Dr Sudath Guanasekara
Part 1.
14.12. 2023.
This document is expected to serve as the blue print of a Master plan for the rehabilitation, protection and development of the Kandyan areas, as defined in this paper below, located right at the center (The geographical heartland “HADABIMA”) of this Island.
It is designed to the restoration of the lost rights of the native inhabitants of the Kandyan areas during a long period of 443 years of colonial repression and exploitation (1505-1948) and neglected thereafter and ignored by their own politicians and governments up to date. As such it is expected to usher in a new chapter in the dignity of its great people and restore the territorial integrity and sovereignty of this country and bring back political stability and overall development of this region and the whole country.
Kandyan areas (more fully described in annex 1) referred to in this essay, were the most affected part of this Island nation during, the period 1505 to 1815. firstly, due to political and economic isolation from the outside world for 310 years due Portuguese, Dutch and British occupation of the coastal belt with intermittent attacks and secondly, due to direct and accelerated repression, oppression, destruction and exploitation by the British until 1948. It is also the worst affected part in the country’s physical, economic, social and cultural spheres during the 133-year period of direct repressive and exploitive British colonial Administration (1815-1948), in this country.
The two darkest black marks in the history of British occupation were the 1817-18 Uva -Wellassa and the 1848 Matale rebellions. These two have gone down in history as the most horrendous and inhuman black marks in British colonial rule anywhere in the world. What is even more despicable was that these areas were also the most neglected, discriminated and denationalized regions by the British and also by all governments elected by its own people since 1948-up to date, with no regard for native Kandyans Sinhalese, who lived on this land from the inception of history as a great people and who defended this country for 443 years (1505 -1948), against the military might and religious atrocities conducted with the sword and the gun in the right hand and the Bible in the left hand of these three ruthless foreign invaders namely, the Portuguese, Dutch and the British. The Kandyan fought fearlessly against these invaders to protect the motherland for posterity at great expense, while the lowlanders meekly submitted to the enemy, as they had no other alternative with the enemy’s gunpower followed by attractive favors including positions under the invader’s government, money and lands, offered to them as bribes under submission.
The Master Plan
This master plan of development is designed to rectify all the historical injustices inflicted upon the natives of the Kandyan regions, including returning their land robbed by the British, and usher in a new and vibrant development era in these Areas, redolent of their pristine and proud past Kingdom, the heartland of the Sinhale, and the legitimate successor to the ancient great Sinhala Buddhist Kingdom, that was a glittering jewel in the entire ancient world, ranked very high both in the East and the West.
The Proposal referred to in this document covers mainly the Central and Uva Provinces referred to in the Kandyan Peasantry Commission Report of 1951, that were the main theaters of the freedom struggles waged by the patriotic Kandyan Sinhalese of the then Kandyan Kingdom in 1818 and 1848, against the oppression and genocide committed by British invaders.
However, the area of implementation of the proposed development plan will extend to a wider area covering all the Divisional Secretary Areas in the districts adjoining the central hill country in other provinces as well, recommended by the proposed KRPD Authority or requests made by the public, so that it will cover some parts of Sabaragamuwa, Southern, NWP and even the Eastern province in the Ampare District, as well as they all fall within the affected traditional Kandyan areas, where in the people were also victims of colonial rule suffering the same colonial victimization.
Initially it is proposed to be implemented within the Project Area and thereafter broaden the spillover benefits of this project to a wider segment of deserving citizens in the country covering almost 1/3 the area of the whole Island as it gathers momentum.
The oppressive and exploitive rule of the British invaders for 133 years (1815-1948), constitutes one of the worst criminal records of British colonial administration in the world, as John Davy, had once said.
I quote,
“John Davy, commenting in the aftermath of the 1818 observes that “The history of British rule in Sri Lanka after 1818 rebellion cannot be related without shame. None of the members of the leading families in the Kandyan families in the Kandyan country have survived. Small-pox and privations have destroyed those spared by the gun and the sword”. (John Davy Scholar, Army surgeon and physician in attendance on Brownrigg during 1817-1819.)
