12 Wednesday 16th September, 2009 The Island Features

by Walter Wijenayake capture by the Cholas. However, King nation, to its rightful owners, the Police Magistrate and then the GA Vijaya Bahu 1, by a supreme effort, Sinhala Buddhists. intervened but the crowd refused to be Edward De Silva, turned expelled the invaders and restored free- He set up the quietened. It was then that the GA Brahmachchari Walisinghe dom in 1070. After his consecration the Buddhist Defence Committee for the appealed to Harischandra who was Harischandra, was born on July 09, 1876, King shifted to Polonnaruwa. protection and rehabilitation of there, to address the people which he at Mahahunupitiya, (a suburban village The greatness of the Anuradhapura the Buddhist monuments and, did, and only then did the crowd qui- of ), to the family of Walisinghe era, the days of her achievements and generally to promote Buddhist eten and soon peace was restored. Hendrick de Silva and Pehandi glory were extinguished for ever, Until interests there. The Police Magistrate who Marthnanda de Silva Gunasekera. He the British rulers virtually rediscovered Witnessing the senseless heard the case against the had been a law student at the age of 22 her in the early decades of the 19th cen- depredations that the Mudliyar found him guilty and years. tury, she lay abandoned and forgotten in British administrators fined Rs. 60/- but on appealing His 96th death anniversary fell on the deep slumber, as it were, buried were committing on the to the Supreme Court, the Sep.13 under a cover of impenetrable jungle. ruins of the sacred proceedings of the lower The sacred places of worship, partic- places under the guise of court were quashed and the fter the end of the one, before the ularly the sacred Bo-tree were entirely archeological excava- Mudliyar was acquitted. last century there emerged a neglected by the Buddhists. Even in tions, Harischandra, as A few days later Anumber of National Heroes of those forgotten days, in the months of secretary of the ABDC, Harischandra was whom one was Brahmachchari Wesak and Poson, particularly, in the vehemently protested to arrested on charges of Walisinghe Harischandra. They had a month of Poson, at least a handful of everyone who, he thought, having led a riot and common goal which was to regain free- devotees from the neighbouring villages could stop this vandalism. committed arson and dom from foreign domination for the continued to visit it, even in the darkest He had other grievances, secrilegal. Though it purpose of gaining political freedom. times, when the place was the untram- too; he took strong objec- was only a few days Young Harischandra had his elemen- melled haunt of wild elephants and tion to the opening of an earlier that the Magistrate had occa- sion to praise and thank Harischandra for helping him to restore Brahmachchari order when people were rioting. However, sometime back he wrote to the local authori- ties who were under pressure Walisinghe Harischandra from Catholic Missionaries. But it was in vain. Subsequently he wrote to the colonial office in London, explaining that the resi- dential and commercial places, including non-Buddhist elements, should be shifted from the vicin- ity of the sacred places in Anuradhapura. It was later saved sacred city granted. Harischandra organ- ised a ‘Anusasana’ com- mencing from his home town, Negombo, and car- ried on a long struggle to wake up Sinhala people and of Anuradhapura review . His appeal to the Nation was enriched with great nance Buddhist Value and thought. No. 10 of 1856, as temple land, was auto- He published a book entitled ‘The tary education at the Hunupitiya Junior other denizens of the wild. A few devot- arrack tavern just opposite the sacred matically vested in the Crown. There Sacred City of Anuradhapura’ where he School under the guidance of the late ed always lived close to the Bo-tree and foreign liquor shops in was at the time on ‘Atamastana described the adversities and abuses Ven. Dharmaratnetissa Nayake Thera, sacred Bo-tree, eking out a precarious other places; he objected to the presence Committee’ which had been set up to caused by the British. He also sent a the Chief Incumbent of the Maha existence, attending to the daily rituals of beef stalls and market buildings manage the sacred sites at copy of this book to King Edward VII to Hunupitiya Sugatharama Temple, and of worship without a break. amidst the sites of religious monu- Anuradhapura and to advise the GA on appoint a commission to inquire into studied English at St. Mary’s College, However, with the dawn of the 20th ments; he objected to building of gov- them when necessary but Harischandra the grievances of the Buddhist popula- Negombo. His parents wanted to make century, the Sinhala Buddhists began ernment offices and quarters within the was not prepared to accept its authority