Story that the Lion is to be removed ....

Story that the Lion is to be removed ....

from National Flag

Though the National Anthem was sung in Tamil Language at the last Independence Day Commemoration Celebrations and it was subjected to

criticism as well as praise from various corners, such comments had no sufficient matter in them to provoke any racist issue as such.

In the process, the new opinion that has surfaced these days is that since displaying the Lion on the national flag has been the root cause for racist problems, there is a rumour that the government is getting ready to dispose of that emblem. What is inferred by that idea is that the Lion would be removed from the national flag and instead for it to be replaced by a symbol depicting brotherhood among the public at large, in the national flag. However it is uncertain as to who had brought forward such a suggestion and from where such a rumour crept into the media. When enquiring further into this matter, what was reported was that there is a rumour that a proposal has cropped up that this particular amendment should be carried out at the new constitution in the future. It was also reported that when the committee to enquire into public opinion gathered together in respect of the new constitution for the second day at the Mannar District Secretariat office, it was supposed to have been forwarded to the relevant committee, it was reported.  

This proposal had been put forward when officers including Messrs. Wijendran, Lal Wijeynayaka and S. Thavarasa of the committee to enquire into opinions of the public to prepare the constitution had assembled at the Mannar District Secretariat. A lady representative of the Mannar District Women's Organization expressing ideas in this respect said to the media that only the Sinhalese community is reflected by the emblem of the Lion in the national flag and that at present everybody lives with a sense of 'togetherness' and therefore an emblem that signifies or portrays and covers all races should be inserted where the national flag is concerned.

Whatever it is, this happens to be just one of those proposals only and no dialogue or approval has been still forthcoming in that connection.