WHEN RANIL WAS MINISTER OF EDUCATION…a personal story.
Posted on November 27th, 2015
Sri Lanka Well Wisher.
It was just that to get anything done at the Ministry of Education you had to go through Mr Sunil aka ‘Gonawala Suni’l. Let me briefly explain my experience.
During the 80’s my sister and BIL lived in Kandegoda, Ambalangoda, with my mother. My BIL worked in Colombo and travelled daily to Colombo on the Samudra Devi. They had two son’s one at Trinity and the younger fellow at Dharmasoka. As my sister was at home she used to teach English to the village kids absolutely free. Naturally the number of kids grew.
Then the Vice Principal of the village school Kandegoda Maha Vidyalaya wanted my sister to come and Teach English for the school ids. (By the way the Vice Principal happened to be my Grandfathers drivers daughter – a graduate Teacher.). Again my sister taught gratis on a volunteer basis. Later they wanted her to join the staff, which she did as by then she was involved with various other activities of the school.
My mother made the mistake of telling my sister that if she was going to be teaching she might as well do it properly and become a Trained Teacher. With much inconvenience she attended the Teacher Training School at Bolawalana close to Negombo.
Now after she graduated she got a posting in the Hambantota District. So now, they had a situation of living in Ambalangoda, Husband working in Colombo, wife at somewhere in Hambantota, one son in Kandy and the other in Ambalangoda. No amount of appeals from my Sister, the village school and the Principal was even considered. When all avenues failed my BIL spoke with Gamini Dissanayake who was a good friend of both my brother and BIL as they were school mates at Trinity. GD arranged for my BIL to meet Ranil who at that time was the Minister for Education. Ranil told my BIL to go and meet coordinating officer Mr Sunil at the Ministry. He did not know who this Mr Sunil was. Anyway he went to the Ministry and waited outside Mr Sunil’s office for hours. Then he saw a person dressed in white go into the office. He didn’t like the of him and asked the peon or the catcher fellow outside who that person was. He had said ” e sir apey Suni sir ne. Mr Sunil Gonawala”. It then only clicked who this Mr Sunil was. My BIL had thought to himself if this is the kind of thug I have to go and speak with might as well bugger the job, he collected his papers went home, arranged to pay the Bond and asked my sister to stay at home.
This is not an isolated case. Nothing in that Ministry got done without the say so of Gonawela Sunil. Every thing apparently was done at a price. So that is the way Mr Clean Ranil Wickramasinghe operated.
As far as I am aware Ranil is a conceited dreamer who trusts no one other than his cronies, and most definitely not the electorate and lives in a world of his own. He may think he is doing the best but sadly I don’t think so.
the “West” has NEVER gone out of it’s way to help Sri Lanka in a meaningful way. They have the greater portion of the Trade as it benefits them. The Old Fox JR with all his so called US ties and having an absolute pro Western stance was left to his own devices when the sh1t hit the fan. China on the other hand has been Sri Lanka’s friend irrespective of which Party was in Power. So was Pakistan and Russia. The Western countries where there is a sizeable Tamil Diaspora voter base blindly pander to their tune.
Appeasement will never bring reconciliation. When DB Wijethunga said that the minorities are like the vines entwined on a tree, he did not mean to disparage the Minorities. I believe what he meant was for the vines also to survive the tree itself must be strong and survive. The minorities especially the Tamils should realize that. Yes obviously there are areas where improvement is necessary. But it must be a two way thing. Whatever is done is not enough for the Tamil Politicians. Saumya Murti Thondaman did and got more for his people by working with JR. The Sinhalese as a community have been bending over backwards to make positive gesturers to the Tamil community since 1983 or even before. but this has NOT been re
The way Ranil, Sira and Mangala are heading is to undermine the Sinhala community. With a nation at peace – thanks to MR – we can prosper economically, if the morale of the majority is high. If the self esteem and the morale of the Sinhalese are shattered we will not achieve broad based economic advancement. With Ranil it has not happened, it is not happening nor will it happen in the future.
November 27th, 2015 at 8:22 pm
This narrative of one person’s experience is a REAL revelation….
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The sentence ” the Tamil Politicians. Saumya Murti Thondaman did and got more for his people by working with JR. The Sinhalese as a community have been bending over backwards to make positive gestures to the Tamil community since 1983 or even before. but this has NOT been re”…
The last word is incomplete…and may have been “RECOGNIZED”????
November 27th, 2015 at 10:21 pm
Lots of people will claim that Ranil is clean. Ranil is just smart enough not to get his hands dirty just like his uncle JRJ. Ranil may not have kids but his thugs and cronies have been taken care of. No real difference between previous governments and this. The only difference I can think of is that this government claims its clean and is for a just society. So much for that.
When talking about personal stories, I had a very close relative who had intimate knowledge of the atrocities committed in the Batalanda torture chambers by Ranil’s thugs with full the knowledge and blessing of Ranil. Those stories still make me cringe and cannot believe he was not taken to task. In the meantime, Ranil goes around the country sounding like he is this great humanist.
