UN General Assembly
1972

On 22 May of this year a change of historic significance occurred in my country: our political status was altered to that of a Republic. At the same time the name of the country, which under Portuguese occupation of the maritime provinces in the fifteenth century had been changed to Ceylon, was dropped and we resumed the name of Sri Lanka, by which my country was referred to in the ancient chronicles and in Valmiki's epic, the Ramayana. The change of name from "Ceylon" to "Sri Lanka" or "the Resplendent Isle", to give it its closest English translation was not merely a romantic evocation of the past: it was a recognition of the value of our cultural heritage and an affirmation of our cultural affinity with our neighbors in South and Southeast Asia, where the Ramayana is a literary and cultural masterpiece of imperishable value. Therefore, today-for the first time—I address you, Mr. President, and this Assembly as the permanent representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations.