Sunday Times 2
The other Indians
View(s):By Kumar Nadesan
When we go back in time and review the history of land, people and ethnicity, we need to understand that Sri Lanka and India were one land. When the tectonic plates broke, islands in the Indian Ocean Rim sank, and many new islands arose as did the island we live in.
When we talk of the other Indians, we need to mention the establishment of the Sinhala race and the history of Lanka that followed. One of the greatest migrations in Indian history took place when Vijaya, son of Sinhabahu and his followers left Sinhapura and landed in Sri Lanka in 543 BC. It is said that at the time he set sail, that the Buddha who had visited this island earlier believed that the island would become a great civilization. On the day of his passing at Kusinara he called upon the God of the Heavens to guard the Prince and his companions who would eventually establish the island of Lanka. Legend has it that Sakra summoned Vishnu and bade him to protect Vijaya and his followers and the Doctrine that would follow in Lanka for a full 5,000 years.
And so this was the beginning of the Sinhala race, a pre-destined event.
Legend says that the Kings of Lanka sought the fair princesses from the neighbouring country to be their Queens. The last such King whose mother was of a Telungu origin was Sri Vijaya Rajasinha – King of Kandy. Then came the armed incursions of the island for the next 1,500 years from the Cheras, Cholas and Pandians, many settling in the North and other areas of Lanka. To fight the invaders and to secure their own kingdoms, the Sinhala Kings recruited Kerala and Kannada mercenaries.
All such people were absorbed by the island. Then came Buddhism brought by Ashoka’s children. With Buddhism came Pali, a variation of Sanskrit and with Elalan came Tamil. Together they contributed to the Sinhala and Tamil spoken in the island. As Buddhism took hold in Sri Lanka and in keeping with Buddhist tenets, it was held that all men were equal. Consequently, the people of Lanka believed in equality and the principles of justice.
With the peace and freedom that prevailed, trade began to flourish. Gems and spices that grew on the island were exchanged for textiles brought in from India and other countries.
During the days of the Portuguese there was much interaction between the Goan coast and the island. Missionaries including St. Joseph Vaz too came into the island.
The Dutch when they took over from the Portuguese in the 17th century continued the trade with the Chetties who had settled along the western coastal areas of the island. Later known as Colombo Chetties, they provided British Ceylon many leading professionals from lawyers to doctors and scholars.
The lucrative pearl banks on the northwest coast of Lanka that attracted pearl divers and merchants to the island was mainly conducted by the coastal Moors. The early Arab traders looking for spices, pearls, shells, timber and gems married local women and spoke Tamil mixed with Arabic and it was these people that the Portuguese referred to as Moors.
The two most distinguished Chetties in recent history were Dr. Peter Philip Ondaatachi and Simon Casi Chetty, a member of the Legislative Council and the compiler of the Ceylon Gazetteer.
Prime Minister D. S. Senanayake with Raja Sir Muthiah Chettiar and other Chettiars at a function hosted by the largest Chettiar group in the island for leading members of the Government of Ceylon (1948)
The island was also an exporter of arrack and the trade attracted merchants from Kerala. Soon regional commerce was left to Indians willing to establish themselves in Ceylon. The South Indian communities were joined by other trading communities, especially the Borahs, Memons and Parsis all from the western shores of North India. The islanders were, by preference, agriculturalists while their daily needs were supplied by the retailers such as the Nadars, Reddiars and the Malayalees, while the Chettiars stayed with wholesale trade. The Pereiras and the De Mels, the Victorias and Roches, the Mirandas, Fernandos and the Paivas were all part of this migration.
With trade, came the bankers – the Nattukottai Chettiars were the leaders in financial matters. For nearly 100 years, the biggest bank was the Oriental that backed the local population opening up new ventures, not asking for any security but trusting them. The Chettiars also built many of the temples we see today. They however left soon after Independence and the implementation of the Indian and Pakistani Resident (Citizenship) Act of 1949 that made many people of Indian Origin stateless until in 2001, when all People of Indian Origin living in Sri Lanka were declared citizens of the country.
The traders who came from India mainly from the Gujarat and Maharashtra region included Parsis, Borahs, Gujaratis, Memons, Sindhis and the Khojas. The first Parsi is remembered as Hormusgee Khambata who arrived in Ceylon in 1803. Later however they moved out of trade and took to professions in which their contributions to Ceylon must be recognized. Among them are the Rustomjes, Pestonjes, Captains and Choksys.
It may be remembered that Independence Hall built in 1947 and Mumtaz Mahal built in 1929 (the former residence of the Speaker), were both designed by Parsi architect Billimoria.
As education began to spread, qualified teachers were very much in demand and there were many Malayalees who took that discipline across Sri Lanka. One such was Ms. Perumal Pillai was the Principal at the Ramanathan College, Jaffna, while the other was Susan Pulimood who came to Ceylon in the 1930s, was first appointed a teacher, then Acting Principal, and finally Principal of Visakha Vidyalaya, a premier Buddhist school in Sri Lanka.
When the bicameral legislature was established in 1946 as the outcome of the Soulbury Commission, there were several persons of recent Indian origin in the Senate. They were Peri Sundaram, Sir Donatus Victoria, Kurban Adamaly and Doric De Souza. There were others of repute including A. Chockalingam Chettiar who was Chairman of the Anuradhapura Union District Council, Mayors including Stanislaus Fernando of Kurunegala (his son Johnston Fernando is in Parliament today and Omar Kameel, a Memon who was Mayor of Colombo in 1999. Ashroff Omar also from the Memon community is CEO of Brandix, apparel manufacturers. Interestingly the first woman lawyer to practise in Ceylon was Avabhai Metha, a Parsi. Mr. K. N. Choksy, a Parsi, is remembered as a leading lawyer and Finance Minister.
MAS Holdings, a leading apparel manufacturer is headed by Mahesh Amaleen, of the Gujarati community. The Ambanis also head the Metropolitan Group. The Hemas conglomerate now in healthcare, hospitals, pharmacies and tourism among other industries was initiated by Hassanally Esufally from the Borah community. Aban Pestonjee, from the Parsi community, is involved in electronic appliances, travel, environmental projects and real estate developments among other industries. Ahmedbhoy Habibhoy, a Khoja is remembered for his purchase and running of the Ceylon Spinning and Weaving Mills in Wellawatte. Dr. Subash Chawla, a sports personality and leader of the Punjabi community is remembered for his publication of the Sinhala-Hindi similarity dictionary. The Sindhi community has left its mark in the textile trade, Hidramani garments now supplying garments to the world.
The people of Kerala left an indelible mark in Sri Lanka. Kochikade in Colombo and another by the same name in nearby Negombo are believed to have originated from a time when immigrants from Kerala settled in these areas.
Popular words such as ‘miris’, ‘kolikuutu’, and ‘Malabar’ city in Kandy, the martial art of Angampora also came from Kerala as a result of migration. Some foods believed to have evolved through the Malayalees are rice and curry, ‘pittu’, ‘indi appa’, ‘appa’ and ‘kewum’ .
The list of the many Sri Lankans of Indian origin who have contributed in so many ways to the progress and growth of Sri Lanka goes on. Hopefully the 75th anniversary of Independence will be a key date when the island will look for inclusiveness for all its citizens.
(The writer is Managing Director of Express Newspapers and Chairman, Sri Lanka Press Institute. He was recently conferred the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award (PBSA), 2023, the highest honour given by the Government of India to foreign nationals, presented to him by the President of India Droupadi Murmu.)