{"id":76660,"date":"2018-04-21T15:03:29","date_gmt":"2018-04-21T22:03:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=76660"},"modified":"2018-04-21T15:03:29","modified_gmt":"2018-04-21T22:03:29","slug":"1915-sinhalese-muslim-riots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2018\/04\/21\/1915-sinhalese-muslim-riots\/","title":{"rendered":"1915 Sinhalese-Muslim riots"},"content":{"rendered":"

The\u00a01915 Sinhalese-Muslim riots<\/b>\u00a0(also known as the\u00a0anti-Muslim riots of 1913<\/b>[1]<\/a><\/sup>[2]<\/a><\/sup>[3]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0or the\u00a01915 Buddhist Mohammedan riots<\/b>\u00a0or the\u00a01915 Ceylonese riots<\/b>) was a widespread and prolonged ethnic riot in the island of\u00a0Ceylon<\/a>\u00a0between\u00a0Sinhalese<\/a>\u00a0Buddhists<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0Ceylon Moors<\/a>\u00a0and the brutal suppression of it by the British colonial authorities.[4]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
1915 Sinhalese-Muslim riots<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
\"Sri<\/a><\/p>\n
Ceylon<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Date<\/th>\n28 May – 8 August 1915<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Location<\/th>\nWestern Province<\/a>and\u00a0Sabaragamuwa<\/a>,\u00a0British Ceylon<\/a><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Caused by<\/th>\nAttempt to prevent an attack on a Buddhist procession by Indian Moors<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Methods<\/th>\nWidespread looting, assault, arson and murder<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Lead figures<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Arrests\/Injuries\/Deaths<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
Arrests:<\/b>\u00a0N\/A
\nInjuries:<\/b>\u00a0N\/A
\nDeaths:<\/b>\u00a0116 (63 killed by the police\/military)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The riots started in\u00a0Kandy<\/a>\u00a0in the night of 28 May 1915 and spread to neighbouring villages on 30 May and to\u00a0Colombo<\/a>\u00a0on 31 May and other towns there after. It was suppressed by 9 June with final incidents taking place on 11 May in\u00a0Chilaw<\/a>. Taking place at a time\u00a0World War I<\/a>\u00a0was raging in Europe, the British feared the riots as a possible native upraising,\u00a0martial law<\/a>\u00a0was first declared in the\u00a0Western<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Sabaragamuwa Provinces<\/a>\u00a0on 2 June, extended to other provinces in the following days, and terminated on 30 August, during which many summary executions and other atrocities where carried out by the colonial forces in attempts to subdue the riots.[4]<\/a><\/sup>[5]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

Contents<\/h2>\n
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