Independence Day Attack on Sinhalese

Published: February 4, 2024
Last Updated: April 24, 2024

February 4 – 5, 1948

Perahera stoned

On the morning of Ceylon’s first day of independence, February 4, 1948, the three communities in Pottuvil – Muslims, Tamils, and Sinhalese, hoisted the Union Jack, as agreed in a resolution, to celebrate.1

However, that evening, as a Sinhalese perahera, carrying a national flag, decorated a bo tree, it was stoned by a Muslim crowd, forcing it to break up.2 The crowd objected to the carrying of the national flag, presumably due to its perception of the flag as a uniformly Sinhalese symbol. The inspector-general of police, Richard Aluwihare, also attributed the attack to tensions between Sinhalese and Muslims over the Gal Oya settlement scheme, which the latter saw as not being beneficial to their community.3 A processionist recounted that a Muslim had earlier told him not to hoist the lion flag. That night, two shots were fired, hurting both a Sinhalese and a Muslim.4

Rioting against Sinhalese

The next morning, violence took the form of a riot as a Muslim mob stoned Sinhalese houses and boutiques, looting the latter. They came to the boutique of Cornelis Jayawickreme, who armed himself with a gun. The crowd fought with him, and at some point, the gun accidentally discharged. An elderly Muslim man was killed and another was injured. The crowd subsequently assaulted Jayawickreme and his wife and then ransacked his boutique.5

44 Muslims were charged with participation in the assault on Jayawickreme in July,6 and all 44 were discharged a month later.7 However, over a year after the incident, nineteen Muslims, including a nine-year-old boy, were charged for participating in the rioting.8 The judge eventually found seven guilty, sentencing them to rigorous imprisonment.9

Bibliography

Aluwihare, Richard. Administration Report of the Inspector-General of Police for 1952. Colombo: Government Press, Ceylon, 1954.

Endnotes

  1. “Sinhalese & Muslims Clashed on Freedom Day,” Times of Ceylon, April 11, 1949. Hereafter, Times of Ceylon will be abbreviated as “TC.”
  2. Ibid.; “44 Muslims on Rioting Charge,” TC, July 27, 1948.
  3. Richard Aluwihare, Administration Report of the Inspector-General of Police for 1952, (Colombo: Government Press, Ceylon, 1954), A40; The national flag in 1948 depicted a lion, which was said to represent the Sinhalese. Minorities objected to the flag as they felt excluded. In 1951, two stripes, one for the Tamils and another for the Muslims, were added to the flag.
  4. “44 Muslims on Rioting Charge,” TC, July 27, 1948.
  5. “Sinhalese & Muslims Clashed on Freedom Day,” TC, April 11, 1949.
  6. “44 Muslims on Rioting Charge,” TC, July 27, 1948.
  7. “44 Men Discharged in Pottuvil Riot Case,” TC, August 24, 1948.
  8. “Sinhalese & Muslims Clashed on Freedom Day,” TC, April 11, 1949.
  9. “Communal Clash,” TC, July 18, 1949.