The administrative officers during the Dutch rule In the Northern Sri Lanka: a historical view

Abstract

Sri Lanka which was under the grip of foreign rule hot her independence in 1948. During the rules of Portuguese, Dutch and British, Sri Lanka was a country to serve them in every sector. That’s why, they introduced their own administrative structure or mechanism in Sri Lanka during their rule. The Dutch nationals who belonged to the European community and who had ruled Sri Lanka during the second period of foreign rule from 1658 to 1796 get distinction in terms of ruling in the history of Sri Lanka. They had kept the coastal area of the country under their control but also had appointed many indigenous officials in order to gain their profit from them and they considerably succeeded in their desired goals by means of implementing smooth administrative activities in those areas. So, as the Northern Sri Lanka was a part of their administrative territory, the applied economies in administration as far as they could and they involved themselves in exploiting the economy of the area. As certain posts seen in the administration of the rule of the Dutch were similar to the post used in the Jaffna Kings were favorable for activities of the Dutch, they had used them in their administration without any change. It is noteworthy to mention here that the Dutch had introduced some more new administrative posts in the Northern Sri Lanka. Among the administrative officers in the Northern Sri Lanka during the Dutch rule Tisavas, Athikaries, Mudaliars, Iraisuvathoor, udaiyar, vithanai, pattankattikal are important. However, the high posts such as Commanding Officers were in their own hands. The data needed for this study which is based on the historical approach were got from primary and secondary data base. While the government reports and documents during the Dutch rule got their primary preference, books, essays, newspapers, data derived from the internet got their secondary preference. The study aims at bringing about the administrative activities of the Dutch, their responsivities their natures, the challenges they had faced and their achievements. The main hypothesis of this study is to show that as far as the Dutch is concerned, the Dutch, their administration, the administration of the officers of local and the Dutch they had appointed had full intention of exploitation of the whole country. The research problem is that the Dutch officers along with indigenes official were behind the exploitation of the Northern Sri Lanka.