Participation of Ceylon in World War II
Encyclopedia
After the outbreak of the Second World War, in the British Crown Colony of Ceylon (Sri Lanka
), the government of Sir Baron Jayatilleke assured the British king and his majesty's government of its continued support.
were mobilized and expanded. The Royal Navy
maintained naval installations in Trincomalee
and the Royal Air Force
(RAF) had established an aerodrome in China Bay, Trincomalee long before the war.
After the fall of Singapore the Royal Navy's East Indies Station
was moved to Colombo
and then to Trincomalee. Admiral
Sir
Geoffrey Layton
was appointed Commander-in-Chief, Ceylon with Air Vice Marshal John D'Albaic Air Officer Commanding and Admiral Sir Sir James Somerville appointed commander of the British Eastern Fleet
.
The fixed land defences consisted of four coastal batteries at Colombo and five at Trincomalee, these were established just before the war. Air defenses where expanded starting in 1941 with the RAF occupying the civil airfield at Ratmalana
near Colombo with its station headquarters set up at Kandawala
. Another airbase was rapidly built at Koggala
near Galle
and several temporary airstrips were built across the country, with the largest at Colombo Race Course grounds. Several RAF Squadrons were sent to Ceylon. Several Commonwealth units were also stationed in Ceylon for the duration of the war.
. After which deployment of Ceylonese units were stopped overseas with a few exceptions.
Ceylonese continued to volunteer and joined the British Army
, RAF and the Royal Navy
. They supplemented from personal of the Ceylon Defence Force who requested and was transferred to front line units of the British Army
. They served in the Burma and later in Malay
. Ceylonese served in the Royal Engineers
in Italy
and with the Royal Army Service Corps
in the Middle East
and North Africa
. The 1st battalion, Ceylon Corps of Military Police served in Malay till 1949.
Several of those who served with Commonwealth Forces during the war went on to serve in the Sri Lankan Armed Forces after Ceylon gained independence in 1948, these include General
D. S. Attygalle
, Major General
Anton Muttukumaru
, Major General
Bertram Heyn, Major General
Richard Udugama
, Major General
H.W.G. Wijeyekoon
, Rear Admiral
Rajan Kadiragamar
and Air Vice Marshal Edward Amerasakera
.
was taken over by the Royal Navy. Cutting its teeth on the Port Commission Tugs Samson and Goliath, it later manned and operated trawlers and Antarctic whalers converted as Minesweepers and fitted out with guns, submarine detection equipment and anti-submarine weaponry. They were H.M. Ships Overdale Wyke (the first ship to be purchased by the Government of Ceylon), Okapi, Semla, Sambhur, Hoxa, Balta and H.M Tugs Barnet and C405. In addition it manned several Motor Fishing Vessels (MFV) and miscellaneous auxiliary vessels. All were manned exclusively by CRNVR personnel. These ships were meant to sweep and guard the approaches the harbours but were also often used on extended missions outside Ceylon waters. In the course of these operations, the ships came under enemy fire, recovered essential information from Japanese aircraft shot down, sailed to Akyab after the Burma front was opened in two FMVs for harbour duties, and was called upon to accept the surrender of the Italian
colonial ship Eritrea
and escort her to port with a prize crew on board.
HMS Prince of Wales and the battlecruiser
HMS Repulse
, and the subsequent fall of Singapore, punctured forever the myth of British invincibility. Against this backdrop, and on the agitation of the Trotskyist inspired Lanka Sama Samaja Party
, soldiers of the Ceylon Garrison Artillery on Horsburgh Island in the Cocos Islands mutinied on the night of 8 May 1942, intending to hand the islands over to the Japanese. The mutiny was suppressed within an hour, however, and three of the mutineers were later executed — the only British Commonwealth soldiers to be executed for mutiny during the Second World War.
Following the mutiny the use of Ceylonese combat troops was discontinued by the British, although a number of supply and transport units were used in the rear areas in the Middle East. The defences of Ceylon were beefed up by the 7th Australian Division and elements of the 1st (African) Division because of the island's strategic importance, holding almost all the British Empire
's resources of rubber. Rationing was instituted so that Ceylonese were comparatively better fed than their Indian neighbors; a measure taken to prevent their disaffection.
on Easter Sunday (5 April) 1942 on Colombo; a few days later Trincomalee was also attacked. These were undertaken as a part of commerce raiding
and the hunt for the British Eastern Fleet in the Indian Ocean
.
