30 March 2021 12:00 am
The Indian High Commission has sought to revive historical connections between Vidyalankara Pirivena and India, a statement said.
Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Mr. Gopal Bagley and Sri Lankan High Commissioner-designate to India Milinda Moragoda paid a joint visit to the Vidyalankara Pirivena at Peliyagoda.
According to the statement, They paid their respect to the Buddha relics which were donated by India to the Vidyalankara Pirivena in 1940.
They also called on the most Ven. Welamitiyawe Dharmakirthi Sri Kusala Dhamma Nayaka Thero, Chief of the Vidyalankara Pirivena during the visit.
The main thrust of the visit by High Commissioner Bagley was to revive historical connections between Vidyalankara Pirivena and India. The presentation contains the historical linkages between India and Vidyalankara Pirivena was made by Mr. Bertrum Liyanage, Director of the Office of Buddhist Encyclopaedia.
During the discussion, High Commissioner Bagley emphasised the paramount necessity of reviving historical, academic, research linkages that had existed between Vidyalankara Pirivena and similar institutions and personalities in India, and deepening people-to-people contacts between Sri Lanka and India. High Commissioner Bagley acknowledged the fact that the Vidyalankara Pirivena is one of the foremost learning centres in Sri Lanka which was instrumental in fostering relations between India and Sri Lanka at various levels.
In 1944, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was invited as the Chief Guest of the First Convocation of the Vidyalankara Pirivena and conferred him with an honorary title of “Vidyācakravari”. In 1959, then President of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad participated as the Chief Guest at the establishment of Vidyalankara University.
Among the prominent Indian personalities who visited the Vidyalankara Pirivena include Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore.
The Pathfinder Foundation is planning to celebrate 80 years of diplomatic relations between India and Sri Lanka in 2022 with focus on commemorating the appointment of Sir D. B. Jayatilaka in 1942 as the first Sri Lankan emissary to India who was a student of Vidyalankara Pirivena.
While High Commissioner Bagley was accompanied by Irina Thakur, First Secretary (Commerce and Culture), Mr. Moragoda was accompanied by Mr. Sumith Nakandala, Director at the Centre for Indo-Lanka Initiatives and Mr. Gamini Godakanda, Director, Media at the Pathfinder Foundation.