Their criminal records of oppression and suppression and extra judicial murder and genocide committed during the 1848 Matale rebellion, by Torrington were even worse and were more savages according to extant historical records.
annex 1
Kandyan areas
The Kandyan Kingdom (Kandaudarata) at the time of annexation to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1815 was that part of the country covering nearly 90 % of the Island of Sri Lanka/Sinhale, bordered by a narrow maritime belt that was under the Portuguese, Dutch and the British consecutively, for 310 years from 1505 to 1815. This Kingdom was found by King Wimaladharmasuriya in 1594 with Sekadagala as its capital and continued as an independent country until it was ceded to the English by a convention between two sovereign countries equal in status, The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Sinhale on 2nd March 1815.
The Kandyan Kingdom was also the legitimate successor to the Lankadhiipa/Sinhale Kingdom found in 543 BC and firmly established over the whole Island by King Pandukabhaya (394-307 BC). It was the last link of that great Sinhala Buddhist Kingdom that protected its sovereignty and proud Independence for 2358 years until it was ceded to the British crown in 1815 by deception and intrigue on the part of the British, led by a cunning British Civil Servant called John Doyly who was supposed to be the best spy in the British Empire, partly due to disunity and lack of farsightedness among the native leaders.
Had the Kandyan Sinhalese also not resisted and not fought against the invaders, during this 310-year period definitely, the Sinhala nation too would have got extinct, just like what happened to the natives of N&S America, Australia and New Zealand due to colonial invasions by the Western invaders. It was those patriotic and brave Kandyans, (a term coined by a British naval Captain Robert Percival in 1805, to call those who lived on the hilly center of this country as Candians who fought tooth and nail and protected the motherland for posterity, having lost everything they inherited including their millennia old hereditary land and their own lives. Those who lived in the maritime provinces, especially in the South West were termed Cinglese by Percival (meaning Sinhalese).
It was also these Kandyan Sinhala patriotic people who fought fearlessly and died in tens of thousands in numerous battles against these three Western colonial invaders, to protect the heartland of the motherland and sacrificed everything they had jealously guarded, including their lives even on behalf of all those who lived helplessly subjugated in the maritime belt of this land during the colonial rule.
Therefore, the present-day generation, not only Sinhalese living in the Kandyan territory but also all other parts of the country including the lowlands, and even in foreign countries, with no distinction as Kandyan or low country Sinhalese, even though their ancestors had taken the side of the British as they were helpless before the invader’s mighty gunpower, owe the greatest debt to the brave and patriotic Kandyans, the sons of Lanka who sacrificed everything they had inherited from their ancestors and jealously guarded for 2 ½ millennia, including their mother land, system of government, legal system, religion, culture, traditions, customs and other personal belongings including their loved ones, wives and children and finally, their own life to protect this land for the present generation to live today.
In order to understand the real cruelty of the aggressor just have a look at the order given by Governor Brownrigg to Major Mack Donald in 1817, with the beginning of the first freedom struggle by the native Kandyan patriots, called the Uva Wellassa rebellion 1817-1818.
“That all men above 18 should be killed, all houses pulled down and burnt and all trees bearing fruits of use to human beings felled. All grain should be destroyed or confiscated. Irrigation tanks and canals should be breached. All cattle belonging to them which were in excess of the requirements of the army should forthwith be destroyed” (source EELAM Exposed 2020. by L.K.N. Perera)
This was how the uncivilized British violated the 1815 Kandyan Convention singed between two sovereign countries on equal status.
This was also how the ancestors of present-day Western angels’ human rights activists had treated our ancestors. Should not they be ashamed of their naked behavior in this backdrop?
Therefore, it is the bounden duty of not only of the Sinhalese living all over the world but even all other communities such as Tamils and Muslims who have made this country their home at present, to support Kandyan Sinhalese to retrieve their legitimate rights? They all owe a great debt to the Kandyan Sinhalese and therefore should join hands to agitate for the reparation of the crimes done to a country and a great nation with a rich culture, by the British colonial rulers, who built an Empire where the sun never set, as they boast, with riches plundered and robbed from countries like ours.
A sad national tragedy we all should be ashamed of
Although, historically that is the undeniable stark truth, we all should be ashamed that nothing had been done to rectify the historical injustices done to our own heroic ancestors in the former Kandyan Kingdom, by the colonial invaders for 443 years. None of the governments that took over the reins of government of this country since 1948, also has done its duty by this great people even though 75 years have lapsed, since the invaders have left the shores of the country, after handing over the governance to their local proxies. As such it is the bounden duty of all stakeholders to join hands to win this legitimate struggle.
