No Constitution can change the place due to Buddhism,
Sinhala Buddhists, the National Anthem, Map or the National Flag
Shenali D Waduge
In constitutions there are some things that are sacrosanct and cannot be touched. These are the country’s national anthem, the national map, the national flag, the foremost place for Buddhism and the Sinhale Buddhists who built the nation. No politician or political party, whims of separatist inclined minorities or foreign agendas can touch this substratum status given to them through history. The primordial national identity of our nation remains Sinhale. It is with the Sinhale nation that the British signed the Kandyan Convention in 1815. The Sinhale not Sri Lanka is our nation. The people living in it are Sinhale Buddhist, Sinhale Tamil, Sinhale Muslims etc. There is no ‘Sri Lankan’ identity. The name Sri Lanka is just 44 years old introduced with the 1972 Republican constitution. Our independence from invaded occupied rule came only in 1972 and not 1948 as we chose to remain a dominion. Nations with dominion status were semi-independent
Our nation’s history did not start after 1505 and the illegal occupation of invading Portuguese, Dutch or the British. Our nation’s history did not start after these illegal occupiers gave ceremonial independence in 1948. Our history is long and proud and it is this history that needs to be denoted across every national symbol, acknowledged, fostered and protected by every constitution whoever comes into power.
The proposals to make Sri Lanka secular, to make all religions equal, to change the national anthem and national flag are all with very insidious intent. The long term outcome is to turn Sri Lanka to another Maldives expunged of its Buddhist past, evangelized former Buddhist nation South Korea and a prostituted state Philippines. A country with over 2600 proud history should not take that route and no party or persons should be allowed to destroy a past that other nations are envious about.
The attempt by those selected to draft the new constitution firstly are not representative of the majority views. The manner they are attempting to introduce the ‘secular’ state through the new constitution is to remove a historically held right to protect Buddhism as was done by not only the Sinhale kings but even South Indian invaders like Elara.
Norway, EU, the US, Canada or UK cant demand Sri Lanka’s place for Buddhism be changed when these very nations have given the Roman Catholic faith an entire country and the Pope the head of the Church is considered on par with all global leaders.Such favouritism for one religion while not even officially recognizing Buddhism in their countries shows their bias and hypocrisy. The manner these governments fund missionaries and faith-based NGOs to increase flocks in developing nations is aligned to the ultimate goal of removing Theravada Buddhism & Hinduism. They are today using lascoreens and sepoys who did their bidding first under occupied rule and now for perks and privileges.
No reconciliation can be possible or acceptable unless and until the former colonial Catholic/Christian nations apologize and return all that they plundered and compensate for the atrocious crimes committed. Silence on compensating for these crimes while demanding rights and freedoms is really hilarious!
Foremost place to Buddhism
Buddhism is the bedrock of the culture and civilization of the Sinhale people. Future of Theravada Buddhism depends on its existence in Sinhale. King Devanampiyatissa declared Buddhism the state religion of Sinhale in 246 BC Ever since Theravada Buddhism has been continuing to preserve that sacred identity.
A huge international campaign is out to shame and demonise Sri Lanka using their acolytes to force spineless leaders to remove the foremost place to Buddhism and replace with failed pluralist, multicultural, multireligious slogans. Even the British monarch is the defender of the Christian faith inspite of Britain being a multi-religious society.
We may recall the assassination of King Buwanakabahu VII by a Portuguese soldier in Kelaniya in 1552AD as a punishment for his refusal to abandon Buddhism.
Buddhism and Sinhale (Sri Lanka) go together. The moment Buddhism is removed the likelihood is that the country’s name will be changed like Philippines who never challenged why their nation should be named after a Spaniard.
The betrayal of Sinhale by selfish chieftans and the signing of the Kandyan Convention in 1815 resulted in 12 clauses with British agreeing (without intending) to preserve the powers and privileges of the Chiefs, to preserve the laws & customs and institutions of the country (Clause 4) and maintain and protect Buddhist religion, rites, ministers, places of worship (Clause 5). That these promises were made not to keep is a lesson that should not be forgotten giving warning signals not to allow anyone to touch the place afforded to Buddhism hereafter.
