Why fuss over an honorary degree ?

Sampath Edirisuriya in his diatribe against our Prime Minister accepting an honorary degree from Delhi University claims that the Indian Government was behind the award and that her acceptance will have a detrimental impact on our policies on our actions on Indian boats fishing in our seas and even our ownership of Kachchativu.

- BY VIJAYA KUMAR

I am surprised that he did not include the role of RAW in the process and its bearings on our positions on the proposed road connection with India and our position on Indo-China conflicts in the Indian Ocean.

Honorary Degrees are routinely awarded by University Senates or similar academic bodies to distinguished alumni and those who have contributed to the development of the Universities and has never been ‘a matter of recognising the knowledge he or she has produced’ which is the basis for awarding earned degrees. The Indian government's role would have been merely to arrange for the special convocation to fit into the dates and the progamme of her visit to India. There is nothing surprising in this Award as she is a Delhi University alumna who has distinguished herself by being elected Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. If an alumnus of any of our Universities became a President or Prime Minister of another country, I am sure the University will be rushing to felicitate him or her with the award of a honorary degree. We should be congratulating Dr. Amarasuriya for the recognition she has gained rather than carping on over-exaggerated fears.