Although the military effect of the raids was substantial - it resulted in the sinking of several ships including two cruiser
s and an aircraft carrier
, the effect on the Ceylonese population was far greater as it had heard of the Nanjing Massacres and of the act of brutality of the Japanese in occupied countries. The civilian population began a panicked fleeing of Colombo and of Ceylon by boat to India following the raid. Such was the panic amongst the British and Ceylonese that a large turtle which came ashore was reported by an Australia
n unit as a number of Japanese amphibious vehicles.
and against the colonial power, the British
. This was done completely by the Trotskyist Lanka Sama Samaja Party
, which supported the independence movement and led the anti-war movement, made it clear that it did not side with either the Axis powers or the Allies
and considered the war an internationalist
one. The Communist party
of Ceylon too supported the anti-war movement as they saw it also as a war of imperialists, but in 1941 when Germany attacked the Soviet Union they joined the war movement in support of the British
calling it a peoples war.
There was some opposition to the war in Sri Lanka, particularly among the workers and the nationalists encouraged by the Lanka Sama Samaja Party
, many of the latter of whom hoped for a German
victory. But much of the populace dreaded a Japanese
victory.
Among Buddhists, there was disgust that Buddhist monks of German origin were interned as 'enemy aliens' whereas German and Italian
Roman Catholic priests were not. Two young members of the Governing Party, Junius Richard Jayawardene (who later became President) and Dudley Senanayake
(later th 3rd Prime Minister), held discussions with the Japan
ese with a view to collaboration to oust the British , these discussions did not go further since the much older D S Senanayake
(later th 1st Prime Minister) stopped them.
Independence agitators turned to opposition to the Ministers' support for the British
war effort. The local Ministers brought motions gifting the Sri Lankan taxpayers' money to the British war machine, which were opposed by the pro-freedom members of the State Council
. Propaganda was carried out among the troops, Australian and British as well as indigenous with little effect.
Starting in November 1939 and during the first half of 1940 there was a wave of spontaneous strikes in the British-owned plantations, basically aimed at winning the right of organisation. There were two main plantation unions, Natesa Iyer's Ceylon Indian Congress and the All-Ceylon Estate Workers Union (later the Lanka Estate Workers Union, LEWU) led by Samasamajists.
In the Central Province the strike wave reached the zenith in the Mool Oya Estate strike, which was led by Samasamajists. After Mool Oya, the strike wave spread southward towards Uva, and the strikes became more prolonged and the workers began more and more to seek the militant leadership of the Samasamajists. The Trotskyist leader N.M. Perera addressed a large meeting in Badulla on 12 May, and the police were powerless to act, although it was banned. At Wewessa Estate the workers set up an elected council and the Superintendent agreed to act in consultation with the Workers' Council
. An armed police
party that went to restore 'law and order' was disarmed by the workers. The strike wave at last was beaten back by a wave of terror by the police, aided by floods which cut Uva off from the rest of the country for over a week.
However, the colonial authorities were finding that the independence struggle was getting too powerful. After Dunkirk, the British colonial authorities reacted in panic (as revealed in secret files released many decades later) and the LSSP State Council members N.M. Perera and Philip Gunawardena
and others were arrested on 18 June. The Samasamajist press was raided and sealed. Regulations were promulgated which made open party work practically impossible.
Public disgust at British colonial rule continued to grow. Among the elite there was irritation at the colour-bar practised by the leading clubs. Sir Oliver Ernest Goonetilleke
, the Civil Defence Commissioner complained that the British commander of Ceylon, Admiral Layton called him a 'black bastard'; this was merely an expression of continuing white-supremacism. However, it was grist to the mill for an increasingly angry middle class that this was the attitude of their rulers who had been bested in Hong Kong, Malaya, Singapore and Burma by Asians.
Sri Lankans in Singapore and Malaysia formed the 'Lanka Regiment' of the Indian National Army
, directly under Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. A plan was made to transport them to Sri Lanka by submarine, to begin the liberation struggle, but this was abortive.
The LSSP leaders were able to escape, with the help of one of their guards. Several of them fled to India, where they participated in the struggle there, underscoring what had been established before the war, that India's and Sri Lanka's freedom struggles were interlinked. However, a sizable contingent remained, led by Robert Gunawardena, Philip's brother.
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
), the government of Sir Baron Jayatilleke assured the British king and his majesty's government of its continued support.