The Presidential Buddha Sasana Commission Report (2002) observed ‘that the constitutional obligation accorded by the Constitution of Sri Lanka to give to Buddhism the foremost place and accordingly to protect and foster the Buddha Sasana devolves on the Government of Sri Lanka, all state institutions, other organisations, and all its citizens”.
The report also says
“Sri Lanka is the centre of Theravada Buddhism. It is the duty and responsibility of everyone to preserve it for the future generations. The Government, the bhikkus, the Buddhist societies and organizations, and the Buddhist people should work for this because preserving Buddhism in Sri Lanka leads to the development of worldwide Buddhism. Further, the Commission believes that its recommendations do not disturb the constitutional rights of the followers of other religions, while it improves the harmony rather than animosity among people who follow various religions” …….
“It is seen that the religion of the majority of the people in a country becomes the state religion. Bhutan, Nepal, United Kingdom, certain European countries, and Arabic countries are examples of this. In the Sri Lankan society, this condition prevailed until 1815. In Malaysia, even though its Islamic population is 52%, the state religion has become Islam. From the Devanam Piya Tissa era to 1815, the state religion had been Buddhism”.
The Buddha Sasana is defined by the Commission as
“as the Buddha, the nine super-mundane (navalokuttara) Dhamma, the Sangha, the Buddhist temples (viharas) with their ancillary structures, forest hermitages (aranya senasana) and meditation centres, Bo trees, stupas, image houses, relic chambers, dhamma books and libraries, designated buildings for performance of vinaya acts by the sangha (uposathagara), fields, gardens and properties belonging to the Buddhist temples, Buddhist education, devalas, nuns and nunneries, the laity who had taken refuge in the Triple Gem, Buddhist literature, culture and civilisation, Buddhist festivals and processions (peraharas), Buddhist customs and traditions, Buddhist principles and values and all that are required for its perpetuity “.
Chapter 5 of the report deals extensively with the question of Lands belonging to Buddhist Religious Places (Siddhasthana) and Temples (Viharas) in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka National Anthem
A national anthem is a representation of a country’s unique identity under which the country is proud to rally around. Therefore essentially an anthem instils patriotism and nationalism. Nationalism comes when for a greater good individuals rally collectively. The key operational word is ‘collective’ nationalism.A war is the key moment that rallies people because to win a war a country must have the support of the troops in the field and the people – the military offensive against the LTTE clearly demarcated those for and against LTTE. British national anthem God Save the Queen, the French La Marseillaise and the Star-Spangled Banner have ties to the military.
Anthems also tell a story, a message and is meant to inspire the present to follow our ancestors and the way they defended the nation. The reference to ‘motherland’ is to treat the country like a mother defending her child. Essentially an anthem when sung should automatically instil the love for one’s country and the conviction that one would carry out one’s duty to defend the sovereignty of the country. When those calling for the change to the national anthem are parties and individuals who seek to separate, divide and hand over the nation to foreign rule are we insane to accept their proposals using the fraudulent term reconciliation?
Sri Lanka National Flag
Why are we ignoring a flag that had been used by the Sinhale Kings who protected the sovereignty of Sri Lanka for centuries and instead trying to tweak a flag created following a pseudo-independence from Britain? There was really no independence in 1948 as Sri Lanka chose to remain a dominion.
It was MP for Batticoloa A Sinnalebbe who on 16 January 1948 suggested that the national flag used by the Sinhale kings be continued. A E Goonesinghe seconded the proposal. As was to be expected it was the extremist elements no different to now in the form of Chelvanayagam and other Tamils who opposed. These oppositions have a history for automatically the Sinhalese end up giving in and minorities win the day.
