Sri Lanka Matha (Sinhala: ශ්රී ලංකා ජාතික ගීය, Tamil: சிறீ லங்கா தாயே) is the national anthem of Sri Lanka. The words and music, written by Ananda Samarakoon in 1940, were officially adopted as the national anthem in 1951.
The song was officially adopted as the national anthem of Ceylon on November 22, 1951, by a committee headed by Sir Edwin Wijeyeratne. The anthem was translated into the Tamil language by M. Nallathamby.1
The first line of the anthem originally read: Namo Namo Matha, Apa Sri Lanka. There was some controversy over these words in the 1950s, and in 1961 they were changed to their present form, Sri Lanka Matha, Apa Sri Lanka, without Samarakoon's consent.1 Samarakoon committed suicide in 1962 apparently due to the change in words.citation needed
Although the Sinhala version of the anthem is used at official/state events, the Tamil translation is also sung at some events.1 The Tamil translation is used at official events held in the Tamil speaking regions in the North and East of Sri Lanka.1 The Tamil translation is sung at Tamil medium schools throughout the country.1 The Tamil translation was used even during the period when Sinhala was the only official language of the country (1956–87).1
Tamil version controversy
On 12 December 2010 The Sunday Times reported that the Cabinet of Sri Lanka headed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa had taken the decision to scrap the Tamil translation of Sri Lanka Matha at official and state functions, as "in no other country was the national anthem used in more than one language" (sic).3 The Cabinet's decision had followed a paper on the national flag and national anthem produced by Public Administration and Home Affairs Minister W. D. J. Senewiratne.1 The paper had drawn on the Singaporean model where the national anthem is sung in the official lyrics and not any translation of the lyrics.1 Based on this the paper recommended that the Sri Lankan national anthem only be sung in Sinhala and the Tamil translation be abolished.1 The paper's authors had failed to realise that the official lyrics of the Singaporean national anthem are in Malay, a minority language (75% of Singaporeans are Chinese). Government minister Wimal Weerawansa also wrongly cited India as an analogy and claiming that the Indian national anthem was in Hindi, the most widely spoken language in India, whereas in fact the anthem was written in Bengali, another minority language. Furthermore, Weerawansa was quoted by the BBC to have called the Tamil version a "joke".
The Cabinet's decision to scrap the Tamil translation caused much furor in Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan government subsequently denied allegations that the Tamil translation of the anthem was to be abolished. The Presidential Secretariat went on record stating that that there was no basis to the media report and follow up reports which intimated the same.45
Sri Lanka Matha (Mother Sri Lanka)
Lyrics
Sinhala Lyrics of the Anthem
Sri Lanka Matha, apa Sri Lanka,
Namo Namo Namo Namo Matha.
Sundara siri barini,
Surendi athi Sobamana Lanka
Dhanya dhanaya neka mal pala thuru piri, Jaya bhoomiya ramya.
