The last days of Ehelepola Adikaram:

A grudge that rewrote history

by Amal HEWAVISSENTI

The brutal and indiscriminate killing of the wife and children of Ehelepola Nilame is an indelible blackmark against the otherwise resounding glory of Sri Lankan history. It was a national tragedy which transformed the political course of the country and spawned a moral upheaval for people to last for generations. Ehelepola Adikaram, the prominent Kandyan chief always visualised a Sri Lanka under the rule of royal lineage and was vehemently against the Kandyan rulers of "Wadiya" lineage.

Sri Wikrama Rajasinha the last King of Sri Lanka traced his lineage directly to Wadiga dynasty of Kandy and his coronation was preceded by real life drama of mishap, intrigue and secrecy. Sri Wikrama Rajasinha fell back on the 'reliable support' of English to dispel the encroaching Dutch but English seized the opportunity to diplomatically establish their power basically from the harbour of Trincomalee. Pilimathalawa Maha Adikarama decided to get the secret and supposedly conspiratorial support from English to usher in an era where no King of Wadiga lineage ruled in Sri Lanka.

He was strongly opposed to Sri Wikrama Rajasinha who allegedly underplayed his responsibilities for the common people. The most tragic events of his life began to take shape with his imprisonment under King's order as he was held accountable for the deaths of Erewwala Upa Adikarama and Dambagamuwe Disawa who had been killed in mysterious circumstances. Sri Wikrama Rajasinha appointed Ehelepola Disawe to the rank of Maha Adikarama following the official announcement of the death of Pilimathalawe in prison. Ehelepola, like his uncle, was sharply governed by a wave of nationalistic views and sentiments and was intent on obliterating even the names of rulers of Wadiga descent from Kandyan kingdom. Sri Wikrama Rajasinha, being vaguely aware of the diplomatically hostile trend developing in Ehelepola Nilame, did not hesitate to reduce him to the rank of Sabaragamuwa Disawa.

Patriotic overtones

Ehelepola Wijesundara Wikramasinha Chandrasekara Amarasekera Wasala was born in 1773 and received his language and academic learning from Yatawatte Maha Thera. He held the first serious government rank of 'Paniwidakara Nilame' under Rajadhirajasinha and his father and grandfather had held responsible high ranks under Rajasinha II, Wimaladharmasuriya II and Narendrasinha. Ehelepola, in his outright condemnation of rulers of Wadiga origin in royal power and dishonourable expulsion to Sabaragamuwa associated himself with the English. When Rajasinha threatened tough action against him on the charge of capital offence, he fled to the refuge of the English and his wife, and children were ruthlessly slaughtered in its wake - the one and only tragedy of its kind in history.

Reversed history

Meanwhile, Ehelepola who was now under strict protection of the English, surreptitiously addressed the Sinhala Kandyan chiefs in the royal court of Kandy through a letter. The letter carried the persuasive message for the Kandyan chiefs to hand over the Sinhala Kingdom to the English throne as the kingdom was being brought to a political deadlock by the King himself. The letter read, "My dear patriotic friends and cousins the aristocrats. I write this letter on tenth of February eighteen twelve ..... sinister moves of morally bankrupt have betrayed me though all Sri Lankans know how honest I am. The Wadiga King purposely wreaked havoc on my family..... The Sinhala army is being destroyed by Wadiga people who spoil the reputation of the kingdom. They do not endure our welfare as a nation.... These are the worst repercussions of the discontinuation of the dynasty of the Sinhala nation. It is the bounden duty of us everybody to protect Sinhala nation and re-establish prosperity to our kingdom....

"The situation is rather satisfactory in areas governed by the English. I have understood that the English law and order, though it is beneath that of Sinhala kingdom, is much more to justice than that of Wadiga people. However, now we cannot reverse our dependence on the English invaders and time has come to surrender our kingdom to English throne..... painful situations resembling this have happened several times in history and let us make necessary arrangements not to let them repeat in future. The English governor has solemnly pledged to me at the church that within twenty five years of surrendering the country to the English, they will allow a government of our own in Kandy and they will rule in the low country. This is the sole alternative left for us and never accept the words of betrayers..... 'Ehelepola."

