Kandyan peasantry
The Kandyan peasantry constitutes the rural Sinhalese agricultural community concentrated primarily in the central highlands of Sri Lanka, who were historically linked to the Kandyan Kingdom (1469–1815).
Kandyan Kingdom and traditional agrarian system
Kandyan Kingdom centered on the feudal Rājākariya system, a reciprocal land-service tenure, obligated peasants to provide labor and military service to the King in exchange for holding land.[1] The cultural traditions of Kandyan peasantry were tied to Buddhism, village temples, and communal festivals. Caste hierarchies influenced social relations, with the Govigama caste predominantly composing the peasantry and controlling agrarian production.[2]
British Colonial rule and land dispossession
The British formally annexed the Kandyan Kingdom in 1815 following the Kandyan Convention, a treaty signed with Kandyan chiefs that effectively ended centuries of indigenous rule. Although the British agreed under the terms of the Kandyan Convention not to alter the customs and traditions of the Kandyan Kingdom, the British administration soon sought to integrate the Kandyan territories into the colonial economy, primarily to expand plantation agriculture and extract resources, following the Uva Rebellion in 1818, driven by grievances over the erosion of traditional authority of the Kandyan cheifts.[3]
After successfully suppressing the Uva Rebellion, the British effected administrative changes under a Proclamation on 21 November 1818, bringing executive and judicial authority in the Kandyan Provinces to the Board of Commissioners. This was changed under the Colebrooke–Cameron Commission, which brought the Kandian Provinces and the Maritime Provinces under an administrative system of a unified territory for the whole island. The reforms divided the colony into five provinces, with each province further subdivided into four or five districts on 1 October 1833.[4] Central to the Colebrooke–Cameron restructuring was the abolition of the Rājākariya system in 1832, the traditional reciprocal land tenure and service obligation system that had underpinned Kandyan agrarian society. This legal vacuum weakened communal and customary claims, exposing villagers to land alienation.[5]
The displacement had long-term social and economic effects on the peasantry, as migrants struggled to re-establish agricultural livelihoods in unfamiliar and often less fertile lands. Moreover, it facilitated British colonial strategies of land control by depopulating rebellious areas and encouraging settlement in state-controlled zones.[6]
In an effort to codify land ownership and maximize colonial control, the British enacted several land laws that transformed the landscape:
- Crown Lands Ordinance (1840): This ordinance declared all lands not under registered private ownership to be Crown property. Vast tracts of land traditionally cultivated or fallowed by peasants were thus classified as "waste" or "vacant" and appropriated by the colonial state.[5]
- Waste Lands Ordinance (1897): Building on the 1840 law, this ordinance formalized the state's right to claim "waste" or uncultivated lands, disregarding shifting cultivation practices common among Kandyan peasants. It facilitated the conversion of communal and fallow lands into commercial plantations.[5]
Many peasants lost access to fertile lands they had cultivated for generations, forced instead onto marginal hillsides and degraded soils.[7] Land alienated from peasants was sold or leased to European planters for coffee cultivation initially, then tea and rubber after coffee blight in the 1860s. The establishment of plantations transformed the region’s economy but largely excluded Kandyan peasants as direct beneficiaries.[6]
Due to the reluctance of Kandyan peasants to join plantation labor, the British imported indentured labourers from Tamil Nadu in South India, creating a racially segmented labor system. This not only entrenched ethnic divisions but also reduced economic opportunities for the Kandyan peasantry, who remained largely subsistence farmers.[6]
Marginalization
The cumulative effect of land dispossession and economic restructuring was severe marginalization:
- Subsistence on Marginal Lands: Forced to cultivate poor-quality land, many Kandyan peasants experienced declining agricultural productivity and increased poverty.[8][9]
- Indebtedness and Economic Vulnerability: Lack of secure land tenure and market access forced peasants into cycles of debt and occasional wage labor.[7]
- Limited Infrastructure and Services: The British prioritized plantation regions for infrastructure, leaving Kandyan villages relatively neglected in education, healthcare, and transportation.[10]
Culture
Buddhism remains central to Kandyan identity, with village temples acting as spiritual and social hubs. Rituals such as the Perahera festival and traditional arts like Kandyan dance reinforce community cohesion.[11]
While caste hierarchies have softened, traditional patterns of social stratification persist, influencing marriage, occupation, and political networks.[2]
Post-independence political dynamics (1948–present)
The post-independence government appointed the Kandyan Peasants Commission. It documented widespread landlessness, soil erosion, and socio-political marginalization, recommending land redistribution and rural development. The Department of Kandyan Peasantry Rehabilitation was established to carry out its recommendations in 1958. Kandyan Peasantry Commissioners Department and the Udarata Sanwardhana Adhikariya (Upcountry Development Authority) were replaced in 2014 by the Divineguma Development Department.[12][13]
