Will “Vihara and Devalagam Act” be ever revised?
View(s):The controversial revision of the “Vihara and Devalagam Act” which has been held back in Parliament because of a fear of a split in the Maha Sangha, is an 85-year -old piece of legislature which covers 11,000 temples, 200,000-300,000 acres of temple property and safeguards the rights of 60,000 bhikkhus. The assets located in the area which once was the Udarata Kingdom, belonged to the last King of Kandy at the time they were taken over by the British in 1815. The archaic Act, introduced by the British in 1931, thus carries feudal customs and traditions that prevailed at the time of the Kings of Kandy.
After 1931, the Act has been amended only once in 1993 which was to extend the term of the Diyawadana Nilame to ten years and to prohibit politicians from contesting the post.
Many attempts made before and after to revise it, have failed. Last week, legislators were asked to suspend moves when they attempted to present the amended draft along with the Theravada Bhikku Kathikawatha Act to Parliament fearing it would lead to dissension among the Sangha. The Mahanayake of the Malwatta Chapter,Ven Tibbotuwawe Sri Siddhartha Sumangala Thera however, informed Minister of the Buddha Sasana,Wijedasa Rajapakse that if the new method of electing the Diyawadana Nilame was a road block to adopting the revised “Vihara and Devalagam Act,” the government should present the Act with the old electoral system intact.
How did the old electoral-system function? There were altogether 348 persons eligible to vote in the list which included 138 Buddhist monks along with the Mahanayakas of the Malwatta and the Asgiriya Chapters and the two deputy Mahanayakas of the respective Chapters. Also included were incumbent Chief priests in Buddhist temples located in the former Udarata Kingdom.
The second group comprised the Diyawadana Nilame, the Basnayake Nilames (elected every five years) of the 31 Devalas and the three lay custodians appointed by the Bauddha Sasana Commission for temples located within the area that came under the jurisdiction of the “Vihara and Devalagam Act.”
The third group was from the state sector which included 175 Divisional Secretaries of 18 Districts. These officials were eligible due to serving in areas covered by the Act. They also give an indication as to the extent of the last Kandyan kingdom. The Divisional Secretariats included those of Matale, Kurunegala, Kegalle as well as of Nuwara Eliya in the Central Province. Also included were Divisional Secretariats in the two divisions located in Ampara in the east, in Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Trincomalee and Vavuniya in the north and Badulla and Monaragala in the Uva. Besides,the Divisional Secretariats in certain sections of Puttalam in the northwest as well as divisions in Galle, Neluwa and certain sections of Matara in the south were also included as eligible to vote.
As the Act deprived women from voting and as 54 of these Divisional Secretaries at the last election constituted women, the electoral college of the Diyawadana and the Basnayake Nilames was reduced by about 40%. This was in spite of the fact that their work involved land issues that belonged to the Dalada Maligawa and the Devalas which have been made complicated due to the fact that these have been gifted by the kings or chieftains.
Under the new reforms, the votes of the electoral college of the Diyawadana Nilame have been slashed from 348 to 55. The deleted list includes the 175 Divisional Secretaries, the three lay custodians appointed to temples by the Bauddha Sasana Commissioner and the regional Basnayaka Nilames – an issue which has given rise to objections from these quarters. The Basnayaka Nilames of the four main Devalas in Kandy – Natha, Vishnu, Kataragama and Pattini however, remain in the voting list.
Justifying this downsizing, it has been pointed out that some of the inclusions in the previous lists had no relevance in today’s context and led to unnecessary expenditure, even bribery and corruption.
With regard to monks, the revised Act retains the Malwathu and Asgiriya Sangha Sabha in the voting list but has removed the traditional voting rights of temples some of which belong to the Amarapura and Ramanna Nikayas which led its Mahanayakas to raise objections.
The term of office of the Diyawadana Nilame also received a cut in the revised Act – from 10 to 5 years and a prohibition from holding office for more than three terms. However, it is argued that considering the extensive work involved, the term of office of the Diyawadana Nilame should extend to ten years. It was also proposed that rather than electing a Diyawadana Nilame, a suitable person based on Buddhist traditions should be appointed as the custodian of the Dalada Maligawa through consensus of the relevant authorities. Assets of the Dalada Maligawa run into millions of rupees and its vast extents of land, paddy fields and property granted from the days of the Royalty need to be ably administered. Honesty and credibility therefore, must be the hallmark of the Diyawadana Nilame.
As it is, the candidate for the post of DiyawadanaNilame is disclosed only once his name is nominated. Instead, the name of candidates should be announced well in advance in order that there is time for dialogue to ascertain if he is worthy to hold the office of the Diyawadana Nilame.