Asoka Hettigoda honoured with Ayurveda Ratna award in British Parliament

From left: Representative from the Indian High Commission Baroness Verma, Siddhalepa Group Managing Director Asoka Hettigoda, Dr. Shantha Godagama, Baroness Uddin, and Sri Lankan High Commissioner to UK Manisha Gunasekara

Britain’s Members of Parliament on 5 November acknowledged and honoured the work of the Hettigoda family and their services to Sri Lankan Ayurveda.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Indian Traditional Sciences of the House of Commons welcomed Asoka Hettigoda to address dignitaries and guests of the committee regarding Sri Lankan Ayurveda and work that his family has been devoted to for over 200 years.

Asoka received an award of recognition “Ayurveda Ratna” for the exceptional service of the highest order for the furtherance of Ayurveda. In addition, and on behalf of his family, Asoka also received an award honour of his ancestral lineage over six generations of Ayurvedic Physicians in Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lankan High Commissioner to UK Manisha Gunasekara along with representatives from the Indian High Commission, were guests of the group chaired by Baroness Verma alongside Baroness Uddin and other parliamentarians.

The accolade and speech by Hettigoda also coincided with one of the most important dates in British Parliamentary history (5 November 1605) when Guy Fawkes, a member of the gunpowder plot, failed to blow up Parliament along with King James I. The British Parliament marked and celebrated the event which took place over 400 years ago on the same.