Past attempts made to retrieve their grievances
Kandyan Peasantry Commission 1949
Although a Commission called the Kandyan Peasantry Commission was appointed in 1949 by the then Government in an attempt to look in to the problems of Kandyan people (calling them Kandyan peasants-a social group never existed in this country since the advent of Buddhism in 307 BC), even its objectives were limited, “To inquire in to the socio-economic conditions of the Kandyan people and make recommendation to ameliorate them” This in my opinion was only a very superficial scratching of a deep rooted national problem manifested by Western colonial plunderers over a long period of nearly 500 years (1505-1948) of brutal and savages colonial destructions done to one of the millennia old greatest Eastern civilization in the East.
The KPC never addressed the basic issues of a nation. The British mercilessly robbed its natural wealth such as millions of acres of land, destroyed millions of its pristine forests making hundreds of perennial rivers dry and a nation pauperized and culturally poorer due to ruthless colonial exploitations and depredation. The restoration of their lost birth rights and the heritage starting from 1815 up to 1948 was not given any attention by the KPC report. No post-independent government has taken any step to rectify this sad situation.
No action was taken to restore the premier forests cover destroyed by the invaders on the prime watershed in order to restore the lost physical stability of the nation’s Heartland that led to acute soil erosion and land degradation, and the depletion of water resources and the loss of bio diversity in the geographical heartland of the country. No action was taken to return their ancestral land to their original owners. No action t was taken to solve the demographic complication of the presence of a foreign labour force of nearly 1.2 million Indian labour right at the center of the country that has brought about internal, political and socio-economic problems. Above all finally, the reparation of the lost rights of the native Sinhala people, the sons of the land, the Bhumiputhras, who owned it for millennia was never attempted.
On the one hand it may be that both the politicians and policy makers of the post-independence period had been debarred by the colonial masters from looking in to other critical problems like, touching the British owned tea plantations, the issue of the Indian immigrant labour and the crimes committed by the British on native Sinhalese, including their war crimes, genocide and murder, their draconian land policies that made thousands of native Kandyan Sinhalese landless etc. On the other could it be their subservience to the colonial masters or on the other hand a lack of a vision and a mission on their part in overall nation building and their ignorance on the sacrifices made by the Kandyan’s people in protecting the motherland for posterity.
To that extent the KPC Report is also an incomplete public record that has failed to do justice by the Kandyans and their legitimate grievances.
What is worse was that even the recommendations made in the KPC Report to ameliorate the socio-economic conditions of the Kandyan peasants, were never implemented as recommended by the KPC report. As such justice is left denied to them up to date.
For example even the first and the only 6 Year Plan 1953/54-1959/60 prepared under the findings of the KPC Report 1951 still remains unimplemented fully, due to non-provision of funds and absence of necessary institutional arrangements and more specifically due to objections by some of the so-called low county Sinhala politicians like M.D.H Jayawardha, the then Finance Minister who raised his objections against special treatment for a particular area and a particular group and refused to give allocations. This evinces how the black white rulers have treated their own ancestors of the Kandyan areas for 77 years, who had died on behalf of the whole country.
The chronic apathy on the part of the present-day politicians, especially those representing the Kandyan areas (from 1948 to date) who should have fought the battle on behalf of their own people is even worse. The ignorance and the disinterest on the part of all Sinhala politicians in Parliament on the role played by the Kandyan Sinhalese in protecting the motherland and the lack of any feeling for their motherland own or for their own people who had fought and died to protect this country on behalf of the posterity is deplorable. They were more interested in estate Tamil votes and their own narrow party-political interest than the destiny of the country and their own Sinhala voters, whose ancestors had died in thousands in battle against the enemy. (See Annex 111 for details)
Two other eyewashes.
Meanwhile two other “political” eyewashes to deceive the Kandyans, were also made in recent times by the same genre of politicians who were never truly committed to do justice by the Kandyan areas and their heroes who protected this country for 443 years.
The first was the formation of the Udarata Development Authority under Act no 26 of 2005. This was closed down on Jan 1st 2014 by Minister Basil Rajapaksa to form his own pet project Divineguma. Whose Divi Naguma is left unanswered.
