BOWATTE THERO'S MOTHER SPEAKS

The mother of Bowatte Indarathana Thero who protested against cattle slaughter and finally set himself on fire aged  65 years is in deep shock over her youngest son because of  his death.

The mother who was at the place where the body was lying in the house at Indigolla in Bowatte, Balangoda on and off fainted and fell down. Bringing to memories about the Thero, this is what she says:
 "Indarathana Thero is my youngest son. He has 3 elder brothers and 1 sister. Before he became a monk, his name was Indika Bandara. My husband died in 1999. One other son died in the war. At that time, my youngest son had sat for his O/Levels and he said that he wants to become a monk. I gave my consent. So he was ordained and after becoming a monk he was at Poronuwa Temple for some time. After higher ordination, he started working in various organisations. Our village is an agricultural one. As a matter of fact, it was a common fact to look after cattle. Even from the time he was small, my youngest son loved animals. He always despised cattle slaughter. I also heard that he was working against cattle slaughter. Later, he came forward for elections. He was later on chosen for the provincial council. Because of those duties of his, it was not possible to meet him much.

After all the children got married, I used to stay at my daughter's house. Indarathana Thero used to come two or three times an year to see me. Because of involvement in societies and organisations, he didn't keep a close relationship with us. But on occasions  he did come, he used to say things such as that cattle slaughter should be stopped and that there is no use of becoming a monk if no service is done to the country. But I never thought that our Thero who was to help us get over our samsara journey would set himself on fire. We never thought that he would come home like this".

The cremation proceedings of the monk is to be conducted under strict security.