1915 Sinhalese-Muslim riots

1915 Sinhalese-Muslim riots
Date28 May – 8 August 1915
Location
Caused byAttempt to prevent an attack on a Buddhist procession by Indian Moors
MethodsRioting, looting, assault, robbery, assault, murder
Resulted inShops, homes destroyed
Lead figures
Reported fatalities and injuries
Death(s)116 (25 murdered and 63 killed by the police/military)
Injuries189
ArrestedN/A
Damage4075 houses and boutiques looted, 250 houses and boutiques burned down, 17 mosques burnt and 86 mosques damaged[1][2]

The 1915 Sinhalese-Muslim riots (also known as the anti-Muslim riots of 1915[3][4][5] or the 1915 Buddhist Mohammedan riots or the 1915 Ceylonese riots) was a widespread and prolonged ethnic riot in the island of Ceylon between Sinhalese Buddhists and the Ceylon Moors. The riots were eventually suppressed by the British colonial authorities.[6][7]

The riots started in Kandy in the night of 28 May 1915 and spread to neighbouring villages on 30 May and to Colombo on 31 May and other towns thereafter. It was suppressed by 9 June with final incidents occurring on 11 May in Chilaw. Taking place at the time when the First World War was raging in Europe, the British authorities feared that the riots were possibly a rebellion against colonial rule; in response, martial law was first declared in the Western and Sabaragamuwa Provinces on 2 June, extended to other provinces in the following days, and terminated on 30 August. During the suppression of the rebellion, colonial forces supplemented by European auxiliaries carried out numerous summary executions and other repressive measures in an attempt to put an end to the riots.[6][8][9]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference C A Gunawardena was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Pact.lk was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Tambiah, Stanley Jeyaraja (1992). Buddhism Betrayed?: Religion, Politics, and Violence in Sri Lanka. University of Chicago Press. p. 7. ISBN 0-226-78950-0.
  4. ^ Gunasinghe, Newton (2004). "4: The Open Economy and Its Impact on Ethnic Relations in Sri Lanka". In Winslow, Deborah; Woost, Michael D. (eds.). Economy, Culture, and Civil War in Sri Lanka. Indiana University Press. p. 99. ISBN 0-253-34420-4.
  5. ^ Pieris, Anoma (2012). Architecture and Nationalism in Sri Lanka: The Trouser Under the Cloth. Routledge. p. 106. ISBN 978-0-415-63002-3.
  6. ^ a b "Midwee07". www.island.lk. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  7. ^ "Sri Lanka's Muslims: Caught in the Crossfire" (PDF). Asia Report: 4. Spring 2007 – via refworld.
  8. ^ The Independence Movement – its early phases
  9. ^ Ponnambalam Ramanathan (1915). Riots and Martial Law in Ceylon. London: Gyan Publishing House. ISBN 8121239613.