President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday made a speech which contained a dubious history lesson on the creation of Sri Lanka's provinces.

Speaking at the conclusion of the National sports Festival in Jaffna, Sirisena said that the nine provinces were given to Sri Lanka not by Sri Lankans, but by "King George" of England.

Sirisena said that the nine provinces were created in 1833, following the Colebrooke-Cameron Commission report. However, perhaps realizing this mistake, he corrected his statement, saying that in 1833 five provinces were created and it became nine by 1890.

There was no need for Sri Lankans to fight over provinces given by the British, he said.

While there were six kings by the name of George in the UK, it was King William IV (1830-37) who occupied the throne when Ceylon was divided into five provinces, namely, Northern, Southern, Central, Eastern and Western provinces. Four more provinces were added thereafter by altering the boundaries. During that time it was Queen Victoria (1837 - 1901) who was the monarch of the UK.

While Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is known for his dubious history lessons which he gives from time to time, this is one of the first historical blunders of President Sirisena.