Srilankan Tamils - Tamil Satyagraha meets Sinhala violence - In response to the Sinhala only act, under the leadership of Thanthai Chelva, the tamils went on a satyagraha in front of the parliament building on the 5th of June 1956. They were attacked by a crowd of 500 Sinhalese extremists, who pounced on them. The satyagrahis were beaten with poles and pelted with stones . Several Tamils were hospitalized and some of the wounded included parliamentarians. Two Sinhalese MPs were present in the crowd just to point out Federal Party MPs. The police stood by as observers as tamils were attacked. Some of the Tamil protestors including Dr Naganathan and Navaratnam were thrown into the Beira lake.
