New appointments were made to the Parliamentary Caucus for functioning towards safeguarding National Heritage recently.

According to a statement from the Parliament, MP Jayantha Samaraweera was appointed as the Chair of the Parliamentary Caucus for functioning towards safeguarding National Heritage.

MP Jayantha Samaraweera’s name was proposed by State Minister Sisira Jayakody and seconded by MP Weerasumana Weerasinghe.

The name of State Minister Sisira Jayakody was proposed for Deputy Chair by MP Gamini Waleboda and was seconded by MP Wimal Weerawansa, while MP Udaya Gammanpila proposed the name of MP (Prof.) Channa Jayasumana for Deputy Chair, which was seconded by MP Upul Mahendra Rajapaksha.

Addressing those present, the newly appointed Chair, MP Jayantha Samaraweera mentioned that the existing national heritages are not being preserved properly and there are still many places in the country that should be named as national heritages and their non-preservation has become a national problem. As a result, he stated that all the members of the Caucus are waiting to come together and prepare a formal program for this.

The Deputy Chair of the Caucus, State Minister Sisira Jayakody stated that not only physical places are considered as national heritage and that generational knowledge, medicine, various forms of mysticism etc, should also be considered and protected as national heritage.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chair (Prof.) Channa Jayasumana stated that it is said that there are about 600 unexploited inscriptions found in the North East. He pointed out that after Professor Senarath Paranavitana, Professor Mandis Rohanadeera made a great effort to understand these inscriptions, but there is still a lot left.

The importance of properly preserving national heritage sites and developing them as tourist attractions was also discussed. It was emphasized that national heritage belongs to all nations and national heritage is a source of pride in all nations for their motherland. Apart from that, it was also expressed that there should be a special division of the police which operates on the instructions of the Director General of Archeology to deal with national heritage.

The Members of Parliament further stated that it would be appropriate to appoint a sub-committee to deal with endangered and threatened national heritage. Such places exist in the North as well as in the South and to seek international support and assistance from local and foreign scholars for the preservation of these national heritages was also taken into discussion.

It was also discussed to prepare a program with a specific time frame for conducting the activities of the forum in a formal manner and appoint several sub-committees to facilitate the activities of the Caucus.

State Ministers Sisira Jayakody, (Dr.) (Ms.) Seetha Arambepola, MPs Wimal Weerawansa, (Dr.) Sarath Weerasekera, A. L. M. Athaullah, (Mrs.) Rohini Kumari Wijerathna, Udaya Gammanpila, Jagath Kumara Sumithraarachchi, Upul Mahendra Rajapaksha, (Prof.) Channa Jayasumana, Gamini Waleboda, Weerasumana Weerasinghe and the Secretary General of Parliament Kushani Rohanadeera were present at the Committee meeting. (NewsWire)

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The Cabinet of Ministers has approved listing the song “Danno Budunge Sri Dharmaskandha” as a national heritage based on its uniqueness.

The approval has been granted on the recommendation of the Special Committee appointed on the instructions of Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena.

According to the Prime Minister’s Office, as a song that has continued to influence the nation’s thoughts and aesthetic values for more than a century, “Danno Budunge Sri Dharmaskandha” has become popular since time immemorial. 

This song, which has been used continuously to express national pride and historical consciousness, can be considered a key factor in the study of the local genre of music and it will be an inspiration to the musicians of this country.

This will have a unique impact on building national identity. There is evidence that this song was used as a national anthem in festivals and other occasions until the current national anthem was officially selected, the PM’s office stated.

“Danno Budunge” is a song from the Sirisangabo stage drama (1903) by John de Silva which expresses the historical consciousness coloured by the environment of the contemporary Anuradhapura era. The melody has been composed by Mr. Vishwanath Lauji.

The Special Committee appointed by the PM has decided that there is no legal or other hindrance to making this song a national heritage and the committee has also emphasized that it is not affected by the intellectual law enforcement of the country.

The Special Committee is headed by Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils and Local Government Ministry Secretary K.D.N.Ranjith Ashoka. 

The Secretary of the Ministry of Buddhasasana and Cultural Affairs Somarathne Vidanapathirana, Director General of the Department of Archeology Prof. Anura Manatunga, Director of the Cultural Affairs Department Bhagya Katudeniya, President of Hela Haula Srinath Ganewatta, President of All Ceylon Buddhist Congress Chandra Nimal Vakistha, Literary scholar Sunil Sarath Perera, Musician Lionel Gunathilake, and Retired Ministry Secretary Kanthi Wijethunga are the other members of the committee. (NewsWire)

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