Sri Lankan Rulers, Indigenous Or European, Used Soldiers From India – Analysis

Sri Lankan rulers, whether indigenous or European, used soldiers from India in addition to local levies. This was due to a shortage of manpower in the island in comparison with India. Given its much bigger population, India had a vast reservoir of “military labour”. Indian military labourers were peasants who would volunteer to fight for others for the money that it brought in.

Indian soldiers who fought in Sri Lanka, except those who came as part of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in 1987, were mostly from South India.

According to Sri Lankan military historians W.I.Siriweera and Sanath de Silva, authors of Warfare in Sri Lanka (Sarasavi Publishers 2019), South Indian involvement in Sri Lankan warfare was evident since the time of King Abayanaga (131-240 AD). King Mahanama (684-718) had taken the help of troops of the Pallava kingdom on the Coromandel Coast in South India, to secure the throne of Anuradhapura.

There was a huge influx of South Indian soldiers due to armed incursions from South India, especially at the time of the Cholas (1017-1070). A special category of South Indian mercenaries called Velaikkaras was used by Sri Lankan kings between the 11 th.,and 13 th., Centuries. These were well-trained soldiers hired by Kings and merchants involved in overseas trade. The Velaikkaras came to Sri Lanka for the first time in 1017 along with the forces of Rajendra Chola.

In 1450, when Prince Sapumal Kumara of Kotte invaded Jaffna, his army was composed of Sinhala as well as Tamil, Tulu, and Kannada speaking soldiers from South India. When he met the forces of the Ariyachakravarti of Jaffna at Javakakotte (present-day Chavakacheri) he found that they were Kannada-speaking people from the Vijayanagar Empire in South India. In Jaffna, he encountered “Yon Vadakkaras” who were Muslim soldiers from South India.

In the 16 th. Century, troops and sailors belonging to the Moplah (Muslim) community from Calicut in Kerala had a major role to play in the fight between the Portuguese and the ruler of Sitawaka, Mayadunne (1521-1581).

The Portuguese were entrenched in Kotte. They had a firm grip on its rulers Bhuvanekabahu (1521-1551) and his grandson and successor Dharmapala (1551-1597). Bhuvanekabahu was weak. Dharmapala had been converted to Christianity by the Portuguese as a child. He owed everything to the Portuguese.

Mayadunne eyed Kotte as it was a prosperous area trading with the outside world. When Bhuvanekabahu expelled the Kerala Muslim merchants (the Moplahs) from Kotte at the instigation of the Portuguese, Mayadunne gave them refuge in Sitawaka.

Through the Moplah traders, Mayadunne obtained military support from the Zamorin (Samudiri) of Calicut in Kerala. The Zamorin responded readily because he too was being tormented by the Portuguese. Calicut had a large population of Moplah Muslims with close ties with the Zamorin.

In 1528, the Zamorin sent 2500 men in 15 ships under his trusted naval commander Payichchi Maraikkar, a Moplah Muslim. Bhuvanekabahu promptly sought Portuguese help. The latter sent forces from Goa in Western India which was the headquarters of Portuguese possessions in India, Ceylon and the Far East. On the arrival of the Portuguese force, Mayadunne sued for peace.

However, in 1536, Mayadunne again developed an appetite for Kotte and sought the help of the Zamorin. The Zamorin sent 4000 men. The beleaguered Bhuvanekabahu called for help from the Portuguese, who sent a force from their Indian possessions in 1537. Overwhelmed, Mayadunne again sued for peace.

But this time, the Portuguese were determined to end the Moplah menace. They pursued the Calicut forces as these were sailing back to India and defeated them off Mangalore on the Karnataka coast.

A year later, in 1538, Mayadunne and Bhuvanekabahu were again at each other’s throats. As before, they sent for military reinforcements, Mayadunne from the Zamorin, and Bhuvanekabahu from the Portuguese. The Zamorin sent 16 shiploads of troops in 1539 to Negombo and the Portuguese sent 13 ships with 350 men from Goa to Colombo under the command of Miguel Ferriera.

