Prabo Mihindakulasuriya … introducing Unmasking the Empire
SYNOPSIS of the book: Every Sri Lankan schoolchild has heard that E.W. Perera hid documents in his shoe and sailed to England to seek relief for his fellow citizens from the martial law reprisals following the 1915 Pogrom. However, very little has been known about what Perera and D.B. Jayatilaka (who joined him later) accomplished in Britain during their four-year campaign (1915-1919) for a commission of inquiry.
Based on extensive archival research, this book provides a comprehensive account of Perera and Jayatilaka’s battle with the Colonial Office. It shed new light on the role of two British Christian humanitarian organisations (the Anti-Slavery and Aborigines’ Protection Society and the Native Races Liquor Traffic United Committee) who collaborated with the Ceylonese delegates in their appeals for reprieves, redress, and reforms. Their campaign for justice was a decisive turning-point in the movement for constitutional reforms which eventually led to Independence.
By critically exploring these events and interactions through the discursive lenses of colonialism, humanitarianism, nationalism, and networks, this book poses closely argued contestations to some dominant interpretations in the historiography of Sri Lankan nationalism and proposes more nuanced perspectives on the impact of the 1915 pogrom.
“Unmasking the Empire throws new light on elite politics in Sri Lanka in the early twentieth century by moving the frame beyond the island to the metropolitan arena and beyond a focus on well-known nationalist leaders to global Christian humanitarian movements and societies.Grounded in deeply empirical research, the book provides a nuanced and connected reading of the tensions and ambivalences that shaped the road to independence. ….. Nira Wickramasinghe: Professor of Modern South Asian Studies, Leiden University
“A meticulous dissection of a vast trove of archival sources allows Mihindukulasuriya to bring into perspective how Lankan activists and British humanitarians engaged in a campaign for justice that defined Sri lankan nationalism in the early twentieth century. this book presents a useful empirical case study of how, even under colonialism, citizens of all kinds pushed for public truth-telling and, although only partially successful, made a critical contribution to nation-building.” …. Sujit Sivasundaram: Professor of World History, University of Cambridge
“Mihindukulasuriya’s meticulous research reveals a largely forgotten transnational history of Sri Lanka, in which inter-religious and inter-ethnic solidarities and protests challenged the draconian excesses of a colonial government. By exploring the support given by British Christian humanitarian organisations to Ceylonese campaigners for justice, Mihindukulasuriya holds a spotlight to one of Sri Lanka’s first international campaigns for justice in the early twentieth century. His book contains important lessons on social activism in Sri Lanka for both students of the past and practitioners of the present.”……. Shamara Wettimuny: Junior Research Fellow in History, University of Oxford
The book is available for sale at Rs. 1,200 from the following bookstores and online booksellers in Sri Lanka:
- Social Scientists’ Association, Sarana Road, Colombo 7.
- Sarasavi Bookshop
- Barefoot Bookshop
- Perera Hussein Publishing House
- Minsara Book Shop
- Rasakatha.lk
- SL Books
- Expographics Battaramulla
Prabo Mihindukulasuriya, Ph)D (University of Colombo
PhD (University of Colombo) …. Assistant Professor of the History of Christianity, Regent College, 5800 University Blvd. Vancouver, BC, V6T 2E4 Canada …. www.regent-college.edu