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

assassination Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

of fourth

Prime Minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Ceylon 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, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

(later

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, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

)

S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike (8 January 1899 – 26 September 1959), also known as "The Silver Bell of Asia" (ආසියාවේ රිදී සීනුව), was a Sri Lankan statesman who served as the fourth Prime Minister of ...

. From 1947 to 1959, 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 Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

s in

Background

Buddharakkitha played an important role in bringing

to power in the 1956 parliamentary elections. He was the driving force behind the

Eksath Bhikkhu Peramuna The Eksath Bhikkhu Peramuna () was an umbrella organization consisting of two associations of Buddhist monks founded in 1956 in the Dominion of Ceylon (today Sri Lanka) to promote Sinhalese Buddhist interests in politics. It campaigned against the ...

or the United Bhikku Front. He has been described as a virtual kingmaker of the 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 Buddharakkitha planned to set up.

Talduwe Somarama Talduwe Ratugama Rallage Weris Singho, better known as Talduwe Somarama Thero (27 August 1915 – 6 July 1962) was a Ceylonese Buddhist priest who shot and killed S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, the fourth Prime Minister of Ceylon (later Sri Lanka) in ...

, another Buddhist monk, killed Bandaranaike on 25 September 1959 under the direction of Buddharakkitha. 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 liquor made from Fermentation in food processing, fermented grain mashing, mash. Various grains (which may be Malting, malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, Maize, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky ...

, which was an offense for a Buddhist monk. He allegedly had a sexual relationship with Minister of Health

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 sist ...

, the only female minister of Bandaranaike's cabinet.

Aftermath

Ironically, the first person to express his anger and sadness over the assassination on

Radio Ceylon Radio Ceylon ( ''Lanka Guwan Viduli Sevaya'', , ''ilankai vanoli'') is a radio station based in Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) and the first radio station in Asia. Broadcasting was started on an experimental basis by the colonial Telegraph Departme ...

(the only radio broadcasting service in Sri Lanka at the time) 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 London boroughs, 32 boroughs. Its name derives from the location of the original ...

to undertake extensive investigation of the assassination. 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 (law), sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life impr ...

. He died in 1967 by

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

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

Aftermath

See also

Further reading

References

External links