The second attempt was made in 2017 to form an Authority called a Statutory Board for the protection of Kandyan Heritage. Those who sponsored this were also never concerned about the rehabilitation or the welfare of the Kandyans. This Authority has no final Cabinet approval or an Act passed by the Parliament up to date. But it continues to operate rather illegally in the heart of the Kandy city in a rented-out building paying a monthly rental of Rs 1.2 million spending millions of public funds, looking after their own benefits only.
This sums up the 75 years of an appalling and tragic story of how the successive governments since 1948 have treated the brave and patriotic sons of the soil who had fought and died in battle in tens of thousands to protect this country, from three western colonial enemies for, four centuries and forty-three years.
Therefore, the crying need and the timeliness for formulating, and implementing a comprehensive rehabilitation and development Programme, for the Kandyan areas to uplift these forgotten, neglected and betrayed sons of the soil whose ancestors have protected this land by paying with their lives in tens of thousands for us to live today, in our beloved motherland. Therefore, the urgent need to do justice and to do justice to these neglected people at least now, even though it is too belated.
It is on behalf of these patriotic freedom fighters who died on our behalf for 443 years and their victimized and destitute decedents who are landless, poverty stricken and therefore helpless, I am making this request for their rehabilitation, reparation and upliftment at least now in order to do justice by a patriotic generation of people.
Needless to say, the whole nation is eternally indebted to the Kandyans who sacrificed their lives on behalf of the Motherland and the posterity.
At the same time there is also a legitimate and moral need to rectify the historical injustices done to the country and the people as a whole.
First, by the colonial invaders, more specifically by the British by way of reparation and an open apology for the destruction and devastations done to this country and its people.
Second, by our own politicians who succeeded the colonial rulers in 1948 for the criminal negligence committed by them on their own people who protected a country for 443 years for us to live up to date.
The area proposed to be taken up for rehabilitation and development under this Authority covers 1/3 the total area of the Island also with a beneficiary population of 1/3 the total population of the country, that is nearly 7 million.
Proposed Political and Administrative mechanism to implement this programme.
1. It is proposed to establish “A powerful Ministry of Kandyan Rehabilitation, Protection and Development and under the Head of the State “as proposed by the Kandayan Peasantry Commission Report of 1951
(ශ්රි ලංකා කන්ද උඩරට පුනරුත්ථාන, සුරැකීමේ සහ සoවර්ධන අමාත්යාන්ශය)
2. A Kandyan Areas Rehabilitation, Protection and Development Authority of Sri Lanka under the above Ministry as the Agency in charge of carrying out the activities of the Master plan
The mandate of the Kandyan area Rehabilitation, Development and Protection Authority are as follows.
1.First,
To complete the recommendations made for rehabilitation under the Rehabilitation and the Development programme given in the first six-year plan made under the Report of the KPC 1951.
2.Second, to complete the other recommendations of the KPC Report 1951.
3.Third, to carry out a comprehensive survey on socio-economic development programme through an intensive and sustainable agricultural livestock, small and medium industries and tourist development program geared to employment and income generation within the rural sector on 1/3 the total area of the Island with a view to raising the standard of living of nearly 7 million people there by rescuing them from abject poverty and discrimination.
4.Fourth,
To implement a comprehensive infra structure development programme like roads, irrigation facilities (anicuts, village tanks and canals etc) hospitals and Ayurvedic centers, schools, multipurpose cooperatives with banking facilities, Agrarian service centers, marketing facilities, and postal facilities etc. throughout the project area.
(See Annex 1V for details.)
5.Fifth,
To implement a Settlement Development programme to settle 250,000 families within the areas between 1000-3500ft msl in the above three Provinces and in the selected Divisional Secretary Divisions mentioned in para 2 to solve critical socio-economic problems prevailing in these areas such as landlessness, unemployment and abject poverty rampant and acute. This settlement and development package should be based on the NADSA Development model implemented in the Districts of Kandy and Kegalla (1985-1991) that was extended to Monaragala, Badulla, Rathnapura, Nuwaraeliya from the year 1992, after its resurrection with a 12.5 m US$ WFP package obtained by me as its then Executive Director under the new name HADABIMA Authority of Sri Lanka)
The original NADSA project (National Agricultural Diversification and Settlement Authority was confined to Kandy and Kegalla Districts, was a UNDP project started in 1978 August with the three-fold objectives of
1 Watershed Protection (management)
2 Settlement Development and
3 Agricultural Diversification
In addition to these objectives the new proposal is also geared to employment and income generation within the rural sector. leading to overall socio-economic development in the country.