November 28th, 2015 at 12:02 am
Dear Patriots,
I came to know Shenali Waduge is very sick and was in and out of hospital since early November and currently resting to undergo an operation.
This reply I received from her Sister when I wrote to Shenali as we did not hear any news or seen any articles from her.
I wrote back and asked to offer any help but so far no reply received. Knowing Shenali does not want publicity, she may not disclose her location. If any patriot knows her whereabouts, please check on her as we have to protect this “lone worrier” of Mother Lanka.
I also suspect any hand of Bad guys… such as a sophisticated poisoning as they did to Soma Hamuduruwo, Sobitha Hamuduruwo, Dr, Senaka Bibile etc…
We have to act soon!! This could be a serious matter!!!
November 28th, 2015 at 12:29 am
What is most unfortunate for our country is that the people forgot who this good for nothing rascal he really is before proping him up to power.
Sorry to hear about shenali’s predicament and just goes on to show how unfortunate SL is.
November 28th, 2015 at 12:30 am
Wish shenali a speedy recovery with blessings of the triple gem.
November 28th, 2015 at 2:29 am
Pol pot ponil is murderous anti Sinhalese, anti Buddhist, anti Sri Lankan thug. He knows he is untouchable. Why?
Because catholic west protect him. That’s why he was not troubled by Batalande report which showed his involvement
beyond anybody’s doubt. But no action. Then great central bank robbery. Again it is proved beyond anybody’s doubt.
Punishment? He was made prime minister of the country by catholic-run media by fooling the majority Buddhists.
How catholic-run UNPatriotic party dealt with jvpers and catholic tigers of tamil drealam (aka ltte). Jvpers were brutally
put down. Burnt in tyres in towncentres, floated headless bodies in rivers etc. Cttd (ltte) killed so many Buddhists and even attacked Sri Dalada Maligawa and Sri Maha Bodhi killing scores of Buddhists. Still catholic-run UNPatriotic party (Buddhist killing party) was reluctant to hurt them since they were killing Buddhists. Very convienient for them.
The sad thing is, still a lot of Buddhists support this murderous party (Buddhists only). In Sri Lanka anything is possible.
If anyone care to do a google search for Sri Lankan mobsters, you will see UNPatriotic party’s pathalayin top the list.
Come on traitor Sinhalese who support this murderous party, do you have any brain cells at all in your bloated heads?
Yama pallange yama paachanaya! That’s what it is.
November 28th, 2015 at 2:31 am
Saddened to hear about the Shenali not being well. Been wondering why we haven’t seen any of her articles
recently. Wonder if there has been a hand by the dark forces to cause her illness. Sincerely, sincerely hope
the lone warrior will have a speedy recovery.
November 28th, 2015 at 8:55 am
NILWALA !! It could be ”’reciprocated”’.
All Lanka Web Readers !!! Let us all with one heart Bless our Darling Shenali, the full force of THE BLESSINGS OF THE NOBLE TRIPLE GEM, FOR A VERY SPEEDY RECOVERY. TRULY, SHE WAS A LONE WARRIOR, AND WILL ALWAYS BE FOR US AND SRI LANKA. I BELIEVE ALL WE PATRIOTS ARE PINING TO SEE HER BACK ON LANKA WEB, AFTER SHE RECOVERS FROM HER ILL HEALTH. BLESS YOU ONCE AGAIN, SHENALI. WE CANNOT GO ON WITHOUT YOU.
November 28th, 2015 at 9:29 am
Ranil was never appointed Exec PM by the PEOPLE. He has been appointed Exec PM by Pres Sirisena (of the flawed elctions), who said “the west wants it so”. The whole thing is a big pack of deciet and lies.
Folks, welcome to Neo-colonized Lanka !
Why has this happened ? because Lanka has laid out a welcome mat to 15 Million Tamil Dalits from Tamil Nadu. These people are used by various powers for Separatism in Lanka. The Tamil language is more in place in Lanka than in Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu does not have Tamil as a National language whereas in Lanka it is. Add on the other pluses in Lanka and we are asking for big trouble through Separatists. The Vadukoddai Resolution (1976) declares that Separatism through Terrorism must happen. This Resolution is still not revoked.
At least correct the original Tamil language fault line in Lanka now. This will auger well for Tamil of Lanka too and some real Reconciliation will happen. Reconciliation happens when TRUST is there, not because the west wants it so and Ms Power dances the elle with Northern Tamil Muslims. Less trouble for Lanka and less trouble for India too, through Separatists and their games.
November 28th, 2015 at 12:13 pm
If our dear friend Shenali requests privacy, so shall it be.
We wish her a speedy recovery. We hope and pray that she will be well soon.
November 28th, 2015 at 2:01 pm
I can add to this story.
