Manikku Badaturuge Ariyapala (1 June 1916 – 10 December 2006) was a Sri Lankan academic and former President of the Colombo Campus, University of Colombo.
Ariyapla was born 1 June 1916 in
Dodanduwa
Dodanduwa is a small coastal town situated in Galle District, Southern Province of Sri Lanka.
The town is located approximately north of Galle and south of Colombo.
Prior to the Second World War, Dodanduwa was known as the commercial centre f ...
, Galle. He attended school at
Mahinda College, before attending
Ceylon University College. He then entered the
University of London
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...
, where in 1941 he obtained a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
in
Sinhala with first class honors. During this time he had the opportunity to teach Sinhala to
Lord Soulbury, who went on to become the
Governor-General of Ceylon
The Governor-General of Ceylon was the representative of the Ceylonese monarch in the Dominion of Ceylon from the country's independence in 1948 until it became the republic of Sri Lanka in 1972.
History
There were four governors-general.
S ...
(1949-1954).
In 1949 Ariyapala obtained a
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from the
School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London. His thesis, ''Society in Mediaeval Ceylon'', has been extensively cited since its publication in 1956.
After becoming the
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
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* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
(Vice Chancellor) at the
University of Colombo
(Buddhih Sarvatra Bhrajate)
, mottoeng = ''Wisdom Enlightens''
, established =
, endowment = Sri Lankan rupee, LKR 1.461 1,000,000,000 (number), billion in 1977, Ariyapala implemented an extensive program of infrastructural activities to make Colombo Campus one of the best in the university system. He established country's first department of Linguistics in Colombo. Ariyapala was the head and first professor of the Department of Sinhala. He was also the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Faculty of Humanities of the
University of Colombo
(Buddhih Sarvatra Bhrajate)
, mottoeng = ''Wisdom Enlightens''
, established =
, endowment = Sri Lankan rupee, LKR 1.461 1,000,000,000 (number), billion .
On 6 March 1952 he married Nilamani née de Silva, with whom he had five children: Kumundini, Harshini, Hemamala, Venya, and Peshali.
Ariyapal served as the President of the Buddhist Theosophical Society (1981-1982), President of All Ceylon Buddhist Congress (1983-1986, 1990-1991) and President of
Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka
The Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka (RASSL) is based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is one of the oldest learned societies in Sri Lanka with a history of over 160 years. It was established on 7 February 1845, paralleling the Royal Asiatic Societ ...
(1980-1985).
In 1984 he received an honorary
Doctor of Letters (D. Litt.) from the University of Colombo and in 1992 an honorary D. Litt. from the
University of Ruhuna
The University of Ruhuna ( si, රුහුණ විශ්වවිද්යාලය, රෝහණ සරසවිය (Ruhuṇa Viśvavidyālaya, Rohana sarasaviya),; ta, ருகுண பல்கலைக் கழகம்) is a publ ...
.
In 1990 he collaborated with English scholar and poet, W. R. McAlpine, publishing the first English translation in verse of ''Kavsilumina'', a historical Sinhalese love poem,
which is purported to have been written by King Parakrama Bahu II.
Ariyapal died on 10 December 2006, at the age of ninety.
Bibliography
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*
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ariyapala, Manikku Badaturu
1916 births
2006 deaths
Sinhalese academics
Alumni of Mahinda College
Academics of the University of Colombo
Alumni of the University of London
Academics
Academia in Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan academics
Academics from Galle
People from Galle