Dr Sudath Gunasekara Mahanuwara.12.6.2022.
Every nation, some founded only a few decades ago, have a
national day in their calendar, celebrated with pomp and glory
to mark their nationhood and inspire their people, particularly
the younger generation for nation building, even if they don’t
have any longstanding heritage to commemorate.
But isn’t it a pity and a tragedy too, that we, in spite of the fact
of having an unusually a long and illustrious history of more
than 2500 years of a glorious past as a great nation, don’t have
any national day celebrations, as if we are a nation without any
history or civilization? The ill-effects of this lethargy have a
tremendous impact on nation building as they inhibit all
inspirations that should be injected for the younger generation
for nation building as a future robust and a vibrant nation in the
world.
Talking about national days, generally, it may be the founding
date of a nation or the date of independence from foreign rule ,
of becoming a republic and of becoming a federation. The
national day for every country is often a public holiday.
Denmark and the United Kingdom are said to be the only two
countries without a national day.
2 We, in this country, while still maintaining blind allegiance to
the British Empire, that has robbed our national wealth and
destroyed the age- old pristine heritage, continues to celebrate
it on the 4 th of February, calling it the day on which we are
supposed to have got independence from British rule, although
we are still tied down to the colonial clutches of British colonial
rule.
In 1972 May 22 nd after 24 years of so-called independence from
the British yoke, under Sirimavo Bandaranayake’s Government,
we declared ourself as an Independent Republic. Since then,
we celebrated the Republic Day as the national day (although it
was not called so) on the 22 nd of May each year up to 1977. The
unpatriotic government that was elected in 1977 again
reverted this to Feb 4 th the next year. Even the SLFP
government that came to power under Mrs Bandaranaike’s
own daughter in 1994 not only continued to celebrate feb 4 th as
the national day but also invited the aging Crown Prince Charles
as the chief guest of the occasion displaying the mental servility
inbuilt in her head as the leader of the nation, which is a
common trait that has infested the heads of all our political
leaders. Her successor Mahinda Rajapaksa who owes his entire
political achievements to Mrs B, also continued with the same
servility and had the national Day celebration on the 4 th pf
February. The pro-Western UNP Government that followed
continued the same slavish mentality and celebrated the
national Day on the 4 th of feb, calling it the Independence Day,
an independence we never got up to date. Nevertheless, if our
3 politicians wanted to celebrate independence say as the
National Day they should have done it more appropriately AT
LEAST on the 22 nd of May, the day we got real political
independence by becoming a fully Independent Republic. All
politicians who seek power in this country should at least now
cease to play the role of proxy mercenaries of the West and
change-over to be fully pledged patriots of their Motherland.
As for me personally I don’t agree for having the National Day,
even on that day as it was only a transitory event of minor
importance when we look in retrospect at the line of great
events in the annals of this once glorious nation for over a
period of over 2500 years. Of course, you can celebrate it as
the Republic Day.
Of all historical events in nation making in this country including
the founding day of the Sinhala Nation in 543 BC, I rate the
Poson Poya Day dawned on 307 BC as the most important and
culturally significant Day in the entire annals of history of this
Island nation as that was the day on which Buddhism was
officially introduced to this country. It was the advent of this
Greatest religion, man has ever heard and inherited on this
earth. Thus, the Sinhalese became the custodian Nation and Sri
Lanka the repository of the Supreme Wheel of Dhamma, a
religion, that was irreversible and never heard before or
preached in this world by any Brahmana, God or Maara or no
one else for that matter. It was the greatest and the deepest
doctrine and philosophy ever known to man on this earth and
4 the unparalleled religion the world ever knew, the perfections
and mysteries of which no other religion or scientific research
in this world has been able to reveal up to date.
Since the birth of the “Sinhala Buddhist Nation” had begun with
this unique and unparalleled religion, and Buddhism had
formed the solid hallmark of the entire fabrics of what came to
be called the Sinhala Buddhist civilization in the years that
followed, I consider that event not only as the most significant
and important and most appropriate event in the formation of
the Sinhala Nation but also as the most supreme legacy that we
have ever received from Bharath Desh.
It is in this backdrop I take the liberty to name it the most
important event in the formation of the Sinhala Buddhist
Nation on this planet.
Poson Poya Day in 307 BC revolutionized the nationhood of this
Island by laying the firm foundation of the Sinhala Buddhist
Nation in this world. Thus. a new Nation called the Sinhala
Buddhist Nation was born on this Day, on this soil under the
reign of King Devaanampiyatissa with the noble missionary and
blessings of Arahath Mahinda Mahaa Thera. That pristine
nation hood was jealously guarded and effectively protected by
our Kings and ancestors up to 1505, that marked the watershed
of destruction and devastation of a model of an advanced,
prosperous and peaceful human civilization on this earth.
There after it was destroyed and vandalized continuously by
three Abrahamic colonial powers up to 1948 the year when
5 handed over the government and administration to a
brainwashed and denationalized set of local lackeys of the
former colonial masters as their proxy mercenaries who
continued to follow suit by meekly carrying out the agenda set
by their masters since then, for their personal gain, sans any
understanding of their own past heritage and completely
destroyed a glorious nation that was in par with all ancient
civilizations like Roman, Greek. Indian and Chinese almost
beyond redemption.
The best example I can quote here is their attitude on the
National Day. They all continue to celebrate the so-called
Independence Day fixed by the British, when they left their
colony on 4 th Feb 1948 as the National day of this Great Nation
as if we were an uncivilized barbarian tribe civilized only by the
three Western nations in the post 15 th century, Portuguese,
Dutch and the British.
I have been agitating in vain for years demanding the
governments to declare Poson Poya Day as the National Day of
this Nation for the past so many years. But it has fallen on deaf
years of all Governments. Nobody took any notice of that
solitary call. It is no wonder that all the governments and the
general public take no interest in such patriotic calls as we have
ceased to be a patriotic nation long time ago, thanks to the
nefarious anti national activities of the three successive
Western colonial invaders, Portuguese, Dutch and finally, the
British as from 15o5 onwards up to 1948.
6 Isn’t it a big tragedy that none of our political leaders who were
supposed to have ruled this country since the so-called
independence in 1948 appears to have known that this country
had a well- developed nationhood millennia before most of the
present- day nations were even found? In fact, when we were
at the peak of advanced civilization most of them were
uncivilized barbarians unknown to the rest of the world.
I wish that the government that will be there next year at least
will declare the Poson Poya Day as the National Day of this
Island Nation and restore the lost pride and dignity of this
motherland and the Sinhala Nation and lay the foundation for
national resurrection.
Now that they have completely destroyed the once self-
sufficient Sri Lankan economy I call them to ignite a new life to
our national consciousness at least now, so that the posterity
will again build up the Sinhala nation, which was once a pride of
the whole world.