Press briefing of Cabinet Decision taken on 2020-03-04

Celebration of the 175th Anniversary of the Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka

- The Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka, established in the year 1845, is an institution set by the then administration of the Grate Britain to fulfill the main objectives of identifying the development and investment feasibility, preparation of the governing structure and launching of the academic research process to get an understanding on the historical and cultural background of the rural community of this country and having analyzed such information has assisted in the matters of the Government by making recommendations in that regard to the Government, during the colonial era. As such, it has functioned as a renowned institution during the colonial times of Grate Britain and the Governor General has functioned as the ex officio patron of the Society. At the same time, several famous scholars at the time like Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam, Messers H.C.P. Bell, Pole E. Peiris, P.E.P. Deraniyagala, Senarath Paranawithana, G.C. Mendis, C.E. Godakumbura and G.P. Malalasekara had functioned as active members of the Society.
The 175th Anniversary of this Society fell on the 07th of February this year and a special programme had been prepared to commemorate it. For the appreciation of the remarkable mission and the functions carried out by of the Society in respect of the progress of this country, the proposal made by the Hon. Prime Minister in his capacity as the Minister of Buddhasasana, Cultural and Religious Affairs, to allocate a provision amounting to Rs.15 million to cover the cost pertaining to the celebration of this anniversary, was approved by the Cabinet.