READER’S VIEW :
COLOMBO : The National Defence College (formerly the Speaker’s residence well known by the name “Mumtaz Mahal”
While passing the iconic white mansion at No. 544, Galle Road, Colombo 3—long known as “Mumtaz Mahal”, the official residence of Sri Lanka’s Speakers of Parliament—I was struck by the absence of the name plaque that once adorned a pillar at its gate. In its place now stands a new signboard identifying the premises as the National Defence College.
This historic building is more than just brick and mortar—it is a symbol of national heritage. The name “Mumtaz Mahal” carries with it decades of parliamentary tradition and public memory. Its quiet removal is not just an aesthetic change; it risks erasing a significant layer of our political and architectural history.
I respectfully call on the relevant authorities—and in particular Hon. Mayoress Vrai Cally Balthazaar—to restore the name “Mumtaz Mahal” alongside the current signage. Let us not allow time or modern function to efface the legacy of one of Colombo’s landmark buildings.
Mohamed Zahran
Colombo
