Features
Rediscovering Lumbini: Birth place of Prince Siduhath
by Geewananda Gunawardana, Ph.D.
There is no doubt that this title itself will bring bemusement to the denizens of the land of Mahavamsa. An entire nation failing to recall such an important place may seem impossible, but up until the colonial occupiers started probing the past in the 19th century, the historical significance, or the geographical location of Lumbini had been completely erased from the collective memory of India and Nepal.
The history of India is undoubtedly one of the richest in the world, yet it is one of the least recorded ones as well. The chronicles of the surrounding countries have done a better job in capturing the history of this great land than its own esteemed epics, poems, and legends. For example, the Sri Lankan chronicles Deepavamsa and Mahavamsa were crucial in uncovering the origins of Buddhism and the role Emperor Asoka played in spreading it in Asia. As a result of this paucity of endogenous information, when the British started the Asiatic Society in 1784 to further Oriental Research, they were not aware that India was the birthplace of Buddhism. Observing the curly, short hair depicted on statues and carvings being discovered, they assumed that those antiquities belonged to an African cult. For a time, they confused Sri Lankan king Devanam Piya Tissa with the Devanam Piya (Asoka) of India and wondered why a Sri Lankan king would have erected commemorative pillars in India. Even today, despite years of investigations, the origins of the magnificent Bharhut temple remains a mystery.
Over 1.5 million devotees, 60 thousand of them Sri Lankans, visited Lumbini, Nepal in 2019 before the pandemic disrupted travels. However, as late as the early 20th century, there were no proper roads or facilities available for visitors. The visitors had to go on horseback or ride elephants and carry all their supplies with them. The first recorded visit to Lumbini after Parinirvana was by Emperor Asoka in the year 249 BCE. Asokawadana, a 2nd century Sanskrit poem, describes how Emperor Asoka broke down in tears when he was taken to Lumbini and explained what happened there by his spiritual teacher Upagupta. The last recorded visit prior to the 19th century developments was in 1312 by Ripu Malla King of Kathmandu. After that, the place was neglected, forgotten, and remained elusive to the modern world until 1896, hidden among groves of sal trees, only frequented by wild beasts and the few hunters who go after them.
It was Dr. Francis Buchanan, a surgeon turned botanist, charged with statistical surveys of the occupied territories by the governor of Bengal, that learned the connection between India and the founder of the religion of Ava or Inwa, a kingdom of Myanmar, known as Boodh. Based on information he gathered during his visits to Ava and Katmandu, he published a paper in 1797, the first English document describing “Buddhism,” although he did not use this term. During the next hundred years, major advances were made in the fields of Indian history and archeology. Even though epics such as Mahavamsa had textual information, it was these 19th century developments that enabled the construction of a coherent, evidence-based story that connected the localities and peoples referenced in the historical texts to present day places.
Interests of the Asiatic Society were mainly academic; driven by the curiosity of the strange land they conquered. It did not do much for exploration or preservation of Indian archaeological sites. That had to wait until the establishment of the Indian Archaeological Survey in 1862 with Alexander Cunningham, an army engineers, as its head. However, haphazard digging of ancient ruins by cavalier Indologists looking for valuables or building materials continued unabated. From a hindsight, one cannot stop wondering how much more physical evidence for Buddha and his life could have come to light if these sites were left for systematic archaeological explorations later. Unfortunately, the same could be said about burning of the libraries at Alexandria by Romans, Nalanda by Islamic invaders, or Aluvihara temple, where the Tipitaka was written, by the British in 1848.
A landmark development of this time was the deciphering of the Brahmi and Kharosthi alphabets in 1837 by James Prinsep, the Assay Master of the government mint in Benares. This provided access to inscriptions that were found in increasing numbers on pillars, rocks, and other ruins. A wide-ranging collaboration between civil servants stationed in British colonies enabled the reconstruction of the Indian history of the second half of the first millennium BCE, that has escaped from the collective memory of India. The information from Sri Lankan sources came from the reports of Robert Knox (1641-1720), and civil servants George Turnour (1799-1843) and Alexander Johnston (1775-1849) who translated historical documents. Later, they were supplemented by the works of Rhys Davids (1843 1922) and Hugh Nevill (1847-1897). At the same time, the classic poem The Light of Asia by Sir Edwin Arnold (1832-1904), published in 1879, kindled the Western interests on Buddhism with its mystique laden description of Buddha’s life.
