After
gaining independence from foreign rule the people of Sri Lanka
were kindled with patriotic feeling.
On the recommendation of the Sri
Lanka Gandharva Sabha a competition to select a national anthem
was conducted in January 1948.
At this competition Mr. Ananda
Samarakoon's composition "Namo Namo Matha" was chosen as
the National Anthem on 22nd November 1951.
The main theme of the Anthem is
designed to install honour and respect to the Motherland and
create national development through unity.
During the early 1950s there was a
controversy about the national anthem. A defect was found in the
lyrics and the opening words were changed as "Sri Lanka Matha
- Apa Sri Lanka". The first rendering of the National Anthem
was made on Independence Day February 04th, 1952 by a group of 500
students from Musaeus College, Colombo and it was broadcast over
the radio.
The National Anthem is incorporated
in Section 7 third schedule of the Constitution of the Democratic
Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.
National
Anthem in Sinhala Text |