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He taught the Sinhalese one community should not be uplifted by suppressing another: President
President Mahinda Rajapaksa this week said that Anagarika Dharmapala taught the Sinhalese that a community should be uplifted not by suppressing another community, but by strengthening their own community. President Rajapaksa was addressing the national celebrations to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Anagarika Dharmapala, the nationalist leader who was born in 1864 and died in 1933 in India.“There were persons who branded Anagarika Dharmapala as a communal minded person. Even today, when you try to build the nation, similar accusations are being made,” he said.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa pays respect to a statue of Anagarika Dharmapala at a commemorative event held at Independence Square
The national celebrations were held at the Independence Memorial Hall at Independence Square in Colombo on Wednesday, September 17. President Rajapaksa said that they had assembled to honour one of the greatest sons of the nation of the previous century. “He did yeoman service to Buddhism, especially in India. He was born when his Motherland was under foreign rule for nearly four hundred years and the Sinhala Buddhists could never imagine of freedom since the Buddhists here were suppressed by the invaders on one hand and by those classes who helped them.“The evils of ignorance and poverty were widespread among the masses when Anagarika Dharmapala launched his anti-imperialist drive in this country. By writing books on Buddhism and educating the Buddhists on the five precepts of the Dhamma, he helped the people to practise Buddhism and enlightened them on national values which were decaying. By doing this he commenced the struggle for independence.
“He began nation-building with the introduction of native names to identify places and persons. He believed that for the progress of the nation another community need not be suppressed. He referred to the progress of other countries and encouraged our natives to do likewise. He taught our people to refrain from the use of liquor, abstain like the Indians from meat eating, and work hard like the British to progress.
“He never advocated that only the Sinhalese should live in this land and the opponents who disagreed with him called him a racist to obstruct his forward march. He never broke laws that would put him in prison to win public sympathy and strengthen his campaign. He was compassionate to those who put him under house arrest. He spent much of his valuable time in writing and educating the public.
“After Ashoka the Great of India and King Kanishka it is Anagarika Dharmapala who spread Buddhism to other lands. He reintroduced Buddhism to India, with the formation of the Maha Bodhi Society that spread Buddhism to Europe. He addressed the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago in the United States and some converted to Buddhism after listening to his speech. His speeches attracted people to Buddhism,” the President said.
Several Buddhist educational institutions like Ananda College in Colombo and over a hundred schools in rural areas were started by him but sadly a majority of present day students in these schools hardly know facts about Anagarika Dharmapala, the President said adding that he had instructed his Education Minister to see to this deficiency.
Dr Niyangoda Vijithasiri, Anunayaka Thera of the Malwatte Chapter said that the services of Anagarika Dharmapala should be remembered for ever. “When the country is being developed in a peaceful atmosphere, the contributions made by Anagarika Dharmapala should be taken into consideration when making our country’s future plans”.
President’s Secretary Lalith Weeratunge in his welcome address said that the present day students were not being educated about patriots like Anagarika Dharmapala. It is important to disseminate historical information on characters of this nature to the present generation of children, he said referring to how he learnt of this national hero as a young student at Matara.
Ven Napana Premasiri of the Ramanya Chapter and Ven. Dauldena Gnaanissara of the Amarapura Nikaya, Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne, Education Minister Bandula Gunewardena, Housing Minister Wimal Weerawansa, Western Province Governor Alavi Moulana, Buddha Sasana and Religious Affairs, Deputy Minister M.K.D.S Gunewardena, Ministry Secretaries and Members of Parliament from Sri Lanka and Japan and High Commissioners and Ambassadors from India, Korea, Vietnam and Japan, members of the Anagarika Dharmapala Trust and other Buddhist organisations also participated in the ceremony.