Why Every Citizen Must Defend Article 9: The Foremost Place of Buddhism in Our Constitution
Sri Lanka is no ordinary country. We are home to one of the most ancient, unbroken civilizations in the world , rooted in the teachings of Gautama Buddha and nurtured by the great kings of the Sinhalese Theravāda Buddhist tradition. For over 2,500 years, this land has been protected not only by its people, but by a moral code enshrined in the Dhamma — a path of compassion, discipline, and truth.
The foremost place given to Buddhism in our Constitution under Article 9 is not an act of religious favoritism. It is an act of national preservation. It is a formal recognition that the civilizational identity of this island — from Anuradhapura to Kandy, from the Dalada Maligawa to the sacred Bodhi tree — is intertwined with the values, history, and ethos of Theravāda Buddhism.
To remove it is not reform. It is desecration.
Some voices, both foreign and local, call for the removal of Article 9 in the name of secularism, pluralism, or modernization. They claim it is outdated. That it discriminates. That it stands in the way of equality. But this is a dangerous distortion.
Buddhism does not call for domination. It has never demanded conversion. It has never declared war. On the contrary, it has allowed the peaceful co-existence of Hindus, Christians, and Muslims for centuries , long before the word multiculturalism entered Western dictionaries.
To remove the constitutional protection of Buddhism is not an act of peace. It is an act of civilizational sabotage. It weakens the one remaining moral and cultural anchor of this country. And worse, it opens the door to foreign agendas that seek to divide, dilute, and ultimately control our nation.
The Sinhala Buddhist civilization is not just religious. It is indigenous.
The Sinhalese are not settlers. They are the original custodians of this island, with a linguistic, cultural, and religious identity that has evolved independently for millennia. The Buddhist temples of Mihintale, the reservoirs of the ancient kings, and the murals of Dambulla are not just religious sites. They are archaeological proof of a sovereign, self-governing civilization long before colonial borders were drawn.
When the Constitution gives foremost place to Buddhism, it is not only protecting a faith. It is recognizing an indigenous civilization that still comprises over 70 percent of the population. No other country in the world has preserved such unbroken continuity. And no other people have shown such restraint in the face of centuries of invasion, betrayal, and coercion.
The gods themselves — the guardians of this land — are written into the heart of our civilization.
Sri Lankan Buddhism is not just Theravāda doctrine. It is inseparable from the spiritual guardians of the island — Dutugemunu’s vow to the gods, the deities of Kataragama and Sri Pada, and the rituals of Esala Perahera. These are not superstition. They are cultural memory. They are spiritual oaths made between a people and their destiny.
To erase Buddhism from the Constitution is to tear out not only a legal clause — but the contract made with the gods, the land, and the ancestors. You cannot replace it with legalese and expect the soul of the country to survive.
This is not about excluding others. It is about protecting ourselves.
No one is asking for other religions to be erased. In fact, they are already protected under Article 10 and 14. But Buddhism, as the foundation of national identity, deserves a special place — not because others are less, but because Sri Lanka without Buddhism is no longer Sri Lanka.
The same forces that ask us to remove Article 9 are silent when Muslim nations declare Islam their state religion. They are silent when Christian states defend their religious symbols. Yet they ask the only Buddhist nation with a living civilization to surrender its soul — in the name of modernity.
This is not about equality. It is about disarmament of cultural guardianship. It is about opening our people to psychological conquest, identity confusion, and foreign ideological colonization.
We must protect Article 9 not just as Buddhists, but as Sri Lankans.
Whether you are Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, or Christian — if you believe this nation is worth defending, then you must understand that the Constitution is not just a document. It is a mirror of who we are. If we remove Buddhism from its rightful place, we will have lost not only a religion, but the last protective barrier around a civilization that still dares to be sovereign.
Let the people rise — not in anger, but in guardianship.
Protect the gods. Protect the Dhamma.
Protect the soul of the nation.
By Jihan Hameed ??
Published by The Nationalist
11- 05- 2025
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