The Lion Flag regains its place

By D.C.

Ranatunga

The Lion Flag had been the National Flag of Sri Lanka for many centuries. It lost its due place on 2 March 1815, the day the Kandyan Convention was signed, marking the end of the Kandyan Kingdom and the whole country coming under the British. 

John D’Oyly, the representative of the British Government in the Kandyan Provinces recording the event in his diary, stated that after reading the Convention for everyone present both inside and outside the Magul Maduwa to hear, “…the Royal Standard hoisted and a Royal Salute fired”.

Search for the flag

The Lion Flag which flew that day was taken to England. After 93 years it was found by two Sri Lankan students studying there – E.W. Perera and D.R. Wijewardene. 

In 1908, keen to get a coloured photograph of the flag, they started looking for it. Following numerous clues they started the search. It was supposed to have been deposited at Whitehall together with the eagles of Napoleon. 

The search at the United Service Museum proved a failure. An official there, however, said that some of the flags had been removed to Chelsea Hospital but he was certain no Kandyan flags were among them. Next was an examination at the College of Arms for the original letters patent displaying the Sinhalese banner and obtaining a copy.

“Soon afterwards, however, I discovered the missing banner quite unexpectedly at the Chelsea Hospital,” writes E.W. Perera in ‘Sinhalese Banners and Standards’ which he compiled. “Acting upon a suggestion by the late Lord Stanmore (the Hon. Sir Arthur Gordon, one time Governor of Ceylon), who evinced a lively interest on the subject, the writer visited that institution and was rewarded with the discovery of three Ceylon banners. A coloured key-plate on the wall led to the discovery of the flags.”

He found two to be hopelessly faded and the third could be recognised after being renovated. He sketched the flags from the key-plate. “The royal flag itself was copied in colours shortly after by Messrs Southwood & Co., Regen Street, London, for D.R. Wijewardene, to whom I am indebted for permission to reproduce it as well as for the loan of the plate containing the arms of Don Joao, the Prince of Kandy,” E.W. Perera, the ‘Lion of Kotte,’ the nationalist who was a Member of the Legislative Council and the State Council, wrote.

Ancient flag

The need to use the ancient Lion Flag on ceremonial occasions was raised during the Budget Debate of the State Council in September 1945 by J.R. Jayewardene who said that the flag was available at the Government Stores. 

“It is a flag that held sway over three portions of Lanka – Ruhuna, Rajarata and Mayarata. It is a yellow flag with a lion at the centre. If you go to the Sanchi Stupa in India, which was supposed to have been built in the time of Emperor Asoka, you will find there was a beautiful decoration, a carving on stone of a picture of Vijaya landing in Ceylon, and in Vijaya’s band you find a man carrying this flag. I do not think there is any other country in the world which has such an ancient recorded flag,” he said.

National Flag

When Independence dawned in 1948, these flags were available for display. However, whether it should be the National Flag became an issue. When Prime Minister D.S. Senanayake was asked about it in Parliament in December 1947, he replied that the Cabinet had not taken a decision and that some regarded the Union Jack as the National Flag and some the Lion Flag.

Soon after, notice of a motion asking that the Lion Flag should once again be adopted as the official flag of Free Lanka was moved in Parliament by the MP for Batticaloa, A.M. Sinnalebbe. There was a keen debate on the subject and in his reply speech Prime Minister Senanayake said that he was supporting the motion. 

“It is a well-known fact that this flag happens to be the flag of the last King of Kandy, and we all know that the last King of Kandy was a Tamil. But I am still proud to proclaim it as the Sinhalese Flag because I embrace the Tamils now as the Sinhalese embraced the Tamils then. We claim the flag to be a Sinhalese Flag although we inherited it from a Tamil King,” he said.

Royal standard flies high once again

On 27 January 1948, the Prime Minister announced the appointment of a Committee to advise the Government on the National Flag. 

The Committee comprised Ministers S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, G.G. Ponnambalam, T.B. Jayah, Dr. L.A. Rajapaksa and J.R. Jayewardene and Senator S. Nadesan. A 12-point questionnaire was distributed among the public to get their views.

Meanwhile, the Lion Flag was hoisted by the Prime Minister at the official ceremony to mark Independence Day. 

The Committee adopted the Lion Flag in its entirely with the addition of two vertical stripes, green and saffron of equal size, each being the proportion of one to seven of the entire flag, excluding the vertical tallow border on the outside of the green strip.

The Committee Report was released in February 1950 with one member, Senator Nadesan, dissenting. 

The Report was accepted by the Government and the Sinhalese royal standard once again began to fly high.