Sri Lanka’s Buddhist community questions treatment of jailed monk
The arrest and imprisonment of the venerated Gnanasara Thero, a Buddhist monk who is also the founder-leader of Bodu Bala Sena, a political outfit exclusively for ordained monks, has sent shockwaves across Sri Lanka. The Thero was held from a Buddhist temple in southern Sri Lanka late on Saturday evening following a warrant issued by a court in connection with a case of contempt of court.
Moreover, the Buddhist community in Sri Lanka is in a state of fear as the government has put 63 Buddhist monks in jail over fake charges[1]. Sajith Premadasa, Leader of the Opposition, has condemned the action of the government in disrobing the venerated monk of his religious robes. “The government should respect religious traditions and the dignity attached to the Buddhist robe,” Premadasa said in a statement released on Wednesday.[2]
Though he was pardoned by the then President Maithripala Sirisena, the new dispensation, in an attempt to appease the minorities, challenged the presidential pardon in the Supreme Court, which nullified the order and asked the monk to surrender to the police. The case against him was that he antagonised the Islamic terrorists by issuing them a warning that they would face severe repercussions if they continued with mass murders of Buddhists.
What has shocked the Buddhist community in the island nation is the disrobing of Gnanasara Thero once he was taken inside the prison. “This is against all laws of this land because there are no provisions to remove the robe of an ordained Buddhist monk,” said a political commentator based in Colombo.
Shenali D Waduge, columnist and media professional, pointed out that the order removing the robes and making the Thero wear prison attire is a violation of the Sri Lankan Constitution. “This violates Article 9 of the Constitution. The Article says that the Republic of Sri Lanka should give to Buddhism the foremost place and accordingly it shall be the duty of the State to protect and foster the Buddha Sasana. Theravada Buddhism is the State religion of Sri Lanka,” said Waduge.
The question being asked among the Buddhist community is who ordered the removal of the robes and under what law. This is because the robe of an ordained Buddhist monk is an integral expression of his religious identity and practice.
Ramasamy Wijayabalan, a planter and close associate of Sri Lanka’s Ramakrishna Math, is of the view that the disrobing of the monk of his attire is disturbing news. “Such an incident should not have happened, at least in Sri Lanka,” said Wijayabalan.
Sri Lanka is faced with the major issue of proselytisation as Christian padres are accused of forced religious conversion, especially in plantation areas. The Christians (a majority of them are Catholics) gatecrash into plantations and evangelise the workers employed there. The easily gullible workers fall prey to the preachers who promise them miracles to cure them of serious ailments.
Though the religious demography of Sri Lanka was in favour of Buddhism (70 percent according to 2020 data available), the truth is that Christianity is catching up with Buddhism and the government of the island nation is always under threat from the Vatican and the CIA.
“Asking a Buddhist monk to remove his robes is an act of impropriety. If he is a convict, it is a different story,” said Ramakrishnan Gauthaman, chief editor of Sree TV. He pointed out that the late pontiff of Kanchi Math, Sri Jayendra Saraswati, remained in his saffron robes throughout his stay in jail when he was arrested in connection with a fake case in 2004.
Note:
1. Text in Blue points to additional data on the topic.
2. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of PGurus.
Reference:
[1] Gnanasara Thero’s robes removed in accordance with Prisons Ordinance: Minister – Oct 06, 2026, ADA Derana
[2] Gnanasara Thero back in prison as row over removal of robes takes political turn; Sajith stands for the racist monk. – Oct 07, 2026, Sri Lanka Brief
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