Are we agreed Prince Siddartha preached against all forms of tree and idol worship although the Buddhist clergy here imposes this on the Buddhists of this country? So the Bo tree is out from the precincts of the Buddhist temples and statues, right? At the sametime, larger India has more Bo trees than here and almost all places of worship – Hindu, Jain, Christian and even Muslim. Its time some group of rational Sinhala Buddhists, yourself included, do something about this and bring the tradition to fall in line with the preachings of the Enlightened One. If you will allow me some hyperbole it takes a lot more to “excite” me – so pls get that out of your mind.
I certainly have no objection if my friend Mahind Rajapakse makes his victory speech from Kilinochi soon – perhaps in the next few days as obliquely suggested by your friend Sarath Fonseka. But pls tell him even the Americans – with all the firepower and manpower numbers to their advantage did not engage in indiscriminate bombing harming a large number of civilian casulties in proportion to the larger size of Vietnam.
Here for every LTTEr killed over several hundreds of innocent civilian women, children and the elders are killed and maimed.
That is what I object to and I am glad many of my Sinhala brothers and sisters take to the Press and the streets with us on this. I am pleased with your assurance “a majority of the Sinhalese do not subsribe to the mind-frame I have high-lighted”

I have not stated that Sri Lanka is Sinhalese or that I am upset that Munneswaram is close to Colombo.

I am merely pointing out that the Bo tree is more a Buddhist tradition than a Hindu tradition.

Everywhere in the world, even in cold London, Buddhist temples have bo trees, often in heated glass conservatories, but there is no such tradition in Hindu temples, today, yesterday or 1000 years ago.

Just because I pointed this out is no reason for you to get excited and engage in some Sinhala attack on me as I am not a nationalist of any hue.

I understand that these days may be somewhat sensitive with the prospect of not Prabakaran, but Rajapakse who may deliver the hero’s day message from Kilinochchi, but let me assure you that a majority of the Sinhalese do not subscribe to the mind frame that you have highlighted, but simply want to cut Tamil nationalism and the LTTE down to size. I think they have succeeded. What do you say?

Sarath Fonseca is my friend, and I excuse his insensitive comments on the grounds that he studied at Ananda College, that ethnically pure Sinhala buddhist enclave.

This business of Sinhalese being asked to preserve the pristine purity of Buddhism is only good for local consumption. Larger numbers of Buddhists in Burma, Thailand, Japan, China jut to name a few are not audacious to make this foolish claim.

Or is Ranatunga’s problem Muneeswaram is far too close to Colombo. Friend, Silabam is part of Tamil-speaking Lanka for thousands of years. And so is Neercolumbu. Just because you have a larger number of soldiers and guns and the fact you they use force to change Manalaru to Weli Oya does not make that so. Learn something from Buddhadasa from Manipal and come out with better and sustainable argumentsin your impossible endeavour to establish the whole of the island has always belonged to the Sinhalese.

It never was. Take a hike to Anuradhapura and Pollanaruwa and take a look at the stone carvings – almost all of them are in Tamil. Of course today 82% of the population is Sinhalese but that does not mean one should try to distort history to fall in line with today’s political imperatives. If one is so proud of ones Sinhalaness start by having Sinhala names to your children – instead of those Arjunas, Arvindas, Kumars, Ranjeeths, Malingas, Sanjeevas, Bharathas, Sagaras and many thousands of cricketers et al.

There is hardly a single name of yore with the present Sinhala girls. They have all copied Tamil and Indian names.What’s wrong with Sinhala names like Somapala, Usurupala, Somawathi, Seelawathi and others. Here on the one hand you try to distance yourself from India and Indians and at the sametime unabashedly steal Indian names for your children.