Every Sri Lankan schoolchild has heard that E W Perera hid documents in his shoe and sailed to England to seek relief for his fellow citizen from the martial law reprisals following the 1915 Pogrom. However, very little has been known about Perera and D B Jayatilaka accomplished in Britain during their four year campaign for a commission of inquiry.
Based on extensive archival research, this book provides a comprehensive account of Perera and Jayatilaka’s Battle with the colonial office. It sheds new light on the role of two British Christian humanitarian organizations who collaborated with the Ceylonese delegate in their appeals for reprieves, redress, and reforms. Their campaign for justice was a decisive turning-point in the movement for constitutional reforms which eventually led to independence.
By critically exploring these events and interactions through the discursive lenses of colonialism, humanitarianism, nationalism, and networks, this book poses closely argued contestations to some dominant interpretations in the historiography of Sri Lankan nationalism and proposes more nuanced perspectives on the 1915 Pogrom.
Supplied by the Barefoot Bookshop, Galle Road, Colombo.
