Blank faces looked up at me. They knew it represented Sri Lanka but that was it. This blog post came to be not only as a source of information for my children, but also for all of you who might be interested to know more. The lion on the flag is first thought to have appeared when King Vijaya arrived in Sri Lanka from India.
He was the first recorded King of Sri Lanka who settled with followers somewhere between BC. So began the journey of the Lion in Sri Lankan history and it became a symbol that played a hugely significant role from then on. King Dutugemunu the Warrior King thought to have ruled somewhere between BC and BC was said to have carried a banner portraying a Lion, carrying a sword in his right paw along with the sun and the moon.
This flag remained in use till The 2nd March marked a moment in Sri Lankan history, as it was the first time that the whole island was colonised and came under British rule. The Union flag subsequently became the National Flag. The Dutch and Portuguese attempted to colonise the island too but never managed to take control of the island as a whole.
That however is a completely separate history lesson and blog post! This catapulted the Lion flag back into the lime light. It regained its popularity and on the 4th February , when the island gained its independence as a Dominion nation of the British Commonwealth, the Lion flag became the National flag. The necessity of a National Flag was discussed even before Sri Lanka gained independence on February 4th, This was debated and later Prime Minister Rt.
Senanayake named an Advisory Committee for the formulation of a National Flag. The Members of the Committee were Mr. Jayewardene, Mr. Jayah, Dr. Rajapakse, Mr. Ponnambalam and Senator S. Nadesan, and Dr. Senarath Paranavithana Secretary. Although a Committee for the formulation of a national flag was appointed no finality had been reached when the first Independence Day was celebrated on February 4th, However the Lion Flag fluttered on that day.
Prime Minister D. Senanayake unfurled the Lion Flag at the Octagon Pattirippuwa during the Independence celebrations held in Kandy on February 12th, I have seen two different versions of the flag adopted in February One is a yellow lion holding a sword in the right hand facing the hoist on a dark red background with four yellow silhouettes of a Buddhist pagoda in four corners with a yellow border and a black thin border inside. When the legendary King Dutugemunu embarked on the campaign in which he defeated the Tamil King Elara, who had occupied part of Sri Lanka, he carried with him a banner which portrayed a lion carrying a sword on his right forepaw along with two other symbols, the Sun and the Moon.
The government of British Ceylon used its own flag. As the years passed, the design of the flag was forgotten by the Sri Lankan public. Then, as the independence movement in Sri Lanka gained strength in the early 20th century, E. Perera, a prominent figure of the independence movement with the help of D. A picture of it was subsequently published in a special edition of the Dinamina newspaper to mark years since the end of Sri Lankan independence. The Lion flag then became a centrepiece of attraction to the public, who for the first time since the fall of the Kandyan Kingdom were now aware of its actual design.
The first Prime Minister of independent Ceylon Hon. Senanayake, hoisted the Lion Flag at the ceremony on February 4, This flag depicted a yellow lion holding a sword in the right hand, facing the hoist, on a dark red background, with a yellow border, with four pinnacles of a Buddhist dagaba in the four corners.
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