Mapitigama Buddharakkitha (1921−1967) was the chief conspirator of the

assassination Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...

of fourth

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

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 ...

(later

Sri Lanka 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 ...

S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike ( si, සොලොමන් වෙස්ට් රිජ්වේ ඩයස් බණ්ඩාරනායක; ta, சாலமன் வெஸ்ட் ரிட்ஜ்வே டயஸ் ப� ...

. He served as the chief incumbent (chief priest) of the

Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara The Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara or Kelaniya Temple is a Buddhist temple in Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. It is located north-east of Colombo. The current chief incumbent (chief priest) is Venerable Professor Kollupitiye Mahinda Sangharakkhitha Thera. The ...

, one of the most sacred

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

s in

from 1947 to 1959.

Background

Buddharakkitha played an important role in bringing

to power in 1956 parliamentary elections. He was the driving force behind the ''Eksath Bhikku Peramuna'' or the United Bhikku Front. He has been described as a virtual kingmaker at that time. Later, he attributed Bandaranaike's failure to aggressively pursue the nationalist reforms as the sole motive to assassinate him. But it was revealed that the real motive for the assassination came as a result of the Prime Minister's refusal to award business deals, in particular, a government contract for the construction of a sugar factory and government concessions for a shipping company he planned to set up.

Talduwe Somarama Talduwe Ratugama Rallage Weris Singho, better known as Talduwe Somarama Thero (27 August 1915 – 6 July 1962), shot and killed S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, the fourth Prime Minister of Ceylon (later Sri Lanka), who served from 1956 until his assas ...

, another Buddhist monk killed Bandaranaike on September 25, 1959, under the direction of Buddharakkitha.

Notoriety

Buddharakkitha's various notorious acts only surfaced after he was convicted. He was described as a rich businessman who was involved in various high profile businesses. Buddharakkitha routinely consumed

whisky Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Various grains (which may be malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden c ...

, which was an offense for a buddhist monk. He allegedly had a sexual relationship with

Vimala Wijewardene Vimala Wijewardene (Vimala; ''née'' Silva; 7 August 1908 – 27 January 1994) was a Ceylonese politician and the country's first female cabinet minister. Marriage and family Following the death of her older sister, Vimala married her siste ...

MP, Minister of Health and the only woman member of the Bandaranaike's Cabinet in 1959. Wimala Wijewardene was the sister-in-law of

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 ...

and the widow of Don Charles Wijewardene, author of ''The Revolt in the Temple(1953)''. She was also a grand-aunt of

Ranil Wickremasinghe Ranil Wickremesinghe ( si, රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ, ta, ரணில் விக்கிரமசிங்க; born 24 March 1949) is a Sri Lankan politician who is the current president of Sri Lanka since 21 July 2 ...

, former Prime Minister and current President of Sri Lanka.

Aftermath

Surprisingly, the first person to express his anger and sadness over

Radio Ceylon Radio Ceylon ( si, ලංකා ගුවන් විදුලි සේවය ''Lanka Guwan Viduli Sevaya'', ta, இலங்கை வானொலி, ''ilankai vanoli'') is a radio station based in Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) and the first ...

(the only radio broadcasting service at the time) on the attempt to kill the Prime Minister was Mapitigama Buddharakkitha. The Sri Lankan Government called

Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the square mile that forms London's ...

to undertake extensive investigations of the incident. Investigations revealed that Buddharakkitha was the mastermind behind the assassination. Subsequent court case sentenced him to death in 1961. The sentence was later changed to one of

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...

. He died in 1967 by heart attack following 6 years of hard labour.

References

{{reflist

External links

Prime Minister Solomon Bandaranaike Assassination Revisited after 50 Years
Sri Lankan Buddhists People convicted of murder by Sri Lanka Sri Lankan people convicted of murder Assassins of heads of government 1967 deaths 1921 births

Background

Notoriety

Aftermath

See also

Further reading

References

External links