Sir Don Baron Jayatilaka,

KBE KBE may refer to: * Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, post-nominal letters * Knowledge-based engineering Knowledge-based engineering (KBE) is the application of knowledge-based systems technology to the domain o ...

( Sinhala:ශ්‍රීමත් දොන් බාරොන් ජයතිලක; 13 February 1868 – 29 May 1944) known as ''D.B. Jayatilaka'' was a Sri Lankan Sinhalese

educationalist Education sciences, also known as education studies or education theory, and traditionally called ''pedagogy'', seek to describe, understand, and prescribe education including education policy. Subfields include comparative education, educationa ...

, statesmen and diplomat. He was Vice-President of the

Legislative Council of Ceylon The Legislative Council of Ceylon was the legislative body of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) established in 1833, along with the Executive Council of Ceylon, on the recommendations of the Colebrooke-Cameron Commission. It was the first form of represe ...

; the Minister for Home Affairs and Leader of the House of the

State Council of Ceylon The State Council of Ceylon was the unicameral legislature for Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), established in 1931 by the Donoughmore Constitution. The State Council gave universal adult franchise to the people of the colony for the first time. It ...

; and Representative of Government of Ceylon in New Delhi. Sir D. B. Jayatilaka is also considered as a flag bearer of Buddhist education in Sri Lanka.

Early life

Born at Waragoda,

Kelaniya Kelaniya ( ) is a suburb of Colombo in the Western Province, Sri Lanka, Western Province, Sri Lanka. Located from Colombo Fort, it is known for the Buddhist temple built on the banks of the Kelani River, which divides the suburb from Colombo Di ...

, 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.

Education

When he was seven years Jayatilaka was sent to the

Vidyalankara Pirivena Vidyalankara Pirivena is one of the largest Buddhist pirivenas in Sri Lanka. Located in Peliyagoda, it is nearly 150 years old. Under the pirivena's leadership, several schools were started in the region; one is Sri Dharmaloka College, one of th ...

, where he learned Sinhala,

Pali Pāli (, IAST: pāl̤i) is a Classical languages of India, classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages, Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pali Canon, Pāli Can ...

and

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

by Ratmalane Sri Dharmaloka Thera. To study English and other subjects in the English medium, he was sent to the local

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

school from where he was sent to Wesley College in 1881, there he passed the junior and senior Cambridge examinations, travelling daily by cart from

to the Pettah. He applied for a clerical position in the government service, but was encouraged to follow higher studies. Jayatilaka graduated from the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University (), is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Kolkata, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate c ...

with a BA in 1896, having offered Latin and English.

Teaching career

On his return to Ceylon, he took to teaching, joining the staff of Wesley College and then

Dharmaraja College Dharmaraja College (), founded in 1887, is a boys' school in Kandy, Sri Lanka. It is a Buddhist school with around 300+ teaching staff and over 4,000+ students. A land area of is owned by the school spreading over half of the Dharmaraja hill ...

, where he later became Principal. In December 1898, he was appointed Principal of

Ananda College Ananda College () is a Prestigious Buddhist school in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is often known as "The Pinnacle of buddhist education " It is the largest national Buddhist school for boys in Sri Lanka, with a student population exceeding 8000 ac ...

(formally known as English Buddhist School) which was managed by the

Theosophical Society The Theosophical Society is the organizational body of Theosophy, an esoteric new religious movement. It was founded in New York City, U.S.A. in 1875. Among its founders were Helena Blavatsky, a Russian mystic and the principal thinker of the ...

and served till December 1907.

Legal career

He left for Europe in 1910, spending three years there. During which he attended as the representative of Ceylon, at the Congress of Religions in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. He read for a BA in

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, also known as theory of law or philosophy of law, is the examination in a general perspective of what law is and what it ought to be. It investigates issues such as the definition of law; legal validity; legal norms and values ...

from

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship ...

in 1913 which was later upgraded to an MA some years later. He was called to the bar as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

from the

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

and became an

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. List of country legal systems, Different countries and legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a ba ...

of the Supreme Court of Ceylon. Thereafter he started his legal practice in the Colombo

unofficial bar The unofficial bar in Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separa ...

specialized in Buddhist ecclesiastical law, Buddhist temporalities and constitutional law.

Theosophical society

He first met Colonel Henry 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 in

Kandy Kandy (, ; , ) is a major city located in the Central Province, Sri Lanka, Central Province of Sri Lanka. It was the last capital of the Sinhalese monarchy from 1469 to 1818, under the Kingdom of Kandy. The city is situated in the midst of ...

