Osmund de Silva

Osmund De Silva was the thirteenth and the first Ceylonese career police officer to become Inspector-General of Police (1955–1959).

Osmund de Silva
13th Inspector General of Police (Ceylon)
In office
26 July 1955 – 24 April 1959
Preceded byRichard Aluwihare
Succeeded byM. Walter F. Abeykoon
Personal details
Bornc.1901[1]
Ambalangoda, Sri Lanka[2]
Diedc.1980
Spouse(s)Ena née Aluwihare
ProfessionPolice officer

He was the son of Mudliyar Thomas de Silva, founder principal of Dharmasoka College.[3] Educated at S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia and University College, Colombo,[4] De Silva joined the Ceylon Police Force as an Assistant Superintendent of Police, where he served in the Kegalle District[5] before being transferred to the Police Training Academy. In 1941 he married Ena Aluvihare, the teenage daughter of Sir Richard Aluwihare, who was the serving Inspector General of Police at the time.[6][7]

In 1955 de Silva was the first Ceylonese to be appointed as Inspector General of Police from within the force and the first Buddhist Inspector General.[8] De Silva was responsible for introducing community policing to the country,[9] a vision that was not shared by his successors. In 1959 the Prime Minister of Ceylon, S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike requested that the police intervene against trade union action occurring at Colombo Harbour.[10] De Silva declined to do the Prime Minister’s bidding on the basis that he believed the request was not lawful.[11][12] On 24 April 1959, de Silva was compulsorily retired from the police force and M. Walter F. Abeykoon, a civil servant, was appointed in his place.[13]

References
  1. Jayasena, Ananda (30 December 2010). "Infamous Coup D'état". Daily News. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  2. Jasentuliyana, Nandasiri (2016). Same Sky, Different Nights. AuthorHouse. ISBN 9781524600419.
  3. "Dharmasoka PPA felicitates IGP". Daily News. 26 January 2004. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  4. Sivendran, S. (23 March 2013). "Golden Years of Police Service". The Island. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  5. Seneviratne, H. L. (1999). The Work of Kings. University of Chicago Press. p. 79. ISBN 9780226748665.
  6. Peebles, Patrick (2015). Historical Dictionary of Sri Lanka. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 105. ISBN 9781442255852.
  7. Robson, David (30 December 2015). "Ena De Silva - The Museful Fashioner". ATRA. JAZ Publishing. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  8. Gunawardane, Gamini (28 November 2010). "Salute to an Era". Sunday Times. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  9. Wijesinha, Rajiva (30 September 2013). "The Idea Of Community Policing: Then and Now". Colombo Telegraph. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  10. "Parliamentary Debates". 36. Parliament of Sri Lanka. 1960: 115. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  11. "Parliamentary Debates". 36. Parliament of Sri Lanka. 1960: 162. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  12. "Operation Holdfast: Contours of a Coup Conspiracy". Daily Mirror. 2 November 2012. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  13. Abayasekara, Anne (22 May 2011). "Times of triumph and tribulation written without fear or favour". Sunday Times. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
Police appointments
Preceded by
Richard Aluwihare		 Inspector General of Police
1955–1959		 Succeeded by
M. Walter F. Abeykoon
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