This is what I heard –
Gonawela Sunil was in jail for 10 years for rape of a doctor’s daughter. As soon as JR came into power, on the advice of RW, he released G’Sunil. After that wherever RW went Gonawela Sunil went too as his “body guard”. Sunil was collecting “kappam” from the bagging plant operators at Fertilizer manufacturing plant. Was he sharing this with RW? Since he was protected by RW he must have, at least to buy voters ?
He was also involved with Batalanda murders, I believe, from what I heard. At the Fertilizer plant housing scheme one of the houses was acquired by RW for interrogating suspected JVP members. Many people apparently heard the screams from this house in the middle of the night when people were tortured. People also used to see bodies floating down Kelani river. The Batalanda Commission report recommended that RW’s civil rights be removed. As usual, in Sri Lanka nothing happens to Colombians and those with memberships in International Organizations.
Gonawela Sunil also managed to drill into a pipeline from the refinery which was sending gasoline to Kolonnawa. He was sucking it up and selling it on the black market. Again who protected him from prosecution? !! Finally a rival gang member shot him. That was the end of the strange relationship between Gonawela Sunil and RW.
Now this man who by all respects should have at least had his civil rights removed is the Prime Minister since MY3 told the country that the West wanted him to be appointed even though he did not get a majority in the parliament. MY3 bent all the election rules and party rules to ensure that RW is prime minister. In spite of the fact that he appointed Arjun Mahendran as Governor of Central Bank and he did obvious insider trading RW has ensured that Arjun Mahendran is not touched. Recently 115 officers of the Central Bank were transferred because they stood up to Arjun Mahendran. Even though MY3 bleated faintly that Arjun Mahendran should be removed RW just ignored him. He seems to have a hatred of the Sinhala Buddhists since all his actions from 2002 show that he was determined to separate the country and hand over a slice to the LTTE or the TNA. The latest thing he has done to destroy the Sinhala Buddhists is to remove the Fertilizer subsidy thereby making sure the farmers cannot cultivate paddy profitably.
November 28th, 2015 at 7:10 pm
Ranil Wickremasingha who is responsible for extending the agony of our people by at least 20 -30 years by stopping the taking out of Prabahakaran in 2001 should be investigated by a Parliamentary committee even at this late stage. See link below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZWO5fWDikQ
There are so many other things such as the Batalanda murders, Gonawela Sunil involvement which were never properly investigated should be brought to light and RW should be brought to justice for all that he has done. He reads all these books such as “Art of the possible” by R. A. Butler and tries to do whatever he wants by using any means possible. To implement “The Art of the Possible” you have to become a person with no guilt, no remorse, no scruples. In other words such a person has to lose their humanness and become a machine which only thinks in terms of logic. In life anything is possible if one is willing to pay the price for it.
The Buddhist psyche is different from the Western psyche which wants to exploit and enslave others. The eastern Buddhist psyche wants to live and let live. There is a huge conflict in the psyche of Ranil Wickramasingha and the Buddhist psyche of the people. That is why he wants to destroy the Sinhala Buddhists and hand over Sri Lanka to the Indians and the Western powers.
November 29th, 2015 at 10:05 am
Aberrant leadership of Ranil Shriyan Wickramasinghe in UNP that was once patriotic and national but is now reduced to a servile and vocal outfit beholden to foreign powers and agencies that are hellbent on destablizing Sri Lanka. Ranil Shriyan Wickremesinghe’s manifesto is always paving the way for mortgaging Sri Lanka to international community, World Bank, IMF and the multinational corporations.
Ranil Shriyan Wickremesinghe ordered and witnessed the execution of hundreds of innocent young men from Kelaniya area including prominent human rights lawyer Wijedasa Liyanarachchi who died as a result in September 1988, in his illegal torture centre maintained by the police Counter Subversive Unit (CSU) headed by Douglas Peiris who was directly responsible for the torture at the Batalanda Housing Scheme, during the height of the People’s Liberation Front (JVP) insurrection between 1988 and 1990 which was confirmed by the Presidential Commission of Inquiry which comprised retired judges. Since Ranil Shriyan Wickremesinghe committed these horrendous crimes in Batalanda, Ranil Shriyan Wickremesinghe had to abandon not only his electorate of Biyagama, but also the Gampaha District. Since these murders Ranil Shriyan Wickremesinghe is an MP without an electorate – thanks to his uncle Junius Richard Jeyawardene’s constitution. Ranil Shriyan Wickremesinghe recruited a convicted killer and hardcore criminal Gonawala Sunil as his secretary. Ranil Shriyan Wickremesinghe’s secretary Gonawala Sunil went around killing and intimidating people Ranil Wickremesinghe wanted to be silenced. When Ranil Shriyan Wickremesinghe was the education minister, officials at the education ministry used to call Gonawala Sunil as Ranil Shriyan Wickremesinghe’s husband. Gonawala Sunil is one of the earliest criminal gang leaders in Sri Lankan underworld. Gonawala Sunil had major connections with the UNP government at that time. Gonawala Sunil was convicted of the murder, and was serving in prison when he was famously released on a presidential pardon given by President Junius Richard Jayewardene just before the 1982 presidential election. Gonawala Sunil was involved in the massacare of 53 prisoners at Welikada Prison in 1983 and gang raping a 14 year old girl in 1982.