However, the crucial information for the geographical locations of historical sites relevant to Buddha’s life came from two Chinese sources: the travelogues of Fa Hian and Huan Tsang. Fa Hian (Faxian, 337-422 CE) spent ten years in India and two years in Sri Lanka from 380 to 413 CE while Huan Tsang (Xuanzang, 602—664 CE) spent sixteen years in India from 627 to 643 CE. Both kept detailed records of their travels, and copied or translated many local texts to be taken back to China. It is incredible that they managed to travel such vast distances, collect that much information, and take them back to China with the limited facilities available at the time. Interestingly, according to some documents, Fa Hian and Buddhagosha had met briefly at sea while traveling to and from Sri Lanka. The Chinese travelogues contained relative positions of the sacred sites they visited: the distances, travel times, and direction of travel to reach them as well as detailed descriptions of the sites.
Bodhgaya was the first to be identified as an important Buddhist landmark, and it was Francis Buchanan who made the connection. While conducting his first statistical survey of the regions West of Calcutta in 1811, Buchana came upon the village of Gaya. He was astonished to see that all structures of the village were constructed of salvaged materials, bricks, and decorated stones of varying sizes. A local Brahmin had confirmed that they came from older constructions found abundantly in the countryside, but of unknown origin. Buchanan also observed that most of the ancient statues, carvings, and decorations were repurposed in the Hindu shrines. A statue of a Hindu deity was found to be a Buddha statue altered with clay and paint. Buchanan identified Bodhgaya as the place that the Chinese travelers described as the place where Siduhath attained enlightenment. The completion of excavation and restoration of the Bodhgaya temple complex was left to the Archaeological survey led by Cunningham after a failed restoration effort by a group sent by the King of Ava in 1879. The role of Mahabodhi society and Anagarika Dhamrmapala in this effort need not be repeated here. Bodhgaya was the first historical place associated with Buddha to be identified by modern Indologists.
After reconstructing the time and life of Emperor Asoka, most of the sites connected with the Buddha’s life were identified, excavated, and restoration works initiated by the year 1890. However, out of the four places most important to Buddhists, Lumbini, the birthplace of Prince Siduhath had not been located. The Indian Archeological Survey was broken-up in 1889, and exploration and preservation were neglected. This gave the local administrators the authority to do what they thought was best, thereby giving the opportunity for anyone to become an armature archeologist.
Two types of people entered the race to find other the remaining undiscovered important sites described in the texts, including Lumbini. First were the government officials who tried to follow the topographical directions provided in the Chinese documents. Two such professionals were Vincent Smith, who rose through the ranks to become District Magistrate and Collector and Dr. Lawrence Waddell, an officer in the Indian Medical Service. The second type were the property owners who could dig anything in their property at will. During one such random dig of a mound, a potsherd and some bone fragments were recovered, but were thrown in the river by the disappointed excavator. The interpretation of the inscriptions found there on a later date revealed that it was Buddha’s alms bowl that was thrown away.
A third type comes into the story of Lumbini in the form of one Dr. Alois Fuhrer (1853-1930). Many documents credit him with the discovery of Lumbini, but there is another, darker side to that story. He was a German Indologist working as a low-level officer for the North-Western province. His “involvement” with the discovery of Lumbini and Piprahwa relics brought him immense publicity and respect. He was adorated so much by Buddhists that one Mahabodhi Society report claimed he would become a Buddhist monk in Sri Lanka. It took a while to come to light that he was a “a forger and dealer in fake antiquities.” The unfortunate association of this shadowy figure cast doubts about the authenticity of several archeological finds of that time. What follows is an account of the lesser-known side of the Lumbini story.