tion of the country. him a lawyer, and so he was admitted to opening their eyes to the great heritage sacred area. or its bona fides because, he argued, it Harischandra protested at the Wesley College, . Later he was of religious and cultural remains lying With his numerous protests, peti- was composed of the subordinates of detached attitude of the early archaeol- admitted to the Law College. buried under the forests of tions and memorials and other related the GA, namely, the three ogists who were under the influence of As an itinerant preacher, he trav- Anuradhapura. At this juncture, a activities, Harischandra soon become a Ratemahatmayas, the seventeen Catholics. When the whole of elled the country to the other, speaking Buddhist monk, who had come from the marked man as a trouble-maker among Koralemahatmayas and the Chief of the was about to be declared a Crown Land on topics such as ‘Downfall of the deep South - Naranvita Unnase - had the officialdom who thwarted him at Nuwarawewa family who would all be under the Waste Land Ordinance, he Sinhala Buddhists,’ and ‘Temperance taken upon himself, single handed, the every turn and, in fact, was waiting for loyal always to the GA and never be agitated on behalf of the Buddhists and and sacred sites and shrines of the impossible task of restoration of the an opportunity to nab him. He protested willing to incur his displeasure; it was successful in getting a part of it as ancient city of Anuradhapura and Ruwanveliseya which at the time was to the legal authorities when he found would be useless to the Buddhists in the temple property. Mihintale.’ At his age of 23 the no more than a mis-shapen mound of the Police unwilling to entertain his event of interests clashing between He decided to take the life of a Buddhist shrines of Anuradhapura had bricks, overgrown with trees; there was complaints; when that failed, he peti- them and the GA. ‘Brahamachchari’ at the General meet- no land attached to them. All that land another monk named Singharakhita tioned the Governor and when that, too, It was when matters were simmer- ing of held in was claimed by the government. who had taken up the rehabilitation of failed, he got ing in this state that certain events took January 1899 presided over by the The Government allowed dingy bou- Isurumuniya; then there was the case of who was at this time abroad, to appeal place to aggravate the already tense sit- Parivenadhipathy of Maligakanda tiques to spring up in the very front of a Siamese Buddhist Prince who thought to the King in England. All his efforts uation. On the Poson Poya day, 1903, a Vidyodaya Pirivena Ven. Hikkaduwe Sri the Sacred Bodhi Tree. They built shab- he should restore the Mirisavetiya daga- were of little avail for, even the King crowd of people had gathered on the Sumangala Maha Thera. by markets, allowed taverns and liquor ba and had handed over a sum of Rs. was misled. The only result of all this Mahamaluwa opposite the sacred Bo- He rendered a yeoman service for shops, butcher stalls and all the para- 12,500/- to the Governor for the project. was reprisals and persecution. tree and through this crowd a certain the restoration of ancient Buddhist phernalia of an unplanned little shanty Another monk - Pilagamuwe The Government Agent of Mr. Amarasekera, a Mudliyar of the shrines in Anuradhapura and town. Rewatha - undertook the repair of Anuradhapura was unwilling to recog- Kachcheri, was riding his horse when Mihintale. His efforts caused the One great contribution by him was Thuparama. But none of them had the nise the rights of the Buddhists and the exited animal knocked down an old restoration of Ruwanveli Maha Seya to make Anuradhapura a sacred city. required resources, either in labour or Buddhist organisations of access to, woman and injured her. The old hus- and other ancient ruins in Raja Rata. His heart sank when he saw how finance, and more than that, in the tech- and the use of, the Buddhist sites and band of the woman ran behind the Further he was actively working in Anuradhapura looked like in those nical knowledge, how to get far with lands of the sacred city: Mudliyar and remonstrated over what for two years for the Maha Bodhi days. Anuradhapura - the cradle of such massive undertakings and so, in a Every attempt by the Buddhists to he had done; thereupon, the Mudliyar Society. Buddhist culture, a city hallowed by vis- short time, their enthusiasm petered use this land for religious purposes ie., got down from his horse and severely He had published a considerable its from Mahinda Thero and put and the monuments were left in the area of the Mahameuna Yuana and assaulted the old man. Feelings of the number of books such as ‘Description of Sangamitta Theri. His mind might have worse condition than they were, for, the Mahamaluwa of the sacred Bo-tree, crowd, who witnessed this act of brutal- the