KAMALIKA PIERIS

The British administration settled the ‘Ceylon Tamil’ in Mullativu in the mid 19 century.”The 19th century saw the settlement of Tamils along the coastline in Mullativu, Trincomalee   and Batticaloa districts” said historian D.G.B. de Silva.

 As soon as they got into Mullaitivu the ‘Ceylon Tamil’ started to destroy the Buddhist heritage of Mullativu. JP Lewis  Government agent for North, said in his  Manual of Vanni ( 1895) There are several  damaged ruins on the  Kurundi  hill and  the  tank bund.  The damage seems to have been caused through willful defacement by the Tamil occupants than by the action of time.

Lewis continued, The Tamil residents built a temple in Kurundi, and they demolished the vihara and other buildings and removed nearly all the bricks and the stoneworks .Stones were removed from Kuruntunurmalai in 1858, I believe, to build the Mullivaikkal temple. The doorway of that temple is constructed of carved stones from Kuruntanurmalai.”

The Tamil Separatist Movement never thought that a young bhikkhu, Ven. Galgamuwe Santhabodhi would discover Kurundi and decided in 2018 to revitalize the monastery. In 2016, Santhabodhi went in search of Kurundi, after reading about it. There was no proper road to Kurundi. He wandered around and managed to find Kurundi. Santhabodhi is following in the footsteps of other dedicated monks who, single handedly, saved valuable temples, such as Tantirimale, during British rule.  

 Ven.  Santhabodhi   is a young, active bhikkhu who wishes to conserve not only Kurundi but other selected Buddhist structures in Mullativu as well. Ven Santhabodi has given many television and YouTube interviews to drum up interest in the viharas he is promoting in Mullativu. Hope what happened to Dimbulagala monk will not happen to Santhabodhi.

In one of his television interview, Santhabodhi also said, the public do not know the difficulties    we bhikkhus undergo   in these archaeological locations, ‘api vindina duka’. At Kurundi, there were no lights for one year, water was not readily available, mobile phones could not be recharged, but there were plenty of mosquitoes. He had one other person with him. There was no protection whatsoever. The nearest police station was Oddusuddan, 24 km away.  

Excavation started, in 2018 with the ceremonial participation of the Minster for Buddha Susana and Director General of the Department of Archaeology. The Archaeology  department had done very good work there.

One archaeology officer stated, I was working in the   Archaeology department in Vavuniya .I did site inspection and recorded findings at Kurundi I was there when Tamil Seperatist Movement caused problems. The Archaeology department officers,   worked with much dedication  at Kurundi .their contribution must be appreciated.

Kurundi started to get support. Bauddhaloka Foundation and Sakyputra Organization promised funds and about 70 million was   available as at 2022.   Two security posts and soldiers from   the 24th Battalion of the Sinha regiment were stationed. Channa Jayasumana saw the need for a definitive book on Kurundi. He appointed a team to prepare the manuscript, he will fund its publication. 

 Kirundi vihara is strategically placed, that is why the Tamil Separatist Movement opposes its conservation.  It is on the East coast, though listed as Northern Province. It is the first of a long list of Mahayana temples running down the East coast, facing the Bay of Bengal.  Below it comes Tiriyaya, Gokanna, Seruwila, Dighavapi and Rajagala.

 Kurundi monastery is also the largest archaeological site found in the North.  The monastery consisted of   more than 400 acres. It had a large inscription on its premises,    which contains the rules and regulations for monasteries. These two items indicate that Kurundi was the leading monastery in the area.

If Ven.  Santhabodhi    succeeds in developing Kurundi, Kurundi will once again become a sought after monastery and meditation centre. Santhabodhi has ambitions for Kurundi. Kurundi is not only the heritage of the Sri Lankan Buddhists but also of all the Buddhists of the world, said Santhabodhi. Kurundi should be listed and protected as a World Heritage Site.

