He fought for his people at all times

This article is to commemorate the 45th death anniversary of C. E. Victor S. Corea, Advocate of the Supreme Court, Member for Colombo Town North in the Legislative Council of Ceylon and the First President of the Ceylon Labour Union who passed away on June 6, 1961. All quotations contained in this article are taken from authentic records.

Fifty years ago today the Tower Hall in Maradana was the scene of an electrifying drama. But Annie Boteju and Marshal Perera were not the star attractions. The occasion was a political meeting.

It was the climax of a day of national mourning in remembrance of the declaration of martial law on June 4, 1915. As this story unfolds the speaker on the platform is C. E. Victor S. Corea. "SWARAJ" "Shout the word till the rafters ring Shout till the cry reverberates through Maradana. Shout till the word reaches the ears of the Inspector-General and his myrmidons, and let them tremble at their headquarters"

June 4, 1922, was a Sunday and the thousands who packed the Tower Hall and its environs exploded in an orgasm of applause.

"The Times of Ceylon" - always a faithful barometer of the political climate-recorded the next day that "The Tower Hall was packed to utmost capacity. On the verandahs outside a tightly wedged mass of humanity surged to and fro, a large number remaining on the street outside."

"Such was the magnetic attraction of Mr. C. E. Victor S. Corea that the police party present was led by the acting Inspector-General of Police himself.

Mr. Corea had just come out of jail for he underwent the experience of imprisonment rather than accept the iniquitous poll tax. Mr. Corea who used the occasion to warn the British that their days were numbered, began by relating his experiences in jail.

Being a man of wealth, he had been offered the choice of European or "native" diet. Being a patriot he chose the "native" diet but the food was so badly prepared that for his first forty-two hours in jail he starved.

The phrase "European diet", said Mr. Corea did not mean that the apologists of Government would have it mean. According to their (Prisons) Ordinance it meant ordinary food as used by Europeans, as opposed to rice.

It was intended originally for Europeans only, as being of a superior order, on the same principle that European government officials were paid higher salaries than Ceylonese officials of the same rank. Mr. Corea explained that if he had chosen the European diet - even in the secrecy of a prison cell - it would have implied an admission of the inferiority of the Huns, whether they called themselves Angles or Saxons.

Serving time -differently

Having chosen to be treated like all the other prisoners, he spent his month in prison beating coconut husks and twisting coir rope. On his second day in jail the doctor ordered that he be given a pound of bread and a little sugar daily. He spurned the sugar as a luxury and lived on a diet of plain bread.

At nights he could not sleep on the hard bug infested planks with no pillow and he was refused the use of soap. C. E. Victor S. Corea and his brother C. E. Corea launched the Young Lanka League, a newspaper designed to inculcate a feeling of nationalism and a distaste for what was alien and foreign, as was done by Mahatma Gandhi in India and Anagarika Dharmapala in Ceylon.

Unlike some of the elite of the day who were bending over backwards in professions of loyalty to the British, the Young Lanka League had one aim - Swaraj. Mr. Corea said that the Prince of Wales (the future George V) who had visited Ceylon earlier in the year, had been grossly deceived by the bureaucracy.

They had told him that Ceylon was the Isle of Content. The Young Lanka League would show him that Ceylon was an Isle of Discontent by grasping the Gandhian principles of non-cooperation and civil disobedience. He called on the people to rally round the League and show the British that they were no longer content to be drawers of water and hewers of wood.

The following resolutions were then passed :

"Today, the anniversary of the declaration of martial law, 1915, is consecrated by us to meditation, to pious deeds, to self-introspection, and prayers for the unity of the people of Lanka, and to acts of homage to the innocent dead."

Mr. Corea was followed by his brother, Charles Edgar Corea, who said that as a Christian, he mourned with those who mourned. It was impossible to be a Christian and not be a nationalist. They mourned, he said not for those who had won crowns of martyrdom for their country, but they mourned for the pitiful wretches who buried their honour in the graves of their innocent victims.

One of the primary objects of the Young Lanka League was to repair the damage to Sinhalese-Muslim relations during the riots, and there was "deafening applause" when Mr. Ismail Cassim spoke in Sinhala on the need for more unity between the two communities. Mr. Mohommed Reyal, was similarly applauded during his speech on the same theme.