The two professionals, Smith and Waddell worked independently of each other but were guided by the same information provided by Fa Hien, Huan Tsang, and the previous fieldwork by Cunningham. They both concluded that Cunningham’s earlier identifications of Bhuila and Kesia as Kapilavastu and Kusinagara, respectively, were incorrect. The geography of the Gangetic plains had shifted significantly from the time of Fa Hien and Huan Tsang due to annual flooding of the river. Cunningham assumed that Pataliputra must have been swept away leading to this mistaken identity.
After several unsuccessful explorations, Waddell managed to locate Pataliputra, emperor Asoka’s capital, just outside the present-day town of Patna. He was aided by numerous accidental finds of archaeological artefacts surfaced during several construction projects. A cartload of statues was taken away by an overseer and disappeared never to be found on one such occasion. Elaborately carved stonework had been used to build a dam. Confirmation of the location of Pataliputra gave another reference point for siting Lumbini. Based on the cartographic information given by Fa Hian, Huan Tsang, and a Tibetan Pilgrimage Guide, Waddell postulated the locations of Lumbini and Kapilavastu relative to Pataliputra and send a proposal to the government to carry out excavations.
Waddell’s proposal was approved but he was unable to carry out the work as he was assigned other duties. First, he was sent to a war front, and then appointed as the Professor of Chemistry and Pathology at Calcutta Medical College. In Dr. Waddell’s absence, Dr. Alois Fuhrer, the same person who would later come out as a fake, was appointed to carry out this work.
(To be continued)
by Dr Gotabhya Ranasinghe
Senior Consultant Cardiologist
National Hospital Sri Lanka
When we sought a meeting with Hon Dr. Ramesh Pathirana, Minister of Health, he graciously cleared his busy schedule to accommodate us. Renowned for his attentive listening and deep understanding, Minister Pathirana is dedicated to advancing the health sector. His openness and transparency exemplify the qualities of an exemplary politician and minister.
Dr. Palitha Mahipala, the current Health Secretary, demonstrates both commendable enthusiasm and unwavering support. This combination of attributes makes him a highly compatible colleague for the esteemed Minister of Health.
Our discussion centered on a project that has been in the works for the past 30 years, one that no other minister had managed to advance.
Minister Pathirana, however, recognized the project’s significance and its potential to revolutionize care for heart patients.
The project involves the construction of a state-of-the-art facility at the premises of the National Hospital Colombo. The project’s location within the premises of the National Hospital underscores its importance and relevance to the healthcare infrastructure of the nation.
This facility will include a cardiology building and a tertiary care center, equipped with the latest technology to handle and treat all types of heart-related conditions and surgeries.
Securing funding was a major milestone for this initiative. Minister Pathirana successfully obtained approval for a $40 billion loan from the Asian Development Bank. With the funding in place, the foundation stone is scheduled to be laid in September this year, and construction will begin in January 2025.
This project guarantees a consistent and uninterrupted supply of stents and related medications for heart patients. As a result, patients will have timely access to essential medical supplies during their treatment and recovery. By securing these critical resources, the project aims to enhance patient outcomes, minimize treatment delays, and maintain the highest standards of cardiac care.
Upon its fruition, this monumental building will serve as a beacon of hope and healing, symbolizing the unwavering dedication to improving patient outcomes and fostering a healthier society.We anticipate a future marked by significant progress and positive outcomes in Sri Lanka’s cardiovascular treatment landscape within the foreseeable timeframe.
by Fr. Emmanuel Fernando, OMI
Jesuit Fr. Aloysius Pieris (affectionately called Fr. Aloy) celebrated his 90th birthday on April 9, 2024 and I, as the editor of our Oblate Journal, THE MISSIONARY OBLATE had gone to press by that time. Immediately I decided to publish an article, appreciating the untiring selfless services he continues to offer for inter-Faith dialogue, the renewal of the Catholic Church, his concern for the poor and the suffering Sri Lankan masses and to me, the present writer.
