Dilrook Kannangara

The Vallipuram Inscription or Vallipuram Gold Plate is an important ancient artifact that busted fake homeland claims of a certain ethnic group found. It was unearthed as part of archeological excavations carried out during the British era. It states that the Sinhala Buddhist temple in the area now known as Vallipuram (Veli Pura or Veheli Pura in the past) and the area were directly under the rule of the Sinhala King Vasabha in the first century AD which he governed through a governor he appointed which is the normal practice. It also symbolizes state patronage of Sinhala Buddhist shrines in the past.

Sadly, these facts became unpalatable for tribal-minded separatists. They distorted the inscription with changes made to the letters on the inscription. Tamil Nadu language letters were introduced into the inscription which were not there in the original.

Thankfully Most Venerable Walpola Sri Rahula Thero took a photograph of the original inscription and preserved it. Decades later the inscription was recovered by the government of Sri Lanka and is now preserved at the museum. However, that has been distorted maliciously.

The fifth letter of the top row has been changed to a Tamil Nadu language letter which was not there in the inscription. The seventh letter in the second row and the third last letter of the last row have also been distorted to Tamil Nadu language letters.

A comparison of the two is displayed in the following picture. Credits to the owners of these images which is acknowledged along with the images.

Photo credit: Amazinglanka.com