Dharmajara is a college that does not need any additional explanation. Their proud roars can make the entire Dharmaraja hill in the Kandyan Kingdom eco. It is one of the oldest and one of the famous national schools in Ceylon. The vibrant maroon and light blue school t-shirts and ties enhance the Rajans’ personalities and make them look smarter.
By then the English were ruling the Pearl of the Indian Ocean https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Ceylon_period. The Sri Lankan Buddhists were disappointed with how the English were changing their system and culture. They were desperate to remain the Sinhala tradition and Buddhism in the way that they were before the foreign nations attacked.
So they need a proper platform to teach and continue their Sinhala legacy to future generations. By then, so many Christian and Catholic educational institutions were built all across the island. And many Sinhalese were converting to other religions. So that the people who supported Buddhism wanted to establish Buddhist schools to protect and carry on their rituals, believes and philosophy in the religion and to pass it further.
Introductory establishment of the school.
According to this idea, Dharmajara College was built in Eighteen Eighty-Seven by one of the famous Buddhist philanthropists named Henry Steel Olcott. Initially, the school was called Kandy Buddhist High School. There were a couple of noblemen such as Wadugapitiya Punchirala Korale, Dullawe Adhikaram, T B Panabokke and A D J Gunawardena who also supported establishing this school.
They had to decide a land for this school. They choose an area in front of the old castle located close to the Temple of Tooth Relic. The school premises were attached to the Natha Devalaya. But there was an issue in constructing the building.
There was a Bo tree covering the area and it had to be removed to build the building. But there was a rule imposed by the British Administration. They opposed felling citing because they considered it a disgrace for the Buddhism religion. But Wadugapitiya Punchirala Korale went one night and demolished the tree. His action cost his position of “Korale” but he did it for the betterment of the school.
The school was auspiciously opened on 30th June in Eighteen Eighty-Seven with twelve students. The only teacher of this school was Andiris De Silva. And he also became the first principal of Kandy Buddhist High School. The word spread across the entire Kandyan Kingdom and many Sinhala Buddhists were so delighted to hear the news. Within a shorter period of time, the number of students accelerated up to fifty. And to cater for these students three new teachers joined the school.
Further developments of Dharmaraja College
By Eighteen Ninety the student count became eight and the college needed a more experienced principal. So that Sir D B Jayathilake was chosen as the principal. He was the principal who did the entire groundwork to make Dharmaraja one of the number 1 schools in this country.
But in Nineteen Eighteen Ninety-Eight he got the Vise Principal position in Ananda College Colombo. After Sir Jayathilake H Banbury was appointed as the Principal in the college. He initiated a fundraising campaign to build another building and it was called the Banbury Building as a tribute to Mr Banbury. It was his time that the school got its current name. He changed the name to ‘Dharmaraja College’.
After he left the school for his further studies Wilton Hack took the responsibilities of the principal. After him, C S Rajarathnam became the principal. He was a perfect fit for the position even though he was not a Buddhist. He managed the school carrying out the legacy of the Buddhist principals by protecting what they built so far.
The glorious time period
Dharmaraja College’s most outstanding time period arrived when K F Billimoria became the principal in Nineteen hundred Two. He outshined the name of the school by initiating so many aspects in the schoolA new building with 2 floors got added to the city premises in Nineteen Fifteen. It was called as Billimoria building to honour this principle in late years.
He also raised funds at purchased a thirty-seven acres lake view estate located on a hill near the Kandy Lake that has a picturesque view by Nineteen Twenty Two. And in Nineteen Twenty Three he constructed two hostel premises as Wing A and Wing B. There was already a hostel building at the Principal’s quarters which was built in Nineteen Twenty One. Mahatma Gandhi is another noble that Rajans got to meet during Billimore’s Principalship.
In Nineteen Fourteen, the College Scout group was established. And the first scout group of the college managed to win the coveted King’s flag repeated in Nineteen Seventeen, Nineteen Eighteen and Nineteen Nineteen.
This flag is a trophy that will be given to the scout groups that has the highest number of Kings Scouts. . He built the ‘Lake view park International Scout centre’ of Dharmaraja College Kandy. And the founder of the Scout Movement visited this premise two times.
He also created a sound atmosphere where Rajans get the opportunity to fine-tune their esthetic skills. In Nineteen Twenties Rabindranath Tagore one of the greatest artists in India and a famous poet visited the Principal’s bungalow. The super-famous English poet D H Lawrence is another artist who visited the principal’s bungalow in Nineteen Twenty Two.