It was in 1988, when I was appointed Director of the Oblate Scholastics at Ampitiya by the then Oblate Provincial Fr. Anselm Silva, that I came to know Fr. Aloy more closely. Knowing well his expertise in matters spiritual, theological, Indological and pastoral, and with the collaborative spirit of my companion-formators, our Oblate Scholastics were sent to Tulana, the Research and Encounter Centre, Kelaniya, of which he is the Founder-Director, for ‘exposure-programmes’ on matters spiritual, biblical, theological and pastoral. Some of these dimensions according to my view and that of my companion-formators, were not available at the National Seminary, Ampitiya.
Ever since that time, our Oblate formators/ accompaniers at the Oblate Scholasticate, Ampitiya , have continued to send our Oblate Scholastics to Tulana Centre for deepening their insights and convictions regarding matters needed to serve the people in today’s context. Fr. Aloy also had tried very enthusiastically with the Oblate team headed by Frs. Oswald Firth and Clement Waidyasekara to begin a Theologate, directed by the Religious Congregations in Sri Lanka, for the contextual formation/ accompaniment of their members. It should very well be a desired goal of the Leaders / Provincials of the Religious Congregations.
Besides being a formator/accompanier at the Oblate Scholasticate, I was entrusted also with the task of editing and publishing our Oblate journal, ‘The Missionary Oblate’. To maintain the quality of the journal I continue to depend on Fr. Aloy for his thought-provoking and stimulating articles on Biblical Spirituality, Biblical Theology and Ecclesiology. I am very grateful to him for his generous assistance. Of late, his writings on renewal of the Church, initiated by Pope St. John XX111 and continued by Pope Francis through the Synodal path, published in our Oblate journal, enable our readers to focus their attention also on the needed renewal in the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka. Fr. Aloy appreciated very much the Synodal path adopted by the Jesuit Pope Francis for the renewal of the Church, rooted very much on prayerful discernment. In my Religious and presbyteral life, Fr.Aloy continues to be my spiritual animator / guide and ongoing formator / acccompanier.
Fr. Aloysius Pieris, BA Hons (Lond), LPh (SHC, India), STL (PFT, Naples), PhD (SLU/VC), ThD (Tilburg), D.Ltt (KU), has been one of the eminent Asian theologians well recognized internationally and one who has lectured and held visiting chairs in many universities both in the West and in the East. Many members of Religious Congregations from Asian countries have benefited from his lectures and guidance in the East Asian Pastoral Institute (EAPI) in Manila, Philippines. He had been a Theologian consulted by the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences for many years. During his professorship at the Gregorian University in Rome, he was called to be a member of a special group of advisers on other religions consulted by Pope Paul VI.
Fr. Aloy is the author of more than 30 books and well over 500 Research Papers. Some of his books and articles have been translated and published in several countries. Among those books, one can find the following: 1) The Genesis of an Asian Theology of Liberation (An Autobiographical Excursus on the Art of Theologising in Asia, 2) An Asian Theology of Liberation, 3) Providential Timeliness of Vatican 11 (a long-overdue halt to a scandalous millennium, 4) Give Vatican 11 a chance, 5) Leadership in the Church, 6) Relishing our faith in working for justice (Themes for study and discussion), 7) A Message meant mainly, not exclusively for Jesuits (Background information necessary for helping Francis renew the Church), 8) Lent in Lanka (Reflections and Resolutions, 9) Love meets wisdom (A Christian Experience of Buddhism, 10) Fire and Water 11) God’s Reign for God’s poor, 12) Our Unhiddden Agenda (How we Jesuits work, pray and form our men). He is also the Editor of two journals, Vagdevi, Journal of Religious Reflection and Dialogue, New Series.
Fr. Aloy has a BA in Pali and Sanskrit from the University of London and a Ph.D in Buddhist Philosophy from the University of Sri Lankan, Vidyodaya Campus. On Nov. 23, 2019, he was awarded the prestigious honorary Doctorate of Literature (D.Litt) by the Chancellor of the University of Kelaniya, the Most Venerable Welamitiyawe Dharmakirthi Sri Kusala Dhamma Thera.
Fr. Aloy continues to be a promoter of Gospel values and virtues. Justice as a constitutive dimension of love and social concern for the downtrodden masses are very much noted in his life and work. He had very much appreciated the commitment of the late Fr. Joseph (Joe) Fernando, the National Director of the Social and Economic Centre (SEDEC) for the poor.
