Rabindranath Tagore is the first Asian to be honoured with the Nobel Prize for Literature, and he is also the poet who composed the Indian National Anthem. He was an individual who garnered deep respect from Sri Lankans. In addition to being a great poet, he was an educationist, philosopher, musician, artist, novelist, and a scriptwriter for dramas.
During his first visit to Sri Lanka in 1922, his historic speech during the School Prize Giving ceremony at Ananda College played a significant role in the development of Buddhist Education in Sri Lanka. It was in the same year that Ananda College, situated in the densely populated Paranawadiya area, laid the foundation for its branch in a quiet, serene area called Campbell Place. This happened a century ago from the present day.
In his speech on that occasion, Tagore severely criticized the prevailing “college concept” of that time. It is possible that P. de S. Kularatne, the then Principal of Ananda College, founded Nalanda Vidyalaya as a separate school in response to these comments. Evidence preserved in newspapers from 1922, found in the National Archives, supports this idea. Strangely, neither Ananda College nor Nalanda Vidyalaya has acknowledged this fact in their research into their nearly 100-year histories, nor have they included it in any of the commemorative souvenirs published for their 50th, 60th, 75th, 100th, or 125th anniversaries. This historical information might be an area that has not been thoroughly researched, either overlooked or deliberately omitted for unknown reasons. It’s worth considering that during that time, the terms “college” and “vidyalaya” held different meanings.
Evolution of Educational Concepts
Nalanda Vidyalaya was founded by P. De S. Kularatne, a Buddhist, and not by Colonel Henry S. Olcott, a Theosophist. One 
factor that may have motivated Kularatne to establish Nalanda while he was already heading Ananda College could have been the remarks made by Rabindranath Tagore, as mentioned earlier. Tagore had spoken in Sri Lanka on several occasions, highlighting the drawbacks of the education system during the British colonial period. The birth of Nalanda stands as a strong testament to Kularatne’s forward-thinking, influenced by such speeches.
The Vidyalaya formed by Ananda College was later handed over to the Buddhist Theosophical Society of Colonel Olcott. Rabindranath Tagore had criticized the “college concept” at Ananda College’s prize giving, and this was 36 years after the establishment of the Buddhist English school in 1886. This school’s name had been changed to Ananda in 1895 and was referred to as “Ananda College” in Sinhala newspapers. When examining newspapers from that era, Ananda was also called “Shastra Shalawa,” “Maha Vidyalaya,” “Vidya Peetaya,” and “Viduhala” during the 1920s. All these terms used to refer to Ananda were known as “college” in English. The concept of a college came into existence during British rule.
The term “Vidyalaya” was commonly used by Indians who fought against the British rulers. Rabindranath Tagore, who founded the ‘Shanthi Nikethana Vidyalaya’ in India, openly proclaimed that progress in local education would not be achieved through the education systems of the colonial rulers. In fact, he was a blessing for the anti-colonial struggle.
It is possible that Ananda was grappling with an identity crisis when Tagore criticized the “college concept” of Ananda, which was established in 1886 during the height of British rule. Ananda was referred to with various terms in Sinhala during this period. This notion gains further support from the fact that Kularatne established a branch of Ananda in the same year that Tagore visited. Examination of records from that era reveals that Nalanda was consistently referred to as Nalanda Vidyalaya in both languages.
Following Tagore’s criticisms of the education system in Sri Lanka, the birth of Nalanda as an extension of Ananda can be attributed to the religious and political context prevailing at that time.
A School Resistant to Foreign Influences
Rabindranath Tagore arrived in Sri Lanka as an advocate of internationalism, fearlessly pointing out the shortcomings he observed here. He emphasized the need for a specific type of school to resist foreign influences, which ultimately led to the establishment of a separate school as an extension of Ananda, set in a peaceful, serene environment close to nature.
When Nalanda was founded with the best students from Ananda College, which had relocated from Pettah to the densely populated Maradana area, it became necessary to clear the shrubs that covered Campbell Place. Dr. Gunapala Malalasekara’s old documents contain notes indicating that he and his students cleared the shrubs at Campbell Place for this purpose.
In many of Rabindranath Tagore’s speeches to local audiences, he critically addressed issues that did not align with his ideology and consistently expressed his frank opinions. In his speech at the Ananda College prize giving, he spoke against the process of identifying brighter students and recognizing them with special awards, even suggesting that this concept might have been introduced by foreign invaders.
When Tagore criticized the “college concept” in his 1922 speech at Ananda College and outlined the features that should be present in an educational institution, P. De S. Kularatne, with his forward-thinking approach, may have acted to align with these ideas by creating a separate school and naming it Nalanda Vidyalaya.
The name “Nalanda” was suggested by the Venerable Balangoda Ananda Maitreya Thero, who was on the Ananda staff serving as its ‘Dharmacharya.’ It was borrowed from the ancient Indian University Nalanda in Bihar, India. Additionally, the Venerable priest proposed the school’s motto as ‘Apadana Shobhini Panna,’ which translates to ‘Character Illumines Wisdom.’ Kularatne had a vision for Nalanda and aimed for it to excel right from the start. To support this vision, he identified the best students and transferred them to Nalanda. He also selected Dr. Gunapala Malasekera to serve as the new school’s first Principal.
Ajith Galappaththi