President Ranil Wickramasinghe said that a new institute will be established soon to study the history of Sri Lanka.
The President mentioned that the institution will be established by involving the National Museum, the Department of Archives, the Department of Archeology as well as the Cultural Triangle, Universities and the Royal Asiatic Society, and steps will be taken to finalize the relevant draft law as soon as possible.
President Ranil Wickramasinghe made these comments while attending the 178th celebration of the Royal Asiatic Society held recently (27) at the Mahaweli Centre.
President Ranil Wickramasinghe was also presented with the first copy of several publications of the Royal Asiatic Society.
Mr. Ranil Wickramasinghe, who further commented there, also said:
“Thank you all for inviting me to this event in the first place and also for providing me with some first copies of the Royal Asiatic Society (RAS) journals. A large number of first copies of these books were in my mother’s book collection. The copies were expected to be given to several institutions. But unfortunately, along with the struggle, those books were destroyed. So I can understand the fear of the people here regarding the struggle.
The Royal Asiatic Society in Sri Lanka and the Calcutta branch have also done valuable service in recording the history of this subcontinent. I think Chief Justice Alexander Johnson, George Turner and others like Vincent who became very famous in Calcutta did a very good job of exploring not only our history but also the history of India.
India does not have the recorded history that we have. Political commentators interpret India’s history by exploring the unwritten history and our Mahawanshaya. However, history has a tradition. We must maintain that history. It is very important for us. Also, we should work to protect that history. The Royal Asiatic Society’s effort to secure history for the future by exploring history is an action to be appreciated. I have read the originals of some of the journals of the Royal Asiatic Society. There are also a large number of photographs of great gentlemen such as Ramanathan and Arunachalam, as well as one of Sri Lanka’s leading writers, James de Alvis. It is truly a worthy act.
So the first thing I hope to do is start an institute for history. Before the end of this tenure, it should be discussed and a decision should be taken. For that, we are preparing a final draft that needs to be discussed with universities, the Department of Archeology and the Royal Asiatic Society. It is through the Institute for History that we will provide funds and government support for work in this field in the future.
First of all, the state of libraries needs to be explored and protected. Also the Royal Asiatic Society Libraries should be looked into. The museum and the National Archives Department should also be looked into. It is necessary to find out about the documents available in the public library. Because my grandfather gave a collection of Ferguson’s writings to Peradeniya University. Also Obeysekera has given another collection to universities. All these must be collected. Also, many universities have unpublished theses. We need to add them all. We have done many such history programs. I think investment projects are needed for this. Be it the university or the Royal Asiatic Society; you have to decide which project to take forward. We have one more problem to solve. The post-archaeological institution has been directed to draft a draft on how to provide money to solve the problems. After the final version of that draft comes, we will legally discuss it and appoint a committee. This committee can take further decisions about the Institute of Post-Archaeology. I think that this decision will lead many people to study history.
Currently, many people do not study history. And now history is different. There are different versions. Worst of all, archaeology has run its course. So we put them back on track and make it work to prioritize history. Also, a lot of work has been done in this regard. The main drawback of your library is the need to repair the air conditioning. The necessary money is provided by the government. After that, continue the conferences that were stopped due to the Covid epidemic in the past years. Investment opportunities can be provided through the new discourse that is being developed on this. We can also help with that.
Certainly when it comes to libraries, money is given to preserve books. After that we use our funds for the activities of the Institute of History. It is not an organization that you compete with. The institute will work together with the National Museum, National Archives, Department of Archeology and the Triangle of Culture, Universities and the Royal Asiatic Society. I believe that the interaction between the institutions can further enrich the knowledge related to this subject through a center that brings together all these institutions. Not only about the history of Sri Lanka, but attention should also be paid to culture. How to research history and culture? It is possible to find out where the past related to those facts is. Finally, this has the potential to investigate and resolve any problematic information recorded in the history of this subcontinent. Furthermore, if there are obstacles in the further implementation of these activities, the Ministry of Buddhist Affairs will provide you with the support you need.”
