London Exhibition of Universal Adult Franchise

(Excerpted from Rendering unto Caesar, autobiography of Bradman Weerakoon)

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In 1981 occurred an anniversary — fifty years after the 1931 constitutional change through which Ceylon was awarded universal adult suffrage.

This was deemed an anniversary which richly deserved appropriate celebration. J R handed the matter over to Premadasa, and he in turn asked me to coordinate it. This meant making arrangements for a national celebration on an appropriate scale and an exhibition of the Sri Lankan heritage, both in London and Washington.

We needed a suitable partner in London to mount the exhibition which would make an impact, and the Commonwealth Institute in Kensington offered the logical choice. James Porter, the director of the Institute at that time gave his total support and the London Exhibition which lasted one month, was a great success. It was opened by Her Majesty, the Queen, who spent over an hour going through the exhibits, and a number of members of the British Cabinet and our own Cabinet paid visit. Premadasa joined the Queen in a very impressive ceremony conducted at the Commonwealth Institute building.

Porter became a great friend and, in his letters, would retell how well the Sri Lanka exhibition had gone and been received. The Tara, the eighth-century priceless we borrowed from the London Museum, was the prime exhibit and we added to its public attraction by placing a cobra hi bit inside the glass box, which contained the goddess. It was immensely popular. Sri Lanka got a great deal of positive publicity. The picture-"the Avalokateswara Bodhisatwa" which we used as the ikon for the exhibition became a favoured symbol of Sri Lanka for years to come.