The University of Jaffna’s 39th convocation took place in a grand scale as usual at the Prof. K.Kailasapathy auditorium at the Jaffna University premises two days ago. The auditorium was named after the Jaffna University’s first President and Tamil scholar Prof. K. Kailasapathy. The University of Jaffna could be proud of being the institution to be declared open by World’s first woman Prime Minister Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike.
From the time the Jaffna University was declared open a large number of students belong to all three communities had passed out from various faculties of the Jaffna University. There were Vice Chancellors and lecturers of International repute had contributed in a big way for the development of the University of Jaffna from its inception. It was before the turbulent situation with four decades of civil war in the North and East, significant number of Sinhalese students from the Southern part of the Island had graduated from the University. Even now the Medical, Engineering and the Science faculties have Sinhalese students and their kith and kin come in a big way to attend the convocation of their children who pass out from the University of Jaffna.
From the time the civil war came to an end in the North and East, the Sinhalese attend the convocation of their children who pass out from the Jaffna University and the convocation provide them the opportunity even to go around and see Jaffna extensively. According to Sinhalese from Southern part of the Island in Jaffna is a pilgrimage for the reason several of their children, husbands and other relatives had sacrificed their lives during the civil war period in Jaffna. The most popular destination for the Sinhalese who come to Jaffna is the Naina Theevu Islet which is known as Nagadeepa in Sinhala.
So as usual even at the 39th convocation of the Jaffna University a large number of relatives of the Sinhalese students had arrived in Jaffna to celebrate the academic achievements of their children. However this year in the history of 51st year of the University of Jaffna, a Buddhist monk has graduated completing his post graduate studies in Tamil. It was a landmark event at the 39th convocation of the University of Jaffna where Buddhist monk Venerable Sannasgama Indranantha Thera had received his certificate from Vice Chancellor Prof C. Satkunaraja, for completing his higher studies in Tamil.
At the end of the convocation Ven . Sannasgamuwa Indranantha Thera speaking to the press outside the auditorium where the convocation was held said: “Tamil is an oldest language in the world. Every aspect of Tamil is like an ocean with its magnificent works in grammar and literature from time immemorial”. Buddhism and Tamil literature are very much intertwined with five major epics in Tamil. Those five epics in Tamil are as follows: 1.Valayapathy, 2.Kundalakesi, 3. Silappathikaram, 4.Manimekalai, and 5. Seevakasinthamani.
All those ancient Tamil epics are based on Buddhist philosophy. There were Sinhalese scholars had done researches in Tamil in the past. But it is for the first time Buddhist monk Ven. Sannasgamuwa Indrarathna Thera has completed his higher studies in Tamil from the University of Jaffna. However it was at the significant event of a Buddhist monk completing his higher studies in Tamil, the Tissa Vihara issue in Kankesanthurai (KKS) had created an uproar among the civilians residing in the vicinity of the Tissa Vihara area.
Police and armed forces personnel in big numbers were deployed to prevent any untoward incident in KKS. Civilians in KKS were agitating against the expansion of the Tissa Vihara in KKS. Therefore the 39th convocation of the Jaffna University proving
the vast opportunity there for students from different ethnicities, the Tissa Vihara issue which had come up during the convocation period of the Jaffna University highlighted the thorny issues based on religion and language remain obstacles to a greater peace and harmony in the Island.
