Modi Inaugurating UN Vesak Day in Colombo on May 12 an Insult to Sri Lankan Buddhists
Posted on May 4th, 2017
Dilrook Kannangara
India has turned Buddhism into a political tool. His Holiness Dalai Lama is showcased as a political tool against China. Promising to reinstate Nalanda University, an ancient Buddhist university, Modi’s regime turned the Buddhist legacy of the place into a multi-faith and then a Hindu establishment.
Only 0.7% of Indians are Buddhists and most of them are discriminated against based on caste. Modi thinks Sri Lankans are fools to overlook his Trincomalee invasion just by distracting them by inaugurating UN Vesak Day in Colombo on May 12. If he has any regard for Buddhism and Sri Lankans, he should mind his own business in India without invading other countries, robbing their resources and imposing terms on them. No South Asian nation thinks good of India thanks to its bullying. Sri Lanka is India’s friendliest neighbor but India will lose the island nation soon unless it stops interfering in internal affairs of the nation. True friends of Lanka, including China, never interfere in domestic matters.
The purpose of Modi’s trip makes the insult even worse. He is not visiting the island nation for a peaceful purpose. His visit is to project Indian war-mongering against China and Pakistan. Although mixing warfare and Hinduism is historical, it is not the case with Buddhist celebrations. Then he moves on to the real purpose of the visit – Trincomalee. Excuses given to occupy Trincomalee vary. Once it was to build a coal power plant in Sampur. Then it turned to developing oil tanks, building a solar power facility, industrial zone, gas distribution station and a regional petroleum hub. None of this is true, as they make no economic sense.
Trincomalee has no economic worth; it only has military worth. India militarizes Trincomalee to project power against China and Pakistan. Sri Lanka will be seen as an Indian extension by these rival powers and target it needlessly. The last time India was in Trincomalee, the invasive Indian army massacred ethnic Sinhalese to appease Tamil terrorists. Indian interference will worsen ethnic tensions in the region leading to war again.
Modi will stay in the island until May 14. It was on May 14, Vesak day in 1985 that Tamil Hindu terrorists massacred 120 Buddhist civilians in Anuradhapura near the Sacred Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi with Indian weapons!
Given the nasty repercussions of Modi’s visit, he should have chosen a more appropriate date for his visit. India armed, trained and protected Tamil terrorists in 1970s and 1980s which pushed Lanka to the waiting arms of China and Pakistan. Modi’s hegemonic policies will also do just that. India has just lost its only friend in South Asia.
All Sri Lankans should hoist black flags on May 12 – 14 to protest Modi’s visit; a visit that marks the beginning of another Indian sponsored war.
May 4th, 2017 at 4:05 pm
What is so great about having Modi of India to inaugurate UN Wesak Day in Colombo ? Dilrook has correctly said it is UN Wesak Day. The fuss is because UN is using Buddhism like it uses Human rights to intervene into internal affairs of developing countries causing communal problems and political dissension.
Sri Lanka should not have accepted to celebrate Wesak under the UN Theme ““Buddhist Teachings for Social Justice and Sustainable World Peace.”
Wesak is a time for not celeberation but to understand the meaning of the teachings for breaking the bonds of Samsara by spending the day in meditation and understanding the meaninf of self discipline in terms of the teachings of the Buddha. One has to practice, generosity ( dansal etc for pilgrims), self discipline (sila) and meditation(bhavana). This is not an occation to have a big gathering to discuss using Buddhism for social Justice ans sustainable world peace.
The Buddhist teaching is for an individual effort to seek emancipâtion, and should be an example for others to follow. It is the individuals capacity to understand using the Dhamma for social interaction that would end in creating a peaceful environment which would if taken as an example be extended as a means for world peace.
Buddhism has no track with Christianity, Islamism or Hinduism.
Buddhism is a teaching above all that and cannot be restricted to only a celeberation during Wesak but extended as a way of living following the five precepts by every one without religious distinction. This UN Celeberation as it is has a different Agenda and therefore it should be scrapped as a day for propagating the importance of living with other religions without high lighting the difference between other religions and the Buddha Dhamma. Buddha Dhamma is a unique human experience where the roots of the true Dhamma is in Sri Lanka.
Therefore Buddhism should be Constitutionally protected in Sri Lanka as its heritage, and preserved as a World Heritage. Buddhism should be protected from being assailed by Christians, Muslims or Hindus. The Dhamma which should be burrowed by each and every other Nation and protected by each one of them to strengthen social justice,and peace within each of the Nations which would ultimately assure a sustainable World Peace.
May 4th, 2017 at 5:33 pm
It would have been an act of Vesak time kindness if the PM of INDIA apologises to Sri Lanka for all the devastating damage done to Lanka over nearly 30 years, owing to the LTTE being trained by INDIA in Tamil Nadu.
