ISLAMABAD: A 14-member delegation of visiting Buddhist monks from Sri Lanka visited several archaeological sites of Gandhara civilisation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and performed religious rituals.
The delegation arrived in Pakistan on Wednesday for a week-long visit aimed at strengthening cultural ties between Islamabad and Colombo based on shared Buddhist heritage.
The guests visited the sites in Taxila, Khanpur, and Takht-i-Bhai and evinced keen interest in the preservation of the sites by the government.
They praised the restoration of the Buddhist religious sites at Bhimala in the Khanpur town of Haripur.
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Tourism Zulfi Bukhari, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa tourism secretary, and scholars accompanied the delegation.
The monks were informed about the progress of work on the Buddhist sites in Taxila and Khanpur for the promotion of religious tourism by the government.
Bukhari while talking to reporters on the occasion said the government has a vision to complete the world’s biggest Ghandhara trail by 2022.
The tour has been arranged by the Pakistan High Commission in Colombo to boost religious tourism in Pakistan by showcasing its rich cultural heritage.
The visit is in line with Prime Minister Imran Khan’s vision to promote religious tourism, project the country’s historical treasures and strengthen cultural ties, said Ayesha Abu Bakr Fahad, Second Secretary at Pakistan Mission in Colombo.
Scientists say that the new coronavirus strain can remain airborne for nearly an hour and it is spreading fast in the island nation
In the backdrop of a Covid-19 resurgence in many parts of the globe, researchers in Sri Lanka have discovered a new, highly potent strain of coronavirus.
According to scientist, the new strain is airborne, highly transmissible and more potent than all other strains of the virus found on the island-nation.
Experts believe that the new strain is responsible for the spike in the number of infections in Sri Lanka as it can remain airborne for nearly an hour and is spreading fast.
This variant of coronavirus is more highly transmissible than all found so far in the island. The new strain is airborne, the droplets can remain airborne for nearly an hour,” Neelika Malavige, the head of the Department of Immunology and Molecular Sciences of the Sri Jayawardenapura University said.
Health authorities fear that the new variant is spreading rapidly after last week’s New Year celebrations with more younger people getting infected.
In the next two incubation periods, the disease can progress to a third wave,” Upul Rohana, of the Public Health Inspectors said, adding that the real situation would emerge only in the coming 2-3 weeks.
Meanwhile, the ministry of COVID prevention issued new guidelines which would remain in force until May 31. The guidelines dictate a 50 per cent capacity operation for most institutions with all forms of revelry being banned.
The country-wide cases which were around 150 before the mid-April New Year have now shot up to over 600 a day. Sri Lanka is also running out of its health care capacity, officials said.
Sri Lanka, like many other nations, is witnessing a surge in the number of coronavirus cases, with the current figure standing at 99,691 cases and 638 deaths due to the disease.
Director General of Health Services Dr Asela Gunawardena said hospitals still have enough ICU capacity to treat Covid-19 patients but it is more important that health guidelines are followed in order to avoid infection.
Previously the symptoms were not very apparent. Now they are much more visible and young people are more likely to develop them,” he said.
Those who have tested positive now develop more breathing difficulties, requiring ICU admission and oxygen, he said.
Sri Lanka is not the only nation to have witnessed new strain of Covid-19 but also other Asian nations such as India, Pakistan, Indonesia among others.
However, so far, there have been no reports of the new Lankan strain infecting people outside the country.
At the moment, three strains of the virus are the most commonly found ones all across the globe– UK Strain (B.1.1.7 Variant), South African Strain (B.1.351 Variant) and Brazilian Strain (P.1 Variant).
A double mutant strain was also recently discovered in Maharashtra. It has been identified as B.1.617 variant.
A Buddhist monk praying in front of the meditating Buddha in Jahanabad, Swat. The statue blown up by militants was restored by the department of archaeology and museums. — Dawn
SWAT: Sri Lankan Buddhist monks said here on Saturday that the paradisiacal Swat valley remained the centre of Buddhism and had immense importance for Buddhists all over the world.
They said this during their visit to the Buddhist archaeological sites of Gandhara Buddhist civilisation in Swat valley.
The delegation include senior monks Dr Walpole Piyananda, Dr Bodagama Chandima, Dr Assaji Thero, Dr Pallegama Rathanasara, Prof Kallanchiye Rathanasiri, Uduwe Dhammaloka, Muruththettuwe Ananda, Embilipitiye Rahula, Korathota Dammadassi, Dr Atapattukande Ananda, Asela Pushpa Kumara Wickramasinghe and Aaishah Abu Bakr Fahad, who is Second Secretary (political) at Pakistan High Commission, Colombo.
The monks said that Swat valley had high importance for Buddhists and its name meant a blessing.
Swat is also important for us as both the Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism started from here and spread into Southeast Asia.
It is also the place where most venerable monks like Padmasambhava were born and spread Vajrayana Buddhism to Tibet, Bhutan and other countries of Southeas Asia,” said Dr Walpole Piyananda.
Visitors invite pilgrims to Pakistan
However, he said that people in Sri Lanka were afraid to go to Pakistan because of certain media reports and he himself was hesitant at first.
When we came here and saw the love and respect of the local people, we became very happy and now we send the message to all the Buddhists to come and visit Pakistan,” he said.
Asela Pushpa Kumara Wickramasinghe, the coordinator officer, said the monks were hesitant to visit Pakistan because of the wrong image developed through media, but thanks to the Pakistan High Commission which not only assured them but also arranged the visit.
People are amazingly helpful and hospitable here and when I saw their love with us it erased the wrong image of Pakistan from our minds and hearts,” he said, adding he and the tourism minister of Pakistan discussed a tourism plan between both the countries.
Aaishah Abu Bakr Fahad said that during recent visit of Prime Minister Imran Khan to Sri Lanka he invited the Buddhist monks to Pakistan, so the Pakistan High Commission in Colombo organised the visit.
We tried to take the delegation to the proposed Buddhist Trail and we hope that through this not only people-to-people contacts between Pakistan and Sri Lanka will strengthen, but the religious tourism will also increase from Sri Lanka to Pakistan,” she said, adding it was also aimed at showing the true and peaceful image of Pakistan to the world.
Sri Lankan police have arrested a prominent Muslim politician and his brother over suspected connections to the Easter Sunday suicide bombings in 2019 that killed 269 people.
Rishad Bathiudeen, a former cabinet minister who currently leads an opposition party in Sri Lanka’s parliament, was arrested in the capital Colombo along with his brother, Reyaj Bathiudeen, for aiding and abetting the suicide bombers who committed the Easter Sunday carnage”, police said.
A spokesman added that the brothers have not yet been officially charged.
Two local Muslim groups who had pledged allegiance to the so-called Islamic State group have been blamed for the six near-simultaneous blasts at two Roman Catholic churches, a Protestant church and three tourist hotels.
Both Muslims and Catholics are minorities in Sri Lanka, where Buddhists make up 70% of the population.
Before his arrest Saturday, Bathiudeen wrote on Facebook that police were standing outside his house since 1.30am today attempting to arrest me without a charge … They have already arrested my brother. I have been in Parliament, and have cooperated with all lawful authorities until now. This is unjust.”
The arrests came amid growing demands for justice by Sri Lanka’s Catholic leaders and community, which were repeated during a commemoration on Wednesday to mark the second anniversary of the attacks.