6.Sixth,
To initiate a program of returning the lands of native leaders confiscated by the British to their legitimate inheritors. (See Annex 1V 12)
8. Seventh
This will be followed by a call for reparation, compensation and apology from the British government both for natives and Indian estate labour who had been exploited to the rim under most inhuman treatment. (See Annex 1V 10&11)
9 And finally,
To engage in any other activity the Authority deems appropriate to meet the lost rights and grievances of these great people and improve the standards of life of the permanent residents of the selected Divisional Secretaries Aras. (To be continued)
Physical heritage reparation.
This proposal also includes a programme of physical heritage reparation. Among other things it includes mainly three items; they are,
a) Forest
The restoration and rehabilitation of the destructions done to the forest, land and water resources of the central hill country, as a top national priority as it forms the foundation of the entire life system and the civilization of this Island nation. It is estimated that over 600 000 acres of prime forest had been removed for coffee and tea plantations
b) Land
It Is estimated that 1.3 million acres of land owned by the native people, Buddhist temples and Devalas had been illegally taken over by force by the colonial government under draconian legislations like Land Encroachment Ord No 12 of 1840, Temple Land Ordinance 1853 and Wasteland Ord 1897.
c)Rivers
In the process 103 perennial rivers, watering the lowlands around the hill country were made to dry up due to deforestation of the main watersheds in the central hills. Deforestation also led to heavy soil erosion and loss of bio diversity due to land degradation, landslides (in the hill Country) and other calamities like recurrent downstream floods and river siltation causing heavy losses to people and property in the lowlands.
Therefore, protecting the central watersheds above 1000 ft MSL is the most fundamental and crucial factor not only for future development but also in deciding the fate of the entire life system and the future civilization in this country.
Therefore, it is proposed to create the following new institutions for the implementation of this proposal and
1) Setting up a Kandyan Areas Rehabilitation, Protection and Development Ministry under the Head of the State/Prime Minister as stated under the KPC Report of 1951.
2) Setting up a Kandyan areas Rehabilitation, Protection and Development Authority of Sri Lanka (KRPDA) to be in charge of the implementation of the objectives mentioned in Annex 1V and all matters incidental to those objectives and also take the following steps to centralize the functions connected with this Authority to centralize all under one roof.
3. Abolish the present Sri Lanka Hadabima Adhikaariya and the Kandudarata Urumaya Surakiime saha Savibala Ganviimei Adhikaariya and transfer all their functions and assets to the Kandyan areas Rehabilitation, Protection and Development Ministry
4) Abolish all Ministries and institutions presently operating only for the benefit of Indian estate Tamils like The Ministry of Estate Village and Infra Structure Development and transfer all their functions and assets to the above-mentioned Ministry of Kandyan areas Rehabilitation, Protection and Development Ministry[S1] .
5) Ban all national and international organizations like the Nam 200 movement, catering only to estate Tamils on a Communal basis and transfer their assets to the Ministry of Kandyan areas Rehabilitation, Protection and Development Ministry
6.To Implement all the functions listed in Annexes 11, 1V and V
Annex 11
The next area of rehabilitation and reparation is heritage destruction.
Usually, writings on heritage include only the cultural side. But to me it means two things, that is both cultural and physical as they are always interlinked, inter related and inter dependent. Therefore, in any programme of heritage rehabilitation and development it is important to take both these aspects in to consideration, if the desired results of rehabilitation and development are to be achieved. This is specially so in the context of our country. (Pl: see annex 11 for details)
Usually, literature on heritage of any nation implies only the cultural side like language, religion, arts and crafts, architectural and religious monuments like buildings, statues, temple and dagabas and paintings and frescoers songs and literature, food and drinks, dresses, customs, rituals and traditions indigenous technology, administrative and legal system, the economic system, their dress and habits, human attitudes like patriotism and bravery and other nuances of human behavior.
