 He was a close friend of Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru who was a contemplory of his at Cambridge.They met again in 1930 when Nehru arrived for a visit in Ceylon.Sir Ernest de Silva's wife, Evadne who, following his knighthood, became known as Lady Evadne de Silva, was herself a prominent philanthropist and, upon independence, became one of the first women in the Senate of Ceylon.