Last month, Sri Lankan Catholics also attended Mass dressed in black and held placards in a silent Black Sunday” protest.
Most of the people connected to the groups accused of carrying out the attacks have been arrested, but Archbishop of Colombo Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith has insisted the bombings could not have been planned by the leader, who took his own life in one of the attacks.
The government of president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who came to power later in 2019 after promising to determine the truth behind the attacks, is under pressure to find the person responsible.
His government accused an Islamic cleric arrested soon after the attacks of being the organiser, but the claim has not been accepted by the Catholic Church, which suspects there was larger foreign involvement.
Archbishop Ranjith said a presidential commission that investigated the attacks focused on failures by those in political power at the time to prevent the bombings, rather than finding the people who were directly responsible.
A power struggle between the then-president and prime minister, which led to a communications breakdown and a resulting lapse in security coordination, is said to have enabled the attacks, which occurred despite prior foreign intelligence warnings.
The Muslim community in Sri Lanka disowned the attackers and did not allow their bodies to be buried in its cemeteries, to show their actions are not part of Islam.
The Director General of Health Services today confirmed two more Covid-19 related deaths in the country moving the death toll so far to 644.
One of the victims is a 79-year-old female from Kelaniya who had been transferred from Teldeniya Base Hospital to Neville Fernando Teaching Hospital (NFTH) after testing positive for Covid-19. She had passed away on April 25. The cause of death is cited as cardiac and raspatory failure caused by Covdi-19 pneumonia.
The other patient is a 73-year-old male from Polonnaruwa. He had been transferred from Polonnaruwa District Hospital to Anuradhapura Teaching Hospital after being identified as Covid-19 positive and had passed away on April 25 due to Covid-19 pneumonia.
Police Spokesman DIG Ajith Rohana says that 19 individuals were arrested within yesterday for not following quarantine regulations, and urged the public to adhere with quarantine rules and regulations at all times.
He stated that the COVID-19 virus is once again spreading across the country with clusters and sub-clusters being created. The police are therefore compelled to implement the quarantine procedures and the quarantine laws.
Accordingly, 19 persons have been arrested within yesterday in respect of the offences of failure to wear facemasks and maintain social distancing.
He said that a total of 3,470 individuals have been arrested since the 30th of October 2020 to date, for the offences of not wearing facemasks and not maintaining social distancing.
Sri Lanka Police are conducting continuous operations in this connection because we need to control the pandemic and therefore the general public are kindly requested to adhere with quarantine rules and regulations, the police spokesman said.
Don’t move anywhere without a facemask. Especially we have instructed our traffic police officers to check the procedures in respect of public transportation,” he said.
Therefore, police officers are conducting quarantine operations once again at all times and the general public should follow the health guidelines, rules and regulations, he added.
DIG Ajith Rohana stated that if a person is arrested in respect of the offences under the quarantine law, he or she would be fined Rs 10,000 by the court in addition to serving 6 months of rigorous imprisonment.
The Director General of Health Services confirms five more COVID-19 related deaths pushing the death toll due to the virus pandemic in Sri Lanka to 634.
01. The deceased is an 80-year-old male resident in Moratuwa. He died on 20.04.2021 while undergoing treatments in Kothalawala Defense University Hospital. The cause of death is mentioned as COVID-19 Pneumonia complicated with heart failure and atrial fibrillation.
02. The deceased is a 63-year-old male resident in Kandy. He was diagnosed as infected with Covid-19 virus while undergoing treatments in National Hospital Kandy and transferred to the Base Hospital Theldeniya where he died on 22.04.2021. The cause of death is mentioned as sever COVID Pneumonia in the background of chronic liver cell disease and cystic bronchiectasis.
03. The deceased is a 71-year-old male resident in Peliyagoda. He died on 20.04.2021 while undergoing treatments in District Hospital Iththapana. The cause of death is Covid-19 Pneumonia.
04. The deceased is a 76-year-old male resident in Kottamulla. He was diagnosed as infected with Covid-19 virus while undergoing treatments in Base Hospital Marawila and transferred to the Base hospital Mulleriyawa where he died on 21.04.2021. The cause of death is mentioned as COVID Pneumonia, Diabetes Mellitus, Chronic Kidney Disease, Dyslipidaemia and Ischemic Heart Disease.
05. The deceased is a 77-year-old female resident in Narahenpita. She was diagnosed as infected with Covid-19 virus while undergoing treatments in the National Hospital Colombo and transferred to the Base Hospital Homagama where he died on 22.04.2021. The cause of death is mentioned as Heart disease and Covid-19 pneumonia.
The Government Information Department reports that another 137 persons have tested positive for COVID-19 increasing the total number of fresh cases identified today to 657.
All new cases are close associates of patients from the Peliyagoda Covid-19 cluster.
This brings the tally of cases associated with the Minuwangoda, Peliyagoda and prisons clusters to 93,157.
The total number of Covid-19 cases reported in the country so far has climbed to 98,722 while total recoveries stands at 93,884.
Information on the
Easter Sunday attack tickles in slowly. Based on available information, the
radical group members that carried out the attack had agreed not to attack
Sinhalese, especially Buddhists when some of them had suggested otherwise.
Going by this decision, they avoided Sinhalese in their attacks except on the
occasion of the Katuwapitiya Church attack.
Based on available
information, it was not on the plan. However, the Tamil partner of the attacker
had intervened in the terrorist act. Most likely her involvement was to target
this church which resulted in a complete change of the ethnic profile of
victims. Unlike others (wives, family members, etc.) who were close to those
involved in the attack, this woman fled. Others stayed back. Obviously, she had
her strong reasons to flee. India hasn’t co-operated with Sri Lanka on this
woman despite many agreements and understandings to share information on
terrorism between the two countries!
Then there is the
failed” attack on the Taj Hotel. It is obviously a red herring as no other
bomb failed to detonate or no other bomber failed in his mission. It was an
obvious misleading piece deliberately planted to distract. Taj is an Indian
investment and it’s very unlikely the attackers would attack it. The staged
drama was only a distraction. However, the suicide bomber later killed himself!
Funny bomb!
Based on available
information all fingers are pointed at India which exploited radicalized
Islamic extremists to carryout the attack as punishment for Sri Lanka’s
continued closeness to China (despite India engineered regime change in 2015).
India uses this very same technique in Pakistan where it exploits anti-Pakistan
Islamic extremists against Pakistan. India also used radicalized Islamic
elements to launch attacks against Bodh Gaya a few years ago, just after the
Indian supreme court decided to handover the shrine to Buddhists from Hindus.
After the small-scale numerous bomb attacks blamed on Islamic terror, the
Indian central government took over the administration of the shrine under
their charge claiming security.
Explosive devices
used in the Easter Sunday attack were the same used by Tamil terrorists. Bomb
making allegations of a local copper plant proved misleading and all suspects
were released recently. Totally absurd theories are floated by politically
motivated persons and those who want to hide the Indian connection by blaming a
legitimate sea marshalling operation that maintains approved floating weapons
warehouses to fight pirates. Obviously, no one fights pirates with suicide
bombers! This piece of evidence is also incriminating of the Tamil and Indian
connection.
