In our continued look at #protests and past civil disobedience in our #history, today we're covering the May Day Rallies and labour strikes of early 19th century #srilanka and seeing what we can learn from their success...
The origins of these labour protests can be traced back to colonial rule. Many low-class native Sri Lankans worked in factories and estates while British business owners simply managed their monopolies. Wages were low, hours were long, and little to no facilities were provided.
Across the globe during the 19th, people in these circumstances began demanding better rights. Many were inspired by the ideas of the ideals of the Buddhist Theological Society and the Sarasavi Sandaresa, the first unions were formed and teachers began striking in the 1890s.
However, efforts took a new stage when A. E. Gunasinha entered the movement as the leader. He was determined to changed the 12-hour working conditions and less than Rs. 1.00 wages of the working class. In 1922, he orginised Ceylon's first trade union (Ceylon Labour Union).
In Feb 1923, Gunasinha staged the Government Railway Strike to improve worker salaries. 25K workers attended the protest lasted 8 weeks It was successful in gaining a 20% salary increase and sick leave rights. However, the government severely punished those who were involved.
In 1927, continued efforts led to another successful strike for Colombo Harbour workers, leading to a 25 ct. wage increase.
Another strike occurred in 1929 when Tram Workers abandoned their post. Police clashed with strikers. Eventually, they were forced to come to a settlement.
In 1931, the first State council election occurred where all Sri Lankans could vote. Gunasinha was elected to the serve the Colombo central electorate. This was seen as a historic step toward real political change.
Then, in 1933, Gunasinha led his historic May Day rally where he marched from Price Park to #GalleFace. People wore red and white outfits and sang working class songs along the way. This would lead to May 1st becoming a national holiday in Sri Lanka.
The history of Sri Lanka's labor movement and the of May Day serves as an important example of what successful civil disobedience looks like.
It wasn't easy but there was still a general optimism in the face of hardship as people felt a sense of unity toward one goal.
When we look back, let's apply what we learn to today. Change often takes time, but if we can keep optimism up and unity strong, we can make changes that can eventually lead to our success.
With the recent discussion of the #nationalanthem and the debate between singing it in #sinhala and #tamil, today we're going to take a look at the #history of this song seeing what we can take away from it's controversial past...
Prior to Independence, the national anthem of Ceylon was 'God Save the King' - a fact of colonial rule which many despised. The Ceylon National Congress, one of the nation's independence organisations, vowed to create a new national anthem when the nation became independent.
When Ceylon achieved it needed a new national song so contest was set up to select one and a judging panel was set up. However there was resentment as "In a controversial decision, two of the panelists were declared winners...It began as – 'Sri Lanka Matha/Pala Yasa Mahima'"
Today, we look back at the history of Easter to our nation's relationship to this holiday and how we can learn to come together on this day in the midst of the present crisis...
The Holiday celebrates the resurrection of Christ. According to the New Testament, this occurred 3 days after he was crucified in 30 AD. This holiday concludes the 40 day period of fasting that began with Lent.
Specifically for our nation, Christianity probably first arrived around 72 AD after St. Thomas visited Kerala and his teaching spread southward. However, most of the nation's Christian population came from conversions during the colonial period.
As we reflect on #COVID19 and realize how difficult the pandemic has been, let's take a look back at a past #pandemic in 1918 and learn about the parallels between them and how both affected our island nation...
As many of you may know, Spanish flu is not actually from Spain. There are many theories on where it actually began but many claim the source was Camp Funston in Kansas, USA. There it spread via WW1 troops to Spain were the uncensored press reported on it for the first time.
From there it spread across Europe into Russia and then into Asia. By June 1918, it was in India where it became know as 'Bombay Fever', killing 20 million people. By July, it had reached Colombo, coming from India by boat. Dock workers started showing signs of the disease.
With the recent #protests, national attention has turn the events of #OccupyGalleFace. But, I doubt many people truly understand #galleface significance and #history. Today, I want to take a look at it's #past and see what we can #learn.
Originally, Galle Face was a strategic military location for the Dutch and was named "Gal Gate" as the gateway to Colombo Fort. In the 1800s, it covered a massive area and was home to many recreational activities - cricket, racing, golf, and, rugby - that drew large crowds.
On May Day 1933, Galle Face served as a location for labor strike led by future mayor, A. E. Gunasinha. Men wore white sarongs and red striped banians and sang songs promoting the working class. Ultimately this would lead to May Day becoming a national holiday.
During the early 1900s, many Ceylonese left for Malaya in order to find work. In WW2, they came at odds with the Japanese who started their conquest of East Asia...
In 1941, one girl documented that experience in a diary, check it out below...
December 1, 1941
The English Paper of the Senior Cambridge Exam wasn’t as bad as we expected. In spite of the fuss Aunty made, Indrani and I had lunch by ourselves at the Jubilee Restaurant. Enjoyed it too, though we couldn’t relax, as there was a paper in the afternoon.
December 8, 1941
Did badly today, but so would every one else-I hope. Uncle woke us up at 6 a.m. with the astounding new that Singapore and Kota Bharu were bombed. The American fleet was caught napping at Pearl Harbour. Even the Exam supervisors were full of it and chattered!
In the 1952 elections, the UNP, led by Dudley Senanayake, won a majority in Parliament. However, in 1953, things went downhill as Sri Lanka slumped into economic crisis after the boom from the Korean war came to an end.
However, the government response was seen as detrimental to the situation as subsidies on rice were lifted and social welfare spending was cut. The prices of basic commodities rose and Finance Minister J. R. Jayewardene even telling people to just “Grow your own food.”