But they don’t include the physical or natural assets like the nature of the land and its physiography, soil, its rivers and other water bodies like irrigation tanks and canals, biodiversity in fauna and flora the development and conservation of which sometimes become even more important for the survival of life and man’s survival on earth than the protection of some of the cultural heritages. In this case the best example in our context is the central hill country of Sri Lanka. Geographically it is like a human heart both in its morphology and function. It is located almost right at the center of the Island, sloping down towards the coastal plain right round. All the rivers in the country starts there and flow down in all direction watering the rest of the country providing the water needed to sustain life in the country. If these rivers stop flowing one day, the curtain will fall on the entire life system in this country.
Continuous river flow depends primarily on the physical stability of the central hill country. The stability of the hill country mainly depends on its forest cover. The physical stability of the central hill country determines and dictate the survival of the entire life system in this country. To this extent the central hill country plays the role of a heart of the “living being,” that is Sri Lanka. Just like the man dies when the heart stops “the Being” Lanka also, will die, the day the physical stability of the central hill country is gone. Therefore, the crucial need to protect the physical stability of the Central hill country at all cost. This lesson has to be taught to each child from his kindergarten days and every man and woman in this country should adopt and practice this concept as a religion.
This was done during the days of the Sinhala Kings by banning all settlements and clearings on land above 3500 ft above sea level. The only exceptions were Kotmale, Welimanda and Mandaram Nuwara. All forests above that level were declared Thahanchi kele strictly prohibited forest even to enter, by Royal decree. Therefore, if you want to stop the extinction of entire life system in the whole Island leading to disappearance of civilization as well, we have to take the following steps very early.
In addition, the following steps also have to be taken to make this dream a reality.
1)Declaring all forests and lands above 5000 ft msl in the Island as strictly protected and conserved forest
2 Ban tea cultivation or any form of human activity on lands above 5000ft msl. with the exception of the Nuwara Eliya town, Hakgala Botanical Garden and the Ambewela farm and implement a vigorous re-afforestation program with indigenous species to cover this whole stretch.
3) Limit existing large scale tea cultivation to land between 3500-5000ft above sea level. They should be managed by large scale Boards either State or private, but all forms of settlements should be banned within it, confining to tea factories and offices only.
4)All settlements in the hill country should be confined to land below 3500 ft
5) land between 1000 ft and 3500 ft should be used for settlement of small holder farm families on 2-2 ½ acre farm lots of mixed farms of the newly invented Kandyan Home garden model. It is suggested that the landless Kandyan villagers and the displaced estate Tamils of this country who are prepared to accept Sri Lanka citizenship under the Nehru/Kotalawala Agreement of 1953 on mixed settlements basis. That will put an end to mono Tamil settlements in the central hill country and will end Indianization of the heartland of this Island. It must be made compulsory for them to divorce all connections with India and get fully integrated to the native society just as it happened in the past. This belt of settlement right round the hill country will also provide the labour required for the tea plantations between 3500-5000 ft.
This arrangement will guarantee the much-needed physical stability of the central hill country that will in turn guarantee the survival of the entire life system in the whole Island.
(However, the Nuwara Eliya Town may be exempted from this rule. But all other hill country towns like Hatton, Talavakele and Bogawanthalawa etc should be necessarily relocated in suitable places within the 1000-3500 belt. Those who refuse to adjust to this new situation and wants to remain Indian has no alternative but to get back to India or ask UK and demand them to provide lands for them to settle down there to continue as British citizens as they had been so before 1948. Because you cannot allow “two nations, to operate right at the center of their land of the Sinhala nation
Once this arrangement is complete then again, the paradise on earth in Sri Lanka often eulogized by many a western traveler in the medieval times will definitely reappear again on this land.
Annex 111
Although a Commission called the Kandyan Peasantry Commission was appointed in 1949 by the then Government to look in to the problems of Kandyan people on representations made by people like A. Ratnayaka, the MP for Dumbara and the Minister of Home Affairs at the time, its objectives were limited “To inquire in to the socio-economic conditions of the Kandyan people and make recommendation to ameliorate them” only.
