1. Rajapaksa Wickramasekera Mudiyanselage Bandaranayake Monarawila Keppetipola, more widely known as Keppetipola Disawe was a Disawe, a high-ranking official under the rule of King Sri Wikrama Rajasinghe and later under the British Administration in Sri Lanka.
Keppetipola Disawe was a prominent leader of the Uva rebellion of 1818 after he joined the rebels whom he was sent to suppress by the British.
Keppetipola Disawe is well known for the exceptional courage that he showed at the moment of his execution and is a national hero of Sri Lanka.
However, upon meeting the rebels Keppetipola Disawe joined them as their leader at their request.
Keppetipola Disawe's men are said to have joined with him, but Keppetipola returned his arms and ammunition to the British governor saying that he did not wish to destroy them with their own weapons.
Keppetipola Disawe continued to lead the rebellion with great success until it was ended with the disbanding of the rebels.
Martial Law was declared in Kandy and the surrounding provinces and two army divisions were sent to Uva immediately after the news reached the Governor that Keppetipola Disawe has joined the rebels.
Under this new king, Keppetipola Disawe was appointed as the Maha Adhikaram and the rebels were urged to fight against British colonial rule in Ceylon.
Keppetipola Disawe led a guerrilla war against the British colonial forces, knowing that the rebels were outnumbered and lesser in firepower.
Keppetipola Disawe offered a cloth he wore to the temple, and presented his Dhammapada to his friend Simon Sawers.
Keppetipola Disawe requested Sawers to come to the execution grounds with him and witness his death but was refused as Sawers did not wish to see his friend's death.
Keppetipola Disawe tied up his hair over his head to avoid it falling onto his neck and bent to receive the sword stroke, uttering the supreme and great qualities of the Buddha.
However, the executioner failed to behead him with one stroke as requested and Keppetipola Disawe was killed on the second stroke.
When Ceylon gained independence from the British in 1948, Keppetipola Disawe was declared a national hero, because he'd fought against foreign rule.