93rd death anniversary of Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam commemorated

Saturday, 13 January 2018 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The 93rd death anniversary of Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam was commemorated on 9 January at the Presidential Secretariat premises (old parliament premises).

The Chief Guest was Disaster Management Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa while Prison Reforms, Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Hindu Religious Affairs Minister D.M. Swaminathan was the Guest of Honour.

The welcome address was delivered by Trustee Dr. J.M. Swaminathan.

Minister Yapa gave a brief account of Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam’s life and career.

Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam was a scholar and statesman, administrator and patriot. When we consider Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam’s life as a whole, we come before a man of strong will, clear vision, character, industry and efficiency, who, having towered above the giants of his own day, still remains an example and inspiration to succeeding generations of Sri Lankans.

A short time after Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam’s death, people honoured his memory by erecting his statue in the grounds of the old parliament house, the present Presidential Secretariat premises.

It was unveiled by the then Governor, Sir Herbert Stanley, on 3 April 1930. It was the first statue to adorn this premises and stood in solitary splendour until the statue of his brother Ramanathan was erected in 1953.

The garlanding of the statue was done by the ministers Yapa and Swaminathan. Family members Sega Nagendra (Trustee), Nirmalan Nagendra and Prashan Nagendra and the members of Colombo North Hindu Paripalana Sangam and other distinguished personalities also garlanded the statue.