“Mahatma Gandhi whose arrival in this country was subjected to many delays at the eleventh hour, landed in Colombo at 9.30 p.m. on Saturday (November 13, 1927) and was greeted by enthusiastic crowds.” This was how the Ceylon Daily News reported on its front page the arrival of one of the greatest men to ever visit the country.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi who was 68 years at the time was acccompanied by his wife Kasturba. They travelled across the country during the three weeks they spent here visiting many places from Kurunegala to Badulla, Diyatalawa to Matale and Jaffna.
Gandhi visited Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) to make an appeal on behalf of the Khadi Fund, which was started to promote the spinning of Khadi (homespun cotton cloth) as a means of self employment and self-reliance in rural India.
His visit was a vastly anticipated one with many of the top political leaders of the time felicitating him during his stay. He was also welcomed by religious institutions and local government bodies as he travelled across the land.
When Mahatma Gandhi was feted by the Ceylon National Congress on November 22, 1927, among those in attendance were E.W. Perera, President of the Congress as well as Sri Lankan political leaders notably James Peries, T.B. Jayah, D.B.Jayatillake and D.S.Senanayake.
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| Gandhi addressing students of Ananda College |
Gandhi is at Maligakanda, Temple, Colombo |
Mahatma Gandhi also addressed students in several schools in the country including Ananda and Nalanda Colleges, Colombo, Mahinda College, Galle and Hindu College, Jaffna. At the Vidyodya Pirivena in Maligakanda, over 500 Buddhist monks had gathered to receive the Mahatma while he also addressed a huge gathering at the Y.M.C.A. in Colombo.
It is reported that large crowds thronged the areas that the leader of the Indian freedom struggle was visiting, with tickets being sold to at many venues as a means of crowd control.
Thousands of people had also lined the roads to greet him as he proceeded from place to place. He did not leave the country disappointed. People from all walks of life came forward to contribute to the Khadi Fund and the total collections were recorded at Rs 105,000.
“I assure you I am leaving Colombo not without a heavy heart, and if I could at all have managed it I would have stayed longer,” were Gandhi’s farewell words as he left our shores.
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