Charles Alwis Hewavitharana,

FRCS Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons (FRCS) is a professional qualification to practise as a senior surgeon in Ireland or the United Kingdom. It is bestowed on an intercollegiate basis by the four Royal Colleges of Surgeons (the Royal C ...

, LRCP was a

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

ese (Sinhalese)

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

who played a significant role in Sri Lanka's Independence and Buddhist Revival movements. He was the brother of

Anagarika Dharmapala Anagārika Dharmapāla (Pali: ''Anagārika'', ; Sinhala: Anagārika, lit., si, අනගාරික ධර්මපාල; 17 September 1864 – 29 April 1933) was a Sri Lankan Buddhist revivalist and a writer. Anagarika Dharmapāla is not ...

Early life

He was born in

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

, 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

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.

Education

Charles Hewavitharana was educated at

Colombo Academy Royal College, Colombo is a selective entry boys' school located in Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Started as a private school by Rev Joseph Marsh in 1835, it was established as the Colombo Academy by Sir Robert Wilmot-Horton in Janua ...

and at the

Ceylon Medical College Ceylon Medical College was a public medical school in Ceylon. The college was established in 1870 as the Colombo Medical School. The college was based in Colombo. The college was merged with Ceylon University College in 1942 to form the University ...

. After graduating he joined the Ceylon Medical Service left for Britain for further studies gaining a LRCP (London) and

. Although working as a physician he became an active independence activist working with his older brother leaving the Ceylon Medical Service.

Independence activity

He was imprisoned in 1915 along with his brother

Edmund Hewavitarne Edmund Hewavitarne (1873 – 19 November 1915) was a Ceylonese (Sri Lankan) businessman and reservist. A member of Ceylon Defence Force, he was court-martialed for treason and died in prison, he was given posthumous pardon. He was the younger br ...

(who later died in prison),

D. S. Senanayake Don Stephen Senanayake ( si, දොන් ස්ටීවන් සේනානායක,; ta, டி. எஸ். சேனநாயக்கா; 21 October 1884 – 22 March 1952) was a Ceylonese statesman. He was the first Prime Mi ...

D. R. Wijewardena Don Richard Wijewardena ( Sinhala:දොන් රිච්ඩ් විජෙවර්ධන) (23 February 1886 – 13 June 1950) was a Sri Lankan press baron who was involved in the Sri Lankan independence movement. A successful entrepreneur ...

following the Muslim riots. Fearing an uprising the inexperienced

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

Governor of Ceylon {{Use dmy dates, date=November 2019 The Governor of Ceylon can refer to historical vice-regal representatives of three colonial powers: Portuguese Ceylon * List of Captains of Portuguese Ceylon (1518–1551) * List of Captain-majors of Portuguese ...

Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as p ...

Robert Chalmers Robert Chalmers, 1st Baron Chalmers, (18 August 1858 – 17 November 1938) was a British civil servant, and a Pali and Buddhist scholar. In later life, he served as the Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge. Background and education Chalmers was ...

declared

Martial Law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...

on 2 June 1915 and on the advice of Inspector General of Police

Herbert Dowbiggin Sir Herbert Layard Dowbiggin (26 December 1880 – 24 May 1966) was the eighth British colonial Inspector General of Police of Ceylon from 1913 to 1937, the longest tenure of office of an Inspector General of Police (IGP). He was called the 'Fa ...

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 Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

D.E.Henry Pedris, a military officer, was executed based on false charges of mutiny.

Later years

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 (Buddhih Sarvatra Bhrajate) , mottoeng = ''Wisdom Enlightens'' , established = , endowment = Sri Lankan rupee, LKR 1.461 1,000,000,000 (number), billion

in his memory. The Dr. C.A. Hewavitharana Memorial Prize for Physics is also annually awarded by the Faculty of Science,

University of Peradeniya The University of Peradeniya ( si, පේරාදෙණිය විශ්වවිද්‍යාලය, ta, பேராதனைப் பல்கலைக்கழகம்) is a Public research university, public university in Sri Lanka ...

References

External links

The Hewawitharana AncestryFaculty of Science, University of Peradeniya
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hewavitharana, Charles Alwis Sinhalese physicians Sri Lankan independence activists Sri Lankan Buddhists Alumni of Royal College, Colombo Alumni of Ceylon Medical College Prisoners and detainees of British Ceylon People of British Ceylon Year of birth missing Year of death missing