The Tamil-Islamic
terrorist connection is nothing new. US based investigators and a Singapore
based terrorism expert uncovered it separately in 2001. When the government is
keen to get to the bottom of the matter, Tamil and Muslim extremist elements
joined forces in Sri Lanka calling them P2P” and also heavily canvassed
against Sri Lanka at the UNHRC. Does the Indian facilitated Tamil-Muslim amity
in 2013 called Singapore Principles have anything to do with this?
The claim that Indian
agencies informed Sri Lankan authorities is misleading. Sri Lankan, Pakistani,
Turkish, Arabic and US agencies made the same revelation before India. The
Indian communication also points to a red herring than a genuine attempt to
warn Colombo as it came later than others.
While all Tamil and
Muslim political parties are mum about India’s role in the attack, national
parties also keep silent for a completely different reason. This too is nothing
new. When India created and funded Tamil terrorists in the 1970s, very few
politicians stated it in public. For the same reasons. The three very senior
politicians who were bold enough to publicly state it were killed within just 18
months during 1993-94. Their alleged killers also died with them burying
evidence and hiding their Indian tracks.
By Dr harold Gunatillake-FRCS,FICS,FIACS,AM(Sing),MB,BS (Cey) –Health editor
Hoppers described as the love-child of a crepe & crumpet. It has become a very popular street food in Sri Lanka, in big towns and rural areas. It is now considered as a special ‘super staple food’
When Australia opened doors for Southern Asians in the late fifties and early sixties, it was a great opportunity for most Sri Lankans to migrate to Australia, those who disliked SWRD’s Sinhala only within 24 hour policy”
This gave a great impetus specially for the burgher community then, contributing to the good of the country, excelling on sports, athletics, trade, law enforcement, and so on, to leave her shores for greener pastures in Australia, and the loss this enterprising community is felt, even today in that developing country. Melbourne was the place preferred by many Migrants at the time, whilst a few professionals and others settled down in Sydney. Today, if you walk along the streets of Springvale in the city of Dandenong, Glen Waverley, Noble Park, Broadmeadows, no matter which way you turn, you are bound to bump-into” a Sri Lankan with a warm smile and a greeting of, Hello Machang, how are you?”
The Sri Lankan food industry in Melbourne is flourishing like no other; both Sydney and Brisbane run a poor second. In Sydney, to enjoy treats like hoppers you need to travel many miles, there is one place called the ‘Blue Elephant” in Pennant Hills, where you need to give them prior notice.
There are a few food caterers for home parties making hoppers on a circular device where at least ten hoppers could be cooked in one go. There is one lady by the name of Kumarika” fairly famous, catering hoppers cooked on the spot for home parties, in Sydney. Ask Dallas Achilles a talented musician, settled down in Melbourne for many decades, about Sri Lankan Courtesy: Walawwarestaurants.
He would say, Those living in close proximity to Clayton are blessed with an abundance of restaurants specialising in Sri Lankan Cuisine.” His favourite spots are Walawwa Restaurant, Café Ceylon, Kites, Merqury Inn, Fab and Cake Point, La Festiva under new management serving a variety of Sri Lankan and International Cuisine, Merqury Inn may have got their spelling wrong: It should read Mercury”. Sri Lankans love Pizzas just like the way they love hoppers.
Visit La Festiva in Springvale, they serve the best special Sri Lankan flavoured Gourmet Pizza, and for their dishes like Ambul Thiyal, Chicken devilled, Curry chicken and potatoes and Lamb Korma. Then there is the Corlam Kitchen in Glen Waverley for lunch. They serve a special Awadhi Dum biriyani, also called Pukka”.
Breath in the aroma of this princely mutton biryani, cooked the royal Awadhi style, a perfect delicious meal for your lunch or dinner feast with your family and friends. This spot” is available for birthday parties, celebrations, Graduations, weddings and Anniversaries, etc. The Chef’s special at Corlam kitchen is Chilli Crabs” only a few other restaurants, if any, serve this spicy dish.
Dallas would recommend ‘The Fab Curry & Pizza in Centre Road in Bentleigh for hoppers and pizzas. This is a rather little shop” at the far end of Bentleigh’s Centre Road, and primarily a take away” Business. It is fairly rare to see a combination- Sri Lankan Shop/Restaurant which serves both Hoppers” and also a Combination Curry Pizza”
When you visit this little place, you are always welcomed by a friendly Sri Lankan lady while being overpowered, at the same time with the enticing aroma of exotic spices. Dallas says that they serve 5 hoppers, an egg hopper and a bowl of chicken, beef or fish curry with sambol for $9. There are very good reviews on this Fab Curry & Pizza joint, and a worthwhile spot for a delightful tasty cuisine experience.
Awadhi Dum BiriyaniCafé Ceylon in Centre Road, Clarinda is another eatery. On their Menu” they feature Roti, Parata, Pittu with curry, wafer and Masala Thosai with fish, beef, chicken and vegetable curries. Vegans would love to patronise this joint. The nearby restaurants are- Champion in Clayton, Clayton Fish, Merqury Inn, Clayton and Kites in Clayton.
Walawwa”- ‘The Bungalow’ at Sandown Regency, Noble Park This is a favourite Eatery”, says Dallas. The best street foods of Sri Lanka are served here, at best prices in Melbourne for $ 25, and you could enjoy all you can eat. They have a dinner buffet with live music and entertainment. They have Set Meals” too, beginning with Starters” and snacks, soups, Main dishes like savoury rice, curry pasta with small pieces of roti stir fried with spicy vegetables and cheese, Chicken seafood and deserts.
They recently organised a Baila Masala Boogie Night with live music on one Saturday There are many other restaurants owned and run by Sri Lankans in Melbourne. Ask Dallashe will direct you. Dallas mentions a good Hopper Eatery next door to Curry & Chips” It is called Yamu” owned by Upali. There are many other Eateries” by Sri Lankan chefs other areas of Melbourne and outskirts, not visited to write about. Sydney as was mentioned earlier, boasts just a few Sri Lankan eateries and not within close proximity of each other, although they DO have more Chinese Restaurants than Melbourne. Is it any wonder then, that Melbourne has been nicknamed” Little Ceylon”?
What about Sydney Sri Lankan restaurants?
Sydney is also flourishing with Sri Lankan spicy food restaurants, focused to certain suburbs, such as Toongabbie, Seven Hills, Blacktown, Parramatta, where most of the recent Sri Lankan migrants live. Sri Lankans from all over Sydney make that long drive to these treat outlets, during weekends for a hearty spicy meal, to bring back memories of the foods cooked by their mothers and archies, at home.
Colombo, April 21 (AFP): Sri Lankan authorities on Wednesday (21) expelled an Antigua-registered ship that entered the island’s territory without declaring a radioactive cargo bound for China.
The country’s Atomic Energy Regulatory Council (AERC) said the MV BBC Naples was asked to leave after it was found to be in the Chinese-run port of Hambantota on Tuesday (20) night carrying uranium hexafluoride.
The ship failed to declare its dangerous cargo – uranium hexafluoride – and we decided to order it to leave our waters immediately,” AERC director general Anil Ranjith told AFP.
The ship had come from Rotterdam but authorities did not say where in China it was headed.
Ranjith said it was an offence to enter a port without declaring the material, which is used to enrich uranium, the fuel for nuclear power stations and weapons.
Sri Lanka’s opposition leader Sajith Premadasa demanded an investigation into the incident, describing it as a serious safety threat.
