The Suriya-Mal Movement was formed in the British colony of Ceylon to sell '' Suriya'' flowers on

Poppy Day Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day owing to the tradition of wearing a remembrance poppy) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to honour armed forces me ...

for the benefit of Sri Lankan

ex-servicemen A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in an occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in the armed forces. A topic of interest for resea ...

. The movement became

anti-imperialist Anti-imperialism in political science and international relations is opposition to imperialism or neocolonialism. Anti-imperialist sentiment typically manifests as a political principle in independence struggles against intervention or influenc ...

in character, and was also involved in relief work during the Malaria epidemic of 1934–1935.

Beginnings

In protest against the proceeds of

poppy A poppy is a flowering plant in the subfamily Papaveroideae of the family Papaveraceae. Poppies are herbaceous plants, often grown for their colourful flowers. One species of poppy, '' Papaver somniferum'', is the source of the narcotic drug ...

sales on

Armistice Day Armistice Day, later known as Remembrance Day in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and Veterans Day in the United States, is commemorated every year on 11 November to mark Armistice of 11 November 1918, the armistice signed between th ...

(11 November) being used to support British

instead of Sri Lankans, a Sri Lankan named Aelian Perera started to sell '' Suriya'' flowers on the same day, the proceeds of which were devoted to help Sri Lankan veterans. In 1933, a British schoolteacher, Doreen Young wrote an article called ''The Battle of the Flowers'', which was published in the '' Ceylon Daily News'' and detailed what Young thought was the absurdity of forcing Sri Lankan schoolchildren to purchase poppies to help British ex-servicemen at the expense of those from Sri Lanka, which led her to be vilified by her compatriots. The South Colombo Youth League then became involved in the Suriya Mal Movement and revived it on a new anti-imperialist and anti-war basis. Annually, until the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, young men and women sold Suriya flowers on the streets on Armistice Day in competition with the poppy sellers. The purchasers of the Suriya Mal were generally from the poorer sections of society and the funds collected were not large. But the movement provided a rallying point for the anti-imperialist minded youth of the time. An attempt was made by the British colonial government to curb the movement's effectiveness, by means of legislation, in the form the 'Street Collection Regulation Ordinance'. Doreen Young was elected as first President of the Suriya Mal Movement at a meeting held at the residence of Wilmot Perera in Horana. Terence de Zilva and Robin Ratnam were elected Joint Secretaries, and Roy de Mel was elected as Treasurer.

Malaria Epidemic and floods

There had been a drought in 1934 which caused a shortage of rice, estimated at 3 million bushels. From October onwards there were floods, followed by a

malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

epidemic in 1934–35, during which 1,000,000 people were affected and at least 125,000 died. The Suriya-Mal Movement was honed by volunteer work among the poor during the Malaria Epidemic and the floods. The volunteers found that there was widespread

malnutrition Malnutrition occurs when an organism gets too few or too many nutrients, resulting in health problems. Specifically, it is a deficiency, excess, or imbalance of energy, protein and other nutrients which adversely affects the body's tissues a ...

, which was aggravated by the shortage of rice, and which reduced resistance to the disease. They helped fight the malnutrition by making pills of

Marmite Marmite ( ) is a British savoury food spread based on yeast extract, invented by the German scientist Justus von Liebig. It is made from by-products of beer brewing ( lees) and is produced by the British company Unilever. Marmite is a vegan ...

yeast extract. N.M. Perera became known as ''Parippu Mahathmaya'' ('Mr.

Dhal Dal is a term in the Indian subcontinent for dried, split pulses. Dal or DAL may also refer to: Places Cambodia *Dal, Ke Chong Finland * Laakso, a neighbourhood of Helsinki India *Dal Lake, in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India *Dal Lake ...

') because of the lentils he distributed as dry rations to the people affected in those days.

References

{{Sri Lankan coups Sri Lankan independence movement Political movements in Sri Lanka

Beginnings

Malaria Epidemic and floods

See also

References