Cabinet approval for National Anthem to be sung in Tamil

Cabinet approval for National Anthem to be sung in Tamil ....

on forthcoming National Day

Cabinet approval has been granted for the singing of the national anthem in Tamil at the National Day celebrations to be held on next February 04th. Cabinet Spokesman Minister Mr. Rajitha Senaratna has announced this across the media. What he says is that this step has been arrived at according

to a proposal put forward by the parliament cabinet sub-committee in relation to the identity of Sri Lanka. The Minister who says that among several proposals included in the list of proposals, the first one that was considered was that the national anthem is to be sung in both Sinhala and Tamil languages. He further stated that when this suggestion was brought forward before the Cabinet there was no objection raised by anybody but that only certain ideas emerged. Therefore, consent was forthcoming from the Prime Minister too and he said that on the commemoration festival scheduled to be held next 04th February the national anthem would be made to be sung in Sinhala as well as in the Tamil language, he mentioned. As such, this would be the first occasion when the national anthem would be sung at an Independence Day celebration.

In the process, Prime Minister Mr. Ranil Wickremasingha made a speech yesterday (28) in parliament for a period close upon half-hour and emphasised that some media were 'going on the hunt' by spreading racialism and that it should not be done in future.

The national anthem would be sung in Tamil in the following manner: