Sri Sumangala is known for taking down the Union Jack and re-hoisting the Sinhalese lion flag, before the convention that handed over control of the island to the British in 1815.

Sri Sumangala Thero was born as Bamunakotuwe Ralahamige Kirihami, in Bamunakotuwa (village of Wariyapola)in the Kurunegala district.

On the day this agreement was to be signed (2 March 1815) at the Temple of the Tooth, a British soldier had taken down the Sinhalese flag and hoisted the Union Jack.

[3] The possession of the Tooth Relic was traditionally regarded as a symbol of the right to rule the country, and the acquisition of it was a large morale boost to the rebels, who intensified their activities after that.

[1] A ceremony was convened on 1 March 2024 at the Maha Maluwa within the Royal Palace Complex of Kandy to commemorate the 209th anniversary of the incident wherein Sri Sumangala Thero, in an act of defiance against the British, protested the hoisting of the Union Jack prior to the signing of the Kandyan Convention.