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The Buddhist Revival in 19th-century Sri Lanka was heavily driven by the British violation of Article 5 of the Kandyan Convention of 1815 and the aggressive expansion of Christian missionary activities. [1, 2]

When the Kandyan chiefs surrendered sovereignty to the British Crown, Article 5 explicitly guaranteed that the Buddhist religion would be declared inviolable, and its rites, ministers, and places of worship would be maintained and protected. However, British policy quickly reneged on these promises under pressure from Protestant evangelicals in England. [1, 2, 3, 4]

Mechanisms of the British policy shift

The withdrawal of traditional state patronage happened through several systematic phases: [1]

• Removal of protections: Following the 1817–1818 Uva-Wellassa rebellion, the British issued a Royal Proclamation that unilaterally dropped the word “inviolable” from their religious guarantees. [1, 2]
• Institutional dissociation: By 1853, the colonial government formally severed all remaining ties with Buddhism, abandoning its role as the custodian of the Sacred Tooth Relic. [1, 2]
• Missionary preference: The state actively subsidized Protestant missionary organizations, giving them a monopoly over the education system. [1, 2]
• Socio-economic exclusion: Conversion to Christianity became almost mandatory for locals attempting to access employment or retain status within the ruling elite. [1]
• Encroachment: Symbols of colonial faith, such as St. Paul’s Church, were erected directly adjacent to sacred spaces like the Temple of the Tooth, aggravating religious tensions. [1]

The Buddhist response and resistance

The institutional loss and religious marginalization sparked a powerful wave of organized native resistance: [1, 2]

• Intellectual defense: Scholars and monks adopted printing technology to distribute literature defending Buddhist doctrines against missionary critiques. [1, 2]
• Public debates: Tensions culminated in historic open confrontations, most notably the Panadura Vadaya (Panadura Debate) of 1873, where Ven. Migettuwatte Gunananda Thera successfully debated Christian missionaries. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
• Institutional reform: The arrival of international allies like Colonel Henry Steel Olcott in 1880 led to the birth of the Buddhist Theosophical Society, which founded local schools to counter missionary education. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
• Cultural nationalism: Leaders like Anagarika Dharmapala, Ven. Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala Thero, Walisinha Harischandra and subsequently in the post – independence era Buddhist leaders like L.H. Mettananda and his BJB ( Bauddha Jatika Balavegaya) championed a socio-religious transformation that seamlessly intertwined Buddhist identity with Sinhala nationalism, redefining the modern cultural landscape of Sri Lanka. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
• Evasion of Accountability and Reparation and Repatriation of stolen artifacts from Buddhist Temples still continue to linger creating tension in the relationship between the two countries 

Would you like to explore specific details about the Panadura Debate or examine how the British managed the Sacred Tooth Relic after 1815?

• Protestant Buddhism – Oxford Reference

Term introduced by the scholar Gananath Obeyesekere referring to a phenomenon in Sinhalese Buddhism having its roots in the latter…

Oxford Reference

• De Silva, M.U. (2004), Suppression of Buddhism under the British …

Jul 19, 2026 — * Policy Shifts: It explores how the British colonial administration systematically withdrew the traditional state patronage histo…

LankaWeb

• Sinhala Givisuma ( Kandyan Convention ) of 1815 – LankaWeb

Jul 19, 2026 — The Buddhist Sinhala resistance in Kandy against Christian missionaries stemmed directly from the British violation of the Ingrisi…

LankaWeb

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