The British soldiers were ordered to massacre the male population in Uva. How would UNHRC react to this? The British soldiers were ordered to kill all cattle and animals, burn homes & property, destroy the irrigation systems & paddy fields under what is today known as the scorched earth policy. How would UNHRC react to this? Lynching Tree by the British – 1818 Paranagama on the Kandy-Badulla pathway was where British had a military post. Matale Rebellion – 1848 The British were plundering lands under the Crown Lands Ordinance 1840/Wastelands Ordinance. Agriculture lands were being destroyed and replaced with coffee and later tea. All meant for export. The refusal of the Sinhalese to work on British plantations resulted in importing Tamil coolies from South India.