The navy has not been allowed to board the vessel to carry out an inspection,” Premadasa said.
There was no immediate comment from the government.
Hambantota port was leased to China in 2017 for 99 years after the Colombo government was unable to repay $1.4 million it had borrowed from Beijing to build it.
Hambantota, about 260 kilometres (162 miles) south of Colombo, is near key Indian Ocean shipping lanes.
The entry of two Chinese submarines into Colombo in 2014 angered neighbouring India, the traditional regional power which is competing with Beijing for influence in the Indian Ocean.
Since then, Sri Lanka has not allowed Chinese submarine visits.
The reigning Mrs. World has returned her crown of her own accord after she injured the winner of the Mrs. Sri Lanka beauty pageant over the Sri Lankan winner’s marital status, organizers said on Wednesday.
The woman who ranked second in the contest, Mrs. Ireland Kate Schneider, will be granted the title instead of Caroline Jurie, they added.
Jurie was arrested by Sri Lankan police earlier this month after allegations she injured the winner of the Mrs. Sri Lanka beauty pageant during a dispute about her marital status.
Jurie has refused to apologize to Pushpika de Silva, who won the Mrs. Sri Lanka pageant on Sunday.
Minutes after the winner was announced and crowned by Jurie, Jurie claimed that de Silva was disqualified as she was divorced. She then removed the crown and placed it on the first runner-up, declaring her the new winner.
De Silva alleges that Jurie injured her while trying to remove the crown. She was recrowned on Monday by organizers, who disputed Jurie’s claims that de Silva is ineligible.
De Silva lives separately from her husband, but has not been divorced, though court proceedings are continuing.
Contestants in both the Mrs. World and Mrs. Sri Lanka are required to be married. De Silva is eligible to compete for the Mrs. World crown after winning her national title.
The Sri Lankan health minister has informed parliament that the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine has led to three deaths, as well as three additional cases of non-fatal blood clotting.
Speaking to the Sri Lankan parliament on April 21, Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi explained that there had been six cases of blood clotting after the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, and this has led to three deaths.
However, the government has not said it will stop using the vaccine. In fact, the health minister noted that it would be dangerous to scaremonger on the back of this statistic.
Instead of causing fear, the minister noted that there were measures in place for the rare minority that experience issues. Speaking to the Sri Lankan parliament, Wanniarachchi explained what these are. If you have headache, sore throat or chest pain four days after the injection, you should seek medical advice. A committee of specialists has also been appointed to identify patients with chronic complications.”
During this parliamentary meeting, officials also discussed the Covid-19 rates being faced by the country. There were 367 new cases identified in the country yesterday, taking the total number of infections to 97,471. After five Covid-19 related deaths yesterday, the country has seen a total of 625 deaths from the virus.
Nearly a million people in Sri Lanka have received a dose of the AstraZeneca jab to date.
The use of the AstraZeneca vaccine has been limited in some countries due to rare blood clots. But in the UK its use has been defended by the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which advises the government. Meanwhile, the director of public health in the UK, Carole Furlong, claimed it is safer than female contraceptive pills.
By KRISHAN FRANCIS Associated Press Courtesy abc news
A Sri Lankan Catholic archbishop has appealed to the country’s Muslims to reject extremism and join Catholics in determining the truth behind Easter Sunday suicide bombings in 2019 that killed 269 people.
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — A Sri Lankan Catholic archbishop appealed to the country’s Muslims on Wednesday to reject extremism and join Catholics in determining the truth behind Easter Sunday suicide bombings in 2019 that killed 269 people.
Archbishop of Colombo Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith made the appeal during a commemoration of the second anniversary of the attacks.
Catholic, Buddhist, Hindu and Muslim leaders joined the commemoration at St. Anthony’s Shrine in Colombo, where the first bomb exploded during its Easter service. They offered prayers and observed a two-minute silence to remember the dead.
Two local Muslim groups that had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group have been blamed for the six near-simultaneous blasts at two Roman Catholic churches, a Protestant church and three tourist hotels.
Ranjith said players in global geopolitics and their local agents find religious extremism a useful instrument in achieving their goals.
Therefore, be brave enough to reject extremism. You fully understand that there is no connection with religion and teachings to murder,” he said.
Islamic cleric Hassan Moulana, who also spoke at the service, said Muslims around the world condemn the attacks and that Islam offers no justification for the crime. He said the Muslim community in Sri Lanka has disowned the attackers and has not allowed their bodies to be buried in its cemeteries to show their acts are not part of Islam.
He thanked law enforcement authorities for banning several extremist organizations and warned Muslims to be on alert to ensure they don’t resurface.
Most of the people connected to the groups accused of carrying out the attacks have been arrested, but Ranjith has insisted the bombings couldn’t have been planned by the leader who committed suicide in one of the attacks.
The government of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who came to power later in 2019 after promising to determine the truth behind the attacks, is under pressure to find the mastermind.
It accused an Islamic cleric arrested soon after the attacks of being the organizer, but the claim has not been accepted by the Catholic Church, which suspects there was larger foreign involvement.
We are surprised that even after two years, answers to the questions of who and why and what of these attacks have not been found by the relevant authorities,” Ranjith said. We often see that there are political reasons behind some of the investigations stalling,” he added, without elaborating.
Even though we wish to forgive all these things we would like to know what really happened,” he said.
Ranjith has said a presidential commission that investigated the attacks focused on failures by those in political power at the time to prevent the bombings, instead of on finding the people who were directly responsible.
Both Muslims and Catholics are minorities in Sri Lanka, where Buddhists make up 70% of the population.
While the country moves back to normalcy with schools, universities and companies re-opening, COVID -19 cases are simultaneously increasing, making the next few weeks extremely crucial and challenging in controlling and preventing the virus, Chief Epidemiologist Dr. Sudath Samaraweera warned today.
He told the media that people would have to act with a sense of responsibility in the coming weeks if they were to prevent a devastating situation.
A huge responsibility lies on people as to how they should abide by the health guidelines when they venture outside,”
“Anyway, we will have to face the music for the irresponsible behavior of people during the festive season taking the health rules for granted. Consequently, several clusters of COVID-19 cases are being reported from different parts of the country,” he stressed.
However, we are not too late to prevent huge clusters from emerging in the country. What people have to do is to restrict unnecessary movement and strictly follow the health guidelines. If we failed to do so, it would again badly affect our economy, education of students and our day-to-day activities,” he added.
He also requested people to immediately seek medical treatment whenever COVID symptoms emerged and to refrain from mingling with society.
Meanwhile, he said the second dose of the COVISHILD vaccine would be given to the recipients of the first dose from the first week of May.
President’s Counsel Romesh de Silva, appearing on behalf of President’s Secretary P.B. Jayasundara in the intervening petition on the Port City Economic Commission Bill, told the Supreme Court that the acts of the Colombo Port City Commission could be also subjected to judicial review and the aggrieved parties could file Fundamental Rights petitions or take legal measures if there is any matter occurred within the Commission.
He also informed the bench that he would recommend making amendments to it.
Making the submission on behalf of his client, he told Court that enforcement or set aside certain clauses under the chapter 7 of the Arbitration Act would be recommended to the Bill as an amendment.
The acts of the Colombo Port City Commission can also be subject to judicial review and parties can file Fundamental Rights petitions or can take legal measures if there is any matter occurred within the Commission,” he told the Court.
However, Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya pointed that the main objections were made by the petitioners regarding to the Section 63(2) of the Colombo Port City Commission Bill.
Making further submissions, de Silva PC said that 99% of the money earned by the project goes to the Consolidated Fund.
The Government get the money by leasing the land without spending a single amount and by leasing the land the country will receive 99% of the profit within the period of June 2023 to June 2028. After this period the Government will receive the total 100% profit by leasing the land and the amount will transfer to the Consolidated Fund,” Mr. de Silva said.
He further added that total land comes within the purview of the Colombo Port City Economic Commission and the members of the Commission appointed by the President.
However, Justice Murdu Fernando questioned Mr. de Silva as to whether the leased land managed by the Commission would be handed over to the Project Company in the future.
Replying to the question raised by Justice Fernando, Mr. de Silva said that point have to be checked with leasing conditions and he could not comment on that matter at the moment.
He also added that in the Bill it was not mentioned Provincial Council authority over the land and it was not necessary to mention it since the land falls under administrative district of Western Province.
Archbishop of Colombo Cadinal Malclom Ranjith today urged the Muslim community in Sri Lanka to rise up against those who try to instrumentalise Islam for their own purposes.
Rise up and defend yourself against those who try to instrumentalise Islam to fulfil their own purposes. Oppose Wahabism and organizations that promote such ideologies. This is my special request from the Muslim,” Cardinal Ranjith said at a program held to mark the second anniversary of deadly Easter Sunday attacks.
There would not have been any issue today if the Muslim community rose up strongly against extremism when the Easter attack took place. It seems that they did not rise up against extremism till yesterday. With the remarks made by Mawalavi Haashim Mawlana it is clear that Muslims reject extremism. These attacks such as the Easter Sunday mayhem is not what it claims they are but much more than what they are and that is why I make this request from the Muslim community,” the Cardinal added
We should know who carried out the attack and for what purpose and whether they repent what they did if they are to be forgiven. We must remember that we must not hit back at our distractors. We should not forget the support and solidarity shown by our Buddhist brothers. It is important that religions work with one another and not against each other,” he said
Burying the truth and embracing is not a part of Jesus Christ’s teachings. We will continue our struggle to get to know what really happened when it comes to the Easter attack. It is surprising that the investigations are carried out to suit day to day fortunes,” he also said.
Venerable Omalpe Sobith Thera who also participated in the ceremony said CID should investigate as to what had become of the Rs. one billion received from the Muslim organization three months after the Easter Sunday attacks. He said both the government and the religious leaders are duty bound to bring about unity. It is the duty of the government to ensure the security of the people as per the teachings of Buddha. The previous regime totally failed in this duty while the present regime is not fulfilling it adequately,” he said.
Sri Lanka has decided to postpone launching the proposed travel bubble” with India, in the wake of the recent surge in Covid-19 cases in India, officials at the Indian Ministry of Tourism said.
We are just postponing the bubble, this is not a cancellation. When things get better in India, we look forward to launching the travel bubble,” an official at the Ministry told The Hindu. Sri Lanka has been preparing to open up the country for tourists in phases as earnings from the sector, a crucial foreign exchange earner, fell steeply in the pandemic year.
Special flights
Less than two weeks ago, the Civil Aviation Ministry in India announced setting up a bilateral air bubble” arrangement with Sri Lanka for operation of special international passenger flights between the two countries.
According to official sources, New Delhi had also conveyed to Colombo its interest in welcoming an inaugural flight from Sri Lanka to the Kushinagar airport in Uttar Pradesh that was recognised as an international airport last year.
The two governments have discussed ways to enhance connectivity with the airport to help Buddhist pilgrims in Sri Lanka visit important religious sites in India. Once the pandemic situation eases, we will be able to finalise that,” the official said.
Tourist source
India accounts for one of the highest sources of tourists in Sri Lanka. Following the virus outbreak in March last year, Sri Lanka closed its borders and reopened it only in December 2020, stipulating protocols for on-arrival testing, quarantine and travel within the country. Witnessing a gradual increase in the last four months, Sri Lanka recorded 4,581 tourists from select countries in March 2021. Just before the pandemic hit, Sri Lanka received 2,28,434 tourists in January 2020 and the highest percentage of arrivals was from India, at 18 %.
Sri Lanka has over 3,000 active cases of Covid-19, after reporting nearly 100,000 cases in total, and more than 600 fatalities. Public health experts have cautioned the public about a possible new wave of infections.
Meanwhile, Sri Lankan Airlines, the country’s national carrier, had planned to restart operations to several Indian cities, to create the travel bubble. With the surge in infections in India, the plans have been put on hold for now, a spokesman said.
Five more persons who were infected with COVID-19 have died, as Sri Lanka’s death toll reached 630, Director-General of Health Services confirmed today (April 21).
Details of the latest victims of coronavirus infection are as follows:
01. A 75-year-old man from Sewanagala area: He had been under medical care at the Embilipitiya Base Hospital when he tested positive for the virus. He was later transferred to Colombo North Teaching Hospital where he died on April 18. The cause of death was reported as COVID pneumonia, sepsis and acute kidney injury.
02. An 80-year-old man from Ja-Ela area: He passed away on April 19 while receiving treatment at the Colombo North Teaching Hospital. COVID pneumonia, heart failure and acute kidney injury were identified as the cause of death.
03. A 57-year-old man from Kelaniya area: He died at Colombo North Teaching Hospital on April 20. The cause of death was reported as COVID pneumonia, sepsis shock and acute kidney injury.
04. A 66-year-old man from Ratnapura area: He was transferred to Homagama Base Hospital from Ratnapura Teaching Hospital after testing positive for the virus. He died on April 19 due to COVID pneumonia, diabetes and dyslipidemia.
05. A 39-year-old from Gampaha area: He was tested positive while receiving treatment at a private hospital in Colombo. He was then moved to National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) where he died on April 20. Sepsis shock from COVID pneumonia was identified as the cause of death.
The Ministry of Health says that a decision has been taken to conduct at least 15,000 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests per day in the country.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the Special Review Task Force of the Health Ministry, held under the patronage of Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi.
Three individuals who had received the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in Sri Lanka have died of blood clotting, Minister of Health Pavithra Wanniarachchi told the Parliament today (April 21).
In response to a question raised by Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, the Health Minister stated that Sri Lanka has reported a total of six cases of blood clotting among those who were administered the AstraZeneca jabs.
Several countries including Norway, Thailand, Austria and Iceland temporarily suspended the rollout of AstraZeneca vaccine, but have now resumed the procedure. Meanwhile, Denmark recently announced that it would permanently stop administering AstraZeneca jabs.
Speaking further, Minister Wanniarachchi stressed that according to the health experts of the World Health Organization no direct links between the AstraZeenca vaccine and blood clotting have been found.
As per the estimates, blood clotting incidents were reported only in 4 – 6 people per million, the Health Minister added.
She went on to note that the World Health Organization has approved the administration of AstraZeneca vaccine.
The government has introduced a special 24-hour hotline (0112 3415989) for the members of the public to inform the authorities if they are suffering from any discomfort or side-effects after receiving the vaccine, Minister Wanniarachchi added.
Before
start work in Colombo Port City, I published several articles explaining how it
positively impacts the economy of Sri Lanka. The concept of port city
development has been attracted in many countries and some are successful others
are not successful as expected. Sri Lanka needs to invent new strategies for
its development and growth and, the port city may be one that could be
successfully used with many limits.