Mistrust of the English

"Robert Brownrig, the English governor in Coastal areas who made a comprehensive report on Ehelepola in the protective custody of the English, expressed deep mistrust over the genuineness of his intentions and moods. The report written with Brownrig's handwriting, shows that Brownrig miscalculated the attitudes of the inner man in Ehelepola. The report said "The first and foremost person to have power and avarice for power is Ehelepola. We do not endorse a belief that he will ever be loyal to us the English government for restoring him to all the prestigious ranks and allowing him to regain the country's rule. We do not have a reasonable ground to believe he will leave our party to rejoin that King who barbarously sabotaged his family and dispelled him."

Ehelepola, who bore a strong current of malice against Sri Wikrama Rajasinha was the first person to have taken the initiative to surrender the Sinhala Kingdom to the English who were establishing their power in coastal belt of the country. The Kandyan chiefs bore such a relentless grudge against Rajasinha that they included the condition in 1815 pact (Kanda Udarata Givisuma) that no rulers having relations to King Rajasinha were to be allowed to join the political mainstream of the country.

Ehelepola in exile

The English flagrantly ignored most of their pledges stipulated in 1815 Pact contrary to all expectations of common people and Ehelepola who was by now an emotional wreck. the famous Ehelepola Kumarihami and Madduma Bandara tragedy and the despairing response of British government to his demands for leadership in Kandy reduced him to nothing. The situation grew up to such an intensity that the English imprisoned him at the outset of 1818 insurgency and sent him into exile in the island of Mauritius where he enjoyed a comfortable life with slaves and attendants in a fully equipped house. It is said that he was popular with natives of Mauritius as an exiled Sri Lankan Prince, but later he was afflicted with dysentery owing to the insupportable temperature in the island. The army officer, Richard Vicars who was in charge of Kandyan prisoners in Mauritius made a fruitless appeal to declare his last will because Ehelepola was declining daily with fragile health.

Ehelepola's last will

Yet on the earnest appeal by another Kandyan chief in exile Ihagama Nilame, Ehelepola declared his last will on the death bed. These are the excerpts from his will. "The gift deed being announced on the second of April eighteen twenty four in Pampal Susaz - Mauritius. I, Ehelepola Mahadisawe who is presently suffering from a fatal illness, hereby transfer all my money and things now in my possession to my attendant Dingiri Banda and another two hundred Spanish dollars to Kendagamu Nilame and Degandeniye Arachchi... I appeal to English government to declare pardon to and send Kendagamu Nilame and Degandeniye Arachchi back to Sri Lanka as a tribute to their commitment to me at my death bed... Let all my money and property now in the Kachcheri of Mahanuwara be transferred to Pilimathalawe Disawe, a poor relation of mine. I hereby request to have my chariot, the diamond ring and Sinhala watch transferred to Don Bastian Mudali..... And also, now that I have no heir of my own, I demand that all my lands go to the possession of my sister..... All my clothes are to Dalada Maligawa..... My ring is for the doctor attending me....."

Death in expulsion

Richard Vicars reported that Ehelepola succumbed to worsened dysentery on the 4th Saturday 1829 and as Vicars reported, he was in full spirits up to the point of death. His funeral, performed to Sinhala fashion, was attended by Kandyan prisoners and governor of Mauritius. It is painful to note that he had allocated money to have a monument built where he was to be buried and he had kept Vicars fully informed of his wish.

In response to his last wish, Richard Vicars has sent a written request to English governor in Sri Lanka, Edward Barnes for permission to build a monument where Ehelepola Adikarama was buried in Mauritius and Edward Barnes has given his complete consent to it. The government of Mauritius has declared the monument in commemoration of Ehelepola Adikarama, as a State protected archaeological site. Ehelepola Adikarama, who had attitudes with strong patriotic overtones, had to breathe his last in exile just like Pilimathalawe who fought tooth and nail for the independence of the nation.