Although this Commission had done an excellent job by producing a comprehensive Report on the socio-economic conditions of the people of this area at the time, I think “The Kandyan Peasantry Commission” also has missed the wood for the trees. The Commission has failed to look at the problems of the victims and their territory in a broader perspective of some vital areas like,
a) rectifying the historical injustices done to the natives by the invaders, by illicitly taking over their land by force under draconian land grabbing laws.
b) murdering thousands of freedom fighters, by killing some of them, savagely, violating all accepted civilized norms, executing some of them even without proper trials and banishing some of the national leaders like Ahelepola to distant countries beyond the seas to places like, Mauritius and leaving them to die as prisoners of war and criminals in unknown lands, for the noble act of defending their motherland against the invaders.
c)It also had not made any reference to the illegal, immoral and unethical Royal proclamation No 21 of Nov 1818 made by Brownrigg and the crimes committed under its cover, which unilaterally abrogated the Kandyan Convention of March 2 even before its ink was dry and the repressive military rule carried out by the invader thereafter, as prearranged.
d)There is also no reference to continuing governance in these areas under exploitation, repression and oppression, undemocratically under their Royal Proclamations ever since 1818 almost up to 1948, denying all civilized and accepted principles of natural justice to the citizens of the Kandyan Kingdom.
e) There is also no mention about the untold destruction and devastations and loss done to this country, its rich natural and physical resources, social and economic assets, age old customs and traditions and above all to Buddhism the fountain of our culture, by them.
f) There is also no reference anywhere for the need to restore what was destroyed by colonial vandalism and the need to claim compensation and to demand an apology from the oppressors for the wrongs they had done and left.
g) The KPR Commission also supported the continuation of the sterling Company owned tea plantations all over the hill country as a foreign exchange earner without realizing the irreparable damage it has already done and what continue to as foreigners and also the damages, they continue to do to the physical stability of the central highlands without realizing the environmental damage its doe to his Island nation.
h) The KPR Commission also had not made any reference to the 12.5 million Indian migrant labour gang that was already pausing a major demographic, political, economic and social problem to the country even by that time, not to make any mention on perceiving future problems. I do not know as to how the KPC was planning to solve landlessness among Kandyan peasants (which they had identifies as a major problem among them) when 12.5 million Indians were illegally occupying their ancestral land, taken over by the British by force.
i) a) There is also no reference to the crying needs to restore the physical stability of the central hill country as a 100 % Thahnachi kele that was there in the days of the Sinhala Kings, that was functioning as the virtual heart of the body Sri Lanka.
What is even worse is The KPC Report which made extensive recommendations to ameliorate the appalling socio-economic conditions of the Kandyan peasants never made any far-reaching solid recommendation to do justice to these great people who were robbed of their ancestral lands by the colonial invaders and an alien Indian labour force settled on them. It appears to me that the commissioners were totally blind to this all-important problem. Was it their ignorance of the real problems of the Kandyan peasants or their reluctance to displease their colonial masters and or else their desire to safeguard the interests of the then politicians who only acted as proxies of the white men.
Annex 1V
The objectives of the Kandyan areas Rehabilitation, Protection and Development Authority of Sri Lanka (Udarata Punaruththaana, Surakiime saha Sanvardhana Adhikaariya).
(The Kandyan areas Rehabilitation, Protection Development Authority of Sri Lanka)
1 Taking action to restore the lost Physical Stability of the Central Hill Country (The Geographical Heartland- HADABIMA) of Sri Lanka on which depends the survival of the entire life system and the civilization of this country
2.Completion of Rehabilitation of land and people by implementing the projects identified in the KPC Report to uplift the social and economic standards of people living within the Central, Uva and the Sabaragamuwa provinces and the Div. Sec Divisions of the other provinces as decided by the Board through other government line departments relevant to the subjects.
3.Implementing an aggressive and sustainable rural economic and social development through agricultural, small industrial and tourist development programme geared to employment and income generation in liaison with government departments and private organizations and individuals.
4 Implementing a Settlement Development programme in the mid country (1000—3500) by the Authority on 2 ½ acre small holder diversified farm lots. Under this scheme it is envisaged to settle 250,000 families in the 3 provinces within 5 years
5. Funding development projects initiated by other government departments. Here each line dept is expected to identify their own projects and submit them for funds. We provide funds after project evaluation and monitor implementation to guarantee successful completion of the said projects in time.
6.Implementing other development project identified by public agencies or individuals within the project area through the subject departments and monitoring their successful completion in time.
7 Initiating action to rectify the historical injustices done by the British to the Kandyan Sinhalese from 1815-1948 and more particularly in the 1818 and 1848 Freedom Struggles.