Before beginning it was a dream when it graduating a reality many
antagonisms emerged with different political opinions and unknown forces and
motives. When looks at many criticisms
of different personnel it shows that people have no good understanding of the
concept many are groping in dark. The highest risk associated with the concept
of the port city is economic socks which may come from internally or externally
in the future due to various reasons especially economic reasons. The government of Sri Lanka must plan how to
absorb socks and otherwise, the entire country may relegate to obscurities or
it may be a colony of bondholders. Many critics have not clearly explained this
situation people to understand.
The
Colombo Port City development should be in the way how Hong Kong had been
developed under British rule. Investors might not interest in the negative
attitudes of some people. The priority of investors in the port city will be
returns for the investment and the government needs developing policies for
satisfying investors. Some people may have an opinion that investors should
donate money, it would not happen. If
the government attempts to satisfy opposition it would not be an economic
development project and it should be a social service project.
Hong
Kong project had many features and even money laundering activities may have
befallen as a result of development and it is difficult to implement a project
which purely associates with saints’ activities. The administration process
needs to develop sharp teeth control malpractices. The opposition critics have
not questioned the control process and its strength the preventing malpractice.
However, the government has no purpose
to devote the project money laundering purposes, and when the project
monitoring if it identifies money laundering activities the government can
cover loopholes through amending legislation. This is the general practice in
the world.
The
other vital aspect is the government should plan to retire the debt burden
using the benefits of the port city and a higher rate of revenue generated from
the city must use for investment in the rural economy. People have no idea about has the government
planned for these purposes and as long as the government hides its plan the
port city will be a talking point of opposition and other analysts. The concept
of a port city should not give a negative message to people and it needs support
from people. When it looks at the history of Hong Kong’s development it cannot
find information that Chinese people had been considering the points that
opposition is looking at now in Sri Lanka. The attitudes of Sri Lankans are
criticizing matters that are unknown to them rather than studying points. Criticisms
are seeming to be assumptions, but not realities. The reality of the Colombo
Port city project could be known after five years. People must understand that
there is a global competition to attract investment and those who give more
encouragements to investors they would choose to invest.
The
most significant aspect of the project is what is the projected revenue and how
it planned to spend the revenue. This
information has not been presented to the public. According to my views, 25% of
revenue should be invested in rural infrastructure development, and 50% of
revenue must use to increase the volume of foreign reserves of Sri Lanka. If
75% of revenue will be generated from the project uses for the two areas it
would support solving structural problems of the country. The balance of 25% could be used to retire
debt. If this way uses the revenue from the project the Colombo Port City would
generate positive outcomes for Sri Lanka.
Compared
to many projects in the world, the Colombo Port city project is tiny and it is
opening the economy outside. Total employment opportunities would be generated
might be less than 25000 and it will not be a massive project that will be the
solution to all economic problems of the country. As it is reported that the
economic growth of China would be more than 15% in this year there is no doubt
the Chinese economy will be double within five years and Sri Lanka should
attract more benefits from Chinese growth and it should work like Taiwan to
strengthen the economy.
India
and Western countries may not like this vision and they aren’t like to possible
changes incur to Sri Lanka with the support of China and they may have
displeased toward Sri Lanka. However, the Colombo Port City Project will be
beneficial to India where can accommodate project supports and other services
such as exports to Sri Lanka. Therefore, India must look at the port city
development project as an indirect incentive for the country.
April 21, 2019 is destined to be marked as a date which will
live in infamy.
Paraphrasing President Franklin D. Roosevelt when he
delivered the famous infamy speech on December 08, 1941 soon after the attack
on Pearl Harbour by Japan,,
posterity may well designate April 21, 2019 as the
Blackest day and the ‘ Pearl Harbour’ moment in the contemporary history of Sri
Lanka.
A total of 267 people were killed, including at least 45
foreign nationals,three police officers, and eight bombers, and at least 500
were injured. Three churches and three luxury hotels in Colombo were
targeted in a series of coordinated Islamist terrorist bombings.
This is the Second Death Anniversary of the biggest mass murder
on a single day in Sri Lankan History. It should be a day of reflection for
everyone living in this country and everyone of Sri Lankan origin living
overseas.
Where did we go wrong? How did this happen? are searching
questions many will ask.
It was a watershed moment. Those who had lived on a diet
of Multi- culteralism and Reconciliation, especially the security
forces were deluded to drop their guard and encouraged to do so by the
country’s top political leaders eternally greedy for the votes of the country’s
ethnic and religious minorities.
For Reconciliation to succeed there must be sincerity between
the contending groups. It will never succeed if one party is driven by the
scriptures and their belief system to look down on disbelievers and use
violence on them, if need be.
Zaharan and his co – suicide bombers were acting perfectly in
tune with their convictions of what their belief system and the holy scriptures
had wanted them to do as a matter of duty against the disbelievers.
In their twisted belief system there was no space for the
non – Muslim. Either you convert or you die.
It must be said that the vast majority of Muslims in Sri Lanka
are peace loving and have lived in harmony side by side with non –
Muslims.
Nothing should happen to them and they should be fully protected
by the State.
The Presidential Commission of Inquiry conducted a thorough
probe, interviewed a large number of witnesses, including Cabinet
Ministers.
During the evidence gathering a Senior Police Officer has said
that about 15,000 people mostly from the Eastern Province had fore knowledge of
the impending attack. Almost all the Muslim Ministers probably knew of it and
several of them are believed to be ardent supporters of Zaharan.
The conflict between believers and disbelievers which is spelled
out in the Islamic scriptures and highly pronounced in the traditional Muslim
countries, has now entered Sri Lanka in a dramatic fashion.
The violence directed against disbelievers, their places of
worship e.g. attack on the Buddha Statue in Mawanella on December 25, 2018 are
all interconnected and can no longer be ignored except at the risk to one’s
life and the lives of dear ones of the disbelievers.
The aim of some radical groups in Abrahamic faiths is to achieve
in the current Theravada Buddhist countries the same result achieved in the
past thousand years in several former Buddhist countries of displacing Buddhism
and replacing it with either Islam (or Christianity)
Maldives, East Pakistan now Bangladesh, Indonesia, Afghanistan,
Malaya, Bactria, Taxila, were once Buddhist States.
But no longer.
Buddhism has lost much ground to Abrahamic religions in Buddhist
Asia.
The existentialist fears therefore among Buddhists in Asia are
quite legitimate and valid.
The security forces of the country must now become pro – active
instead of being reactive as in the past.
The country cannot afford another Easter Sunday Massacre.
Innocent disbelievers must be protected from violence at the
hands of radical believers of Islam who carry out even extreme commands set out
in their scriptures without a critical reflection.
Shirley D’Alwis, the first University Architect, died in harness. He was working day and night to complete the job entrusted to him – the preparation of the buildings he had designed and started constructing – for the university to be shifted to its intended site in Peradeniya. After a long and protracted battle of the sites” fought in the legislature and in the media, the State Council had finally decided in September 1938 that the proposed University of Ceylon was to be a unitary and residential university and that it should be sited in the land to be acquired from the New Peradeniya Estate, a tea and rubber plantation on the lower Hantana range on the banks of Mahaveli Ganga. It was a picturesque site with the tree clad hilly terrain sloping down from the Hantana range to the river bank.
