Ven. Uduwe Dhammaloka Thero, a popular Buddhist monk in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

. He rose to fame from his weekly sermon programmes (bana) on TV. A critic of the government system in Sri Lanka he joined the Jathika Hela Urumaya

Jathika Hela Urumaya

The Jathika Hela Urumaya 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...

(National Heritage Party) with a group of monks to contest the local elections in 2004 and was elected as a member of Parliament.