Preparations for war
The British had occupied the coastal areas of the island since 1796, but after 1917 the colony had no regular garrison of British troops. The Ceylon Defence Force and Ceylon Navy Volunteer ReserveSri Lanka Volunteer Naval Force
The Sri Lanka Volunteer Naval Force is the volunteer reserve force of the Sri Lanka Navy. The present headquarters of the VNF is at SLNS Lanka in Welisara. 95% of the members of the Volunteer Naval Force are now in the active service and deployed across almost all Sri Lankan Naval bases, with a...
were mobilized and expanded. The Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
maintained naval installations in Trincomalee
Trincomalee
Trincomalee is a port city in Eastern Province, Sri Lanka and lies on the east coast of the island, about 113 miles south of Jaffna. It has a population of approximately 100,000 . The city is built on a peninsula, which divides the inner and outer harbours. Overlooking the Kottiyar Bay,...
and the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
(RAF) had established an aerodrome in China Bay, Trincomalee long before the war.
After the fall of Singapore the Royal Navy's East Indies Station
East Indies Station
The East Indies Station was a formation of the British Royal Navy from 1865 to 1941.From 1831 to 1865 the East Indies and the China Station were a single command known as the East Indies and China Station...
was moved to Colombo
Colombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
and then to Trincomalee. Admiral
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
Sir
Sir
Sir is an honorific used as a title , or as a courtesy title to address a man without using his given or family name in many English speaking cultures...
Geoffrey Layton
Geoffrey Layton
Admiral Sir Geoffrey Layton GBE, KCB, KCMG, DSO , was a British Royal Navy officer.-Early life and career:...
was appointed Commander-in-Chief, Ceylon with Air Vice Marshal John D'Albaic Air Officer Commanding and Admiral Sir Sir James Somerville appointed commander of the British Eastern Fleet
British Eastern Fleet
The British Eastern Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy which existed from 1941 to 1971...
.
The fixed land defences consisted of four coastal batteries at Colombo and five at Trincomalee, these were established just before the war. Air defenses where expanded starting in 1941 with the RAF occupying the civil airfield at Ratmalana
Ratmalana Airport
Ratmalana Airport , formally known as Colombo Airport, is a major domestic airport and military base in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It was once Colombo's international airport, until the current Bandaranaike International Airport opened in the 1960s...
near Colombo with its station headquarters set up at Kandawala
Kandawala
Kandawala was the home of General Sir John Lionel Kotelawala CH KBE LLD was a Sri Lankan politician, most notable for serving as Prime Minister of Ceylon from 1953 to 1956...
. Another airbase was rapidly built at Koggala
Koggala Airport
Koggala Airport in Sri Lanka was originally a Royal Air Force Station RAF Koggala. It is now the SLAF Koggala, used for domestic flights and for military purposes.- History :...
near Galle
Galle
Galle is a city situated on the southwestern tip of Sri Lanka, 119 km from Colombo. Galle is the capital city of Southern Province of Sri Lanka and it lies in Galle District....
and several temporary airstrips were built across the country, with the largest at Colombo Race Course grounds. Several RAF Squadrons were sent to Ceylon. Several Commonwealth units were also stationed in Ceylon for the duration of the war.
Ceylon Volunteers
As with the case of other British Colonies draft was not implemented in Ceylon, however Ceylonese were encouraged to volunteer for service. Many volunteered throughout the war, most joining the Ceylon Defence Force, which was expanded from a reserve unit to mobilized force 10 infantry battalions, 3 artillery regiments and support units. For the first time Ceylonese units were deployed outside Ceylon in formation until the Cocos Islands MutinyCocos Islands Mutiny
The Cocos Islands Mutiny was a failed mutiny by Ceylonese soldiers against British officers, on the Cocos Islands in May 1942, during the Second World War....
. After which deployment of Ceylonese units were stopped overseas with a few exceptions.
Ceylonese continued to volunteer and joined the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
, RAF and the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
. They supplemented from personal of the Ceylon Defence Force who requested and was transferred to front line units of the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
. They served in the Burma and later in Malay
Malay language
Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...
. Ceylonese served in the Royal Engineers
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and with the Royal Army Service Corps
Royal Army Service Corps
The Royal Army Service Corps was a corps of the British Army. It was responsible for land, coastal and lake transport; air despatch; supply of food, water, fuel, and general domestic stores such as clothing, furniture and stationery ; administration of...
in the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
and North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
. The 1st battalion, Ceylon Corps of Military Police served in Malay till 1949.