The colonial administration in Ceylon enlisted the services of Sir Patrick Abercrombie, an eminent British architect who was serving in the Royal Institute of British Architects, to create the site plan for the university which he did tastefully, with an eye for a classical site design, obviously having Greek precedents in mind. It was such a wonderful site plan, created with such imagination that Sir Ivor Jennings, who had arrived in the island to take over the job of establishing a university was stunned by the envisaged architectural magnificence. Now let us hear this from Sir Ivor himself:
The first public holiday after my arrival in Ceylon in March 1941 was Good Friday and I seized the opportunity to pay my first visit to Peradeniya. I went alone and told nobody I was going…..I drove along the Old Galaha Road until I reached the plateau we now call the Convocation Hill. Climbing through the incipient jungle was no easy matter and I knew not whether there were snakes. Sitting on a tree stump on the banks of the Mahaveli Ganga I spread Sir Patrick Abercrombie’s site plan before me. I began at last to see the magnificence of the scheme. There was no doubt about it. Mr. D.R.Wijewardene was right. This would be a great university.” (The Road to Peradeniya, p.178)
Sir Ivor wanted to see the site from other angles as well and he crossed the river and went to the area where the New Gampola Road was being built. I climbed up to the railway bridge and walked along to Nanu Oya. It is from that point where the New Gampola Road is being driven through, that the finest view of the site may be obtained. In a few years’ time the view from the Nanu Oya Bridge will be one of the most famous in the world.” ( italics added)
That was Sir Ivor’s heartfelt view. He was categorical in stating that this would be one of the most beautiful university campuses in the world. Furthermore, the statement shows his great enthusiasm and the fervent hopes he had for the university he was going to create.
Let us now come back to our tribute to the man who built the university.”I borrow this phrase from Sir Ivor’s Obituary on Shirley D’Alwis which was published in the Ceylon Daily News of 24 September 1952. I quote below the last paragraph of Sir Ivor’s tribute:
He will have his monument which will last to the end of time. We often spoke of what would happen in a hundred years, not as an exercise in imagination, but as part of our normal jobs, for he was as conscious as the members of the University of the permanence of University institutions. He died knowing that centuries hence young men and women of his own people would ask themselves ‘who built this University’ and that since Universities are proud of their history and do not let it die, somebody would answer, ‘A man named Shirley D’Alwis’.” (Italics added)
In the tribute above to Shirley D’Alwis, it is clear that the ‘monument’ Sir Ivor mentions, refers to the University buildings themselves. We know from another source, namely, Ian Goonetillleke’sForeword to The Road to Peradeniya that Sir Ivor was known to his own family as a man who never displayed his emotions.” But obviously he was moved by the sudden demise of Shirley D’Alwis whose creative genius and untiring toil he would have admired. No doubt therefore, Sir Ivor would have taken the lead in proposing and constructing the sober and dignified monument in D’Alwis’ honour that is situated at the first roundabout in the Peradeniya Campus.
Heritage
In Peradeniya we have an architecturally proud set of buildings worthy of the traditions of this country and Shirley D’Alwis goes down in the history of modern architecture in Sri Lanka as the pioneer in blending the past with the present in architectural designing. Independent Sri Lanka in the post 1948 era was in fervent search of traditions and in restoring the cultural links we had lost during colonial times. We were looking for national idioms in painting, music, theatre and so on. Monumental works such as the drama Maname appeared only in the mid 1950’s. But Shirley D’Alwis had successfully recovered the strands of ancient architectural tradition way back in the 1940’s when we were preparing for independence.
Shirley D’Alwis was educated at S. Thomas’ College, Mt. Laviniaand proceeded to the University of Liverpool from where he obtained his training as an architect. He joined the Public Works Department in Sri Lanka on his return from the U.K.
Intellectuals in Sri Lanka in the early decades of the 20th century were agitating for the establishment of a university so that the young men and women of the country could receive their tertiary education in the country itself instead of going abroad for the purpose, which only a few could afford to do. Furthermore, the leaders of the university movement like Ananda Coomaraswamy, D.B Jayatilleke and Ponanbalam Arunachalam were keen that the envisaged university would be a repository of learning worthy of the cultural heritage of the land.
In order to address these agitations, the colonial government established a University College”, as an affiliate of the University of London in 1921. This was an interim measure. The subject of a national university was debated in the country’s legislature and as mentioned earlier, the Peradeniya site was finally selected.
It was in this context that Sir Patrick’s services were obtained by the colonial authorities in 1940 to prepare the site plan. Thereafter the Public Works Department of Ceylon was entrusted with the work of designing and constructing the University buildings and in 1946, ShirleyD’ Alwis of the PWD was appointed the University Architect”. This was a decision that proved to be a momentous one, for what D’ Alwis created became, in itself a symbol of Sri Lanka’s potential for creating anew from the foundations which we had inherited from the past.
National Identity
Writing about Ceylon’s first University” in 1948 (to The Souvenir 0f the Pageant of Lanka’) Shirley D’ Alwis calls the site an Amphitheatre of hills dominated by the majestic Hantana range…. An inspiring one with its rushing boulder hewn torrents, its highly moulded hills and varied foliage.”
Shirley D’ Alwis was trained in Liverpool , just as Sir Patrick had been, and his teacher was Sir Charles Reilly. By this time Shirley had already obtained his Fellowship from the Royal Institute of British Architects. But above all he was inspired to look for indigenous models for the buildings he was to design for the first national university of Ceylon – which was on the threshold of independence in a few years to come.
D’ Alwis says in his article that the dominant note in the lay-out is the traditional Sinhalese openness and spaciousness as found in Anuradhapura” He adds further, Anuradhapura has often been quoted as showing the same freedom of grouping and planning as Ancient Greece. There is the same delight in the naturalistic setting, the same desire to place in it formal units of buildings in sharp contrast, but so freely and nicely placed so that the irregularity of the site is not lost”.
In fact he was thinking mostly of the Maha Vihara area, and perhaps the Vessagiriya site as well. But if we think further, isn’t the same dominant features of siting and the effortless blending with the natural surroundings apparent in Sigiriya, another creation of the Anuradhapura architects who were employed by King Kassapa in the 5th century. What is most striking in this context is the fact that D’Alwis with his sensitive feel for the national heritage, was able to identify the essential features of architectural designing in what has been called The golden age of Sinhalese art”
The university Architect was keen that the buildings he was designing should be sited, taking full advantage of what nature had provided in abundance in Peradeniy. The whole site was landscaped and turned into magnificent open glades planted with foliage, fruit and flowering trees”. Also, the valleys are planted with ferns and in the streamlets which fussily flow in them cascades and waterfalls have been designed. Occasionally a stream is trapped to form a pond where water lily and the lotus thrive.” All this goes to explain how much trouble the architect took to design a beautiful campus in which man made structures blend harmoniously with what nature could provide. I cannot help making the observation that even after so many years of neglect and unconcern about the care with which the University Park was conceived and constructed, a visitor could still enjoy the beauty of the place.
