The Independence Memorial Museum

by Husna Inayathullah

There is a wooden door in the basement of the Independence Memorial Monument at Independence Square, Colombo 7 that opens into a museum which is unknown to many people. The musuem is worth visiting as it brings back memories of our historical journey to Independence.

It has information on the landmark historical developments, the great effort and the sacrifices made by our national heroes to gain Independence from the British. It provides a great deal of information about national heroes involved in the Independence struggle.

At the entrance to the museum, there is a sculpture of a group of people holding a circular structure. The group is representative of the ethnic diversity in the country, with a female figure representing the Christian community. Incidentally, this is the only female sculpture in the entire museum. The Museum has display boards depicting the names, images and information on political leaders, scholars, clergy, freedom fighters and the lay patriots who were at the centre of the struggle. The centre of the main Museum Gallery has 27 statues of these eminent leaders and patriots who have made an enormous contribution to the national struggle.

A prominent activist who led the Independent Movement, D. S. Senanayake occupies a significant place in the Museum with a special display compartment dedicated to exhibiting some of the items he used such as the telephone, walking stick, letter rack and paper weight.

The Museum also showcases how the revival of art, literature and language led to Independence with special display boards showcasing the images on publications, historical novels and paintings of those such as Martin Wickramasinghe and Kumaratunga Munidasa. In addition to exhibiting the arms and weapons used for the Independence struggle, the Museum highlights some of the landmark developments in history in the run up to Independence through snapshots and descriptive accounts.

The Museum has a special gallery that pays tribute to the soldiers who have sacrificed their lives during the three-decade- long civil war in Sri Lanka. It is titled 'War Heroes Commemoration Gallery' with their life accounts written on palm manuscripts and preserved for posterity.

The public can visit the Museum from 9 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. from Tuesday to Saturday by obtaining an entrance ticket. The Museum is closed on Sundays, Mondays and special public holidays.

Pix: Siripala Halwala