However, as mankind developed mental capacity, there was a need to satisfy genetic aggression without the negatives of bloodletting. This was the seed for sport across the world and is as old as ordered, peaceful civilization itself. Games of various sorts, steeped in cultural specifics arose as a means of creating artificial conflict to reduce the possibilities of actual conflict. In the west, the Olympic Games for example were a formalization of this pseudo-aggression and the sports themselves show strong ties to war and agriculture – the two real life activities that were most frequent in those days. Although sports have gradually become independent entities in themselves and their cultural binds have become weaker or thinner while their recreational, entertainment and entrepreneurial ties have become stronger or tighter with entire industries growing up around such activities, still, as a common, nonthreatening, integrating, harmonizing instrument, there are few other human efforts that compare well against sports. Thus, in many ways, sport was a channel, a conduit, a segue to peace but equally importantly, it was a means that enable practitioners towards healthier and more wholesome lifestyles. A healthy nation is capable of lifting itself up by its own bootstraps and creates the best possible environment for a wellbalanced society capable of holding itself firmly over the long term to strong value systems. Factoring in
Sri Lanka, steeped in its deeply spiritual, holistic sensibilities rose above most nations in the way it used sports. Rather than making it a means of struggle between proponents and opponents with a single victor, they reimagined it and created a plethora of sporting activities that aimed to identify community strengths.
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the overarching entrepreneurial and ambassadorial aspects of sport and it is immediately clear how it can boost economies and enhance a country’s reputation through the proliferation of businesses around sport and the performance based excellence of athletes. Sri Lanka, steeped in its deeply spiritual, holistic sensibilities rose above most nations in the way it used sports. Rather than making it a means of struggle between proponents and opponents with a single victor, they reimagined it and created a plethora of sporting activities that aimed to identify community strengths. Our ancients saw it as a means of knowing whom to rely on for what when the need arose instead of attempting to make it merely “sport for sport sake” where winning was everything and where in many instances humanness was lost in the pursuit of it. Therefore, for Sri Lankans as a nation, sport serves the dual purpose of communal conviviality and strength identification on the one side and socioeconomic recognition and opportunity on the other. It was to give credence to both these facets that the subject of sports as a ministerial portfolio was established in 1966 although it was recognized as a sector that required development at the time of independence. The ministry was established at the time as the Peoplized Services and Sports Ministry subsequent governments integrated various other subjects and established sports within the ministerial portfolios. A significant milestone in sports in Sri Lanka was the enactment of the Sports Act of 1973 and through it, the legislative framework required for sports administration was created. While state investment in sports was primarily aimed at achieving internationally victorious individuals and teams until 2020, in that year, for the first time, a separate state ministry was established to focus on the subject of sports infrastructure in order to create the enablers for a disciplined, healthy, productive, prosperous, fair and capable populace through a mechanism that ensured continues engagement of Sri Lankan citizens in sports well into the future. These primary foci of the state ministry is based on, steeped in and driven by the vision for prosperity envisaged in the manifesto of His Excellency Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the President of the Democratic, Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.
State Ministry of Rural and School Sports Infrastructure Improvement | Progress 2021
