brand logo

Public opinion sought to identify ‘National Heritages’, a Nat. Heritage Act in the making 

14 Feb 2021

  • No identified nat. heritages: State Minister 

  • Says “Not all nat. heritages are artefacts” 

  • Claims process devoid of politics 

  A national heritage act, which would, among other matters, define what constitutes a national heritage, the criteria for defining such, and set out the methods of their preservation, is in the pipeline, The Sunday Morning learnt.    The State Ministry of National Heritage, Performing Arts, and Rural Arts Promotion is currently seeking public views in order to identify as to what constitutes national heritages, as Sri Lanka at present does not have anything that is defined as being a national heritage, State Minister Vidura Wickramanayaka claimed.    The State Ministry published an advertisement this week titled “Obtaining Public Opinion on the Procedure for Identifying the National Heritage of Sri Lanka”, thereby seeking public opinion on identifying national heritages, especially in their own areas, and also seeking views on the said initiative.    Speaking to The Sunday Morning, State Minister Wickramanayaka claimed that while national heritages can be found in any country, Sri Lanka however does not have any identified national heritages.    “The people have their own interpretation and ideas as to what national heritages are. So many things, including those of a tangible or intangible nature, can be considered as national heritages.”    “However, in Sri Lanka, where have they been named?” he queried. “Where have they been legally recognised? What action has been taken to preserve them for the future generations? Is there any assurance to say that the future generations will be able to experience them at the rate things are progressing?”    Wickramanayaka also explained as to why national heritages could not always be preserved along the lines of archaeology. According to him, the issue was one of practicality.    “If we take something valuable that came into being 50-75 years ago, it may not come under archaeology. Still, it can be considered a national heritage. An artefact or an archaeological site can be a national heritage, but not all national heritages are artefacts. National heritage includes both tangible and intangible elements and spans different cultures and subcultures”.  Therefore, the Government, Wickramanayaka noted, has decided that since national heritages have not been named in Sri Lanka, a programme should be implemented to preserve them. In this regard, the first step we should take is to identify what they are, he added.    State Minister Wickramanayaka also said that an expert committee comprising of vice chancellors of universities and experts in the field including professors, had been appointed to identify national heritages.    “This is not a political committee. The experts are the ones who decided on interpretation related matters. Then, we made a request from the people after putting forward a document. The public is encouraged to point out any shortcomings in that as well and to inform us about the things in their area that they think should be recognised as national heritages,” he further said.    After collecting the ideas, the Ministry will name national heritages by approving an act on national heritage in Parliament.    When queried as to whether archaeological laws would also be reformed, the State Minister said: “This is separate; Intangible things can’t be considered as archaeology. These include aspects pertaining to indigenous medicine, folk songs, and traditions. We know that they are there, but they are not tangible. We can name them as national heritages under a new criterion. We believe in democracy and participatory development. People should take part in the decision-making process and that is my belief.”


More News..