Heartfelt Memories of His Majesty King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), Part 1 of 2

For today’s program, we have the privilege of hearing from Dr. Walai Isarankura Na Ayudhaya, who served as an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Education at Chulalongkorn University. “It was my grandma who was living during His Majesty’s reign. Every time when I heard them talking about King Rama V, they simply called him Phra Phuttha Chao Luang (The Royal Buddha).” As Dr. Walai Isarankura Na Ayudhaya explained, His Majesty King Chulalongkorn continues to be revered for modernizing Thailand during his reign.

One of the major policies of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) was to improve the country’s educational system. His Majesty King Chulalongkorn founded the Civil Service Training School in 1899. It was later established as a university in 1917 by His Majesty King Vajiravudh (Rama VI). Chulalongkorn University is not only one of the oldest universities in Thailand, but also a prestigious institution with a rich history and strong academic reputation. “He also had royal scholarships, scholarships for talented people, and working people.”

“When His Majesty ascended to the throne, around 1868 AD, around that time, His Majesty immediately started trying to abolish slavery. This demonstrates that His Majesty was a human rights activist, as we’d call him nowadays, that he considered everyone as equal, and he tried to make everybody equal. But it was clear that, from the beginning, His Majesty had thought of this. His love and benevolence, his sympathy and generosity had been there since he ascended to the throne. It shows that these qualities were intrinsic in him.”

“During his reign, as we may well know, it was a colonization era. So, one of His Majesty’s contributions to us was the reformation of the government system. For this, we know that his ministries, departments, and bureaus were reformed so that we had a better system. His Majesty had reformed them – the laws and regulations. This was the part that, in fact, it was a pressure, for at that time, the British and French empires were creeping near, on our western side.”