Ranil Shriyan Wickremesinghe’s corruption in “LH Plantations” has been highlighted with excruciating details by his very close friend Mangala Pinsiri Samaraweera. Ranil Shriyan Wickremesinghe’s very close family members own several media outlets which promote Ranil Shriyan Wickremesinghe and help to prolong Ranil Shriyan Wickremesinghe’s political survival.
November 29th, 2015 at 10:29 am
Jaffna Tamils lost their social culture since they started supporting political murders. Jaffna Tamils were intensely fascinated by death and dead bodies. Tamil Diaspora is yet to reform and still suffering from victim-hood mentality.
The authoritarian instinct of rulers which led them to believe that physically humiliating their opponents would bring them round. It brings those who ought to be statesmen down to the level of village thugs. The public emotions engendered in the process, and the actions of party members and hangers-on, tended to drive things out of control. In turn, the victims developed the same mindset: – viz. “The only thing that would work with the other side is a good whacking”. In the heat of the events, the elite, who ought to have understood the long term damage, were unable to command the conviction to condemn violence by their own side.
This tendency among the Tamil speaking Sri Lankans was evident through the 1970s and had attained a certain fixity after July 1983. There was a lack of conviction about condemning the barbarous massacre of Buddhist pilgrims in Anuradhapura, in 1985.
A classic example now fading from living memory is the attack on the strikers of June 05, 1947, on the eve of independence.
The primary issue was the Left protest against the Soulbury Constitution for Independent Ceylon, for its failure to guarantee workers’ rights. Associated with it was the interdiction of Tikiri Bandara Ilangaratne, president, and 19 others of the Government Clerical Services Union for having held a meeting on Galle Face Green, in contravention of Public Service Regulations. 50,000 public servants prepared for trade union action.
At this point there was a development of considerable historical interest. The State Council headed by Don Stephen Senanayake the prime minister-in-making, hurriedly passed the Public Security Ordinance, taking barely 90 minutes over it. Perhaps the rulers in 1947 also thought it useful to have such an act on the statute book before independence, since, one is not surprised by such laws under colonial rule, while it would be awkward to present such legislation after independence. Interestingly, however, the most oppressive piece of legislation ever passed in Parliament – the one to make plantation workers non-citizens – could not have been passed under colonial rule!
Following the passage of the PSO, the strikers made their way to the venue of the public meeting in Ralahamigewatte, Kolonnawa, marching through Dematagoda. The procession was blocked by the Police. Dr. Nanayakkarapathirage Martin Perera, the LSSP leader, went forward to Police Superintendent Robins, to explain to him that the meeting was authorized. Dr. Nanayakkarapathirage Martin Perera fell on the ground after being struck on the head by a baton, and had to run away to save himself. The Police fired 19 rounds of bullets into the strikers, killing Velupillai Kandasamy and injuring 19 others, 5 of them seriously.
There were indeed many deficiencies in the Police of those times. But despite their prejudices and class affiliations, the Police as an institution had one saving grace. They were conscious of the Law as the standard and the ideal of enforcing it impartially. They were also sensitive to being seen falling short on professional standards. This in consequence had the merit of enabling the public to challenge them on the basis of the Law as the standard. But on the other hand the situation becomes quite hopeless when the Police acknowledge no standards, and for the most part become sycophants of the rulers.
Another event in the episode of the police action in 1947 foreshadowed the future. The body of the innocent clerk Velupillai Kandasamy, who was killed by police firing, was dispatched to his family in Jaffna by the mail train. Ganapathipillai Gangaser Ponnambalam, famed criminal lawyer and leader of the Tamil Congress, stood by the coffin when it was placed on the platform of Jaffna railway station. Ganapathipillai Gangaser Ponnambalam told the crowd that had come for the occasion that Velupillai Kandasamy was killed by the Sinhalese government. It was still British rule and it had not entered into the minds of the crowd that Velupillai Kandasamy’s death had anything to do with his being Tamil.
The event was reflected upon many years later by a witness to it. This was in October 1986 when crowds filed past the corpses of nine Sinhalese soldiers killed in an encounter in the Mannar District and the two captured alive. They were exhibited near Nallur Kanthaswamy Kovil. The body of LTTE leader Victor killed in the same incident was carried from place to place in Jaffna while Kittu, the LTTE’s Jaffna leader, basked in Victor’s glory. From the time Velupillai Kandasamy’s body was brought to Jaffna, Tamil politics has been ‘corpse politics’ – politics for death and destruction and not for life!