The two armies fought pitched battles in Negombo, Kaduwela and on the Kelani river. The Sitawaka forces fought well because of the Moplah Muslims and defectors from the Portuguese side who had brought with them muskets and field artillery, which helped narrow the technological gap between Sitawaka army and the Portuguese.

Even so, Mayadunne could not cope with the Portuguese onslaught and sued for peace. This time, the Portuguese were determined to cut the Zamorin’s forces down to size. Miguel Ferreira refused to accept Mayadunne’s offer of peace and sternly demanded that Mayadunne surrender the Calicut brigade’s commander Payichchi Maraikkar and nine of his top lieutenants. Mayadunne tried to wriggle out by offering a hefty compensation, but Ferreira would have none of that. Finally, Mayadunne killed Payichchi Marakkar and his lieutenants and sent their heads to Ferreira. The Zamorin was livid when he heard of the betrayal and swore not to help any Sinhala ruler again.

In Jaffna
By 1582, the Kingdom of Jaffna had become a tributary of the Portuguese, giving 10 elephants or their monetary equivalent to the Portuguese every year. But in 1591, King Puviraja Pandaram attacked the Portuguese fleet off Mannar with the help of the Zamorin of Calicut who had sent troops in 22 vessels. To counter this, the Portuguese Viceroy in Goa sent a strong force under Andre Furtado de Mendoza to Colombo. Mendoza’s force of 1400 Portuguese plus local Sri Lankan levies called Lascarins sailed for Mannar in 43 vessels. Mendoza encountered the Zamorin’s troops at Karaitivu and decimated them. Puviraja Pandaram sued for peace.

But the Portuguese removed Puviraja Pandaram from power and placed Pararaja Sekaran II (1591-1617) on the throne. However, the people of Jaffna did not like the concessions which Pararaja Sekaran II had given to Portuguese missionaries. Pararaja Sekaran II responded to this complaint by allowing his territory to be used by South Indian soldiers going to the aid of the Kandyan king Vimaladharmasuriya, who was fighting the Portuguese.

When Pararaja Sekaran II’s successor Cankili II (1617-1619) faced a rebellion, he sought the help of the Portuguese first. But when the Portuguese failed to respond, he sought help from the Nayaks of Tanjore in South India who sent 5,000 men under the command of Varuna Kulattan. Cankili II crushed the rebels with this force.

The Portuguese felt threatened by Cankili II’s alliance with the Nayaks of Tanjore because the Nayaks were opposing the Portuguese in South India with the help of the Dutch, based in Pulicat (north of Madras). The Portuguese were mortally afraid of a possible alliance between Nayaks, the Dutch, Cankili II and Vimaladharmasuriya of Kandy.

To deal with the threat, the Portuguese Captain General in Colombo, Constantine de Sa Noronha, assembled 5000 Portuguese and Lascarins (local recruits) under Philippe de Olivera in 1619 and despatched them to Jaffna. After a short and sharp engagement, Noronha defeated the Jaffna forces and put to flight Zamorin’s fleet which was anchored off Delft island.

European Powers
Like the indigenous rulers, European powers also liberally used troops and levies from India to fight their wars in the island. The Portuguese and British forces had very large contingents of Indian levies, while the Dutch relied more on White recruits from Europe.

In 1915, the British brought one of the units of the Punjab Regiment (a wholly Muslim contingent) to quell the Buddhist-Muslim riots in Colombo and Kandy. In World War II, an Indian Infantry Division was stationed in Ceylon to face a possible Japanese invasion.

Even after Ceylon and Indian gained independence, Indian troops were drafted to fight in the island. At the request of the Sirima Bandaranaike government, a contingent of Indian troops was in Ceylon to help put down the first Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) insurrection in 1971. And finally, a large Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) was requisitioned by the J.R. Jayewardene government to fight the Tamil Tigers in the Northern and Eastern between 1987 and 1990.