While D’ Alwis knew that going back to the roots was a desirable principle as a whole, he was aware of the pitfalls involved. He was alive to the need to cater to modern requirements. He added therefore to bedeck such essentially modern buildings with a thin veneer of archeological detail, would produce a grotesque sham.” He therefore chose to turn to the grand monuments of ancient Sri Lanka for inspiration, for which he had the freedom as the university architect. We learn from other sources that money was not a problem,as the university project received the fullest support from the Minister of Works, J.L Kotalawela and the Leader of the House D.S Senanayake who was soon to be the first Prime Minister of independent Ceylon. It was Sir Ivor’s personal contact with these powerful politicians that helped in the matter. (K.M de Silva, D.S.Senanayake : A Political Biography. 2017 p-86)
It became necessary” wrote D Alwis, to turn to the mighty dagobas standing in their paved platforms” to design the larger buildings. If we are to mention some of these buildings designed by Shirley D Alwis’, the star products of his inspired designing are the Senate building and the A Room (Arts Theatre), and the B Room of the Arts Faculty. If we go by the drawings that are available, the Convocation Hall (which he designed but never came into being) was in the same grand design. The Senate building is raised on granite pillars – following the designing of the Lova Maha Paya, the Brazen Palace of Anuradhapura. The B Room with its double pitched roof typical of Kandyan architecture, is so pleasing in its appropriate blending of parts big and small and its pleasant overall effect that it reminds me of a classical poem such as the Selalihini Sandesaya.
The Mulachari
In my view, Shirley D’ Alwis was the first modern architect in Sri Lanka to attempt expressing the national identity through his architectural designs. He was persistent in his search for the most fitting feature for this or that detail in his buildings. For example, the grills in the Halls of Residence and the Senate building are reminiscent of some grills found in the Vata Da Ge, buildings of Medirigiriya and Polonnaruva.We can see the utilization of the Gajasinghe balustrades, the Koravak Gal and the railing motifs of Anuradhapura in the bridge spanning the Kuda Oya (near Arunachalam Hall) and so on. His sense of appropriateness, the principle of aucitya in Sanskrit aesthetics, was such that there is never any inappropriate blending of these classical motifs. One can only marvel at this man’s highly refined taste. (I think a separate illustrated volume should be compiled dealing with a detailed description of his art.) Even on the last day of his life he was planning to go to Anuradhapura to check on a certain structural detail he wanted to include in a certain building. Sir Ivor writes in the Annual Report for 1952, where he reports Shirley’s death (an unusual step, for the Vice Chancellor prefixes his report with the phrase Although he was not an employee of the university we should report the death of the University Architect, Shirley D’ Alwis”). According to Sir Ivor, he was working in the VC’s office when an urgent call came from the office of the University Architect, to where he rushed and found D’Alwis collapsed while at work. He was conscious, and his last words were some indistinct references to ‘my buildings’. This was the man who worked day and night to provide for us a set of buildings which, as things of beauty, will remain a joy for ever.”
In his autobiography, referring to the work of constructing the buildings in Peradeniya, Sir Ivor often writes about the laborious processes involved because there was hardly any modern machinery and work was mostly through manual labour. We must remember that D’Alwis was assigned the job in 1946 and was expected to complete it within a few years. Obviously, keeping to deadlines as the University Architect was compelled to do, would have pressed heavily on D’Alwis. At first the deadline was 1950, then it was postponed to early, 1952 and then to mid ’52 and finally to September when the most substantial shifting from Colombo took place with the students of the Faculties of Oriental Studies and Arts coming into residence, and the establishment of the Vice Chancellor’s office in Peradeniya . But D’Alwis did not live to witness that day.
The term mulachari refers, as we learn from Ananda Coomaraswami’s Medieval Sinhalese Art, to the the chief architect.” Here we are reminded of the legendary Devendra Mulachari who is accredited with the construction of the Magul Maduwe, audience hall of the Kandyan kings. If Shirley D’ Alwis was alive today, deeply respectful as he was for our cultural heritage, I believe that he would have loved this epithet being used after his name.
Acts of Vandalism
While dealing with the monumental contribution of Shirley D’Alwis I need to draw the attention of concerned readers to two acts of vandalism on the original plan that occurred in recent years. Although Sir Ivor believed that normally universities are proud of their histories”, some of the later university communities of Peradeniya, have been both ignorant and negligent of the proud history of their university. Why I call them ‘ acts of vandalism’ will be apparent when the reader goes through the accounts I have given. The first was the usurpation in mid 1990’s of the site that was designated for the Convocation Hall. D’Alwis wrote in 1948 …the University buildings are grouped in a logical sequence of academic function. The Convocation Hall was the climax of the group as it is for the students’ academic career. The dominating feature of the site is the plateau, which has been treated as the acropolis on which the principal buildings stand- the Convocation Hall at one end the Library at the other – connected by the long Administrative Building.”
The logical sequence is obvious: After studying in the Faculty and obtaining intellectual enrichment in the library, which is the repository of learning, the student goes through the examinations, facilitated by the administration, and he/she reaches the climax of the student career, the obtaining of the Degree which is formally awarded in the Convocation Hall. This highly appropriate‘ logical sequence’ envisaged by the original planners was wantonly shoved aside to build an extension to the Senate Building which is ugly inside as well as outside and totally incongruous with the dignified classical beauty found in the original section.
The second instance of vandalism, as I call it, came in the early years of the 21st century with the infantile ‘modernization’ of the Senate Room which brazenly destroyed the principles on which D’ Alwis based his work. The Senate Building was purposely designed on the principle of using natural ventilation which the Anuradhapura architects utilized so effectively in the Brazen Palace. Placed as it is parallel to the Mahaweli Ganga and the Hantane Mountain Range, the long administrative building raised on granite pillars, has, at its centre (on the second floor) the Senate Room. Here, when the large windows were open on either side, the winds wafting from the Mahaweli Ganga on the South and the breezes from the Hantane Range on the North would mingle to create natural ‘Air Conditioning’ as D’ Alwis would have intended. We who were fortunate enough to sit in that room, prior to the sealing off of the windows with blinds drawn, and the installation of artificial air conditioning, can only nostalgically think of the shutting off of a beautiful view and fresh air which was our privilege in the past.
Now I have to go back again to Sir Ivor, who had stated quite innocently, since universities are proud of their histories.” Was he mistaken as far as his own creation, Peradeniya was concerned? The above acts of vandalism seem to indicate that we have at times been remiss in this regard. In 2017, when we are celebrating the Diamond Jubilee of Peradeniya, I can only have this pious hope: let the Peradeniya University Community wake up even now and start being concerned about their rich and unique heritage.
When we are celebrating the Diamond Jubilee of the University of Ceylon (Peradeniya), there is another note that has to be added, particularly with reference to Sir Ivor’s remarks about Shirley D’ Alwis being fortunate enough to have a monument to remember him. Now in this Diamond Jubilee year, the grateful university community has made arrangements to erect a statue to commemorate Sir Ivor Jennings, the founder Vice Chancellor of this University. We should add something more. Not only is he the Founder Vice Chancellor of the first national university of our country, but he is also the father of University education in Sri Lanka and worthy of being commemorated by every university in our country.
A NOTE: The writer [dharmadasa.kno@gmail.com] gratefully acknowledges the assistance of Mr. N.T.A de Alwis, former Deputy Librarian in Peradeniya, in tracing the Obituary of Shirley D’Alwis by Sir Ivor Jennings
Ivor Jennings’ final walk through Peradeniya Campus, 1954(?) and a statue recognizing his central palace in its conception & design at the