Not long afterwards, the same Tamil Congress leader Ganapathipillai Gangaser Ponnambalam who said Velupillai Kandasamy had been killed by the Sinhalese government joined the same UNP government of Don Stephen Senanayake’s to become a cabinet minister.
The events of those two years in the late 1940s which were centred about the country’s independence in 1948, contained many presentiments for what followed in the next half-century. While having the forms of democracy and legality, it was a political culture that was manipulative with few stabilizing higher values.
November 29th, 2015 at 10:36 am
South Indian settlements were widespread in the western region and in the north-eastern coastal belt of Sri Lanka during the early period of the Christian era. They enjoyed political authority both in Anuradhapura kingdom and in other regions and played a significant role in the trade between South India and Sri Lanka. The development of the Dravidic tribes gave rise to Kingdoms like Pallava, Pandiya, Chola, Chera and Vijayanagara. Chola Empire was encompassed the entire region up to the Ganges in Northern India, the Maldives to the south to Malaya and Sumathra in the east. The political socio-economic and cultural impact and influence of these Dravidian Kingdoms had a lasting political socio-economic and cultural impact and influence on Sri Lanka and in the region to a very great extent.
Mercenaries from South India settled in and around Anuradhapura from 400 CE to 700 CE when rulers of Sri Lanka brought mercenaries from South India to fight on their behalf. During the latter part of this period the Northern Sri Lanka was used as the staging post for attacks on Anuradhapura by Indian Kingdoms including Sirinaga, Manavamma and Pandyan king Sri Mara Sri Vallabhaon who attacked and took control of Northern Sri Lanka before proceeding to Anuradhapura. South Indians migrated to the northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka from Anuradhapura when the kings of the second Lambakanna dynasty curbed the influence South Indians enjoyed in the Anuradhapura kingdom. In 900s CE South Indian in and around Anuradhapura had increased heavily that a levy of a separate impost had to be imposed on them.
Magha of Kalinga of Orissa invaded the Rajarata Kingdom in 1215 CE with his South Indian troops and destroyed the economic underpinnings of the old hydraulic civilization that had been weakened by earlier Chola onslaughts. Magha of Kalinga’s invasion prompted majority of the Sinhalese of Jaffna Peninsula to move southwards. Jaffna Peninsula under Magha of Kalinga’s rule was the worst marauding regime that had existed in Sri Lanka. In 1247 CE Chandrabhanu – a Java King from the Malacca Straits region – invaded Sri Lanka with the aid of Indian armies from the Malayan peninsula and inflicted heavy damages on the Magha of Kalinga domain. Although Chandrabhanu’s invasion was repulsed in 1263 CE he managed to capture Jaffna Peninsula that were then under Magha of Kalinga.
Chandrabhanu attacked Dambadeniya in 1258 CE which was ruled by Parakramabahu II (1236-1270 CE) but was repelled with the help of Pandyans who had developed a cordial relationship with Parakramabahu II. Pandyans allowed Chandrabhanu to continue his rule of the Jaffna Kingdom as he agreed to be a tributary to them. Place names like Chavakachcheri (Javakachcheri) denote the settlements created by Chandrabhanu.The Pandyan invasions during Chandrabhanu’s and his son’s periods brought in a fresh influx of South Indian immigrants with all their slaves and dependents who mostly settled in places like Thirunelveli, Mailiddi, Tellipalai, Inuvil, Puloli, Pachchilaippalli, Tholpuram, Koyilakandi, Irupaalai, Neduntivu and Pallavarayankaddu. Chandrabhanu recruited an army from South India and attacked Dambadeniya again. Parakramabahu II appealed to the Pandyan King Virapandya for help. The Pandyan king Virapandya invaded Jaffna, defeated Chandrabhanu and appointed Chandrabhanu’s son Tambralinga to the throne. But soon Tambralinga attacked Dambadeniya. The Pandyan King sent an army led by Kulasekaran who defeated Tambralinga in 1262 and appointed Kulasekaran as the King of Jaffna. Kulasekaran took the throne name Pararajasekeran and the title Ariyachakravarthi and ruled from 1262 to 1284 CE.
Kulasekaran was succeeded by his son Kulothungan who took the throne name Segarajasekeran and ruled from 1284 to 1292 CE. Kulothungan repelled an invasion by Yapahuva king Bhuvanekabahu who tried to seize the pearl fishery in Mannar. Kulothungan’s son Vikrama succeeded him and ruled under the throne name Pararajasekeran II and ruled from 1292 to 1302 CE. Vickrama repelled insurgency by Sinhalese living in Jaffna led by Punchi Banda by beheading 17 leaders of the insurgency including Punchi Banda and arresting several others. Varothayan who ruled the Jaffna Kingdom under the throne name Segarajasekaran III from 1302 to 1325 CE settled the dispute between the Sinhalese and Tamils of Jaffna Peninsula by addressing the grievance of the Sinhalese. Varothayan restored the privileges of Sinhalese. Parakramabahu IV who ascended the throne in 1302, the same year Varothayan became king ruled from Kurunegala. Varothayan accumulated wealth by raiding Anuradhapura, exacting tributary payment from many minor rulers in Vanni and north central and northwestern parts of Sri Lanka and from the pearl fishery, which he dominated and fostered. In 1323 Madurai came under the Muhammad bin Tughlaq. Varothayan helped the Pandyan king during their struggle against Malik Kafur. Malik Kafur captured and looted Pandyan King’s capital Madurai in April 1311 CE and subsequently Sultans of Delhi raided Madurai.