Beyond the Golden Era
After Billimoria left serving the school for thirty years P De S Kularatne became Dharmaraja College’s principal. He was the principal of Ananda College Colombo. So he was thorough with the system and the culture of the school. By then the school was suffering from monetary issues. They were about to sell out the land by the lake view. But Mr Kularatne managed it well and saved the land.
He rebuilt the hostel building. And also he converted the old principal’s bungalow to classes and built a laboratory. With the new lab, the school was able to start science classes in Nineteen Thirty-Three. This was the period in which the lake view premises got an academic-related building. Then, they added other facilities such as roads.
Extra-curricular activities like cadetting, swimming and tennis became new sports in the school. The students who studied in Nineteen Thirty-Five got very lucky because Rabindranath Tagore, Uday Shankar, Nandalal Bose and also Kalki Krishnamurthy came to Dharmaraja this year.
Further add-ons to the College
L H Meththananda became the principal of Dharmaraja College in Nineteen Thirty-Six. He realized that the available buildings are insufficient to cater for the current students. So he included a building with two floors in the lake view location. There was a carnival in Nineteen Thirty in celebration of the golden jubilee. There were many fundraising projects related to the carnival. He used the collected money to initiate the construction.
Mr Meththananda established the advanced level classes in Nineteen Forty. And they moved the upper section to the lake view land. The primary section remained in the Maligawa premises.
S A Wijayathilake became the principal in Nineteen Forty-Five. This year was a significant year because the free education system was initiated this year. Mr Wijayathilake also constructed a couple of new buildings and renovated the labs. He also laid a foundation that enhanced the classical talents of the Rajans.
Dharmaraja College as a political avenue
After Mr Wijayathilake Charles Godge became the principal of Dharmaraja College in Nineteen Fifty Five. He established the development society in Nineteen Fifty Six.
In Nineteen Fifty Six S W R D Bandaranaike initiated his campaign for the Parliamentary election by holding an alms giving named Jayabima at the primary school’s hall.
He also created Kandy Education Front in Nineteen Fifty-Seven. This was an association that undertook the schools on the island to develop them further. The establishment ceremony took place at the hall of Dharmaraja primary school. And the chairman was Bannet Soysa, an Old Rajan.
The student count became One Thousand two hundred Seventy-Six. And Mr Charles added several buildings and increased the lab facilities collaborating with the development society.
Converting to a public school
The college became a public school in Nineteen Sixty. D B Thewarapperuma was the principal by that time.
Dharmaraja College had another glamorous period when Colonel E A Perusinghe became the principal. He enhanced the facilities as well as the academic staff. The results of the exams became very good. And the school magazines became a greater platform to show the talents and achievements of the students. Moreover, this became a greater way to encourage the students.
Colonel also managed to flourish cadetting and scouting in Dharmaraja College. Today Dharmaraja scouting team is one of the best and famous school scouting teams in the Sri Lankan schooling system. Dharmaraja scouting team is the first scouting team formed in Kandy and the second team in Sri Lanka.
The Rajan scouts kept a record by participating in the world jamboree. Dharmaraja Scouting team was the first school scouting team to represent this event with such a large number. And also Rajan scouts managed to glamour their school’s as well as country’s name by climbing Himalaya Mountain 7 times.
Under a Rajans Old Boy
In Nineteen Sixty Four an Old Boy of the school became the principal. He was Colonel S L B Amaranayake and succeeded in completing the shrine room. He also developed the hostels’ facilities. And provided a water supply to the hostels.
In Nineteen Sixty Five the municipality council of Kandy gave the name Dharmaraja Mawatha to the access road of the college.
D G B Samarajiva is the principal who rebuilt the administration of the college. He created the sports council. It gave an avenue for the students to organize sports meets, colours nights as well as other events. He rephrased the administration inside the school. And also, he delegated more tasks to deputy principals and sectional heads.
He added the library facility to the school. He constructed a separate library for the commerce section.
In Nineteen Eighty-Three Dharmaraja College got a career guidance unit due to Mr A P Gunarathne’s concept. This provided so many ample opportunities for the Rajan old boys to seek and choose career pathways as per their desire. In Nineteen Eighty-Five the school got its own computer lab.
Today Dharmaraja is a second mother to more than five thousand schoolboys. The academic staff members strive their best to mould Rajans with a great personality who has greater knowledge and skills to bring pride to the school as well as to the country.
Rajans are mould under the motto ‘oneself is the refuge for one’ that help them grow as strong independent and disciplined gentlemen.