It would also be an act of Vesak time kindness if the PM of INDIA agrees that the 13-A which was illegally imposed on Sri Lanka by INDIA, can now be removed.
Bring in Real Vesak.
Bring in Real Kindness.
May 4th, 2017 at 5:36 pm
Fact Sheet :
INDIA’s main trading partners are China & USA.
INDIA has already signed 10 Border Agreements for Peace with China.
INDIA takes care of their own needs.
So should Lanka.
Both countries are members of the UN.
What does the UN do when a larger UN member country bullies to death a small neighboring country which is also a member of the UN ?
Where is the PROTECTION FROM THE UN ?
May 4th, 2017 at 8:15 pm
දෙයියනේ හින්දුත්වා අදිරදයා නරෙන්ද්ර මෝඩි සින්හල යටත් විජිතයට එන්නේ යටත් වැසියන්ගේ යහපතටද? මෝඩි බලයට ආවට පසුව ඉන්දියාවේ බොදුවන් ආපසු හින්දු කිරීම වේගවත්ව කරගෙනයයි. මෝඩි සින්හලයාගේ අවසානය සහතික කරයි. 2017 නරෙන්ද්රන් මෝඩි එන්නෙ මලේ නාඩුවල ඉන්දියානු පරපෝසිතයන්ට මේ බව කියන්න. 1927 දී මොහන්දාස් කරම්චාන්ඩ් ගාන්දි යාල්පානම් වලට ඇවිල්ල සින්හලයාගේ වලකැපීම පටන්ගත්ත ඉන්දියානු පරපෝසිතයන් එක්ක. සින්හලයනි වටහා ගන්න, එක්වන්න ඉන්දියානු අදිරදයට එරෙහිව නැගී සිටින්න.
Modi the Emperor is visiting the Indian Colony. He is going to celebrate the end of Sinhalese with Indian Colonists, Mohnadas Karamchand Gandhi visited Jaffna in 1927 and started wiping out of the Sinhalese with Indian colonists.
May 4th, 2017 at 8:39 pm
What is UN Vesak day????? Aren’t we ashamed of what is going on in this country????. When did we had a UN Vesak day before??? Who is this Moda Modi who is coming as chief guest for the celebration??? Aren’t there any buddhist leaders in the world to invite for this occasion??? What has happened to our Sinhalaya? Are they crazy to invite a Hindu for our great celebration of Vesak? Sira/Run nil two jokers not only playing with our lives but with our most sacred religion too. They should be cursed for what they are both doing to our country and specially to the SINHALA race.
We need to show dislike to all this by displaying black flags around the country and boycott UN sponsored festivals around the country. We are not Sudan or Tahiti. We are a sovereign nation with a great history. We should stand together to defeat our enemies within and outside the country. Fear no one. Stand unitedly my dear citizens.
May 5th, 2017 at 1:12 am
Only solution Island is wide protests during Modi’s visit against Indian over-extension to Sri Lanka – Monkey Bridge, ETCA, Trincomalee and other RAW projects. Protests should not be limited to Colombo or a few other cities. The best protests are those from individual homes raising black flags all over the nation.
Only development Sri Lanka can have is without ‘Indian Assistance’. India has never been a force for good anywhere in South Asia! Reason for the disaster that is called SAARC compared to ASEAN is mainly due to Indian belligerence and complicity in causing dissension, terrorism and havoc in all neighbouring countries.
India is a geo-political construct of the British Empire just as much as Indonesia is a geo-political construct of the Dutch.
India’s inability to solve her internal problems and mainly poverty makes it inherently unstable within its borders. Only things that unites Indians are perceived and imagined threat from her neighbours. The task of RAW is to manufacture such threats and institute projects to destabilise in the hope these measures show India as the hegemon in the region.
South Asian can only develop inspite of India! Individual consciousness of all citizens of Sri Lanka must be raised to understand the ever present Indian Threat!
Sarath Bulathsinghala
May 5th, 2017 at 2:21 pm
THIS IS REAL DECEPTION. TAMILS HAVE PRESSURED THE UN TO CELEBRATE THE WESAK WITH THIS HINDU, NON BUDDHIST MODI. WE DONT WANT MODI TO PUT HIS FINGER INTO A SRILANKA BUDDHIST CELEBRATION. PLEASE STAY AWAY. IS THIS A PART OF A SUBTLE ATTEMPT TO START BEGINING ANNEXING SRI LANKA TO INDIA. COMING EVENTS ARE CASTING THEIR SHADOWS. MODI, PLEASE TAKE YOUR FINGER OUT.
YES, BLACK FLAGS SHOULD CONVEY THE MESSAGE.
MODI, PLEASE DO NOT COME AND CREATE UNPLEASANTNESS IN OUR COUNTRY, WHILE WE CELEBRATE WESAK. DAMN IT IF YOU DO.