Marthandar Perumal, succeeded his father Varothayan in 1325 CE and ruled from 1325 to 1348 CE under the throne name Pararajasekeran III continued his father’s policy of expansion. Iban Battuda, the Muslim traveller, who had been earlier in the Delhi Sultan Muhammad bin Tughlaq’s court and had traveled through Madurai to Sri Lanka, has recorded with astonishment Marthandar Perumal’s immense wealth, the hundreds of ships that crowded the harbour and the mighty navy he had at his command. Marthandar Perumalcontrolled the northern trade routes to India and China.
During that time Bhuvanekabahu IV who ruled from 1341 to 1351 CE shifted the capital to Gampola from Kurunegala. Before the early 1400s CE rise of the Vijayanagara Empire, the Yadava Empire of Devagiri, the Kakatiya Kingdom of Warangal, the Pandyan Empire of Madurai, and the tiny kingdom of Kampili had been repeatedly invaded by the Sultans of Delhi, and by 1336 CE they had all been defeated by Alla-ud-din Khilji and Muhammad bin Tughluq, the Sultans of Delhi. When the Pandyan empire in Tamil Nadu collapsed as a result of the Muhammad bin Tughlaq dynasty waves of immigrants from Tamil Nadu moved to Jaffna peninsula and Vanni.
Marthandar Perumal’s son Gunapushanan ruled the Jaffna Kingdom from 1348 to 1371 CE under the name Segarajasekeran IV. In 1353, Gunapushanam, invaded Gampola and captured Four Korales and other northern portions of the Gampola Kingdom and had effective control over the north-west coast of Sri Lanka up to Puttalam. The King Vikramabahu III who was in power in Gampola. fled but later agreed to be a tribute-paying subordinate. Vikramabahu III’s minister Alakesvara led the resistance to Gunapushanan’s army. Alakesvara was a descendent of Nissanka Alagakkonara who came to Sri Lanka from Kanchipuram following the invasion of Delhi Sultans and embraced Buddhism and served in the courts of the Sinhalese kings. Though abandoned by the King Vikramabahu III, Alakesvara stayed back and took over the resistance to the Gunapushanan’s army. Alakesvara raised an army, built forts including the one at Sri Jayavardhanapura, Kotte.
The Vijayanagar Dynasty started in Kannada speaking Mysore grew into a powerful empire within five decades and its rulers captured Madurai from the Muslim Delhi Sultan in 1371 CE and annexed it to its vast kingdom that embraced the most of the South India. Gunapushanan died in 1371 CE and Virothayar who assumed the throne name Pararajasekeran IV succeeded him. Upon succeeding Gunapushanan, Virothayar had to face the threats from the Vijayanagara Dynasty and from Alakesvara. The king, Bhuvanekabahu V, who succeeded Vikramabahu III in 1371 was the King at Gampola at that time Alakesvara wielded actual power. Alakesvara provoked the Virothayar by arresting and killing his tax collectors and by attacking the Virothayar’s army posts in Gampola and Kotte. Enraged Virothayar sent the army overland to Matale and the navy to Panadura but both army and navy were defeated Alakesvara. Virothayar was also embroiled the Vijayanagara Dynasty who demanded tribute from the Jaffna Kingdom to which Virothayar agreed.
Jayaviran ascended the throne upon the death of his father Virothayar in 1380 CE and assumed the throne name Segarajasekeran V. In the meantime Bhuvanekabahu V attempted to take control of the pearl fishery and Jayaviran sent a large army to Gampola and the navy to Kotte. The army marched to Gampola and camped there. The navy landed troops at Panadura and the soldiers proceeded to Sri Jayavardhanapura and set up guard points around it. The king, Bhuvanekabahu V fled and it was left to Viravahu, son-in-law of Alakesvara to defeat the Jayaviran’s army. Viravahu captured the crown and proclaimed himself the ruler. Gunaviran who ruled Jaffna Kingdom from 1410 to 1446 CE ascended the throne in 1410 CE as Pararajasekeran V. in 1411 CE Parakramabahu VI was crowned the King of Kotte. Parakramabahu VI sent his adopted son Senpaga Perumal (aka Sapumal Kumaraya) to capture the Jaffna Kingdom. Senpaga Perumal accomplished his task in many stages. Initially, Senpaga Perumal conquered the Vanni chieftains, the tributaries to the Jaffna Kingdom. Then Senpaga Perumal tried to march to Jaffna but Kanagasuriyar who succeeded Gunaviran in 1446 CE and ruled under the name Segarajasekeran VI repelled Senpaga Perumal. Senpaga Perumal mounted a second invasion in 1450 CE which succeeded. Kanagasuriyar fled to South India with his family.
