Rajarata was the first kingdom of Sri Lanka. The capital of the first kingdom was Anuradhapura. 1017 Chola King Rajaraja destroyed the kingdom of Anuradhapura and established his kingdom in Polonnaruwa. Then Polonnaruwa became the capital. Later, Rajaraja’s son’s army was driven away and King Vijayabahu took possession of the Polonnaruwa Kingdom, but they did not take the kingdom back to Anuradhapura. They made Polonnaruwa their kingdom and capital because Rajaraja had destroyed the kingdom of Anuradhapura so that it could not be used again. Later the Polonnaruwa Kingdom was invaded by Kalinga Magha of Orissa, India. He and his army took control by destroying the temples of Polonnaruwa. During this time, the people of Rajarata started to leave Rajarata and flee. Nayaka Theros were the first to flee with the Tooth Relic. Then the people fled. The third Vijayabahu, who saved the country from Kalinga Magha and became king, made Yapahu his kingdom. Not only Polonnaruwa but also Rajara became wild and turned into forests. The Portuguese, Dutch, and English invaders who later occupied Ceylon did not set foot in the wild Rajarata kingdom.
After Kalinga Magha, D.S. sets foot in Rajarata. Senanayake Knowing that Rajara is the heart of Sri Lanka’s economy, D.S. searched the jungles and searched for land suitable for settlement. D.S. Colonization campaigns started and people were taken from the south and settled in Rajarata. People called DS as Parakramabahu’s avatar. After the death of D.S., the latest leader to be born to Rajarata is CP, De Silva known as Minneri Deviyo.. He was number two in the Bandaranaike government in 1956. After the assassination of Bandaranaike, he was supposed to become the Prime Minister, who appeared as the Deputy Prime Minister. But before Bandaranaike’s assassination, he was unable to become Prime Minister because he drank a glass of poisoned milk given to him by Bandaranaike’s enemies and fell ill and was taken to Britain for treatment. Dahanayake became the Prime Minister.
After the assassination of Bandaranaike, he became the leader of the SLFP. He led the March 1960 general election. Even if a government is formed, the U.N.P. The government managed to show that it does not have a majority. Mrs. Bandaranaike, who led the general election in July 1960, was given C.P. De Silva hands over the party’s leadership without harm. She took over the leadership of the party and became the Prime Minister. De Silva was ignored by members of the Bandaranaike family to elect prime minister by the Bandaranayake family. Felix Diaz Bandaranaike brings her under CP. Unable to tolerate this, C.P. Together with the UNP, he is rebelling against the government of the lady, knowing full well that he has no place in the SLFP. In 1964, her government was dragged to the ground by that rebellion. In the 1965 general election, Mrs.B’s government was defeated.
Maithripala Senanayake is the new leader emerging from Rajaratin of Sri Lanka after CP. He became the Deputy Prime Minister of the 1970-77 government. He is the one who looks after the work when the lady is not in the country. But the lady was afraid that he would ask for the leadership of the party and brought Crown Prince Anura Bandaranaike to the fore. After the defeat in 1977, Maithripala rebelled against the rule of the Bandaranaike-Rathwatte family along with the Bandaranaike crown prince Anura. Since then, the Sri Lankan Party has been destroyed.
After Maithripala, a new leader will come to the fore from SLFP. He is Maithripala Sirisena. Although he came to the scene during Chandrika’s government, he resigned as Prime Minister after Mahinda became President. Like Mrs. Bandaranaike, Mahinda marginalizes Maithripala to make his family king. Realizing that he has no future in the SLFP, Maithripala joined the U.N.P. in the 2015 presidential election. Maithri became the president by scaring the entire Rajapaksa family.
At this time, there are only two or three MPs who dare to clash with Maithri. Among them, the hero is Roshan Ranasinghe, born in Rajarata. He knocked Maithri down when he was the President and Sri Lankan Leader. When the Maitri-Ranil government fell one after the other, the Rajapaksas raised their heads again. The Rajapaksa who win the 2019 presidential election and the 2020 general election did not give Roshan his due place. Before the struggle came, he left the position of Minister of State given to him to lead the Rajarata farmer who was helpless because of Gota’s organic fertilizer policy. It was only later that Gota realized his worth and popularity. He took Roshan to the cabinet by bowing his head to the struggle and pledging not to accept the Rajapaksa family or family henchmen in the cabinet. When Gota left home, Ranil, who became the acting president, held the first meeting at his house to win the MPs he wanted to become the president. But it did not last long. Bandaranayake C.P. De Silva, Maithripala to Senanayake, the Rajapaksa’s to Ranil Roshan was served with the same spoon as Maithripala to Sirisena.
C.P. De Silva or Maithripala Senanayake or Maithripala Sirisena from within the government, Bandaranaike was afraid to attack the Rajapaksa. They started the attack when the government came out and announced a vote. But while Roshan was a minister in the government, he fearlessly spoke against the injustice being done to him and the injustice being done to cricket in Sri Lanka. When Ranil fired him, neither the Rajapaksas nor the Podujana Peramuna came to stand up for him. C.P. De Silva, the SLFP-Public Front coalition made the same historical mistake to Roshan Ranasinghe as the SLFP did to Maithripala Senanayake and Maithripala Sirisena.
It is because of the rebellion of the Rajarata princes that politics and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party failed, and the Rajapaksa failed in 2015.
‘Does that mean that the Ranil-Rajapaksa coalition government was toppled by a Rajarata prince…?’
If the history of the rebellion of Rajarata princes is a witness, a royal upheaval is at hand.