10th August 1997

To Sir, with love

To train teachers is one thing; to educate them is another. It is this latter nobler task that Dr. Douglas Walatara performed with distinction and acceptance over a period of nearly fifty long and fruitful years - first as Lecturer in English at the Government Training College, Maharagama, and finally as Associate Professor of Education at the University of Peradeniya, as Director.

A grateful group of his past students who were educated by him at GTC will felicitate him on August 16, 1997 at the Sasakawa hall at a modest but fitting ceremony in honour of a great guru, the likes of which have disappeared from our educational scene. His students desire to honour him as he lives in quiet but active retirement, still involved in and committed to his passion for good English teaching. They desire to felicitate him before sunset and evening star beckon them to the Great Beyond - "rest of their bones and souls delivery".

Dr. Walatara joined the lecturing staff of the country's premier teacher-training institute in 1950, under the principalship of the late S. F. de Silva. Unlike others of his time and of today, he chose teaching as his first love. It was also his last love. He gave up a coveted position as an executive in the Bank of Ceylon, where he could have shone as a financier but where he might have wasted his literary talents and capacity for teaching. He disdained the humdrum world of figures and credits and debits to embrace the lowly-paid, but more fulfilling, vocation of teacher-educator.

That was a personal sacrifice (he now lives on an infinitesimal pension) he made for the greater good, as it turned out, of generations of English trained teachers. There must have been over five thousand English teachers who sat at his feet over those long years, drinking deep at the Pierian spring of English Language and Literature.

Dr. Walatara made the GTC experience for the teacher-trainees who had the good fortune of belonging to his class an experience second only to the unversity experience of English undergraduates who sat at the feet of the late professor EFC Ludowyke. And some of Walatara's students were those who had failed to enter unversity because of the inordinately high standards of English that Ludowyke expected from University Entrance students in those days. A few others were those who had entered university but failed to complete their studies there. At GTC, there were young teachers in their early twenties as well as experienced teachers in their forties. There were both men and women, young and not so young. "All God's chillun" were there. Many of them are now pensioners. Not a few of them are no more among the living while countless others have left our shores. Wherever they be and whatever their station now, they all gained a new dimension to their education - a never-ending process of growth - when they came under the Walatara influence.

Walatara did at GTC what Ludowyke did at university for English. Like Ludowyke, he exerted an overpowering influence, setting and maintaining extraordinarily high educational standards to the very end. Today, he must be an unhappy man, having perforce to watch the steady disintegration and decay of both standards and values in education in general and in English teaching in particular.

He did not only educate his teacher-trainees during their two-year course of training. He did not forget them once they had left GTC. He gathered them together under his magnanimous wing. He organized a Professional Association of Teachers of English, and brought together representative groups of past trainees at seminars and workshops at Maharagama during school holidays. It was a follow-up exercise of his own and at his own expense in monitoring the performance of his charges in schools spread out over the country. Walatara cared for his students and for their endeavours in the classrooms of the country. Keeping in touch with many of his past students and their families, he shows both paternal and pastoral concern for their general well-being.

Walatara also wrote the best book written by a local author on the subject of English teaching. His The Teaching of English as a Complementary Language in Ceylon, with a Foreword by Emeritus Professor E. F. C. Ludowyke. (Lake House Investments, 1966) is a wellspring of information on the practical aspects of teaching a second language and a superbly argued thesis on the ultimate aim of teaching it, viz. as a non medium, vehicular language. His book is worth reading and re-reading by anybody seriously interested in the subject.

He kept ablaze the torch of good English teaching with a fine journal called Changing Times, which provided practical guidance to teachers and also theoretical underpinnings for their class room work. Like many other journals, Changing Times, however, ceased publication when financial support for it was withdrawn - in this case by the Ministry of Education.

Among his many innovative experiments in ELT was "Teaching English through Children's Theatre", a fascinating use of drama for reaching the child's mind through a second language. His direction in 1952 of the late 15th century Morality Play "EVERYMAN" - the first stage drama by GTC students - was an English theatrical milestone in the class of University Drama Soc. productions.