Thus, Prime Minister D S Senanayake appointed a National Flag Committee on 27 January 1948 comprising – SWRD Bandaranaike, G G Ponnambalam, T B Jayah, J L Kotelawala, Dr L A Rajapakse, Senator Nadesan and JR Jayawardena. It is baffling why Ponnambalan who has never shown nationalism except to spearhead minority rule should have been included to this committee.
The new flag was passed in Parliament on 1 March 1951 (51 votes for and 21 against with 8 abstaining). When the country became a Republic on 22 May 1972 the new flag included 4 Bo-leaves. This was incorporated into the 1978 Constitution as Article 6 (second schedule).
Today the same elements attempting to divide the country is trying to change the flag.
Sinhala Buddhists
The origins of the Sinhala race, it is believed, traces far beyond even King Rawana era. Skeletal remains found in Balangoda dates over 28,000 years. The written history is however 2500 years.
The island was known as Hela, Heladiva. 4 tribes – Yaksha, Raksha, Naga and Deva lived in Helaya thus it became Sivu-Helaya living in thun-Sinhale (Ruhunu-Maya-Pihiti) which later became Sinhale. It was because the foreign invaders could not pronounce Sinhale that they called the island ‘Seylan’, ‘Ceylon’. Technically it is incorrect for the British who signed the 1815 Kandyan Convention with the Sinhale nation to give provisional independence to ‘Ceylon’ in 1948.
Professor Mendis Rohanadheera, Dr. Suriya Gunasekera, Dr. Nath Amarakone, Messers J.R.P. Sooryapperuma, Arisen Ahabudhu etc. we firmly deny that the Sinhala race are descendants of any Indian origin.
Col. Anil Amarasekera has put the case excellently.
The national rights enjoyed by the majority indigenous population of any country that are not given to minority immigrant populations or their descendants are:
§ The right to call their country their national motherland.
§ The right to the territory of that national motherland.
§ The right to have their language as the national language.
§ The right to have their religion as the national religion.
§ The right to have their culture as the national culture.
§ The right to have their flag as the national flag.
Col. Amarasekera also brings out an interesting point. He says though ‘Eelam’ is being used to claim ‘land of the Tamils’ originally Ilam in Tamil referred to ‘Lanka of the Sinhale people’ – the Tamil lexicon published under University of Madras (page 328) reads thus “Ilam in Pali, Sinhala, 1. Ceylon. The Tamil word given as meaning for ‘Ilam’ is ‘Sinhalum’. ‘Ila’ in Tamil means ‘Sinhala’ or ‘Hela’. ‘Illakkachu’ in Tamil means Sinhala coins (Ila – Sinala / Kachchu coins)
Dr. Daya Hewapathirane establishes the argument further. He says “The Sinhala Buddhist culture is one of the world’s oldest, continuous, unchanged cultures in existence. Buddhism and Buddhist cultural heritage, including the nationwide historic remains of Buddhist culture, provide a distinct character and identity to this island nation. Ours is one of the rare countries in the world with a well recorded history extending to over 2500 years. The Sinhala history as recorded in the Mahavansa is regarded as the second-most remarkable history in existence of an ancient and cultured civilization. It is second only to the records maintained by the Shu Chinese emperors. Being one of world’s exemplary cultures in existence, the Sinhala people do have their legitimate, traditional and historical right to Sinhale as a civilization unique to this island nation alone.”
“The most widely spoken language, exclusive to Sinhale or Sri Lanka, is the legitimate National Language of this island Nation for over 2500 years.”
The Sinhala language is exclusive language to this island nation. The Sinhale language originated in this island and is central to the national identity. The minority languages originated elsewhere and these minorities are settler communities who have their homelands elsewhere. Tamil and English should only be link languages and not official/national languages.
Just as people need to earn respect and not demand it, the minorities at all times must realize that they cannot demand thousands of history be removed just to appease their demands. Using aspirations and grievance minorities cannot wipe out key facets of Sinhale’s history. Affording rights equal for all before the law should not get mixed up with changing the national identity of the country and no minority can attempt to change the ethos of that country.
