Uva Wellassa has been through history a haven for dissent. When the capital city of the Raja Rata kingdom was based in Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa, dissenters and rebels who incurred the wrath of kings, courtiers or other palace hangers-on, they fled either across the Palk Strait to India or to Uva Wellassa. The King sent his most trusted Dissawa in charge of the Dissawaniya. Logistically, the Dissawaniya of Uva Wellassa was located so far away from Raja Rata and due to the time it took for news, especially bad news, to travel to Raj Rata that the King’s writ hardly operated in real time.
February 17, 2015 