Walatara also initiated and developed an experimental project - the Reconstruction Project - aimed at helping rural children master English within a short time. With the assistance of his teacher-trainees, notably Jagathdeva Soyza, he produced "grassroots" instructional materials in the form of a series of textbooks. This was a project sponsored by the Secondary Education Department of the Ministry of Education. But alas, the whole project was eventually thrown into the discard owing to the cynicism of a group of Walatara's "professional antagonists".

After he retired as Associate Professor of Education, he served the Workers' Institute of Education as its first full time Director. In his characteristic manner, he worked there with devotion and commitment to give the Institute his stamp of excellence. Last year, WIE celebrated its twenty fifth anniversary.

More recently, he chaired a Presidential Task Force on Educational Reform and prepared a paper for the President on "The quality of Education." He had an abiding passion for quality in education.

It is not often that teachers are honoured by society; they are taken for granted. In such a background, it is good to remember the honour bestowed on Dr. Walatara by Sarvodaya when the Movement (led by Dr. A. T. Ariyaratne, who is himself one of his past students) granted him a Sarvodaya Trust Fund Award in the very first year of its history. The small group of English trained teachers who are felicitating Dr. Douglas Walatara have no recognized "award" to give him on August 16 at the Sasakawa Hall; but their felicitation of a revered guru is spontaneous and felt "in the deep heart's core".

– C.N.S.

Dr. Walatara will be felicitated by his past Government Training College students on August 16, at Sasakawa Hall.

The modern opium war

So much has been written about Hong Kong this past month that I feel guilty even mentioning the place in today's article.

But my mitigating plea is that this time I am not going to write about what turned out to a fantastic Chinese take-away.

Hong Kong features in today's story because it was through this port that in the early nineteenth century the British, Portugese and other European nations ran opium into China. The Chinese authorities resisted this trade, triggering the first and second Opium Wars - wars fought by the British to allow them the freedom to sell opium to the Chinese. Under the treaties that ended these wars, Hong Kong was ceded to the British, and the opium trade into China flourished. So, incidentally, did Hong Kong.

The history of opium, of course, is much older than Hong Kong. The plant from which it is derived, the poppy papaver somniferum, is a native of Asia minor. It is said to have been used by the ancient Sumerians (who lived in what is now Iraq) who termed it "joy plant".

The Greeks ground up the entire plant, which they called meconium. Later they used an extract of the juice, called opius (which translates as little juices) from which we get the word opium .

A major development in the use of the poppy took place in 1806 when the German chemist Serturner isolated morphine from raw opium. He named his new drug morphium after the Greek god of dreams, but it later came to be known as morphine. Originally it was given by mouth. Later, with the development of syringes for injection in the eighteen fifties, it became possible to inject morphine - which provided much better pain relief than taking it orally. Other medicines derived from opium are codeine (used to stop coughing and diarrhoea) and heroin.

The history of morphine is closely tied up with the history of warfare - and considerable use was made of its pain-relieving properties to relieve the suffering of wounded soldiers. On the civilian front, however, the addictive properties of the drug began creating serious problems. Among the more famous, it has been alleged that the psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung and the fictitious detective Sherlock Holmes were morphine addicts.

This, however, was in the days of free trade in narcotics, when opium users did not have to fear prosecution. The international trade in the drug flourished, and by 1900 it was estimated that one percent of the American population was addicted to the drug.

By 1909 there were international concerns over narcotics trading, and many western nations began introducing restrictions.

These days, the drug trade runs from East to West. From the Golden Triangle between northern Thailand, Burma and Laos, and from Afghanistan, the couriers of the drug trade carry their illicit wares to America and Europe.

History reminds us, however, that it wasn't long ago that the trade ran the other way, when these same western nations where drug use today has become such a problem, actually went to war to ensure that they could freely distribute these same narcotic drugs to the East!

A cynic might say that the harvest of misery which the West is now reaping has come from the very seeds that they themselves sowed.

Crimes, corruption and commotions in Ceylon

Serious crime occurred with a disturbing regu larity every year. The gravity of the offences and the manner in which they were committed created a great deal of anxiety in the country. People were looking for the causes for this prevalence of crime. At first various causes were put forward but later there was a consensus of opinion that the inefficiency of the Police contributed to the prevalence of crime. This view was boldly put forward at a Public Meeting held in Colombo. The Governor himself held the same view and was looking for a suitable officer to inquire into the condition of the Police Force.

