Today marks the 200th anniversary of the death of Madugalle Uda Gabada Nilame, a hero of the 1817/18 Rebellion against the British. It was a rather dark era in Sri Lankan history. The British had deposed the King of the Kandyan Kingdom, reviled by his own noblemen, leading to his ouster and eventual exile.
On March 2, 1815, the nobility had then signed the Kandyan Convention with the British, subjugating the sovereignty of the island nation to the British Crown.
 Madugalle Disawe |
The British had promised little short of the sun and the moon. The agreement included upholding the right of the nobility and Sinhala countrymen to practice the Religion of the Boodhoo, and the preservation of Temples among many others. Things turned for the worse when the British neglected their pledges, and soon the Sinhalese noblemen, suspicious of British intent and resentful of their rule, supported intensely by Buddhist clergy of the calibre of Ihagama Thera, soon conspired to enthrone a Sinhala King.
The nobles, resolute in restoring the sovereignty of Ceylon to its ancient glory, rebelled in 1817 – 1818, led by legendary heroes such as Monarawila Keppettipola Nilame and the heroic subject of this article, whom we are honoured to commemorate – Madugalle Uda Gabada Nilame. The rebellion must have been the silver lining on a dark cloud, and might have changed the course of history, if not for some treacherous Nilames who supported the English. When the Ven. Ihagama Unnanse Thera confided the details of the conspiracy to Eknaligoda Nilame of Ratnapura, the latter promptly informed colonial authorities of the impending revolt. Soon the English set about arresting the conspiring Nilames among whom Madugalle Nilame too was apprehended.
Two charges were levelled at the Nilame including conspiring to move the Sacred Tooth Relic out of the English- controlled Kandy to the Sinhala-dominated area in Uva. The second charge was over a Pooja in Kataragama where he had called for “an end to the English Government and the Enthroning of a Sinhala King.” Madugalle Nilame was sentenced to a two-year jail term in Jaffna after a trial, becoming the first high-ranking leader to be imprisoned by the British colonials. However, on the August 1, 1817, British Governor General Robert Brownrigg set Madugalle Nilame free under an amnesty, ostensibly to win over his allegiance. But no sooner than being set free, Madugalle Nilame joined the great rebellion of 1817 and fought against the British once again.
Madugalle Nilame’s heroism and shrewdness as a warrior is unparalleled. While he is well-known for courage in battles against the colonial armies, he is more famous for his uncanny ability to deceive the enemy, which he did spectacularly on several occasions. Once, when he was in Kandy to buy gunpowder, he was surrounded by English soldiers who suspected that he was Madugalle Nilame as “the suspect looked like him.” However, the wily Madugalle Nilame was able to convince the soldiers that he was not the Nilame, because as he put it, “he was not even worth the dust under the feet of the Nilame.” On another occasion, when the English surrounded Madugalle Walawwa, a frightened woman with her head covered and a pot in hand emerged from the front door and informed the soldiers that Madugalle Nilame was hiding inside. As the soldiers entered the house the ‘woman’ who was Madugalle Nilame in disguise escaped after teasing the gullible soldiers.
However, with all his guile and bravery, Madugalle Nilame was captured for the second and final time, at a location near Elahera, on November 1, 1818. Both Madugalle Nilame and Monarawila Keppettipola Nilame were tried at a British military tribunal, convicted on November 15, 1818, of rebelling against the government, and beheaded on the November 26 of the same year.
The Government of Sri Lanka recently removed Madugalle Uda Gabada Nilame, Monarawila Keppettipola Nilame and 79 others making a total of 81 from the list of those who committed high treason and recognised them as national heroes, in an admirable course of action.
May Madugalle Uda Gabada Nilame, Monarawila Keppettipola Nilame and all heroes who sacrificed their lives in the struggle against British colonial hegemony attain the Supreme Bliss of Nirvana!
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