Harihara II, the second son of Bukka Raya I of Vijayanagara Dynasty consolidated the Dynasty beyond the Krishna River and brought the whole of South India under the Vijayanagara rule. The next ruler, Deva Raya I, emerged successful against the Gajapatis of Orissa and undertook important works of fortification and irrigation. Deva Raya II (aka Gajabetekara) succeeded to the throne in 1424 CE and was the most capable of the Sangama dynasty rulers. He quelled rebelling feudal lords as well as the Zamorin of Calicut and Quilon in the south. Deva Raya II invaded Sri Lanka. The administration of most parts of South India was done by Telugu speaking officials during the rule of Vijayanagara Kingdom and migration of immigrants from Tamil Nadu into the Jaffna peninsula and Vanni increased during the Vijayanagara Kingdom.
Senpaga Perumal ascended the throne in the name Sri Sanghabodhi Bhuvanekabahu rebuilt the Nallur temple, and built palaces and houses in Panadra Vallavu and Sankili Thoppu area and promoted Hindu worship. Jaffna Peninsula was again occupied by Sinhalese under Senpaga Perumal. The conquest of Jaffna ended 1467 CE when Senpaga Perumal appointed Vijayavahu as the king of the Jaffna Kingdom abd hurriedly returned to Kotte in when he heard about Parakramabahu VI’s death and about the coronation of Parakramabahu VI’s grandson Jeyaweera. Senpaga Perumal before he returned to Kotte.In Jaffna, Kanagasuriyar and his two sons, Pararajasekeran and Segarajasekeran, returned with their army, killed Vijayavahu and regained their lost kingdom. Pararajasekeran played a vital role in winning the battle. Kanagasuriyar ruled until his death 1468. Kanagasuriyar’s elder son Pararajasekeran ruled from 1468 to 1519. Pararajasekeran beautified the Nallur, renovated several Temples including Sattanathar, Veyilukantha Pillaiyar, Kailasanathar, and Veeramakali Amman. Pararajasekeran’s younger brother Segarajasekeran established schools and villages and wrote a book on astrology and a book on medicine. The famous Sanskrit work Megathoothu written by Kalidasa was translated into Tamil during this period by their brother-in-law Arasakesari.
In Kotte Senpaga Perumal defeated Jeyaweera in 1469 and ascended the throne under the name Bhuvanekabahu VI. Senpaga Perumal’s son ascended the throne under the name Panditha Parakramabahu VII succeeded him but was killed by his uncle Ambulugala Raja who adopted the name Vira Parakramabahu VIII. Ambulugala Raja was succeeded by his son ascended the throne under the name Dharma Parakramabahu IX. His brother Vijayabahu VI ruled a portion of the kingdom as his co-ruler. They were in power when the Portuguese arrived in 1505.
Pararajasekeran had two principal wives and a number of concubines. His first wife, Rajalaksmi, had two sons, Singhabahu and Pandaram. Pararasasegaram second wife was Valliammal, bore him Paranirupasingham. Another concubine bore him a son named Sankili and a daughter named Paravai. Following tradition Pararajasekeran named the eldest son Sinhabahu as his successor but he died of poisoning. Pararajasekeran then appointed his second son Pandaram as the crown prince but was stabbed and killed while he was walking. Sankili took over the kingdom and ascended the throne in 1519 under the name Sankili Segarajasekeran. Sankili wielded real power behind the throne and resisted all contacts with the Portuguese and even massacred about 700 Parava Catholics in the island of Mannar who were brought from India to Mannar by the Portuguese to take over the lucrative pearl fisheries. Sankili was removed from power due to a local uprising that led his son Puviraja Pandaram take nominal power. Puviraja Pandaram lost power to Kasi Nainar and Periyapillai. Periyapillai with the help of Tanjore Nayak help mounted an attack on the Portuguese fort in the Mannar to regain territory lost during Sankili’s rule but he was defeated. After the death or abdication of Periyapillai in 1582, Puviraja Pandarm was nominated as the king for the second time. During his second tenure Puviraja Pandaram attempted to wrest the control of the Pearl rich Mannar Island from the Portuguese by attacking the fort by sea and land. Puviraja Pandaram was defeated in both attempts.
