Walisinghe Harischandra

Walisinghe Harischandra වලිසිංහ හරිශ්චන්ද්‍ර
Walisinghe Harischandra
Born	9 July 1876 Negambo, Ceylon
Died	13 September 1913(1913-09-13) (aged 37) Colombo, Ceylon
Nationality	Ceylonese (Sinhalese)
Other names	Edward de Silva E.de S. Walisinghe
Education	St. Mary's College, Negombo Wesley College, Colombo Sri Lanka Law College
Known for	Revival of Buddhism Sri Lankan Independence Movement Temperance Movement

Brahmachari Walisinghe Harischandra (Sinhala:බ්‍රහ්මචාරී වලිසිංහ හරිශ්චන්ද්‍ර;9 July 1876 - 13 September 1913 ) was a social reformer, historian, author and revivalist of Sri Lankan ( Sinhala ) Buddhism He was a follower of Anagarika Dharmapala, who gave leadership to the Buddhist revivalist movement, after the lead given by Colonel Henry Steel Olcott. Walisinghe Harischandra is also regarded as the saviour of the citadel of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, Anuradhapura.

Walisinghe Harischandra was born to the family of Walisinghe Hendrick de Silva and Pehandi Marthnanda de Silva Gunasekera in Negombo on 9 July 1876. His birth name was Edward de Silva. Edward started his primary education under a Buddhist scholar monk and then attended St. Mary's College, Negombo. Later he was entrusted to a lawyer uncle in Colombo, to continue his studies in English and Law. He was a student of Wesley College, Colombo from 1889 to 1895. After the school education, he attended the Law College.

Edward developed a keen interest in Buddhism and gradually began working as a true nationalist, while he was a law student. He changed his name to E.de S. Walisinghe and started teaching at the Sunday Dhamma school at Ananda College, Colombo. Sri Lanka was then a British colony known as Ceylon. Young E.de S. Walisinghe gave up his legal career and adopted the name Walisinghe Harischandra. He decided to be a Brahmacharya, which meant he would remain a bachelor, devoting his time to religious and national work. He believed that he would be able to serve his motherland in a more meaningful manner by getting involved in nationalist and religious activities.