Several of those who served with Commonwealth Forces during the war went on to serve in the Sri Lankan Armed Forces after Ceylon gained independence in 1948, these include General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
D. S. Attygalle
D. S. Attygalle
General Deshamanya Don Sepala Attygalle, LVO, ADC, idc, psc, SLAC was a Sri Lankan military leader, civil servant and diplomat...
, Major General
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
Anton Muttukumaru
Anton Muttukumaru
Major General Anton M. Muttukumaru, OBE, ED, ADC, CLI was the first Ceylonese Army officer to serve as Commander of the Ceylon Army , a post he held from 1955 to 1959. He also served as Ceylon's High Commissioner to Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan and Ambassador to Egypt.-Early life and...
, Major General
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
Bertram Heyn, Major General
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
Richard Udugama
Richard Udugama
Major General Deshamanya Alexander Richard Udugama, MBE, psc, CSR was a Sri Lankan military leader, politician and diplomat. Former Commander of the Ceylon Army , he was elected as Member of Parliament for Matale in 1970 and served as Sri Lankan Ambassador to Iraq from 1979 to 1982...
, Major General
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
H.W.G. Wijeyekoon
H.W.G. Wijeyekoon
Major General Hemachandra Wickrama Gerard Wijeyekoon, OBE, ED, CLI was a Sri Lankan military leader, and diplomat. He was the second Ceylonese Commander of the Ceylon Army from 1960 to 1963 and former Ceylon's High Commissioner to Pakistan and Ambassador to Italy.-Early life and education:He was...
, Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...
Rajan Kadiragamar
Rajan Kadiragamar
Rear Admiral Rajanathan "Rajan" Kadiragamar, MVO, ADC, RCyN was Sri Lankan Admiral. He was the second Ceylonese Captain of the Royal Ceylon Navy from 1960 to 1970 and as such the longest serving Commander of the Navy.-Early life:...
and Air Vice Marshal Edward Amerasakera
Edward Amerasakera
Air Vice-Marshal Ekanayake Edward Rohan Amerasekera DFC & BAR, RCyAF third Commander of the Royal Ceylon Air Force and World War II Royal Air Force Navigator.-Early life and education:...
.
Ceylon Navy Volunteer Reserve
The Ceylon Navy Volunteer ReserveSri Lanka Volunteer Naval Force
The Sri Lanka Volunteer Naval Force is the volunteer reserve force of the Sri Lanka Navy. The present headquarters of the VNF is at SLNS Lanka in Welisara. 95% of the members of the Volunteer Naval Force are now in the active service and deployed across almost all Sri Lankan Naval bases, with a...
was taken over by the Royal Navy. Cutting its teeth on the Port Commission Tugs Samson and Goliath, it later manned and operated trawlers and Antarctic whalers converted as Minesweepers and fitted out with guns, submarine detection equipment and anti-submarine weaponry. They were H.M. Ships Overdale Wyke (the first ship to be purchased by the Government of Ceylon), Okapi, Semla, Sambhur, Hoxa, Balta and H.M Tugs Barnet and C405. In addition it manned several Motor Fishing Vessels (MFV) and miscellaneous auxiliary vessels. All were manned exclusively by CRNVR personnel. These ships were meant to sweep and guard the approaches the harbours but were also often used on extended missions outside Ceylon waters. In the course of these operations, the ships came under enemy fire, recovered essential information from Japanese aircraft shot down, sailed to Akyab after the Burma front was opened in two FMVs for harbour duties, and was called upon to accept the surrender of the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
colonial ship Eritrea
Eritrea (ship)
The Italian colonial ship Eritrea was constructed in the Castellammare Shipyards. Construction started in 1935 and she was commissioned in 1937.-Design:...
and escort her to port with a prize crew on board.
Cocos Islands Mutiny
The sinking of the battleshipBattleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
HMS Prince of Wales and the battlecruiser
Battlecruiser
Battlecruisers were large capital ships built in the first half of the 20th century. They were developed in the first decade of the century as the successor to the armoured cruiser, but their evolution was more closely linked to that of the dreadnought battleship...
HMS Repulse
HMS Repulse (1916)
HMS Repulse was a Renown-class battlecruiser of the Royal Navy built during the First World War. She was originally laid down as an improved version of the s. Her construction was suspended on the outbreak of war on the grounds she would not be ready in a timely manner...
, and the subsequent fall of Singapore, punctured forever the myth of British invincibility. Against this backdrop, and on the agitation of the Trotskyist inspired Lanka Sama Samaja Party
Lanka Sama Samaja Party
The Lanka Sama Samaja Party is a Trotskyist political party in Sri Lanka....
