 5 years. As I have said earlier :-

I do not intend to continue this brief history of the Ceylon I knew. ” Those were the days, my friend” I am a Sri Lankan/ Australian now, I could write much more but will leave this for other “historians” to continue. Suffice to now just say that the name Ceylon, a truly beautiful one, has now been changed to SRI LANKA., but whether it was Ceylon, Serendib, Seylan, simply Lanka, Taprobane, “The “Pearl” of the East”, “The “Tear-drop” of India or WHATEVER, our Country was by far, the best in the World.

Read about HER in “ELanka” & please enjoy.