Radala

Radala refers to a small minority group in Sri Lanka in the former provinces of the Kingdom of Kandy, who are either descendants of chiefs and courtiers of the King of Kandy of Nayaks of Kandy^[1] or descendants of native headmen appointed by the British colonial administration following the Uva Rebellion in 1818.^[2]

Radalas often refer to themselves as the aristocracy of the Kingdom of Kandy and claim the term came into use following the throne of the Kingdom of Kandy went to the Nayak Dynasty, whose family members constituted the royalty of the kingdom.^[1] The British referred to this group as chiefs who held the high offices of state such as Adigar, Dissava and MahaLekam which appointments were not hereditary and these individuals could not ascend to the throne as the Nayak royalty could. This group of chiefs were instrumental in deposing the last king of Kandy, Sri Vikrama Rajasinha and signing the Kandyan Convention in 1815 which transferred the Kingdom of Kandy onto the British crown. John D'Oyly does not make any reference to a particular group called Radala in his writings.^[3] This group came to dominate national politics in the post-independence era, under the former Prime Minister Sirima Bandaranaike a direct descended of one of the signatories of the Kandyan Convention.^[4]

^ ^a ^b Rogers, John D. (July 2004). "Early British Rule and Social Classification in Lanka". Modern Asian Studies. 38 (3): 625–647. doi:10.1017/S0026749X03001136. JSTOR 3876684. S2CID 145188851. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
^ "The Mudaliyar Class of Ceylon" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-03-12. Retrieved 2017-01-22.
^ John D'Oyly (1833). "A Sketch of the Constitution of the Kandyan Kingdom" (PDF). Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. 3 (2). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press: 191–252. JSTOR 25581749. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
^ Rösel, Jakob (2018-11-16). "Elites and Aristocracy in Colonial and Postcolonial Sri Lanka". Cultural Elites and Elite Cultures in South Asia. 48 (1–2). Retrieved 12 October 2021.

[Rogers-1] Rogers, John D. (July 2004). "Early British Rule and Social Classification in Lanka". Modern Asian Studies. 38 (3): 625–647. doi:10.1017/S0026749X03001136. JSTOR 3876684. S2CID 145188851. Retrieved 12 October 2021.

[2] "The Mudaliyar Class of Ceylon" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-03-12. Retrieved 2017-01-22.

[D'Oyly-3] John D'Oyly (1833). "A Sketch of the Constitution of the Kandyan Kingdom" (PDF). Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. 3 (2). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press: 191–252. JSTOR 25581749. Retrieved 12 October 2021.

[Rösel-4] Rösel, Jakob (2018-11-16). "Elites and Aristocracy in Colonial and Postcolonial Sri Lanka". Cultural Elites and Elite Cultures in South Asia. 48 (1–2). Retrieved 12 October 2021.

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