Sacred City of Anuradhapura,’ gone centuries back to the glorious under the cover of forest, nature had was thwarted by the authorities, influ- ity, ran high and there was a commo- ‘Great Story of King Dutugemunu,’ times of King Devanampiyatissa and provided these structures a certain pro- enced by the Catholics, and they were tion: The infuriated crowd then ran ‘’, ‘Mahabodhi’, ‘The King Dutugemunu. What an ignomin- tection in its own way. driven out from such lands. Further, the amok and attacked a church and the Significance of ’, ious contrast: It is about this time that Walisinghe authorities said that the Buddhists had Mission House and wrecked them and ‘Life of King Devanampiyatissa’, He was Catholic-dominated colonial masters Harischandra appeared on the no claim on that land and that it all thereafter destroyed the meat stalls that also the editor of the magazine showed no respect to Buddhist shrines Anuradhapura scene. He devoted his belonged to the Crown. stood close to the Sacred B-tree that had ‘Mahabodhi’. and monuments of archeological inter- time, energy and substance for the The Government Agent obviously always been an eye-score to the devo- He breathed his last on September est. revival of Buddhism and restoring the proceeded from the promise that all tees. 13, 1913, with the satisfaction that he The Kingdom of Anuradhapura sacred city of Anuradhapura which he land that had not been declared by the The police were called in to quell the had been able to save the sacred city of came to be abandoned in 1017 with her identified with the departed glory of the Temple Lands Commission under ordi- uproar which they failed to do; first the Anuradhapura.

3) “Jeffrey says my computer just beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing.” But wit, sadly, is rare. Far more Morons rule as pandemic of common are folk like the person who insensitively announced on the Internet: “[Name} is sad that mom is dead and dad doesn’t look like he’s too far behind.” self-importance sweeps the world Possibly the stupidest status update line I ever saw on a social web- owned him) thought it worthwhile to site was this one: “Steve is sitting here broadcast this message to the world: wondering why all his friends are so “My mind is blank.” Tragic! Scientists dumb.” A few hours later, he didn’t have toiled for years to create the internet any friends. and it’s been hijacked by morons But going back to live examples demonstrating to the planet that they of self-importance, there have been sev- are morons. eral cases of celebrity couples organiz- Now I am not saying that all ing press conferences to announce that announcements need to be matters of they are still married. Think about it, great import. Press conferences at guys. If you feel the need to do that, you eware! A massive epidemic of office. That was his entire message. which celebrities apologize are often could, technically, have a press confer- ence every day. Monday: Still married. self-importance is sweeping the People suffering from the final gripping. And the following charming on my Facebook screen is: “Sarah Tuesday: Still married. Wednesday: Bworld. Sufferers humiliate them- stages of self-importance have taken pair of rather poetic announcements Morrison has done her duty.” Small fight over breakfast but still mar- selves by sharing utterly trivial infor- over the internet. As I write this col- has just appeared on Facebook: “Athena Intriguing. ried. Thursday, still married, just. The mation with the world. umn, a person has posted this Wong is listening to the rain” and A guy who calls himself sad thing is that the press would turn The first sign of the outbreak I saw announcement on Facebook: “I am “Mark Malby is sitting out in the chill of “Status King” has been collecting witty up to every single one. was at a press conference called by a thinking what to eat for lunch.” Even morning, watching dawn creep over the ones. Here are three from his collection: If you’ll excuse me, I just need to businessman who was expected to run worse, a guy called Horace yesterday world.” 1) “Ian feels like getting some work done alert the media that I have finished my for public office. Once the TV cameras tweeted this important newsflash to his The other web announcements and so he is sitting down until the feel- column and am now going to the toilet. were on, he announced that he had been followers on Twitter: “I am sitting here I like are mysterious ones. “Wyng Chow ing passes.” 2) “Sarah used to play thinking the matter over and decided doing nothing.” has a HOT lunch date,” says one, leav- sports. Then she realized you can buy Send ideas or comments via that he “may or may not” run for public A former friend of mine (I dis- ing us curious about whether he is talk- trophies. Now she’s good at everything.” ing about a girl or a curry or both. Also www.mrjam.org