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Charles Alwis Hewavitharana, FRCS, LRCP was a Ceylonese (Sinhalese) physician who played a significant role in Sri Lanka's Independence and Buddhist Revival movements. He was the brother of Anagarika Dharmapala. [1]
He was born in Colombo, Ceylon, to Don Carolis Hewavitharana and Mallika Dharmagoonewardena the daughter of Lansige Lansige Andiris Perera Dharmagunawardhana, a wealthy businessman. His other siblings were Don David Hewavitharana who later changed his name to Anagarika Dharmapala and became a prominent figure in the Buddhist revival movement in Ceylon and in India; Edmund Hewavitharana; Simon Alexander Hewavitharana and Dona Engeltina née Moonesinghe.
Charles Hewavitharana was educated at Colombo Academy [2] and at the Ceylon Medical College. After graduating he joined the Ceylon Medical Service left for Britain for further studies gaining a LRCP (London) and FRCS. Although working as a physician he became an active independence activist working with his older brother leaving the Ceylon Medical Service.
He was imprisoned in 1915 along with his brother Edmund Hewavitarne (who later died in prison), D. S. Senanayake, D. R. Wijewardena following the Muslim riots. Fearing an uprising the inexperienced British colonial Governor of Ceylon Sir Robert Chalmers declared Martial Law on 2 June 1915 and on the advice of Inspector General of Police Herbert Dowbiggin began a brutal suppression of the Sinhala Buddhist community by giving orders to the Police and the Army to shoot any one who they deemed a rioter without a trial, it is said that the numbers of Sinhalese killed this way were in the thousands. Many local leaders were imprisoned and Captain D.E.Henry Pedris, a military officer, was executed based on false charges of mutiny.
Dr. Hewavitharana was a member of the University College Ceylon Council. The Dr. C.A. Hewavitharana Memorial Prizes for Physics & Sanskrit are annually awarded at the University of Colombo in his memory. [3] The Dr. C.A. Hewavitharana Memorial Prize for Physics is also annually awarded by the Faculty of Science, University of Peradeniya. [4]
Anagārika Dharmapāla was a Sri Lankan Buddhist revivalist and a writer.
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Don Carolis Hewavitharane Wijeyaguneratne (Sinhala: දොන් කරෝලිස් හේවාවිතාරණ)(1833 – 18 February 1906) was a Ceylonese businessman, industrialist, philanthropist and a pioneer of the Buddhist revival movement. He was the father of Anagarika Dharmapala, and founded a family of considerable influence.
Gunapala Piyasena Malalasekera, OBE, JP, was a Sri Lankan academic, scholar and diplomat best known for his Malalasekara English-Sinhala Dictionary. He was Ceylon's first Ambassador to the Soviet Union, Ceylon's High Commissioner to Canada, the United Kingdom and Ceylon's Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York. He was the Professor Emeritus in Pali and Dean of the Faculty of Oriental Studies.
Sir Nicholas Attygalle was a Ceylonese academic, surgeon and a Senator. He was the President of the Senate of Ceylon from 1953 to 1960 and the first Ceylonese Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ceylon, where he was known as the "Iron Vice Chancellor".
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Mangala Nath Moonesinghe was a Sri Lankan lawyer and politician. He served as a Member of Parliament for Bulathsinhala electorate between 1965 and 1977, and the Kalutara electorate between 1989 and 1994. He was Sri Lankan High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 2000 to 2002 and Sri Lankan High Commissioner to India from 1995 to 2000.
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Karuna Nayaka Ovitigalage Dharmadasa is one of the pioneers of linguistics in Sri Lanka and scholar of international repute. He is Professor Emeritus, and the former Dean of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka.
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