In Sri Lanka, a few religious Congregations – the Good Shepherd Sisters, the Christian Brothers, the Marist Brothers and the Oblates – have invited him to animate their members especially during their Provincial Congresses, Chapters and International Conferences. The mainline Christian Churches also have sought his advice and followed his seminars. I, for one, regret very much, that the Sri Lankan authorities of the Catholic Church –today’s Hierarchy—- have not sought Fr.
Aloy’s expertise for the renewal of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka and thus have not benefited from the immense store of wisdom and insight that he can offer to our local Church while the Sri Lankan bishops who governed the Catholic church in the immediate aftermath of the Second Vatican Council (Edmund Fernando OMI, Anthony de Saram, Leo Nanayakkara OSB, Frank Marcus Fernando, Paul Perera,) visited him and consulted him on many matters. Among the Tamil Bishops, Bishop Rayappu Joseph was keeping close contact with him and Bishop J. Deogupillai hosted him and his team visiting him after the horrible Black July massacre of Tamils.
Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement
By Gomi Senadhira
senadhiragomi@gmail.com
“You might tell fairy tales, but the progress of a country cannot be achieved through such narratives. A country cannot be developed by making false promises. The country moved backward because of the electoral promises made by political parties throughout time. We have witnessed that the ultimate result of this is the country becoming bankrupt. Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet.” – President Ranil Wickremesinghe, 2024 Budget speech
Any Sri Lankan would agree with the above words of President Wickremesinghe on the false promises our politicians and officials make and the fairy tales they narrate which bankrupted this country. So, to understand this, let’s look at one such fairy tale with lots of false promises; Ranil Wickremesinghe’s greatest achievement in the area of international trade and investment promotion during the Yahapalana period, Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SLSFTA).
It is appropriate and timely to do it now as Finance Minister Wickremesinghe has just presented to parliament a bill on the National Policy on Economic Transformation which includes the establishment of an Office for International Trade and the Sri Lanka Institute of Economics and International Trade.
Was SLSFTA a “Cleverly negotiated Free Trade Agreement” as stated by the (former) Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate on the SLSFTA in July 2018, or a colossal blunder covered up with lies, false promises, and fairy tales? After SLSFTA was signed there were a number of fairy tales published on this agreement by the Ministry of Development Strategies and International, Institute of Policy Studies, and others.
However, for this article, I would like to limit my comments to the speech by Minister Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate, and the two most important areas in the agreement which were covered up with lies, fairy tales, and false promises, namely: revenue loss for Sri Lanka and Investment from Singapore. On the other important area, “Waste products dumping” I do not want to comment here as I have written extensively on the issue.
1. The revenue loss
During the Parliamentary Debate in July 2018, Minister Samarawickrama stated “…. let me reiterate that this FTA with Singapore has been very cleverly negotiated by us…. The liberalisation programme under this FTA has been carefully designed to have the least impact on domestic industry and revenue collection. We have included all revenue sensitive items in the negative list of items which will not be subject to removal of tariff. Therefore, 97.8% revenue from Customs duty is protected. Our tariff liberalisation will take place over a period of 12-15 years! In fact, the revenue earned through tariffs on goods imported from Singapore last year was Rs. 35 billion.
The revenue loss for over the next 15 years due to the FTA is only Rs. 733 million– which when annualised, on average, is just Rs. 51 million. That is just 0.14% per year! So anyone who claims the Singapore FTA causes revenue loss to the Government cannot do basic arithmetic! Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, I call on my fellow members of this House – don’t mislead the public with baseless criticism that is not grounded in facts. Don’t look at petty politics and use these issues for your own political survival.”
I was surprised to read the minister’s speech because an article published in January 2018 in “The Straits Times“, based on information released by the Singaporean Negotiators stated, “…. With the FTA, tariff savings for Singapore exports are estimated to hit $10 million annually“.
As the annual tariff savings (that is the revenue loss for Sri Lanka) calculated by the Singaporean Negotiators, Singaporean $ 10 million (Sri Lankan rupees 1,200 million in 2018) was way above the rupees’ 733 million revenue loss for 15 years estimated by the Sri Lankan negotiators, it was clear to any observer that one of the parties to the agreement had not done the basic arithmetic!