(now

), thereafter he became the Vice - Principal of the English Buddhist School in

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

(now

) under Principal E. W. Buultjens. One year later in 1898 he succeeded Buultjens as Principal. He was instrumental in the establishment of the Young Men's Buddhist Association (YMBA) at

Borella Borella is the largest suburb in Colombo, Sri Lanka represented by divisional code 8. Demographic Borella is a multi-religious and multi-ethnic area. The major ethnic communities in Borella are Sinhalese people, Sinhalese and Tamils. There are a ...

becoming its President in 1898 and holding the post until his death.

Political career

1915 riots and detention

During the 1915 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 the Ceylon National Congress was formed he became its representative in London.

Legislative council

He returned in 1919 and was elected president of the Ceylon National Congress in 1923. Soon thereafter he was elected from the Colombo District to the

and was elected as its vice-president after the demise of Sir

James Peiris Sir James Peiris (20 December 1856 – 5 May 1930) was a prominent leader in the Sri Lankan independence movement, the first elected Vice-President of the Legislative Council of Ceylon and the first native Governor of Ceylon (Acting).

in 1930. The post of president was held by the

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 Portugue ...

State council

Following the constitutional reforms of the

Donoughmore Commission The Donoughmore Commission (DC) was responsible for the creation of the Donoughmore Constitution in effect between 1931 and 1947 in British Ceylon, Ceylon (now called Sri Lanka). In 1931 there were approximately 12% Sri Lankan Tamils, Ceylonese T ...

, Jayatilaka was elected to the newly formed

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 the Board 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 following Japanese air raids.

Representative of Ceylon in India

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 as Representative of Government of Ceylon to India in New Delhi.

Honors

He was knighted as a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

in the

1932 New Year Honours The 1932 New Year Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the United Kingdom and British Empire. They were announced on 29 December 1931. The recipients of honou ...

for his service as the Vice Chairman of the Board of Ministers and Leader of the State Council of the Island of Ceylon. Sir Baron Jayatilaka was appointed a

Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(KBE) in the 1943 Birthday Honours while he served as the representative of the Ceylon Government in India.

Social services

He served as president of the

Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society The Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka (RASSL) is based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is one of the oldest learned societies in Sri Lanka with a history of over 160 years. It was established on 7 February 1845, paralleling the Royal Asiatic Society ...

from 1935 to 1941. He was the founding chief editor of the monumental monolingual etymological Sinhala dictionary, ''Siṃhala śabdakoṣaya'' (completed in 1992), and the related ''A Dictionary of the Sinhalese Language'' (with fascicles from 1985 titled ''A Dictionary of the Sinhala Language''.) His extraordinary leadership of the project and editorial service extended from 1927 through 1941. Sir D. B. Jayathilaka served as the president of Young 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 of

Dhamma Dharma (; , ) is a key concept in various Indian religions. The term ''dharma'' does not have a single, clear translation and conveys a multifaceted idea. Etymologically, it comes from the Sanskrit ''dhr-'', meaning ''to hold'' or ''to support' ...

”.

Personal life

He married Mallika Batuwantudawe, daughter of Robert Batuwanthudawa who owned the Lanka Abhihawa Visrutha Press that had published the Dinamina newspaper when it was owned by H. S. Perera, before it was taken over by

D. R. Wijewardena Don Richard Wijewardena (Sinhala language, Sinhala:දොන් රිච්ඩ් විජෙවර්ධන) (23 February 1886 – 13 June 1950) was a Sri Lankan media proprietor who was involved in the Sri Lankan independence movement. A s ...

. The marriage took place on 12 August 1898 at Waragoda, and produced five children, three daughters and two sons.

Death and legacy

In 1944, he fell ill and began his return to Ceylon. He died on 29 May 1944 due to a heart attack in

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

. 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 the

Public Trustee In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichk ...

the sole executor of his estates and assets, including his residence Thurburn House, Colombo, which he expected to be used as the offices of the Public Trustee Department. In 2018, a statue of Sir Baron Jayatilaka was erected at Thurburn House, Colombo.Statue of D. B. Jayatilaka unveiled to commemorate 150th birth anniversary
/ref>

References

External links

Sir D.B. Jayatilaka – Scholar and National LeaderA beacon of light
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jayatilaka, Don Baron 1868 births 1944 deaths Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford University of Calcutta alumni Alumni of Wesley College, Colombo Ceylonese advocates Ceylonese Knights Bachelor Ceylonese Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Ceylonese people of World War II Cabinet ministers of Sri Lanka High commissioners of Sri Lanka to India Members of Lincoln's Inn Members of the Legislative Council of Ceylon Members of the 1st State Council of Ceylon Members of the 2nd State Council of Ceylon Principals of Ananda College Prisoners and detainees of British Ceylon Sinhalese people Sri Lankan lawyers Sri Lankan barristers Sri Lankan Buddhists Sri Lankan educational theorists Sri Lankan prisoners and detainees Sri Lankan Theosophists