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Message From The Principal
Of Ananda College, Colombo.

Let us build a generation of students who can face national as well as international challenges with confidence!
At the onset of the 19 century the Sri Lankan Buddhists had faced an unfortunate era under the British regime so
much so that the residents of Colombo even became reluctant to publicly declare that they were Buddhists. The
western culture and conversion to Christianity had totally destroyed the Sinhala language and Buddhist culture.
At a time when the Sinhala Buddhist was lost in an environment controlled by an organised capitalist kingdom
lacking the strength, confidence and knowledge to resist similarly organised financially powerful Christian
institutions operating within it, the advent of Colonel Henry Steel Olcott around May 1880 was considered a vital
comforting factor. On the 25th of the same month he took Five Precepts at the Wijayananda Viharaya in Galle, thus
becoming a follower of the Buddhist faith. Colonel Olcott is considered as the revivalist of modern Buddhism in Sri
Lanka. Since then he paved the way to eradicate the obstacles that stood in the way of the Buddhist people of our
nation that restricted their progress and took the leadership in securing their rights. Colonel Olcott, during his visits
to the Buddhist Theosophical Society in India along with Helena Blavatsky, often visited our land. During such visits
he made it a point to travel across our country not only revitalizing the Buddhists through his sermons, but also
encouraged the establishment of Buddhist schools and educational institutions. He further took the initiative to
establish a branch of the Buddhist Theosophical Society in Sri Lanka with the primary objective of having a legal
framework to establish Buddhist schools in the country. It became the primary body that managed all affairs
relating to Buddhist education in the country during the British regime and until the time schools were brought
under State control.

This makes it quite clear that Colonel Olcott also may be considered as the undisputed leader who introduced
modern educational, economic and organisational strategy to the Sri Lankan Buddhist. Of the schools established
under the leadership of Colonel Olcott, Ananda and Nalanda College in Colombo, Mahinda College, Galle,
Pannipitiya Dharmapala Vidyalaya, Dharmaraja College, Kandy, Rahula Vidyalaya, Matara, Maliyadeva College,
Kurunegala and Dharmaloka Vidyalaya, Ambalangoda continue to lead the way as beacons of light in the current
educational arena of the country.
Scores of students have been fortunate to receive sound education and disciplines under the guidance of these
schools that have historically gained fame during a period of over a century. The schools have grown upon a
Buddhist identity and domestic traditions whilst developing modern techniques to face global challenges.
The future challenge faced by us, the present leaders of Olcott institutions that have become the guiding light of
the educational system of the country is to develop students to successfully manage the global crisis with ease
whilst protecting our Buddhist values. Towards achieving this objective, exchange of knowledge and experiences
through effective communication has become an important factor, hence the need to cultivate knowhow in the
area of modern technology.

We shall work with dedication to cultivate a future generation armed with knowledge, skills and attitudes to raise
the standards of all sectors of our nation whilst being bonded to our cultural routes.
On this silver jubilee celebration of the Olcott cluster of schools my heartfelt wish is that may we as members of
one family be blessed with abundance of strength and courage to move on a long and successful journey!

S. M. Keerthirathna

The Principal
Ananda College, Colombo.