KAMALIKA PIERIS

Tamil Separatist Movement has managed to create a doubt in the minds of the public regarding the Buddhist claims for the north and south.   The word Kovil” has now come into discussions on Buddhist sites in north and east. That is something new. Tamil Separatist Movement claims that there were ancient Hindu kovils on the ancient Buddhist sites.

However, there is no evidence of any ancient Hindu kovils in the north and east. There are no ancient Hindu kovils elsewhere in the island, either. Ancient Hindu kovils make an appearance only in strategic Buddhist sites, such as Mullaitivu, Vavuniya and Trincomalee. They pop up suddenly as contested sites”, and they only appear when the Department of Archaeology comes to excavate, not before.  There are three highly publicized ‘contested sites’ Kinniya, (Trincomalee) Kurundi (Mullaitivu),   Vadunagala (Vavuniya).

A contested sites issue developed in Trincomalee over a mound found near the Kinniya hot wells In July 2019. Archaeological Department had gone there to do some routine conservation work. In the process some bricks had got dug up. Buddhist and the Hindus both claimed these bricks.

Bhikkhus such as Ven. Ampitiye Seelavansa of Velgam vihara    said they belonged to an Anuradhapura era stupa which has been leveled and a Hindu temple built on top.  Hindus said this was the ruins of a Pillaiyar kovil .  Kinniya was linked to Ramayana and Ravana, and   the presence of Buddhist ruins could also indicate Tamil Buddhist settlements.

A crowd of Tamils had gathered at Kinniya, where the Archaeological Department was digging.  Tamil politicians had also come. Television news showed two groups fighting. Police, riot squad and Special Task Force were called in to quell growing tensions. Police came with a magistrate order, to stop the protest, that it would cause communal tensions.

With the injunction notice being served in Sinhala only to the protest organizers, hundreds of Tamils still attempted to make their way as planned to the site, with many being blocked by the Sri Lankan army, police and riot police who had all been deployed in their dozens.

We held a meeting last week where we briefed the officials of that area of the conservation work at the Kanniya Hot Springs. At this meeting it was decided that the Department would find a suitable place to relocate this Hindu Temple to which they agreed,” said Additional Director of Archaeology who oversees the sites in Anuradhapura, Trincomalee, Jaffna and Kilinochchi. The law makes provision for the officials to demolish or break structures that are new to the protected sites. However in this instance we found that the locals were extremely aggressive towards such conservation work.”

Although the injunction stated that nobody should be allowed to enter the hot wells premises, only Tamils were stopped from entering while Sinhalese traders and counter-protesters were allowed to enter, with police protection said Tamil Guardian. The Tamil crowds pleaded with police to allow them to enter the disputed site to worship, however being still blocked, protesters carried out prayers on the main road where they were stationed.

Tamil Guardian complained In July 2019, that when Hindus were carrying out rituals to mark Aadi Amavasai, the July new moon fast which Tamil Hindus observe to honor their deceased fathers and forefathers, at Kanniya,  Buddhist monks in Trincomalee carried out a rival ceremony,” with hundreds of Sinhalese followers who crowded out Tamil devotees who were prevented from bathing beforehand in the hot wells.

Why today of all days are the Buddhist monks holding special prayers,” one Tamil devotee questioned. We can only assume it is to crowd us out of our own temple. Last week they ganged up with the police to stop us entering the temple and now they are disrupting our very holy fast day.”

Kokila Ramani, a resident of Trincomalee, petitioned the Provincial High Court,  saying the land where the Kinniya  hot springs are located belonged to her and the Archaeology Department is trying to construct a Buddhist structure there without her permission. The Department plans to construct a temple on the site of a Hindu kovil and Hindu devotees are being obstructed from entering the site by the Department, she said. TNA Parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran appeared for her.  Provincial High Court Judge M. Illanchiyan issued an interim injunction suspending the conservation of the Kinniya hot springs which will remove the alleged ruins of a Hindu kovil.

There is a tussle going on at Kurundi. That is well known. In August 2023.A tense situation arose at the Kurundi Temple Complex, Mullaitivu, on Friday (18), when Buddhist and Hindu devotees held parallel events in close proximity to each other. The Buddhist monks organized a three-day chanting of the Ratana Sutra, A number of Buddhist devotees travelled from the South to attend the event. And Hindu priests planned a Pongal celebration around the same time. Heated exchange of words took place between the two groups and the police had to intervene. About 400 policemen were deployed at the scene to ensure that there was no violence.

The latest clash is at Vadunagala (Vedukkunarimalai) in Vavuniya district. A  Hindu group had requested permission to a special Maha Sivarathri ritual at Vadunagala on March 8.2024, which was Maha Sivaratri.The Vavuniya Magistrate’s Court refused permission. Department of Archaeology requested police protection and a team of police officers were sent to the site.

 Despite the prohibition, , nearly 500 people had visited the site and performed religious ceremonies during the daytime on 08 March, while a group of 40 persons, including the chief priest, had arrived later that night and taken steps to conduct a special Maha Shivarathri ritual, and had set up bonfire and improvised hearths.

Accordingly, 8 persons, including the chief priest of the Hindu temple at the site were arrested for allegedly conducting a religious ritual despite a court order being issued previously rejecting a request to do so. They were residents of Nedunkerny, Pulyankulam, Kanagarayankulam and Mamaduwa.

They were arrested for trespass. Police also stated that the group had not considered the possibility of causing great damage to the forest as a result of the fires that could have spread across the forest reserve during the prevailing dry weather conditions.

Those arrested were released by the Vavuniya magistrate.  Television news on 19.3.24 showed them greeted like heroes by relatives and supporters. Critics pointed out that these arrests are made by the Archaeology Department and the magistrate had no power to grant bail.

Thereafter, TNA MPs staged a protest in Parliament, protesting against the arrest of eight civilians who were conducting a ‘pooja’ in view of the Maha Shivaratri Day on 08 March in an archaeological site. They shouted slogans in Tamil, English and Sinhala. Wane District TNA MP Charles Nirmalanathan said eight persons have been taken into custody. They should be set free. A bogus case has been filed against them. They were told that Parliament cannot release any one who is arrested, it has no such power. Chief Government Whip said MPs are wasting the time of the House. Sajith Premadasa said that religious freedom was a fundamental right, and the Chair must give a ruling ensuring that right.

Wimal Weerawansa spoke in Parliament and said that this was Vadunagala, an ancient Buddhist ruin. Courts have not given them the power to conduct a Siva puja there. There have gone there illegally and are trying to create an issue there. The Archaeological Department officials had taken a group of persons who were performing a pooja in violation of the law and produced them in court. They must not be penalized for doing their job, he said.

Human Rights Watch tried to internationalize the issue. HRW said that Eight Tamil Hindu worshippers arrested by Sri Lankan police while engaging in festival rituals last week were detained for more than 10 days and allegedly abused. A magistrate released them on March 19. Rights activists told Human Rights Watch the detainees said they were beaten in for which the court requested a medical report, and their families denied access to them for the first three days.Hindu worshippers consider the Veddukkunaari site to be an ancient Hindu shrine.

In recent years, government authorities and nationalist Sinhala Buddhist monks have been targeting Hindu as well as Muslim religious sites in the country’s north and east in violation of the right to freedom of religion and belief, among other basic rights said Human Rights Watch.

  The eight were arrested at the Veddukkunaari temple near Vavuniya, a Hindu shrine that Buddhist monks, backed by the Department of Archaeology, say is an ancient Buddhist site. It is one of numerous temple sites in northeastern Sri Lanka claimed by nationalist Buddhist monks, frequently with the support of government agencies and the security forces concluded Human Rights Watch.  (Continued)