KAMALIKA PIERIS Ven. Galgamuwe Santhabodhi, who was responsible for the revitalization of Kurundi vihara in Mullaitivu, has also successfully conserved another monastery, Sapumalgaskada at Vavuniya. Like Kurundi, Sapumalgaskada monastery was excavated and conserved, due to the efforts of Ven. Santhabodhi. Sapumalgaskada archaeological site is situated in the Periyakattikulam forest reserve in Vavuniya District. Sapumalgaskada is the […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS New Buddhist temples were erected in the north, during the Eelam war and after. Admiral Daya Sandagiri, then Commander Northern naval area   built Dambakola Patuna Sangamitta Vihara   at Sambilturai, in Jaffna District. The foundation   was laid in 1997, work was completed in 2005. Several temples were built in the north after 2009. Sri […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS Tamil Separatist Movement used all sorts of tricks to try and stop Kurundi. Since there was strong evidence to show that Kurundi was indeed Kurundi, this was not easy and Tamil Separatist Movement found that they were making contradictory statements. Tamil Separatist Movement asked whether Kurundi was Kurundi. Was it really the one […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS The contested sites” issue at   Kurundi was created by the Tamil Separatist Movement. Tamil Separatist Movement announced, untruthfully, that there was an ancient kovil on the site of the Kurundi monastery.  Tamil Separatist Movement said that for generations Tamil people believed that an old Hindu temple, known as Aathi Sivan Kovil, was located […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS Hinduism is not a   world religion. It is confined to India. Hinduism was introduced to East Asia but failed to take root there.  Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia retained the Ramayana but rejected the Hindu religion. Hinduism was not allowed to enjoy its position even in India.  In India, there is an ongoing tussle between […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS Kurundi vihara has the distinction of being Sri Lanka’s first contested Buddhist site. That is due to the kovil-temple” tug-of-war going on at the site, thanks to the Tamil Separatist Movement.  The kovil announcement got a lot of publicity, mostly negative. The skeptical   public wanted to know exactly when this ‘ancient’ kovil had […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS The Tamil Separatist Movement tried to use the laws of the country, to stop Kurundi from blossoming forth as a new venue for   Buddhist pilgrims.  Tamil Separatist Movement filed cases in the Magistrate court and Supreme Court against the archaeological work at Kurundi Vihara.    TNA MP M. A. Sumanthiran filed a petition in […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS The West passed its first regulation on religious sites in 1935. World War I was over and World War II was looming. The Treaty on the Protection of Artistic and Scientific Institutions and Historic Monuments, known as the Roerich Pact, was signed by the states of the Pan-American Union in 1935. Article 1 […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS You Tube talk shows focused on the rivalry at Kurundi.  Each talk show began with an account of the history of the Kurundi monastery and then went on to the Kovil story. Through these talk shows and the daily news broadcasts the public was fully informed of the history of Kurundi and the […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS Kurundi Vihara has led to a lot of talk about how to conserve a Buddhist monument in Sri Lanka. Until Kurundi, there was no discussion on the subject.  The Department of Archaeology selected certain Buddhist monuments and renovated them.  There was no fuss. But when the Kurundi vihara issue came up, the public […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS The contested site” argument was indirectly supported, by the numerous You Tube talk shows that discussed Kurundi. Kurundi was a topic on many You Tube talk shows.  The contested sites” issue was discussed at these talk shows.  In all the talk shows I watched, the interviewer wanted to know whether there really was […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS The Tamil Separatist Movement inspected the Buddhist ruins in the north and east during the 30 year Eelam war when the north and east were not accessible to the Buddhists.  Tamil Separatist Movement wanted to wipe out all signs of a Buddhist civilization in the north and east. But it was not possible […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS A book titled Kurundi Vihara Vamsaya” was published in 2023, by Sarasavi Prakashakayo.    The idea of such a publication originated with Channa Jayasumana, who felt that an authoritative book on Kurundi was urgently needed. He has funded the publication as well. The book was edited by Chandima Bandara Ambanwela and Sumedha Weerawarne. Chandima […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS Kurundi vihara supporters were quietly active, where Kurundi was concerned. They set up committees in Colombo to support Kurundi. Ven.Medagoda Abeyatissa of Sunetra Devi Pirivena, Pepiliyana, and Dr Wasantha Bandara   had told Ven. Santhabodhi they would gather the national organizations together for the   Kurundi cause. On September 25, 2022 the Jatika Sanvidana Ekamutuwa […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS Revised 26.11.23. The Sarasavi publication Kurundi vihara vamsaya” (2023) provides a systematic account of the difficulties faced by Kurundi in the present period. The account is often in the first person, from the experience of the chief priest of Kurundi, Ven. Galgamuwe Santhabodhi.  