8)Taking action to implement a comprehensive development plan to solve the problems of landlessness, unemployment, underemployment, acute poverty and other socio- economic problems of the people living in these areas.
9. Taking action to attend to their social and infrastructure needs like roads, domestic water needs, irrigation, health, education, cultural needs marketing and administration
10. Taking action to put an end to ethnic discrimination and create a socio-culturally and politically homogeneous, integrated and inward-looking Sri Lankan society in the central Sri Lanka.
11.Initiating action to demand reparation and compensation from the British Government for the destruction and devastation done to millions of acres of our land, forest, water resources and from the British government.
12. Initiating a global movement to seek compensation for centuries of land theft, genocide and cultural imperialism, large scale violation of human rights by Britain for native Sinhalese as well as Indian estate labour during the period 1797-1948.
13 Taking action to claim compensation for
a) displaced native Sinhalese, their land taken over by force under draconian land grabbing laws such as the Encroachment upon Crown Land Ordinance No 12 of 1840. Temple Lands Ordinance of 1853 and Waste Land Ord of 1897 and loss of life
b) compensation for the Indian indentured labour who had been subjected to exploitation from 1830s to 1948 and ill- treatment by low wages and despicable living conditions as British citizens and leaving them behind as a destitute and a stateless lot and
C) Rectify the catastrophic political and economic problems willfully left behind by the British for the government of Sri Lanka.
14. Taking action to seek redress and compensation from the British Government for the native Kandyan Sinhalese as well as the laborers of Indian origin for violation of their human rights by the British colonial Government from 1815-1948.
15. Taking action to seek compensation for the destruction done by the colonial rulers to the forest, rivers, water, land and biodiversity and the havoc done to downstream areas by flood due to largescale deforestation on the highlands.
16. Taking action to return the land confiscated by the British to their original owners
Extent of the Project area
The Project area covers 1/3 the area of this Island also 1/3 the population of the country.
That also means 1/3 the voters of the country So obviously the government that implement this programe will firstly, go down in history as the only Government that has addressed the problems of the forgotten Kandyan people and that did justice by them at last. As such the people of this area will decide as to who should govern the country in future.
Annex V
Head Office of the Ministry and the Adhikaariya Office
It is proposed that the Head office of this Ministry and the Authority should be located in Kandy being the central place of the mandated area considering the ease of delivery of services to people from an operational angle and easy access to the people on the other hand.
Staff of the Ministry and the Authority
The Secretary of the Ministry who will have authority over all activities of the Ministry and the Authority will also function as the Director General who will coordinate the work of the 3 Divisions of the Authority stated below.
Staff of the Ministry and the Authority will be kept at a bare minimum at the beginning
Board of Directors
It will be headed by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of KRDP who shall be an officer of Cabinet Secretary rank (SLAS)
The Ministry and the Secretariat will function from Kandy once the Cabinet paper is approved
Implementation of this programme (other than the settlement Development Programe vide item 2 above) in all three provinces will be carried out through the district administration and other government departments where the GAA/District Secs, Divisional Secs and Graama Sevaa Niladharis will act as the coordinating officers of the activities of the Authority in their respective divisions. The services of field officers of the line ministries and departments at field level will be coordinated by the Divisional Sec and Grama Seva Niladharries
(All legislative enactments Statutes enacted exclusively for the estate Tamil community of Indian origin only stands repealed. Ministries and all statutory organization including the Ministry for Hill Country Village and Infrastructure Development (with a ten-year special development Project with UNDP funds obtained as loans exclusively to develop the Tamil settlements on the hills), and the Upcountry new Village Development Authority etc should be abolished. All funds allocated to these institutions will be transferred to the New KRPDA. This enactment will operate as the sole legal Authority that deals with settlement of people living in the Kandyan provinces in future. The funds lying in banks and all assets belonging to them will also be transferred to the Fund of the KRPDA Authority immediately
Special Advisory Committee
Prof Gerald Peiris (Emeritus-Geography)
Prof C.M Madduma bandaara
Mr. Senaka Weraratna Lawyer
Dr. Garvin Karunaratna and any other as decided by the Minister in charge of the Ministry.
Dr. Sumedha WeerawarDhana University of Peradheniya
Palitha Ariyaratna
Mr LKN Perera Retired Judge, Author of EELAM EXPOSED