launch a non-violent campaign of civil disobedience to achieve its goals. In May and June 1958 Ceylon witnessed anti-Tamil rioting. Bandaranaike blamed ITAK for precipitating the violence and banned the party along with the Jathika Vimukthi Peramuna (National Liberation Front). ITAK's leaders, including Chelvanayakam, were arrested on 4 June 1958 as they left Parliament and imprisoned. The ITAK leaders were placed under house arrest which meant that Chelvanayakam could not communicate with the public until late 1958 when the detention order was lifted. Chelvanayakam was re-elected in the March 1960 parliamentary election which resulted in a hung parliament. The new Prime Minister Dudley Senanayake tried to get ITAK's support for his minority government but refused to give into ITAK's demands to end state-sponsored colonisation of Tamil-majority areas by Sinhalese, regional autonomy and the rights of Indian Tamils. As a result, ITAK started negotiations with the opposition SLFP who agreed to introduce the provisions of the B-C pact as bills in parliament. During the negotiations on forming an alternate stable government Chelvanayakam informed the Governor-General that ITAK would support a SLFP government for a full term and as result the Governor-General dissolved parliament. Civil disobedience Chelvanayakam was re-elected in the July 1960 parliamentary election in which the SLFP and its leftist allies achieved a majority in parliament. No longer needing ITAK's support in parliament, the SLFP reneged on its pledges to honour the B-C pact and commenced enacting anti-Tamil policies, announcing the full operation of the Sinhala Only Act from January 1961 and using Sinhala in courts of law throughout the country. ITAK launched a campaign of civil disobedience in January 1961, beginning in Jaffna. Chelvanayakam started distributing leaflets outside Jaffna Kachcheri in Old Park urging Tamil civil servants to boycott government offices and cease using Sinhala. The campaign was hugely successful and large crowds, including ITAK MPs, gathered in front of the Kachcheri and staged a protest rally. Early on the morning of 20 February 1961 dozens of ITAK volunteers staged a satyagraha at the Jaffna Kachcheri. Among them were several ITAK MPs including Chelvanayakam. As Government Agent M. Srikantha and Superintendent of Police Richard Arndt tried to leave Old Park in a jeep the protesters blocked their way. The police baton charged the protestors, kicking and dragging them away. Several protestors, including ITAK MPs A. Amirthalingam, V. Dharmalingam, V. A. Kandiah, E. M. V. Naganathan and K. Thurairatnam were