Mahatma Gandhi's visit to Ceylon

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Mahatma Gandhi, often called the Father of the Nation of India, visited Ceylon (Sri Lanka) for the only time in 1927. He was invited to Chilaw by Sri Lankan freedom fighters Charles Edgar Corea and his brother Victor Corea. During three weeks in the island, Gandhi also traveled to Colombo, Kandy, Galle, Jaffna, Nuwara Eliya, Matale, Badulla, Bandarawela, Hatton and Point Pedro, giving speeches to many people.

The Corea family from Chilaw are descended from King Dominicus Corea, also known as Edirille Rala, who fought Portuguese rulers in the 16th century. The Coreas were influential landowners and public figures for generations. C.E. (Charles Edgar) Corea led peasant rights campaigns and was president of the Ceylon National Congress in 1924; his brother Alfred Ernest Corea was a doctor, and Victor Corea was a lawyer who helped lead early labor movements and protests. The Coreas stayed in touch with Gandhi during India’s fight for independence and invited him to visit Ceylon in 1927.

Gandhi arrived in Colombo on 12 November 1927 with his wife Kasturba, C. Rajagopalachari and his daughter Lakshmi, along with his secretaries Mahadev Desai and Pyarelal. He spent three weeks in Ceylon, traveling widely and meeting excited crowds. He admired the island’s natural beauty, calling it “a resplendent pendant on the Indian necklace.” Some accounts say he stayed at a Corea home in Chilaw called Sigiriya, and the nearby village of Nainamadama was even renamed Swarajya Pura in his honor.

Gandhi also visited schools run by the Buddhist Theosophical Society, giving talks at Ananda College in Colombo, Mahinda College in Galle and Dharmaraja College in Kandy. At Ananda College he spoke about loving one’s own language in education and the importance of using the mother tongue. The students and staff at Ananda raised funds for Gandhi’s Khadi collection. On 18 November 1927 he spoke at Dharmaraja College, Kandy, about quitting smoking and urged the boys to be good and obedient; he asked them to save any money they would have spent on cigarettes and send it to help India’s hungry millions.