Communal riots in Colombo, Jaffna, Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Batticaloa, Eravur and Kurunegala during May and June. An estimated 300-400 killed, over 2,000 incidents of arson, looting and assault, and 12,000 ‘Ceylonese’ (Tamils) displaced from the riots.
Source
Appendix 2 of Sri Lanka: Ethnic Fratricide and the Dismantling of Democracy, Stanley Jeyaraja, 1956, University of Chicago Press.
Extract from Witness to History: A Journalist’s Memoirs (1930 – 2004)
“On May 26 the rioting spread to Colombo and the city suburbs. Tamils were beaten, robbed and in some instances stripped naked on the streets, while Tamil-owned houses and shops were looted or set on fire. The evidence of planned, organised rioting was particularly evident in Colombo. The rioting in each area was carried out by hooligans from other parts of the city, in order to hide identification. They were transported to and from from the scene in lorries, with gang leaders flitting about in cars overseeing the operations. Tamil-owned buildings had been carefully marked out in chalk beforehand.” S. Sivanayagam, 2005.
Extract from Emergency ’58: The Horror spreads
“In the Colombo area the number of atrocities swiftly piled up. The atmosphere was thick with hate and fear. The thugs ran amok burning houses and shops, beating-up pedestrians, holding-up vehicles and terrorizing the entire city and the suburbs. …
“Another Tamil officer working in the same Government department was not so fortunate. The thugs stormed into his house and assaulted his wife and grown-up daughter in the presence of his little child. His mind cracked under the shock. In the French liner Laos which took the family away to safety in Jaffna he insisted on reciting large chunks of the Bhagavad Gita to the captain of the ship. All his formal education—he is a Cambridge scholar—had proved useless to him in the face of disaster. His broken mind reached out for the only solace a man has when his own ingenuity and ability have proved futile.
“At Wellawatte Junction, near the plantain kiosk, a pregnant woman and her husband were set upon. They clubbed him and left him on the pavement. Then they kicked the woman repeatedly as she hurried along at a grotesque sprint, carrying her swollen belly.
“A great deal of property was destroyed in the wave of arson which hit Mount Lavinia and Ratmalana on May 27. Mr R. R. Selvadurai, a former Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Justice, was one of those who lost his house. He had at first been reluctant to accept warnings of impending trouble, and had in any case no wish to leave until he had made contact with his sons, who were out.”
For a full account of the events leading up to and following the 1958 communal riots, we recommend Tarzie Vittachi’s award winning Emergency ’58: The Story of the Ceylon Race Riots, 1959 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts.
Related events
‘Anti-Sri’ campaign launched
Campaign in response to the ‘anti Sri’ campaign
‘Banda-Chelva pact’ revoked
State of emergency declared
Widespread anti-Tamil communal riots, remembered as ‘Black July’
