Bodu Bala Sena CEO Dilantha Withanage said that his organization was not behind the current “Sinha-le Movement” but added that it has spoken of “Sinhale” before this new movement.

Speaking to Asian Mirror, Withanage said that the BBS had spoken of this with a ‘scientific and historical’ basis. At the time of the 1815 Kandyan Convention, Sri Lanka was known as Sinhale, he pointed out. Therefore, Sri Lanka should be known by that name, he argued.

The BBS discussed this at the Sangha Sammelanaya on September 28, 2014, and forwarded the proposal to the government, Withanage said.

The Tamils and the Muslims of Sinhale could then be known as “Sinhale Tamils” and “Sinhale Muslims” he further maintained. This was no strange practice and is happening all over the world, he argued.

The 'Sinhale'  campaign was started on social media platforms, such as Facebook, by an extremist group seemingly supportive of the Bodu Bala Sena organization and former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. It was first launched as a sticker campaign. The movement reached a new height yesterday with an unknown group writing the same word on the walls of some houses belonging to Muslims in the Nugegoda area.