At the end of the meeting a band struck up the Dead March in Saul and the crowd wended in procession for the General Cemetery at Kanatte where wreaths were placed on the graves of riot victims of Governor Sir John Anderson.

When Mahatma Ghandhi visited Chilaw and was hosted to a banquet in his honour at "Sigiriya" he presented to C. E. Victor S. Corea, a 15"x20" colour poster under the caption - FIGHTERS FOR SWARAJ featuring all the Indian nationalists who actively participated in their struggle for Independence and each of them was featured individually in mirror shaped bust size photographs.

Right at the bottom was the photograph of C. E. Victor S. Corea. This was an honour bestowed on him by the Indian fighters for Swaraj for C. E. Victor S. Corea's relentless pursuit in carrying out a similar campaign in Ceylon.

The Poll Tax introduced by the British government required all males above 18 years to pay the government a tax of Two Rupees.

Victor Corea refused to pay on the grounds that the poor people in the country could not afford it and reminded the government that according to the law he was prepared to go to jail. He made a public statement that he was prepared to be in jail for any length of time and come out of it only on the day the tax was abolished.

When the prisoners were brought out on to the public roads to break boulders under the scorching heat of the sun, it is reported that large crowds came to see this rare spectacle of an Advocate of the Supreme Court fighting the cause of his countrymen with the determination to abolish the Poll Tax.

The crowds to see him steadily multiplied, the poor mostly, coming from all parts of the country to witness the spectacle of a Champion fighting the cause of his countrymen. Realising that Victor Corea was gaining popularity as a Hero, the British government decided to abolish the Poll tax and release Victor Corea.

Patriot

When Hewisi in the Dalada Maligawa was stopped on the orders of the British Government Agent, Victor Corea, a Christian rose in protest and warned the G.A. to change his residence if the hewisi was a source of disturbance to his household instead of trying to interfere with religious tradition that was coming down from the time of the Sinhala Kings. (Quoting from the newspapers) "Since Victor Corea, was known to be a man of his word and fearing that there would be unrest, the G.A. withdrew the order and the hewisi has continued ever since."

When A. E. Goonesinha formed the Ceylon Labour Union he invited Victor Corea to be its first President in order that the Union will have the dynamic leadership of a courageous leader. Before a bench of two judges, Mr. C. A. L. Corea, Crown Proctor, Chilaw, addressing court said they were meeting that morning to pay homage and tribute to the memory of the oldest lawyer of the Bar, not only of Chilaw but of the whole island.

"Mr Victor Corea, was an elder statesman, educated at S. Thomas' College, one of the premier institutes in the island. Mr. Corea rose to eminence. His voice sounded and re-sounded in the chambers of these courts and in the rooms of the councils of state. He knew no fear, no trepidation.

Continuing the Crown Proctor said, Memory will fade away, records of history will perish, but upon the simple lips and hearts of a grateful people the name of their liberator will glow writ large in letters of gold.

If it is true that cowards die many times before their death and the valiant never tastes of death but once, Mr. Corea was that man of valour. He stood up to his opponent, he stood up to the judge when occasion demanded. Every tread he measured was charged with dignity and decorum.

The District Judge replied, "It is a matter of justified pride to note that quite a number of practitioners of this Court have achieved distinction in the social and political life of this country. Among them the names of Mr. Victor Corea and his late lamented brother, Mr. C. E. Corea stand out in pre-eminence. Most of the seniors here, were schoolboys and others, were not even born when Mr. Victor Corea was at the zenith of his glory.

Over a difference of opinion Victor Corea had with Governor, Sir Hugh Clifford, he wrote, "Proud as I am of my nationality and dearly as I would like to have my people regain complete independence and hold their own with the rest of the free nations of the world, I love my country too much to wish to change the stable and strong Government our fathers wisely chose more than a century ago.

Whatever the faults of Englishmen I have learnt that they know how to rule, and now that England has imparted to us that knowledge, and in view of our traditions of a glorious past, can you blame us if we grow impatient at your delay to put us on a footing at least equal to that of Australia or South Africa?

(Courtesy the Times of Ceylon - June 5, 1922)