Kurunegala Maliyadeva Vidyalaya under the patronage of its Old Boys' Association is making arrangements to hold a 'Ranaviru Felicitation Ceremony, at the college on July 17 and the chief guest on this occasion will be the Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Mrs. Rajapaksa.
The school situated at Kurunegala-Negombo road is considered the one and only Buddhist Educational Institute in Wayamba that came into being as a result of the then Buddhist Renaissance in the country.
The participation of Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa to illuminate this felicitation ceremony which is being held in appreciation of the outstanding contributions made by the war heroes of this college in the humanitarian operation carried out by tri-forces and police to liberate the North and East from the LTTE terrorism under the leadership of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, is itself a great honour shown towards the war heroes of this Maliyadeva College.
Kurunegala Maliyadeva has produced the largest number of war heroes in the Sri Lanka Army. Despite the fact that there had been several Maliyadeva boys who had served in various positions in the tri-forces and police upto now, the first to join as a cadet officer of the Army in 1966 was W.R.B. Ratnayake. Major General Kempitiya also joined the forces as a cadet officer in 1959.
In 1970, P.S.P. Munasinghe joined the army as a cadet officer and after several years of active service, retired as a major general and entered into politics and became the Speaker of Parliament during the tenure of former President Chandrika Kumarathunge.
Major Generals namely Sunil Thennekoon, Ivon Dassanayake and Neomal Palipana who were the products of this college joined the force in 1971. Major General Ananda Hamangoda, Major General Neomal Palipana and Colonel Buddhadasa suddenly lost to us while they were engaged in military operations. They are indeed the valiant soldiers amongst us. Major General Upali Edirisinghe joined the service in 1973 while Major General V.R. Silva in 1974 followed by Major General Asoka Thoradeniya in 1976.
Sunil Thennekoon who commanded three divisions was the Commander of Division 55 after the Elephant Pass Battle in 2000. He as General Officer Commanding led the battle to protect the Jaffna Peninsula from the terrorists. He had also contributed to the establishment of the Military Intelligence Unit and had also served as Security Forces Commander of Jaffna. Major General Upali Edirisinghe had served as G.O.C. of 11 division, as Security Forces Commander of Vanni and also as Regimental Commander.
Major General V.R. Silva had served as G.O.C. of 55 and 11 divisions, as Director-operations of Joint Operation Command. After retirement he is serving as Prisons Commissioner at present.
Major General Asoka Thoradeniya had served as Regimental Commander of Sri Lanka Military Police and after retirement, is currently holding the position of Chairman of Sri Lanka Petroleum Corporations. Major General Dayan Ratnayake joined the forces as a cadet officer in 1980 and became an illustrious soldier by bagging 07 Awards for Bravery from five Presidents.
He had experience in wide areas such as combat, staff, training, intelligence, psychology and also in press briefing etc in military sector. He as General Officer-Commanding of the 23 division had led the operations in Wakare and Thoppigala areas. At present, Major General Daya Ratnayake is serving as Commander-Security Forces in Charge of Maintenance areas in Jaffna. (Courtesy: Daily News)
