Veera Keppetipola commemorated

H.A.W. Hewawasam Kandy special cor

The Professor of Sociology of the University of Peradeniya, H.M.R.B. Herath delivering the 102nd Veera Monaravila Keppetipola Memorial lecture at Veera Keppetipola Memorial Hall of the Sri Vaishaka Dhana Sangraha Samithiya said there had been no evidence of any person who had faced the death so courageously other than Veera Monarawila Keppetipola - ordered the executioner to have him beheaded with one slash of the sword when he finished observing Pansil.

Finally having asked to have his upper shawl to be offered to the Sacred Tooth Relic - he faced his death for the sake of the country.

Though people say that not a single drop of blood had been shed to achieve our Independence, Professor Herath said that he completely reject that saying. He said real struggle of liberating the country run from the Anuradhapura period to the British period.

Senkadagala used to be a fortress of natural defence. The British found it to be difficult to seize and deployed their cunning strategies to disunite souther from the Kandyan Kingdom.

This found to be their success at conquering the Kandyan Kingdom. Our Kingdom was not offered to the British by the convention of 1815 what we called the Udarata Givisuma. The Maha Sangha finding that the British doing all the vandalism even destroying Buddhist Temples deployed his plan for the protection of the Buddhasasanaya, he said.

The British grabbed the lands of the Kandyan peasantry at Rupees two fifty for an acre and made Kandyan to perpetual pampers.

Ven. Diulkumbure Sri Saranankara Wimala Dhamma Anunayake Thera of the Malwatta Chapter presided.

The Mayor of Kandy Raja Pushpakumara said he would make arrangement to have the Veera Keppetipola oration to be held at the Kandy Municipal Council which the Governor of the Central Province and the Chief Minister too agreed to have the celebration in a National Level - which is an event of pride for the people of Kandy.

Agga Maha Panditha Aluthgama Dhammananda - Senior Karaka Shabhika Thera of the Malwatta Chapter said that he would be thankful to the President of the Vaishaka Danopakara Sangamaya P.G.D. Pathirana for organising the Keppetipole Memorial oration as well as other celebrations to have our National Heroes honoured.