, soldiers of the Ceylon Garrison Artillery on Horsburgh Island in the Cocos Islands mutinied on the night of 8 May 1942, intending to hand the islands over to the Japanese. The mutiny was suppressed within an hour, however, and three of the mutineers were later executed — the only British Commonwealth soldiers to be executed for mutiny during the Second World War.
Following the mutiny the use of Ceylonese combat troops was discontinued by the British, although a number of supply and transport units were used in the rear areas in the Middle East. The defences of Ceylon were beefed up by the 7th Australian Division and elements of the 1st (African) Division because of the island's strategic importance, holding almost all the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
's resources of rubber. Rationing was instituted so that Ceylonese were comparatively better fed than their Indian neighbors; a measure taken to prevent their disaffection.
Japanese attack on Ceylon
The Easter Sunday Raid was the air raid carried out by JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
on Easter Sunday (5 April) 1942 on Colombo; a few days later Trincomalee was also attacked. These were undertaken as a part of commerce raiding
Commerce raiding
Commerce raiding or guerre de course is a form of naval warfare used to destroy or disrupt the logistics of an enemy on the open sea by attacking its merchant shipping, rather than engaging the combatants themselves or enforcing a blockade against them.Commerce raiding was heavily criticised by...
and the hunt for the British Eastern Fleet in the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
.
Although the military effect of the raids was substantial - it resulted in the sinking of several ships including two cruiser
Cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
s and an aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
, the effect on the Ceylonese population was far greater as it had heard of the Nanjing Massacres and of the act of brutality of the Japanese in occupied countries. The civilian population began a panicked fleeing of Colombo and of Ceylon by boat to India following the raid. Such was the panic amongst the British and Ceylonese that a large turtle which came ashore was reported by an Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n unit as a number of Japanese amphibious vehicles.
Anti-War movement
There was resistance to occupation, both against the Axis powersAxis Powers
The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...
and against the colonial power, the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. This was done completely by the Trotskyist Lanka Sama Samaja Party
Lanka Sama Samaja Party
The Lanka Sama Samaja Party is a Trotskyist political party in Sri Lanka....
, which supported the independence movement and led the anti-war movement, made it clear that it did not side with either the Axis powers or the Allies
Allies
In everyday English usage, allies are people, groups, or nations that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out between them...
and considered the war an internationalist
Internationalist
Internationalist may refer to:* Internationalism , a movement to increase cooperation across national borders* Internationalist, socialists opposed to World War I* The Internationalist Review, an e-journal founded in Maastricht...
one. The Communist party
Communist party
A political party described as a Communist party includes those that advocate the application of the social principles of communism through a communist form of government...
of Ceylon too supported the anti-war movement as they saw it also as a war of imperialists, but in 1941 when Germany attacked the Soviet Union they joined the war movement in support of the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
calling it a peoples war.
There was some opposition to the war in Sri Lanka, particularly among the workers and the nationalists encouraged by the Lanka Sama Samaja Party
Lanka Sama Samaja Party
The Lanka Sama Samaja Party is a Trotskyist political party in Sri Lanka....
, many of the latter of whom hoped for a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
victory. But much of the populace dreaded a Japanese
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
victory.
Among Buddhists, there was disgust that Buddhist monks of German origin were interned as 'enemy aliens' whereas German and Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
Roman Catholic priests were not. Two young members of the Governing Party, Junius Richard Jayawardene (who later became President) and Dudley Senanayake
Dudley Senanayake
Dudley Shelton Senanayake was a Ceylonese politician, who became the second Prime Minister of Ceylon and went on to become prime minister on 2 more times during the 1950s and 1960s.-Early life:Dudley was born on 19 June, 1911 as the eldest son to Molly Dunuwila and Don Stephen Senanayake, who...
(later th 3rd Prime Minister), held discussions with the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese with a view to collaboration to oust the British , these discussions did not go further since the much older D S Senanayake
Don Stephen Senanayake
Don Stephen Senanayake was an independence activist who served as the first Prime Minister of Ceylon from 1947 to 1952.-Early life:...
(later th 1st Prime Minister) stopped them.
Independence agitators turned to opposition to the Ministers' support for the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
war effort. The local Ministers brought motions gifting the Sri Lankan taxpayers' money to the British war machine, which were opposed by the pro-freedom members of the State Council
State Council of Ceylon
The State Council of Ceylon was the unicameral legislature for Ceylon , established in 1931 by the Donoughmore Constitution. The State Council gave universal adult franchise to the people of the colony for the first time...
. Propaganda was carried out among the troops, Australian and British as well as indigenous with little effect.
Starting in November 1939 and during the first half of 1940 there was a wave of spontaneous strikes in the British-owned plantations, basically aimed at winning the right of organisation. There were two main plantation unions, Natesa Iyer's Ceylon Indian Congress and the All-Ceylon Estate Workers Union (later the Lanka Estate Workers Union, LEWU) led by Samasamajists.
In the Central Province the strike wave reached the zenith in the Mool Oya Estate strike, which was led by Samasamajists. After Mool Oya, the strike wave spread southward towards Uva, and the strikes became more prolonged and the workers began more and more to seek the militant leadership of the Samasamajists. The Trotskyist leader N.M. Perera addressed a large meeting in Badulla on 12 May, and the police were powerless to act, although it was banned. At Wewessa Estate the workers set up an elected council and the Superintendent agreed to act in consultation with the Workers' Council
Workers' council
A workers' council, or revolutionary councils, is the phenomenon where a single place of work or enterprise, such as a factory, school, or farm, is controlled collectively by the workers of that workplace, through the core principle of temporary and instantly revocable delegates.In a system with...
. An armed police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
party that went to restore 'law and order' was disarmed by the workers. The strike wave at last was beaten back by a wave of terror by the police, aided by floods which cut Uva off from the rest of the country for over a week.
However, the colonial authorities were finding that the independence struggle was getting too powerful. After Dunkirk, the British colonial authorities reacted in panic (as revealed in secret files released many decades later) and the LSSP State Council members N.M. Perera and Philip Gunawardena
Philip Gunawardena
Don Philip Rupasinghe Gunawardena introduced Trotskyism to Sri Lanka, where he is a national hero, known as 'the Father of Socialism' and as 'the Lion of Boralugoda'.-Early life & education:...
and others were arrested on 18 June. The Samasamajist press was raided and sealed. Regulations were promulgated which made open party work practically impossible.
Public disgust at British colonial rule continued to grow. Among the elite there was irritation at the colour-bar practised by the leading clubs. Sir Oliver Ernest Goonetilleke
Oliver Ernest Goonetilleke
Sir Oliver Goonetilleke , GCMG, KCVO, KBE was an important figure in the gradual independence of Ceylon from Britain, and became the third Governor-General of Ceylon...
, the Civil Defence Commissioner complained that the British commander of Ceylon, Admiral Layton called him a 'black bastard'; this was merely an expression of continuing white-supremacism. However, it was grist to the mill for an increasingly angry middle class that this was the attitude of their rulers who had been bested in Hong Kong, Malaya, Singapore and Burma by Asians.
Sri Lankans in Singapore and Malaysia formed the 'Lanka Regiment' of the Indian National Army
Indian National Army
The Indian National Army or Azad Hind Fauj was an armed force formed by Indian nationalists in 1942 in Southeast Asia during World War II. The aim of the army was to overthrow the British Raj in colonial India, with Japanese assistance...
, directly under Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. A plan was made to transport them to Sri Lanka by submarine, to begin the liberation struggle, but this was abortive.
The LSSP leaders were able to escape, with the help of one of their guards. Several of them fled to India, where they participated in the struggle there, underscoring what had been established before the war, that India's and Sri Lanka's freedom struggles were interlinked. However, a sizable contingent remained, led by Robert Gunawardena, Philip's brother.
See also
- Sri Lankan ArmySri Lankan ArmyThe Sri Lanka Army is the oldest and largest of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces and is responsible for land-based military and humanitarian operations. Established as the Ceylon Army in 1949, it was renamed when Sri Lanka became a republic in 1972...
- Sri Lankan NavySri Lankan Navy-The Beginning and World War II:In January 1938 the Ceylon Naval Volunteer Force was created with Commander W.G. Beauchamp as Commanding Officer under ordinance No I of 1937. On 31 August 1939 at the out set of World War II, the CNVF was mobilized for war duties...
- The Easter Sunday Raid on Colombo
- Indian Ocean raidIndian Ocean raidThe Indian Ocean raid was a naval sortie by the Fast Carrier Strike Force of the Imperial Japanese Navy from 31 March-10 April 1942 against Allied shipping and bases in the Indian Ocean. It was an early engagement of the Pacific campaign of World War II...