Puviraja Pandaram was killed in 1591 during the second Portuguese expedition led by André Furtado de Mendonçaled by André Furtado de Mendonça in 1591. Puviraja Pandaram’s son Ethirimanna Singam was injured in the battle and was saved by a Portuguese captain Simão Pinhão. Eventually Ethirimanna Singam was installed as client monarch under the conditions that Catholic missionary activity to be freely allowed and the Elephant export monopoly to be handed over to the Portuguese as well as the tribute to paid by the Kingdom was increased. Ethirimanna Singam who became the king under the name Parasasekaran VII interrupted the Catholic missionary activities and the Portuguese monopoly on Elephant exports. Ethirimanna Singam carried out an undercover campaign against the Catholic missionaries and did not look with favor on converts. Ethirimanna Singam interfered with the passage and shipping of Elephants of the Portuguese government through his territories thereby securing advantageous terms for his Elephants. By 1595 the King of Portugal had issued an order to remove Ethirimanna Singam but colonial authorities in Goa did not oblige as Ethirimanna Singam was not overly disruptive to Portuguese colonial interests. Ethirimanna Singam helped Kandyan Kings Vimaladharmasuriya I and Senarat to secure help from South India to resist the Portuguese.
With the death of Ethirimanna Singam in 1617, there were three claimants to the throne. One was Sankilikumaran (Sankili II), a nephew of the king. The other the claimants were Ethirimanna Singam’s young son and a group of proPortuguese Mudaliyars. Eventually Sankili II became the king under the name Segarasasekaran VIII through a palace massacre. As Sankili II was not able to get the Portuguese authorities in Mannar or Colombo to agree to his over rule and regency due to opposition for him from the pro Portuguese Mudaliyars, Sankili II invited the Tanjore Nayaks to send military help. Sankili II also allowed corsairs from Malabar to use a base in Neduntivu that posed a threat to Portuguese shipping through Palk Straight. The last king of the Jaffna Kingdom Sankili II was defeated by the by Phillippe de Oliveira led Portuguese forces in 1619 and was taken to Goa and hanged.
November 29th, 2015 at 10:48 am
Shenali Waduge was hospitalized due to heart related illness. We – All the patriotic Sri Lankans – are sending you our warmest prayers with all the love and care in our hearts, wishing you a very speedy recovery. Get well soon Shenali! Love and hugs from all of the patriotic Sri Lankans
November 29th, 2015 at 11:19 am
NALLIAH !! FIRSTLY, I WISH TO THANK YOU FOR THE INFORMATION ABOUT OUR DARLING SHENALI. YES, OFCOURSE LOTS OF LOVE AND HUGS FROM PATRIOT SRILANKANS. BLESSINGS TO HER FROM THE NOBLE TRIPLE GEM FOR A SPEEDY RECOVERY.
Also thanks to you for the write ups. I am still learning History. Many things I did not know.
November 29th, 2015 at 12:33 pm
JUST DIGRESSING FROM THE SUBJECT:-
OH !! THE QUEEN SHAKES HANDS WITH MARU SIRAA, WITH THE GLOVES ON…..I TELL YOU, WITH THE GLOVES ON.
November 29th, 2015 at 4:10 pm
Nalliah has given a historical account of the region from about 400 CE till around 1619, for which we thank him.
I would like to point out that Britain (another island state) too suffered a similar fate at the hands of Vikings from the North and Barbarians from the South, and other attackers, pirates & plunderers as well. Today, Britain has safeguarded
herself. Lanka has to do likewise, at least in smaller measures, or else where is the security for Lanka ? It is well and good to secure the sea areas together with Indi and other countries, but what about internal security ?
Ranil’s idea to have a bridge connecting Lanka & Tamil Nadu is a negtive one. It will be another invasion into Lanka from Tamil Dalits now numbering over 15 Million in TN. This bridge can happen far, far in the future (maybe even many hundreds of years from now) when human beings are perhaps less in number, hopefully due to volunatry birth control, and more civilised in their thinking and value of human life placed very high.
I am taking this opportunity to state that the MR govt and the Lanka Armed Forces saved all Lankans from a horrible period of some 30 yrs under terrorism. What is GoSL doing to protect the Armed Forces from the War Crimes charges ?
We do not want foreign judges coming into Lanka to pass judgment on the Armed Force of Lanka.
I am also taking this opportunity to state that We the People must remove the Tamil Language (National & Official) from Lanka if Lanka is to survive as an undivided Nation. We cannot any more lay welcome mats some 15 Million Tamil Dalit folk from Tamil Nadu. It is the duty of Tamil Nadu leaders to take care of all their citizens as much as it is the duty of GoSL to protect Lanka’s Armed Forces and all other citizens here.
November 30th, 2015 at 2:11 pm
Nalliah, you are a great Tamil gentleman. Thanks for all that information you supplied above. Yes we wish Shenali a speedy recovery. This is a true gentleman, among some fakes. You know who I mean by fakes.
November 30th, 2015 at 6:04 pm
May the Holy Triple Gems bless and protect Ms. Shenali Waduge!
Shenali, get well soon!!