Hon. Sir Don Baron Jayatilaka | |
|---|---|
| දොන් බාරොන් ජයතිලක | |
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| Minister of Home Affairs | |
| In office 10 July 1931 – 30 November 1942 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Arunachalam Mahadeva |
| Leader of the House | |
| In office 10 July 1931 – 30 November 1942 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Don Stephen Senanayake |
| Vice-President of theLegislative Council of Ceylon | |
| In office 1930–1931 | |
| President | Herbert Stanley Bernard Henry Bourdillon Graeme Thomson |
| Preceded by | James Peiris |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1868-02-13)13 February 1868 Waragoda,Kelaniya, Sri Lanka |
| Died | 29 May 1944(1944-05-29) (aged 76) Bangalore, India |
| Nationality | Ceylonese |
| Spouse | Lady Mallika Batuwantudawe Jayatilaka |
| Children | Three daughters and Two sons |
| Occupation | Politician, Diplomat,Educationalist |
| Profession | Barrister |
Sir Don Baron Jayatilaka,KBE (Sinhala:ශ්රීමත් දොන් බාරොන් ජයතිලක; 13 February 1868 – 29 May 1944) known asD.B. Jayatilaka was a Sri LankanSinhaleseeducationalist,statesmen and diplomat. He was Vice-President of theLegislative Council of Ceylon; the Minister for Home Affairs and Leader of the House of theState Council of Ceylon; and Representative of Government of Ceylon in New Delhi.[1] Sir D. B. Jayatilaka is also considered as a flag bearer of Buddhist education in Sri Lanka.[2]
Born at Waragoda,Kelaniya, he was the eldest male child of ickremaratchi Imia Rajakaruna Liyana Atukoralage Don Daniel Jayatilaka Senanayake Liyana Aratchi of Pattalagedera, Veyangoda, a government servant, and his wife Liyanage Dona Elisiana Perera Weerasinghe, daughter of oriental scholar, Don Andiris de Silva Batuwantudawe of Werahena,Bentota. He had two brothers, and two sisters, both of whom died young.[3]
When he was seven years old Jayatilaka was sent to theVidyalankara Pirivena, where he learnedSinhala,Pali andSanskrit byRatmalane Sri Dharmaloka Thera. To study English and other subjects in the English medium, he was sent to the localBaptist school from where he was sent toWesley College in 1881, there he passed the junior and senior Cambridge examinations, travelling daily by cart fromKelaniya to thePettah. He applied for a clerical position in the government service, but was encouraged to follow higher studies. Jayatilaka graduated from theUniversity of Calcutta with aBA in 1896, having offered Latin and English.[3]
On his return to Ceylon, he took to teaching, joining the staff ofWesley College and thenDharmaraja College, where he later became Principal. In December 1898, he was appointed Principal ofAnanda College (formally known as English Buddhist School) which was managed by theTheosophical Society and served till December 1907.[4]
He left for Europe in 1910, spending three years there. During which he attended as the representative of Ceylon, at the Congress of Religions inBerlin. He read for a BA injurisprudence fromJesus College, Oxford in 1913 which was later upgraded to anMA some years later. He was called to the bar as abarrister from theLincoln's Inn and became anadvocate of theSupreme Court of Ceylon. Thereafter he started his legal practice in the Colombounofficial bar specialized in Buddhist ecclesiastical law, Buddhist temporalities and constitutional law.[4][5]
He first met ColonelHenry Steel Olcott in 1890 and joined his campaign to establish English medium Buddhist schools in the country. In 1890 he was appointed as the Principal of the Buddhist High School inKandy (nowDharmaraja College), thereafter he became the Vice - Principal of the English Buddhist School inColombo (nowAnanda College) under Principal E. W. Buultjens. One year later in 1898 he succeeded Buultjens as Principal. He was instrumental in the establishment of theYoung Men's Buddhist Association (YMBA) atBorella becoming its President in 1898 and holding the post until his death.[4]
During the1915 riots, he was arrested under orders of General Officer Commanding, Ceylon on claims of seditious speeches and writings. Imprisoned under Martial Law along with many leading personalities of the day. Soon after his release he left for Britain where he campaigned to end the injustices in Ceylon and agitated for a Royal Commission to investigate the 1915 riots. When theCeylon National Congress was formed he became its representative in London.[3]
He returned in 1919 and was elected president of theCeylon National Congress in 1923. Soon thereafter he was elected from the Colombo District to theLegislative Council of Ceylon and was elected as its vice-president after the demise of SirJames Peiris in 1930. The post of president was held by theGovernor of Ceylon.
Following the constitutional reforms of theDonoughmore Commission, Jayatilaka was elected to the newly formedState Council of Ceylon from Kelaniya in 1931. At the first siting of the State Council he was elected Leader of the House and Minister for Home Affairs. Shortly thereafter he was appointed vice chairman of theBoard of Ministers. Re-elected to the State Council in 1936, he was re-elected Leader of the House and Minister for Home Affairs and served until he resigned the State Council in November 1942. During World War II, he helped organise volunteers to unload food from ships at the Colombo harbour after it was deserted followingJapanese air raids.[6]
In August 1943, he went to India to negotiate food shipments to Ceylon after they were stopped by the Indian Government. Following successful completion of negotiations he was appointed asRepresentative of Government of Ceylon to India in New Delhi.
He was knighted as aKnight Bachelor in the1932 New Year Honours for his service as the Vice Chairman of the Board of Ministers and Leader of the State Council of the Island of Ceylon.[7] Sir Baron Jayatilaka was appointed aKnight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in the1943 Birthday Honours while he served as the representative of the Ceylon Government in India.[8]
He served as president of theCeylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society from 1935 to 1941.[9] He was the founding chief editor of the monumental monolingual etymological Sinhala dictionary,Siṃhala śabdakoṣaya (completed in 1992), and the relatedA Dictionary of the Sinhalese Language (with fascicles from 1985 titledA Dictionary of the Sinhala Language.) His extraordinary leadership of the project and editorial service extended from 1927 through 1941.[10]
Sir D. B. Jayathilaka served as the president ofYoung Men's Buddhist Association for a continuous period of 46 years, from 1898 until his death in 1944. Under his influence Colombo YMBA inaugurated a program for promoting 'Dhamma School education', with the obligation of giving every Buddhist child in Ceylon the gift ofDhamma”.[2]
He married Mallika Batuwantudawe, daughter of Robert Batuwanthudawa who owned the Lanka Abhihawa Visrutha Press that had published theDinamina newspaper when it was owned by H. S. Perera, before it was taken over byD. R. Wijewardena. The marriage took place on 12 August 1898 at Waragoda, and produced five children, three daughters and two sons.[3]
In 1944, he fell ill and began his return to Ceylon. He died on 29 May 1944 due to a heart attack inBangalore. His body was returned to Ceylon in a special plane for the final rites. Sir Baron Jayatilaka was highly respected during his lifetime by both Ceylonese and British. Following his retirement from the State Council, he held the first diplomatic appointment of the Government of Ceylon.
On 4 January 1933, Jayatilaka had written his last will, in which he made thePublic Trustee the sole executor of his estates and assets, including his residenceThurburn House, Colombo, which he expected to be used as the offices of the Public Trustee Department.[11] In 2018, a statue of Sir Baron Jayatilaka was erected at Thurburn House, Colombo.[12]
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