From 1884 onwards there were cases which enlivened the interest of people in the crime problem. A case of this type occurred towards the end of 1884 and created a great deal of excitement, particularly in Colombo. This was the disturbance which took place in the Pettah between the Sinhalese and Moors on the 2nd of November. Fighting broke out between them. Mr. Hansard, the Superintendent of Police, was informed by telephone of this outbreak and appeared in Pettah with the Armed Police Reserve of 30 men under Inspector Sourjah. The trouble abated when these men appeared in the streets armed with truncheons. After a while the trouble started again and the Superintendent appeared with another detail of men. Two angry mobs of Sinhalese and Moors were facing each other on the beach near the fish market. Mr. Hansard spoke to them and learnt that Inspector White had been partial in his actions. White was immediately replaced by Inspector Mack. The parties quietened down and Mr. Hansard went towards the Court House. When he was there he learnt that fighting had started again. He returned and found two rival mobs throwing stones at each other at the junction of Bankshall Street - St. John's Street. Some Moors from the roof tops close by were throwing stones at the Sinhalese and the Police. Mr. Hansard held back the Moors while Inspector Mack kept the Sinhalese in check. Mr. Boake, the Justice of the Peace, arrived and helped the Police to disperse the two unruly mobs. On their way out skirmishes occurred at the crossroads.

Further reinforcement arrived and the Assistant Superintendent, Mr. Holland, too, came there. He immediately sent for arms and ammunition to Maradana and Kew and armed the Police. Mr. Mason, the Magistrate, coming there ordered the closure of taverns. After the situation improved, Mr. Hansard left while Mr. Holland remained behind with 150 men till there was absolute peace. As a precautionary measure, Inspector Gooneratne was sent to watch the Bridge of Boats to see that no Sinhalese came over. He had instructions to disconnect the Bridge if necessary. The men were looked after well. "Our men were rationed with provisions procured from boutiques upon my authority", wrote the Superintendent.

Several arrests were made. Though there was great panic and excitement very little damage was caused. "Some broken heads being all the injuries sustained".

When the trouble started the Government Agent wanted the Military called out but the Governor was confident that the Police could handle the situation. His Excellency, "had the satisfaction of seeing the riot put an end to and a large number of those concerned in it arrested by the Police without serious difficulty". The Police acquitted themselves very creditably.

Another conflict between the Sinhalese and Moors occurred at Grandpass in the early part of 1885. The Sinhalese dhobies of Molawatte were annoyed at Moor lads playing football. A minor quarrel developed into a serious affray where the Sinhalese used guns and caused serious injury to their opponents. This was the first occasion when guns were used in a fight. Seven accused were charged for unlawful assembly and using dangerous weapons.

There was a mutiny in the Galle Jail. The prisoners resented the examination by the dispenser, who wanted them to remove their waist strings. The prisoners forced open the store room and arming themselves with crowbars, pickaxes, katties attacked the guards. A Police party arrived and restored order.

The peon of the President of Morawaka Korale was murdered and the Magistrate called upon retired Inspector C. N. Dias who was residing at Matara to assist in the inquiry. Since his assistance proved useful he was allowed to draw batta.

The murder of the Rate Mahatmaya of Kotuwilla.—The former Inspector of Police, James Alfred Illankoon, who had been appointed Rate Mahatmaya was living in the Kurunegala District. On 14th August, 1885, a gang of robbers broke into his house. They attacked Illankoon, causing him serious injuries and also injured his wife, Unambuwe Tikiri Kumarihamy, and removed valuable articles and jewellery. Illankoon died of the injuries a week later. The Assistant Superintendent of Police, Mr. De La Harpe, went to Kurunegala to assist his son in the inquiry. Ampitiya Banda, clerk of Illankoon, and two accomplices were arrested at Ampitiya. The other accused were arrested at Negombo. The accused Ampitiya Banda, Kiri Banda, Punchirala, Siyadoris, Tepanis alias Paulu Appu, Heen Appu alias Poddappu and Simon alias Simon Silva were convicted in the Supreme Court in the Midland Circuit. All of them were sentenced to death. Four were actually hanged and the other three received sentences of 20 years each. Inspector De La Harpe was commended for the good work he did.