All of the times that appeasement has been the chosen option, it was never enough and the demands have now become bolder and bordering a quest for separatism as seen by the insertion of the confederal option into the latest constitutional proposals.
There is a limit a nation can take. There has to be reciprocity in all matters. Can the minorities come forward to give examples of how far they have contributed to the nation/nation building?
We can give the example of Lakshman Kadiragamar and fondly appreciate that inspite of being a Tamil it was he who even got UN to declare Vesak a UN holiday. However, most Tamils look down upon him and he is never spoken with the same pride Sinhalese speak of him. We also fondly remember Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan. D. S. Senanayake, F. R. Dias Bandaranaike, . H. W. Amarasuriya, A. H. Molammure, D. R. Wijewardena, Dr. Casssius Perera and E. T. de Silva imprisoned by the British would have been shot dead if not for the intervention of Sir Ramanathan.
Sir Ramanathan “Take the Sinhalese nation. I have served the race all my life. In my twenty-eighth year I entered the Legislative Council and never once have I thought myself to be a member of the Tamil community only — I supported the Sinhalese interests and every other interest and treated every subject with the same sympathy and desire to do the best for all communities. I knew through and through the men and women of the Sinhalese community of all classes. They have all the characteristics of a great people. They are decidedly considerate and peaceful.’
Lest we have forgotten, it was Sir Ponnambalam who travelled by ship to England to speak on behalf of the biased stand taken by the British during the Sinhala-Muslim riots of 1915 and met the Secretary of State for the Colonies in London as well as British Parliamentarians and politicians and was responsible for recalling the Governor and the British Army Brigadier from Ceylon while releasing all the imprisoned Sinhalese.
This magnanimous gesture won Sir Ramanathan a hero’s welcome with men drawing his carriage (not horses) to his residence in Ward Place as a mark of gratitude. Some of the elite Sinhala men drew the carriage to show gratitude and that is the essence of living as one community. Do we have such Tamil statesman today?While there are enough of Sinhalese to speak on behalf of Tamils, have any recent Tamil politicians done the same for the Sinhalese?
Similarly Sir Razik Fareed, a Muslim who placed the community before self not looking for position but the future of the next generation. He held positions in the Colombo Municipal Council, was elected as a Senator and held the Ministerial portfolio of Trade under caretaker government of Prime Minister Dahanayake. He stood against communal politics and claimed that Muslims should identify with the national parties and stand by the majority community in resolving common matters.
Then there is Dr Ameer Ali former advisor to Howard Government in Australia. Some of his quotes:
§ “The SLMC came out with a religious cry,” ….“This was evidenced by their first leader M.H.M. Ashroff shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ at the opening of political rallies. It is a political abuse of religion when the name of God becomes a rallying point”.
§ “This change can be seen in the attire of the Muslims. The burqa and the niqab – covering all but the eyes – were not existent in the 1970s. At the time, Muslim women wore saris and covered their heads. “In what sense are they any less Muslim than those who are covering their whole bodies today?” he asked, “Why has the externality taken priority over the internal change that is the spirit of the Quran?”
India’s Prevention of Insults to National Honor Act 1971 is noteworthy of mention. The Act prohibits desecration of or insult to the country’s national symbols including national flag, the Constitution, Indian Map and the National Anthem. No one can burn, mutilate, deface, defile, disfigure, destroy, trample upon or show disrespect in words, spoken or written or by acts against these. These provisions need to be included into Sri Lanka’s to stop various people and parties attempting to experiment with entities that embodies the history and pride of an entire nation.
In summary it is now time that the true defenders of the nation come forward to disallow any changes to the Country’s national anthem, the national flag, the map, the foremost place given to Buddhism and the place afforded to Sinhala Buddhists – all that they built is visible and by evident by excavations.
