Pinoris Wickramasinghe - his contribution to ethnic harmony

It need hardly be said that my father the late Pinoris Wickramasinghe, who had the honour of being the first Sinhalese to take part in the sacred task of translating the Holy Quran into Sinhala, figured prominently in the promotion of the interests of our communities.

His name will be written in the pages of history as a person who worked for national harmony. Had he been living today, he is sure to have been a vociferous force for ethnic harmony. The entire nation should be proud of him for his noble deed and also mourn his loss. April 29th was his 35th death anniversary - the country needs people of his calibre.

His knowledge of Tamil too was excellent. He had many Tamil books in his personal library. His articles in Tamil were numerous. He had even tried to compile a Tamil alphabet which unfortunately did not go to the press. Thus he could be considered a man who tried to bring all communities - Sinhala, Tamil and Muslims together via his literary works. He did not look at caste, creed, race or religion of his fellow beings.

He would have been a sincere figure in promoting racial understanding and harmony.

If I am to mention what I have been hearing about his student days, the first thing that I should say is that he had been an exceptionally brilliant student. His Alma Mater was St. Thomas' - Matara, a very prestigious college. He was very intelligent, energetic and hardworking and had been maintaining the first position in class right through.

As regards education, it was the commitment and perseverance that inspired him to study. Quite unconcerned with luxury and comfort, we were told that he broke rest late into the night. He stayed awake into the early hours of the morning at a time when others would not even dream of getting out of bed. Perhaps his most outstanding quality was his concern for his education. He always believed that education was a life-long process. He read and learnt till his death.

The black Mahogany chair kept against the window of the verandah where he used to sit and read the whole day is still preserved in my home. So are his valuable books.

He was one who made the best use of all he learnt. In short he was a self-made scholar deeply involved in the study of anything that came his way.

The vast knowledge he possessed was the result of his constant reading, which is evident from the fine collection of books he owned. He was a store house of information on the early independence struggle, the great men and national heroes of that era, often referring to British rule as "Suddage Kalaya". He had the greatness of our civilization. Sometimes he criticised the lack of understanding of our country's civilisation among our own people.

He was a linguist well versed in Sinhala, English, Pali, Sanskrit, Latin, Tamil, Arabic and Hebrew. After his educational career, his sound proficiency in Sinhala and English enabled him to start life as a sub-editor of the Sinhala Dictionary Department at the very outset, which was then housed in the present university premises of Colombo, The King George's Hall.

It was during this time that he came under the influence of the world renowned scholar and philologist Whilhelm Geiger who served as the Director of the Dictionary Department. He had always worked much courage that he had often been commended by other eminent scholars like Sir D.B. Jayatilleka, Julius de Lanerolle, Professors Ratnasuriya, D.E. Hettiarachchi and D.J. Wijeratna who provided him with direction and guidance in his work.

He enjoyed excellent relations with them and in later years he often recalled how fortunate he was to have got the opportunity to work with them. He was part of the dictionary staff for 35 years and was responsible for the Abidhamma and the philosophical section of the dictionary.

While engrossed in his official duties it was brought to his notice that the MICH was in search of a competent translator of the Holy Quran into Sinhala P. Wickramasinghe volunteered to undertake this responsible task.

It was the spirit of inquiry he had acquired through wide knowledge that brought to light his capabilities. He had set his heart on this task - something to look forward to each day. He lost no time in setting himself to this noble deed as there was no one competent enough to come forward. He took pride in being the first Sinhalese to translate the Holy Quran.

There had been no attempt until then to present the Quran in Sinhala for the interested public. This is certainly the first endeavour by a Buddhist to bring the sacred literary work within the reach of the Sinhala, Muslim and Tamil readers. This distinctly assisted the Sinhalese to understand Islam better and pursue to live cordially with the Muslims.

It could be considered a period of intellectual awakening so much so that this created an ideal occasion for the Sinhala people to appreciate the values of other cultures and religions and foster unity and harmony. Muslims spread throughout the country will remember with overwhelming gratitude the person who effectively strengthened the lives of Sinhala, Muslim community.

It is with overwhelming pleasure and honour that I like to compliment late Sir Razik Fareed, A.I.L and A.H. Macan Marker, the most eminent personalities and Muslim patriotic leaders of the time - the contemporaries of P. Wickramasinghe, for their excellent deed in harnessing the talents of my father. Muslim leaders who stood in the forefront embarked on this mission of making available the Sinhala translation of the first Jooz of the Holy Quran.

- Rupa Banduwardena