The Kandyan peasantry, having been marginalised, became active in leftist, nationalist, and populist movements in the mid-20th century. This included participation in the Sinhala-Buddhist nationalist movements in the 1940s.[14] while its youth became active in leftist politics in groups such as the Communist Party of Ceylon (CPC) and Trotskyist Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) with these parties gaining ground in rural districts like Badulla, Kegalle, and Matale, by advocating for land redistribution, rural cooperatives, and agrarian reform.[15] Trotskyist leaders such as Philip Gunawardena and Dr N. M. Perera targeted rural grievances through practical community mobilisation, educational outreach, and public health campaigns. Despite these efforts, leftist parties often failed to gain sustained political control in Kandyan areas, partly due to their urban intellectual leadership and perceived distance from Sinhala-Buddhist nationalist sentiment.[14]
With the formation of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) by S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike in 1951, SLFP advocated for Swabhasha (vernacular language policy), Buddhist revivalism, and economic populism found strong support among the Kandyan peasantry. The SLFP’s critique of the urban, Westernised United National Party (UNP) elite appealed to rural voters who had long felt excluded from national politics. In the 1956 Ceylonese parliamentary election, the Kandyan regions voted overwhelmingly for the SLFP-led Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (MEP) coalition. This election marked a historic turning point, shifting political power from the coastal elite to the rural Sinhala-Buddhist majority. Many of the candidates elected from Kandyan districts were rural schoolteachers, Ayurvedic practitioners, and religiously active community leaders, reflecting the new alliance between Sinhala nationalism and peasant identity. The election also demonstrated the success of Sinhala nationalist narratives in mobilising the rural vote against perceived internal and external threats to the Sinhalese Buddhist nation.[16]
After 1956, the Kandyan peasantry remained a core support base for the SLFP and subsequent Sinhala nationalist parties. However, frustrations emerged over the slow pace of land reform, unemployment, and persistent rural poverty. The failure of successive governments to deliver tangible improvements led to a radicalisation of segments of Kandyan youth, culminating in support for the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), in its 1971 JVP insurrection and 1987–1989 JVP insurrection.[17][18]
References
- ↑ Welikala, Asanga (1979). "Nation, State, Sovereignty, and Kingship: The Pre-Modern Antecedents of the Presidential State". Journal of Commonwealth and Comparative Politics: 526–527.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Roberts, Michael (1982). Caste Conflict and Elite Formation. CUP Archive. Search this book on
- ↑ Peebles, Patrick (2006). The History of Sri Lanka. Greenwood Press. Search this book on
- ↑ Casinader, Niranjan; Wijeyaratne, Roshan De Silva; Godden, Lee (2018). "From sovereignty to modernity: revisiting the Colebrooke Cameron Reforms– transforming the Buddhist and colonial imaginary in nineteenth century Ceylon". Comparative Legal History. 6: 34–64. doi:10.1080/2049677X.2018.1469273.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Bandarage, Asoka (1983). Colonialism in Sri Lanka: The Political Economy of the Kandyan Highlands, 1833–1886. Mouton. Search this book on
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Jayawardena, Kumari (1972). The Rise of the Labor Movement in Ceylon. Duke University Press. Search this book on
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Moore, Mick (1985). The State and Peasant Politics in Sri Lanka. Cambridge University Press. Search this book on
- ↑ Silva, K.T. (1985). "Marginalization of Kandyan Peasantry". Economic Review.
- ↑ Moore, Mick (1989). "The Ideological History of the Sri Lankan 'Peasantry'". Modern Asian Studies. 23 (1): 179–207. doi:10.1017/S0026749X00011458.
- ↑ Little, Angela (2000). Education, Cultures and Economics. Routledge. Search this book on
- ↑ Obeyesekere, Gananath (2006). Buddhism, Ethnicity, and Identity A problem in Buddhist history. Routledge. ISBN 9780203007365. Search this book on
- ↑ Kandyan Peasants' Commission Report (Report). Government of Ceylon. 1951.
- ↑ "Divi Neguma: A community-based development intervention". Financial Times. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Roberts, Michael (1979). "Elites, Nationalisms, and the Nationalist Movement in British Ceylon". The Journal of Asian Studies. 38 (4): 711–730. doi:10.2307/2054384. JSTOR 2054384.
- ↑ Little, A. W. (1999). Labouring to Learn: Towards a Political Economy of Plantations, People and Education in Sri Lanka. Palgrave Macmillan. Search this book on
- ↑ Kearney, Robert N. (1973). The Politics of Ceylon (Sri Lanka). Cornell University Press. p. 209. Search this book on
- ↑ Obeyesekere, Gananath (1974). "Some Comments on the Social Backgrounds of the April 1971 Insurgency in Sri Lanka (Ceylon)". The Journal of Asian Studies. 33 (3): 367–384. doi:10.2307/2053189. JSTOR 2053189.
- ↑ Siddiqui, Rukhsana A. (1992). "FAILED INSURRECTIONS AND ETHNIC CLEAVAGES: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ZAIRE AND SRI LANKA". Peace Research. 24 (1): 37–56.
See also
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