Murder of Constable 377 Don Carolis Appu.—A convict named Baron Singho escaped from a work party at Kandewela in the Negombo District. Constable Don Carolis with another Constable accompanied a prison officer to the house of Baron Singho. Don Carolis seeing the accused rushed to arrest him and was cut in the arm. He died three days after of the injury he had sustained.

The accused was later convicted and sentenced to two years imprisonment. The Inspector-General was dissatisfied with the sentence and protested vehemently. "Only two years imprisonment for deliberately and after preparation killing with a knife one of my Constables for attempting to capture him''.

Crime in the North Western Province.—In 1885 a gang of robbers operated at Hettipola, 25 miles from Kurunegala. This gang was broken up by the Police after 12 of them were arrested and convicted.

But more serious trouble broke out in the villages between Kurunegala and Matale. Here an escaped criminal named Meepitiya Ranhamy had collected a gang and was terrorizing the village in this area. Two police parties one from Colombo headed by an Inspector and 6 Constables and the other led by Captain Hansard of the Central Province which consisted of 2 Sergeants and eleven Constables routed the gang. Eleven were arrested and the rest were driven towards Anuradhapura.

Ranhamy the leader escaped and was reported to be in the area. As a special measure to capture him a Police force of one Inspector, one Sergeant and 10 Constables were quartered in the Plumbago District between Kurunegala and Matale at Ragedera and Udaruppe in terms of Section 10 of Ordinance 16 of 1865. "The quartering of Police upon the plumbago mine owners is I think necessary as they are undoubtedly the employers and harbourers of a large number of ruffians and robbers". Inspector Brown who had been on an estate in Matale for several years before he joined the Police was selected for this assignment as he had special knowledge of the area. He employed Don C. Attygalle, a resident of Dodangaslande to help in the arrest of Ranghamy. Attygalle who had once been responsible for arresting Ranghamy knew the man well. He introduced Udadeniya Harispattiya Ranghamy into the gang of Meepitiya Ranghamy with proper instructions. This man worked into the confidence of Ranghamy. On one occasion he craftily sent the gang away and got down a large quantity of arrack. In one drinking session he plied Ranghamy with drink, himself pretending to drink. He quickly disabled Ranghamy and sent word to Attygalle. This was on fifth August. Attygalle sent word to Inspector Brown who was at Dodangaslande. When Brown arrived Attygalle brought Ranghamy from the jungle and handed him over. Brown using a chain secured him making sure that escape was impossible. "I examined Ranghamy and put a chain on him with padlocks at wrist and another at the end locked to the inside of the cart".

Ranghamy had been at large for 18 months. Brown claimed that the arrest was due to his efforts. "I can confidently state that it was due to the arrangements made by me that led to the arrest of Ranghamy". Brown had promised to get Attygalle a native rank. This he ultimately obtained for him. Attygalle was made a Mohandiram. Brown incurred Rs. 62 as expenses.

Caste Conflicts.—In the Northern Province trouble was expected any moment between the high caste Tamils and low caste Tamils. "A strong feeling is steadily gaining ground here among the higher class of natives against the alleged insolent assumption of the privileges by persons of the low caste in the methods of using letters, drums and tom toms at weddings and funerals". But, fortunately, nothing serious happened.

But in the Sinhalese areas caste disputes ended more seriously. At Attidiya in the Western Province the daughter of well-known Medical Practitioner (Weerasangala Neketige Bastian Fernando) was to get married and the males of the community had decided to wear combs. The Wellalas who did not want them to wear combs sent them a threatening letter. This letter was sent to the Government Agent and took time to reach the Headman going through the normal channels. The Wellalas in the meantime went about threatening the bride's clan. On 5th May, 1887, they invaded the premises of the bride's folk and in the resistance which occurred one man was hit on the head and killed. The Headmen, however, seized some of the bride's people and locked them up.

