Labour Party. While being professionals and political activists, the Coreas were also important landowners. ' Gandhi visits Chilaw Both C.E.Corea and Victor Corea had been in constant touch with Mahatma Gandhi during India's struggle for independence. They invited Gandhi to visit Ceylon in 1927. Gandhi travelled from India to Ceylon arriving in Colombo, the capital city on November 12, 1927. He accompanied by his wife Kasturba, C. Rajagopalachari, and the latter's daughter, Lakshmi. Also accompanying Mahatma Gandhi on his visit to Ceylon were his secretaries, Mahadev Desai and Pyarelal. Gandhi stayed in Ceylon for three weeks.He travelled the length and breadth of the country. His visit caused a great deal of excitement. The people of Ceylon were calling for greater independence from the British who had ruled the country since 1815 having taken over the island from the Dutch. Gandhi was struck by the country's natural beauty. He noted it was “unsurpassed on the face of the earth”. Gandhi described Ceylon as a "resplendent pendant" on the Indian necklace. Muralidhar Reddy writing in The Hindu newspaper in India said: 'During his one and only extensive visit to Ceylon from November 12 to December 2, 1927, on the invitation of Ceylonese freedom fighter C.E. Corea, Gandhiji left his footprints in and around Chilaw. He toured and spoke to the people of Chilaw and stayed for a few days in a Corea home called ‘Sigiriya’ in the heart of town. Such was the enthusiasm generated by his visit that a village near Chilaw by name Nainamadama was renamed ‘Swarajya Pura’.' Christobel Aturupane writing in the Daily News of Sri Lanka recalled Mahatma Gandhi's visit to Chilaw: 'In 1927 when Gandhi came to Ceylon, he was invited to Chilaw by C.E. Corea, Chairman of the Chilaw Association. C.E. Corea fought relentlessly for Swaraj and the British bureaucracy wilted under his elegant verbal thrusts and it was remarked that 'what Chilaw said today, Colombo thought on the morrow', chiefly owing to the influence of C.E. Corea. Gandhi arrived in Chilaw with his entourage and was a revered guest at 'Sigiriya' where he stayed for some days. My mother recalled her visits as a teenager to her Uncle's home to see the distinguished guest. To her, the Mahatma seemed meek and humble in his loin-cloth and bare body, yet full of power and vision. His eyes, she noticed in particular, were calmly compelling. She felt