An Appreciation within Richmond Viththi in Facebook, 11 July 2024
Renowned Richmondite Professor P V J Jaysekara passed away. He is the one and only History professor produced by Richmond College, Galle. He Supervised Mr Ananda Dias-Jayasinha to write the book titled “Forgotten History of Richmond College”
Professor Jayasekara joined Richmond College in 1944. He was a Prefect of the school and won the most prestigeous award at Richmond, the Darrell Medal in 1954. He obtained an Honours Degree in Arts from the University of Peradeniya in 1959. He was awarded a Commonwealth Scholarship to Canada where he obtained his Masters degree in History from the University of Manitoba. In 1970, he was awarded the PhD by the SOAS, University of London.
He served as a Lecturer at the VIdyodaya University and later, in 1973, rejoined the University of Peradeniya where he became the Professor of History. He is the Author of ‘ Security Dilemma of a Small State . He has published many research papers on history of Sri Lanka, among them are research papers dealing with the historical aspects of abstinence and the renaissance of Buddhism in Sri Lanka.
One of his major works was Confrontations with colonialism : resistance, revivalism and reform under British rule in Sri Lanka, 1796-1920 … Colombo, 2017, Vijitha Yapa Publications.
- Paperback : 600 pages
- ISBN-10 : 9556653104
- ISBN-13 : 978-9556653106
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This work as reviewed by CR De Silva in the The Sri Lanka Journal of the Social Sciences, https://sljss.sljol.info/articles/10.4038/sljss.v41i1.7593 … date not specified
The Abstract runs thus:
In this first volume of a two-volume work, P. V. J. Jayasekera has used a wide variety of sources to challenge a number of interpretations relating to Sri Lanka under British colonial rule in the nineteenth century.
Jayasekera argues that Sri Lankan historians have, so far, generally been complicit with perpetuating “the legitimizing ideology of colonialism.” He shows how policies of the colonial state, fashioned through an alliance of British bureaucrats, planters and entrepreneurs in matters such as the grain tax and land ownership, led to increased impoverishment of the peasantry and the growth of landlessness. He documents how Christian missions provided not only support for colonial rule but also the motivating force to try to eliminate other faiths in Sri Lanka. He asserts that while Theosophists assisted the Buddhists in challenging colonial policy, by the time they arrived, Buddhists had already begun to “play an assertive role in confronting Christian hegemony.” He also assesses the divisions and weaknesses in the Buddhist movement, including the presence of a westernized lay leadership, while tracing how elements of the Buddhist revival fed the growing nationalist movement.
Jayasekera argues that Sri Lankan historians have, so far, generally been complicit with perpetuating “the legitimizing ideology of colonialism.” He shows how policies of the colonial state, fashioned through an alliance of British bureaucrats, planters and entrepreneurs in matters such as the grain tax and land ownership, led to increased impoverishment of the peasantry and the growth of landlessness. He documents how Christian missions provided not only support for colonial rule but also the motivating force to try to eliminate other faiths in Sri Lanka. He asserts that while Theosophists assisted the Buddhists in challenging colonial policy, by the time they arrived, Buddhists had already begun to “play an assertive role in confronting Christian hegemony.” He also assesses the divisions and weaknesses in the Buddhist movement, including the presence of a westernized lay leadership, while tracing how elements of the Buddhist revival fed the growing nationalist movement.
