The Jathika Hela Urumaya (often approximated in English as National Heritage Party) is a political party in Sri Lanka which is led by Buddhist monks. The JHU was launched in February, 2004 by the lay-based, secular Sinhala nationalist political party Sihala Urumaya. Founding members include Kolonnawe Sumangala Thero, Uduwe Dhammaloka Thero, Ellawela Methananda Thero, Dr. Omalpe Sobhitha Thero, Athuraliye Ratana Thero and Thilak Karunaratne. Some Sri Lankan Buddhists, including the All Island Clergy Organization, denounced the decision by monks to enter politics. However, the party drew some support from the middle class conservatives and the Buddhist youth. The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... A political party is an organization that seeks to attain political power within a government, usually by participating in electoral campaigns. ... A replica of an ancient statue of Gautama Buddha, found from Sarnath, near Varanasi. ... A Buddhist Monk in Sri Lanka In Pāli, a bhikkhu (male) or bhikkhuni (female) is a fully ordained Buddhist monk. ... Look up February in Wiktionary, the free dictionary February is the second month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Sinhala (also Sinhalese, formerly Singhalese) is the language spoken by the Sinhalese, the largest ethnic group of Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon). ... Nationalism is an ideology that creates and sustains a nation as a concept of a common identity for groups of humans. ...

The Jathika Hela Urumaya contested its first parliamentary elections on April 2, 2004, which were Sri Lanka's most recent legislative elections. All of its candidates were Buddhist monks. At these elections the party won 6.0% of the popular vote and 9 out of 225 seats. 2 April is the 92nd day of the year (93rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 273 days remaining. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Politics of Sri Lanka Categories: Election related stubs | Elections in Sri Lanka ...

Since the election, the party has been involved in a number of controversial issues, such as the introduction of a law to criminalize unethical conversions and proselytism by foreign Christian fundamentalist groups. There has also been some quite dramatic infighting within the JHU parliamentary fraction, since the group which had been cobbled together just before the polls lacked unity on the issue of how to relate to government formation. Religious conversion is the adoption of new religious beliefs that differ from the converts previous beliefs; in some cultures (e. ... The English language word proselytism is derived ultimately from the Greek language prefix pros (towards) and the verb erchomai (to come). ... Fundamentalist Christianity is a fundamentalist movement, especially within American Protestantism. ...

Two of its founding members, Theros Kolonnawe Sumangala and Uduwe Dhammaloka left the party after a conflict between the robed and lay members. The founder of the Sihala Urumaya also defected to the United National Party after seizing the party headquarters. After months of trouble, the party is strong again with the young monk Athuraliye Rathana Thero and the Sihala Urumaya member Champika Ranawaka leading the comeback. Ellawela Medhananda and Omalpe Sobhitha theros remain in the leadership. Other influential members include Dr Neville Karunatilake and Udaya Gammanpila. JHU is also affiliated with the National Movement Against Terrorism (NMAT), SPUR, North-East Sinhala Organisation (NESO) and other local and international Sinhala nationalist groups. The United National Party (UNP, Sinhalese:(pronounced Eksath Jathika Pakshaya), Tamil: ஐக்கிய தேசியக் கட்சி) is a political party in Sri Lanka. ...

Jathika Hela Urumaya successfully appealed the supreme court to cut President Chandrika Kumaratunga's term short. In October of 2005, former JHU member Uduwe Dhammaloka indicated that there was a growing sentiment among the monks of the JHU that a mistake had been made in directly entering the political realm. Dhammaloka indicated that he personally believed that monks could have a more positive impact on Sri Lankan society by focusing on religious work, and that the current crop of monk-parliamentarians intended to "ensure that monks will not enter politics again" ("Monks"). It is unclear if Uduwe Dhammaloka and other ordained members of parliament will resign their positions, or if legislation will be introduced to restrict monks from standing for public office (as is currently the case in Thailand). Jathika Hela Urumaya supported Ex-Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse in the presidential election 2005. Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, President of Sri Lanka (1994-2005) Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga (born June 29, 1945) was the 5th President of Sri Lanka and 4th Executive President of Sri Lanka (November 12, 1994 - November 19, 2005). ... Mahinda Rajapaksa Mahinda Rajapaksa (born November 18, 1945), Sri Lankan politician, became Prime Minister of Sri Lanka on April 6, 2004, following the victory of the United Peoples Freedom Alliance in the April 2, 2004 Sri Lankan legislative elections. ...

In October of 2005, former JHU member Uduwe Dhammaloka indicated that there was a growing sentiment among the monks of the JHU that a mistake had been made in directly entering the political realm. Dhammaloka indicated that he personally believed that monks could have a more positive impact on Sri Lankan society by focusing on religious work, and that the current crop of monk-parliamentarians intended to "ensure that monks will not enter politics again" ("Monks").

See also

• Buddhism in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is the oldest continually Buddhist country, Theravada Buddhism being the major religion in the island since its official introduction in the 2nd century BC by Venerable Mahinda, the son of the Emperor Ashoka of India during the reign of King Devanampiya. ...

External links

• An election statement from Jathika Hela Urumaya supporters
• Profile of the Jathika Hela Urumaya from Lankanewspapers.com
• Interview with leading members of the Jathika Hela Urumaya. February, 2004.
• News story describing tensions between monk-politicians and former Sihala Urumaya members
• Monks should stay out of Sri Lanka politics, says monk legislator

2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

References

“Monks should stay out of Sri Lanka politics, says monk legislator,” AFP, October 24, 2005. AFP as an acronym can stand for: Agence France-Presse Alpha-fetoprotein American Free Press Apple Filing Protocol Association for Financial Professionals Armed Forces Police Australia First Party Australian Federal Police Automatic Frequency Planning, a term used in mobile communications Advanced Function Presentation, an IBM printing architecture and file format. ...