A Passage from the novel ‘Lanka Rani’

The third edition of “Lanka Rani” which narrates the story of Tamil refugees travelling to Jaffna after the riots of 1977 in the ship ‘Lanka Rani’, will be released on 20th December 2008. The English, Sinhalese and other world language translations will follow. The first edition appeared in 1980 and was published by the Eelam Research Organisation (ERO) of EROS. ( From: Page 127 – 129)

(November 16, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) However, there is little evidence, the real history of Sri Lanka was anything like what is stated in Mahavamsa. Up to the 12th century no language by the name Sinhala language exited in Sri Lanka. It is only after this period, a language in the name of Sinhala language came into existence by the intermixing of Tamil , Pali, Sanskrit and Eelu, one of the tribal languages of Sri Lanka. On the basis of this, it can be inferred, the so called 2500 year history of Sinhala race and Sinhala Buddhism is nothing but a myth cooked up in the minds of the Sinhalese historical prevaricators who lived in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries.

The Roman historian Ptolemy, who lived in the 3rd century, calls the name of Anuradhapuram by its original Tamil name, Anoor (a village full of cows). The Chinese pilgrim who lived in Anuradhapuram in the 5th century, Fa Hsian talks about the many communities that lived in Anuradhapuram and that the king was a Hindu. No mention of any Sinhala language or Sinhala race. Robert Knox who visited Anuradhapuram in the 18th century narrates that the Tamils were the rulers and inhabitants of Anuradhapuram.

Tamil rule has prevailed in Anuradhapuram before and after the Chola rule of the 10th century. Only Tamil Buddhism has existed in Anuradhapuram. In those times, Tamil was written in the Vatteluthu from which the current Sinhalese script was derived. This script was brought from South India to write Tamil and other languages that existed in Anoor. The same script was used to write Pali, Sanskrit and Eelu. The Sinhala language has not come into existence at that time. The tradition of writing Tamil in Vatteluthu, that is now called Sinhalese script, was prevalent in Sri Lanka until the 19th century Kandyan period.

The Tamil Buddhist literature which were in various Buddhist monasteries were written in the Vatteluthu were lost to the Tamils as latter day Tamil scholars failed to identify them as Tamil works. Similarly, the inscriptions written in Vatteluthu too were mistaken as Sinhalese and disregarded by Tamil scholars.

Mahavamsa was first translated into Sinhalese only in the 20th century. This was originally written in Pali language. There are correlations that it started as Vamsa history of the Pandya lineage that ruled over Anoor in the beginning. Many versions of Mahavamsa existed and one of them was translated into English in the 19th century.

English historians who wrote on Sri Lankan history are also responsible for the misrepresentation of Sri Lankan history as Sinhalese history. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the English historians rewrote the world history claiming that, it was barbarism that founded and established the world civilisations. This belief exists among barbaric races even today. The newly founded Sinhala race too was identified as a barbaric race. Joining with English, the Sinhalese historians twisted and misrepresented the ancient history of Sri Lanka as the history of the Sinhala race.

The ancient history of Anuradhapuram was the history of the Pandya’s. Latter in the10th century, it came under the rule of Cholas. From the 13th century till the 16th it was under the overloadship of Kingdom of Jaffna. Then it became part of Kandyan Kingdom. Till the end, the sovereign right over all of Sri Lanka was held by the Tamils. The right of overloadship over all of Sri Lanka held by the Kingdom of Jaffna and the Kandyan Kingdom ruled by the Tamils, directly went into hands of Portuguese and British in the 17th and 19th centuries.

The Mahavamsa succeed in misrepresenting the Tamil foundations if Sri Lanka civilisation as Sinhalese foundation. The start of the historical misrepresentation begins with the arrival Siamese Buddhist sects that were brought from present day Thailand 250 years ago. The need to bring them from there arose, as Buddhism has died out in Sri Lanka during this period. The Sinhalese were Hindus and Catholic converts during this period.

Though, these Buddhist monks were brought to Kandy by the Tamil king Kithisri, they chose to conspire against the King of Kandy, with the intention of crowning a Thai prince who was brought to Sri Lanka as a Buddhist monk. The conspiracy was uncovered and a number of the Buddhist monks were beheaded. Among those beheaded was the Buddhist monk who re-fabricated and re-wrote Mahavamsa. It is after this incident, the anti Tamil orientation and mission of these Buddhist monks begin. Even today these traitors are loyal to the King of Thailand.

Subsequently, they joined hands with the British, betrayed the Kandyan sovereign and enslaved the Kandyan Kingdom and availed the concessions given by the British in return. With this, they succeed in selling to the British the fabricated Mahavamsa as the ancient chronicle of Sri Lanka, translated the Mahavamsa and turned it into the history of Sri Lanka. On that basis they created the illusion the whole of Sri Lanka belongs to Sinhalese and drove the Sinhalese into madness. This led to the current state of Sinhalese, permanently creating antagonism between the Tamil and Sinhalese communities.

According Sinhalese historical works, the race which is today called Sinhala race was living as 16 separate races speaking 16 separate languages until the 15th century. It is only after this, it gradually fused into the present Sinhala race. Many races that crept into Sri Lanka after that too have fused to become Sinhalese. This includes Malays, Malayalees, Portuguese, Portuguese half - casts, Paravas of Tutucorin and many others. The strict cast system followed by the Tamils too made many low casts to become Buddhists and Sinhalese and Tamil Buddhists and elite Tamils from the North East too became Kandyan Sinhalese after their migration and establishment of the Kandyan Kingdom due to the occupation North East by the Portuguese.

Translation by Arular - Sri Lanka Guardian