Six years later, according to a report published by “The Morning” newspaper, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) on 7th May 2024, Mr Samarawickrama’s chief trade negotiator K.J. Weerasinghehad had admitted “…. that forecasted revenue loss for the Government of Sri Lanka through the Singapore FTA is Rs. 450 million in 2023 and Rs. 1.3 billion in 2024.”
If these numbers are correct, as tariff liberalisation under the SLSFTA has just started, we will pass Rs 2 billion very soon. Then, the question is how Sri Lanka’s trade negotiators made such a colossal blunder. Didn’t they do their basic arithmetic? If they didn’t know how to do basic arithmetic they should have at least done their basic readings. For example, the headline of the article published in The Straits Times in January 2018 was “Singapore, Sri Lanka sign FTA, annual savings of $10m expected”.
Anyway, as Sri Lanka’s chief negotiator reiterated at the COPF meeting that “…. since 99% of the tariffs in Singapore have zero rates of duty, Sri Lanka has agreed on 80% tariff liberalisation over a period of 15 years while expecting Singapore investments to address the imbalance in trade,” let’s turn towards investment.
Investment from Singapore
In July 2018, speaking during the Parliamentary Debate on the FTA this is what Minister Malik Samarawickrama stated on investment from Singapore, “Already, thanks to this FTA, in just the past two-and-a-half months since the agreement came into effect we have received a proposal from Singapore for investment amounting to $ 14.8 billion in an oil refinery for export of petroleum products. In addition, we have proposals for a steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million), sugar refinery ($ 200 million). This adds up to more than $ 16.05 billion in the pipeline on these projects alone.
And all of these projects will create thousands of more jobs for our people. In principle approval has already been granted by the BOI and the investors are awaiting the release of land the environmental approvals to commence the project.
I request the Opposition and those with vested interests to change their narrow-minded thinking and join us to develop our country. We must always look at what is best for the whole community, not just the few who may oppose. We owe it to our people to courageously take decisions that will change their lives for the better.”
According to the media report I quoted earlier, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) Chief Negotiator Weerasinghe has admitted that Sri Lanka was not happy with overall Singapore investments that have come in the past few years in return for the trade liberalisation under the Singapore-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement. He has added that between 2021 and 2023 the total investment from Singapore had been around $162 million!
What happened to those projects worth $16 billion negotiated, thanks to the SLSFTA, in just the two-and-a-half months after the agreement came into effect and approved by the BOI? I do not know about the steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million) and sugar refinery ($ 200 million).
However, story of the multibillion-dollar investment in the Petroleum Refinery unfolded in a manner that would qualify it as the best fairy tale with false promises presented by our politicians and the officials, prior to 2019 elections.
Though many Sri Lankans got to know, through the media which repeatedly highlighted a plethora of issues surrounding the project and the questionable credentials of the Singaporean investor, the construction work on the Mirrijiwela Oil Refinery along with the cement factory began on the24th of March 2019 with a bang and Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and his ministers along with the foreign and local dignitaries laid the foundation stones.
That was few months before the 2019 Presidential elections. Inaugurating the construction work Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said the projects will create thousands of job opportunities in the area and surrounding districts.
The oil refinery, which was to be built over 200 acres of land, with the capacity to refine 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day, was to generate US$7 billion of exports and create 1,500 direct and 3,000 indirect jobs. The construction of the refinery was to be completed in 44 months. Four years later, in August 2023 the Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal presented by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to cancel the agreement with the investors of the refinery as the project has not been implemented! Can they explain to the country how much money was wasted to produce that fairy tale?
It is obvious that the President, ministers, and officials had made huge blunders and had deliberately misled the public and the parliament on the revenue loss and potential investment from SLSFTA with fairy tales and false promises.
As the president himself said, a country cannot be developed by making false promises or with fairy tales and these false promises and fairy tales had bankrupted the country. “Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet”.
(The writer, a specialist and an activist on trade and development issues . )
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