On the day of the marriage the bridegroom's party reached the Galkissa registry wearing combs. The Wellalas forcibly removed the bridegroom's comb and broke it. In the meantime the Police came on the scene and restored order. Inspector David took over the investigation. Campbell's comment on this occurrence was, "It shows that a rather serious outbreak has occurred near Mount Lavinia and that a man has been killed because some low caste people assumed social privileges which do not belong to them. It also shows that the high caste people are acting with oppression and defeating justice and that the headmen are probably sympathizing with them".

Caste dispute in Mutwal.—On 8th May, 1887, trouble broke out between the Chalias of Modera, Members of St. James' Church, and the Fishers of Fishers Hill, members of St. Andrew's Church. This sparked off as a result of a fisher lad striking a Chalia lad. The trouble was gathering momentum when Inspector Vandersmaght of Kotahena came over to Mutwal with two Sergeants, eight Constables — all Mohammedan's—and two European Constables. After Mass the Parish Priest of St. Andrew's met members of the rival communities and effected a settlement. But at about 11 a.m. nearly 300 people belonging to both communities were gathered near the Marshall Street-Modera Street Junction. The men folk were throwing stones and other missiles at each other while women were seen collecting stones and tiles to be used as missiles by the men. The Modera Sergeant hearing of this contacted Police Headquarters and asked for assistance and went to the spot. With the assistance of the Priest and other influential people he induced the parties to withdraw from the conflict.

In the meantime Inspectors Vandersmaght of Kotahena and Peries of Headquarters reported with men. The Assistant Superintendent, Mr. Holland, next arrived at the scene and remained till next morning. In the morning when order again prevailed he left the place while Inspector Peries remained behind with 30 men. Several people had injuries caused by stones. "The Police did not make any arrests being few in number at the time of the disturbance."

Other Cases of Note.—Among the other cases of note which caused public concern in the increase of crime was the case of Rev. Dharmaratne Unanse of Wendalla Temple who was strangled to death with a clothes line. Four men Danoris, Elisahamy, Andirishamy and Arnolis were sentenced to death for this crime.

Another case which created interest for quite a different reason occurred in April, 1887, at Nuwara Eliya. The famous explorer and hunter Sir Samuel Baker and his wife were at Nuwara Eliya then. Sir Samuel was busy searching for precious stones in the stream of Nuwara Eliya. He was searching for the "matrix". While he was thus engaged a wily native with less effort made a bigger haul valued at over Rs. 15,000/-. To do this he had to go no further than Lady Baker's bedroom and the haul included all her jewellery. This case created great interest and the Police worked hard on the case with no success.

Illicit Liquor and Opium.-The illicit sale of arrack and opium was quite common. The efforts of the Police to eliminate these offences met with little success. The detections made with the use of decoys and marked coins were frowned at by the Judges, and Magistrates. These detections were often called fabrications. This failure on the part of the Police led to the existence of several places of illicit sale of arrack in the heart of Colombo. One such place was pointed out by the Government Agent, Mr. Saunders. "I may inform the Inspector-General that there is no place where the illicit sale of arrack is carried on more extensively and systematically than in Colombo, especially in the vicinity of the Law Courts where the daily presence of a large number of policemen appears to afford no check to the evil".

In Colombo, Sergeant Don Cornelis and five Constables were specially detailed to make detections of illicit sales. After a raid at Jampettah Street this party went to Green Street to put out a fire. While they were here they met the Arrack Renter Arnolis Dep and his servant Ex-Constable Augustine who were in a carriage. When the detection was taken up in court a question arose as to whether the raid was conducted before or after they met Dep. On this point, the Police contradicted each other and the Judge Mr. Ellis called the case a fabrication.

Difficulties in proving these cases had a bearing on the increase of crime. For still drinking and gambling were considered the major causes of the increase of crime in the Island.

In the Southern Province, Mr. Boake sent Inspector Sourjah with two Constables, to raid a notorious opium den at Hambantota. The Inspector and the constables were "severely beaten and disgraced to the great impairment of the prestige and usefulness of the Force". Out of the 12 accused only four were convicted and given very light sentences.

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