Peliyagoda David) (13 March 1809 – 1 December 1849 ) was the leader of the Matale rebellion in 1848, pretender to the throne of Kandy and a national hero of Sri Lanka.
Born on 13 March 1809 in Peliyagoda (Wanawasala) as the second son of Wansapurna Dewage Sinchia Fernando, he had been employed by the police and was engaged in transport work on the Kandy road and came to reside at Gongalegoda, Udunuwara where he became a popular figure among the Kandyans.
The anti-colonial movement on the island in 1848 was led by leaders such as Gongalegoda Banda, Puran Appu, Dingi Rala who were supported by many of the local people.
The rebellion was aborted after several Korale Mahattayas betrayed the rebels for rewards from the British, resulting in the arrest of Puran Appu on 29 July 1848 at Wariyapola.
However, on an appeal made by Gongalegoda Banda to the Governor, a proclamation was issued on 29 December 1848 to commute the death sentence to one hundred flogs and being sent into exile.
[citation needed] On 1 January 1849, Gongalegoda Banda was flogged one hundred times in Kandy before a large gathering of people and sent into exile in Malacca (now Malaysia).
Governor Lord Torrington writing a dispatch to the Secretary of State informed that deportation for life was more effective than death penalty.