On the banks of the Palar river, off the busy Katpadi road in the bustling city of Vellore in Tamil Nadu, is a single storey hall called the ‘Muthu Mandapam’ or the ‘Pearl Hall’, which does not attract many Indian tourists.
But each year, a steady stream of Sri Lankans troop here to pay obeisance. After all it is the resting place of Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe, the last ruler of the Kingdom of Kandy in Sri Lanka, who was exiled to India by the British. Rajasinghe belonged to the Telugu and Tamil speaking Nayaka dynasty of Kandy. This was a branch of the Madurai royal family, which would play a pivotal role in Sri Lankan history. Sadly, neither this dynasty of Indian origin nor the last king of Kandy who is buried here, get a passing mention in India.
The Nayakas branch of Kandy was established after the death of King Vira Narendra Singhe of Kandy in 1739 CE. At that time a succession crises ensued and after many court intrigues, the late King’s brother-in-law, Sri Vijaya Rajasinghe from the Madurai royal family became the King and established the Nayaka dynasty of Kandy.
The Nayakas ruled Kandy till 1815 CE. There were four kings of the Nayaka dynasty, Sri Vijaya Rajasinghe (1739-47 CE), Kirti Sri Rajasinghe (1747-82 CE), Rajadhi Rajasinghe (1782-98 CE) and Sri Vikrama Rajasinghe (1798-1815 CE). But because of their Indian and Hindu origin, they were looked at with suspicion by the predominantly Buddhist, Sinhalese population.
Sinhalese noble clans had hoped that the British would get rid of the Nayakas and deliver power into their hands. However, they would soon realise how misplaced their hopes were. After getting rid of the Nayakas, the British turned their attention to clamping down on the Sinhalese nobles.
Meanwhile, King Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe and his family were captured by the British troops through treachery and placed under arrest. The King was first taken to Colombo, where he remained under house arrest, for ten months. On 25th January 1816, he along with his wives and an entourage of 50 people were sent to Madras on board the HMS Cornwallis.
Interestingly, this was the very same ship on which the treaty between the British Empire and China would be signed after China’s defeat in the first Opium war! READ MORE