In this book, Ven. Santhabodhi relates his experience in trying […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS The Mullaitivu judge T. Saravanaraja who heard the case relating to the Kurundi vihara, resigned from his position of District judge and Magistrate, on September 23rd 2023.  He said there were threats to his life due to the orders he delivered in the Kurundi case.   Saravanaraja submitted his resignation letter to the Judicial […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS The Tamil Separatist Movement has tried to use the law courts to try and stop the revival work on Kurundi. They have used the Mullaitivu police and the Mullaitivu Magistrate court for the purpose. On 4. September 2018. Santhabodhi accompanied by Department of Archaeology officers from Vavuniya and Colombo set off for Kurundi, […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS Revised 24.11.23 The Tamil Separatist Movement continued to obstruct and harass the Kurundi project.   On 3rd October 2018 a group of MPs from Colombo visited Kurundi. A group of Tamils confronted them  and there was an argument with Tamil MPs and residents.   On February 4th 2022 Ven. Santhabodhi had planned to hold a […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS REVISED 18.11.23 The Sarasavi publication Kurundi vihara vamsaya” (2023) provides a systematic account of the difficulties faced by Kurundi in the present period. The account is often in the first person, from the experience of the chief priest of Kurundi, Ven. Galgamuwe Santhabodhi.  In this book, Ven. Santhabodhi relates his experience in trying […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS REV 21.11.23 Ven. Santhabodhi met with continuous opposition from the Tamil Separatist Movement in his attempt to conserve Kurundi. The Tamil Separatist Movement had been observing what was going on in Kurundi from the very start and moved in on important occasions. EVENT NO 1  On 4. September 2018. Santhabodhi accompanied by Department […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS ITEM 1 Speech delivered on December 18, 1949 at the Inaugural business meeting of Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK) by S. J. V. Chelvanayakam KC Chairman of the reception committee and delegates assembled here, I thank you most sincerely for the honour you have done me in electing me your Chairman for today’s […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS Revised 12.9.23 The place names of the north and east indicate that the north and east were Sinhala before they became Tamil. The incoming Tamils, arriving from Tamilnadu, simply tamilised the existing Sinhala place names instead of inventing new names. In 1886, the irrigation engineer, Henry Parker, presented a series of Sessional papers […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS There are four    documents which need to be studied before the discussion on Tamil colonization of Sinhala lands can proceed. They are, Bandaranaike-Chelvanayagam Pact, Dudley Senanayake-Chelvanayagam Pact, the District Development Councils Act and the Provincial Councils Act. All four take positions on the subject of Lands and land settlement”. BANDARANAIKE – CHELVANAYAGAM PACT […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS This essay looks at Tamil colonization of Sinhala lands during British rule. (1815-1948).From the time they took control of the Udarata kingdom, the British wanted to bring the Sinhala population to heel, especially after the rebellions of 1818 and 1848. They decided to replace the Sinhalese with Tamils from South India. This   was […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS The Tamils in Trincomalee District rose, from 30% of the population in 1871 to a peak of 60% in 1901.  Trincomalee had become an urban center by 1879. Census reports indicate that from 1870 to 1900 Jaffna was the foremost source of migrants into Trincomalee town. The town itself was largely inhabited by […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS When it comes to identifying Buddhist monuments in the north and east, the work of Ellawela Medhananda deserves special recognition. The only bhikkhu who had explored the area successfully for this purpose was Ellawela Medhananda, said the Department of Archaeology research team of 2010. (See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSdj7YRjbDM) Ellawela Medhananda   single handedly, with very little   […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS In 2010, with the end of the Eelam war, the Department of Archaeology initiated a survey of the Buddhist sites in the north.  The Department sent a team to the North, to map out the Buddhist remains in Mullaitivu, Kilinochchi, Vavuniya, Mannar and Jaffna.  Their task was to find and list all the […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS The Sinhala Buddhist lobby must now reverse this process of Tamilisation and re-establish the North and East as Sinhala and Buddhist. There are two stages in this venture. (i) Firstly   recognition of the north and east as part of the ancient Sinhala Buddhist civilization. (ii) Re-establishing a Sinhala Buddhist civilization in the north […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS With the rise of the Tamil Separatist Movement, the Buddhist realized that the Buddhist sites in the north and east were in danger.  The Tamil Separatist Movement intended to ruthlessly eliminate all evidence of a Sinhala Buddhist civilization in the north and east. Therefore, the Sinhala Buddhist lobby wanted the ancient Buddhist monuments […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS The North and East of Sri Lanka was Sinhala and Buddhist   till the British took power in 1815. The North and East of Sri Lanka was never the area of historical habitation of the Tamil speaking peoples”.  The North and East of Sri Lanka never was the homeland” of the Tamil people”. The […]