The Kurundi project will be the start of a   new Sinhala Buddhist penetration into Mullaitivu. This return of Buddhism to the north-east of Sri Lanka   will be   applauded   by the Buddhist world, and the Tamil Separatist Movement will not be able to hold it back. There is now a large economically powerful Buddhist region in Asia which could be roped in for support.

The Sinhala Buddhist civilization is greatly respected for its  long  history, its ability to  withstand   450 years of Christian rule,  its preservation of doctrinal Theravada  Buddhism  and   its  assistance to the Buddhist countries of  South and South east  Asia . Sinhala Buddhism is recognized as Sri Lanka’s contribution to world civilization, together with Sinhala language and Sinhala literature.

Sinhala scholarship has also now received world recognition.  UNESCO has recognized the Mahawamsa as the first of its kind in South Asia, initiating a mature historiographical tradition, and presenting Sri Lanka’s history in a chronological order from the 6th century BCE”.

 Tamil Separatist Movement sees the arrival of any sort of Buddhism into the north as a threat to its shaky position. Kurundi is a good example of the strong   opposition   of Tamil politicians   toward the   Buddhist temples in the north and east.

Tamil Separatist Movement is using six different strategies to stop Kurundi. They plan to chase the Buddhists out of Kurundi by (1) threats and physical harassment (2)   through the law courts (3)   through intervention by the President of Sri Lanka. Tamil Separatist Movement also plans   to (4) encircle each Buddhist temple by Tamil owned territory to prevent further expansion, to declare that (5) Kurundi was an ancient kovil, and also that (6) the Buddhist temples in the north were built by Tamil Buddhists.  Sinhala Buddhists have no claim.

The Tamil Separatist Movement was opposing and harassing the Kurundi project from the start, said Ven Santhabodhi.  As soon as we started   in September 2018, they came and assaulted us, he said. There was a huge clash, with blows.  We were alone.  We had no protection at the time. In September 2021 about 100 persons came, hit us and uttered death threats. No work was done till Nov 23, 2022.  

The Department of Archaeology did their work under continuous opposition, he said.    Archaeology officials, sangha, and visitors to Kurundi were harassed on many occasions and work on the vihara halted. Visitors stopped coming. Earlier, lots of pilgrims came, now they are staying away, he said in 2022.

On one occasion, two Tamil MPs and two Tamil officers accosted two monks who were visiting. What a ‘sahasika darunu akalapayak’ they showed by raising hands against a monk, said the horrified Santhabodhi. I made a complaint to the police on the matter.

 Buddhist activity was opposed. In 2023 when officials of the Archaeology Department attempted to place a Buddha statue in the land taken over for Kurundi, there was a protest campaign.

The strongest opposition was seen on June 14.2022, when relics were to be enshrined at Kurundi. This would have immediately made the vihara a place of worship. It had to be stopped somehow. Tamil Separatist Movement went into action.

Video footage shows a line of Tamil protestors, standing between the chaitiya and audience.   Chairs, with white sheets, ready for the sangha were empty. They shouted that this land belonged to the Tamils, Kurundi was a kovil, not a vihara, and Buddhist conservation was illegal. Lastly, they asked, why this interest now? Why has the Archaeology Department started on this now?       

Ven Santhabodhi  said about 50 protestors came, trampled the decorations, destroyed the carpets ,pushed the monks  away, scolded and surrounded the  Chaitiya, so we could not  get  to it. Tamil MPs were present. The Tamil Separatist Movement filed a case on 16.6.22. The Chief Justice had intervened and stopped the order.  

Sarath Weerasekera, who had been there at Kurundi, complained in Parliament. A recording   is available on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mnnRlGoLE4 He said he wished to speak of the violent threats made by the Tamil MPs.

Sarath Weerasekera  said A week ago during the ceremony to deposit Sacred Relics at the Kurundashoka Chaitiya in Mullaitivu, two TNA-MPs had come there with a group of thugs and sabotaged the whole event. Two TNA MPs Selvarasa Gajendran and Vinoradha Linghum had disrupted the event and had not allowed them even to offer a flower. If it had been any other religion these two would have been killed the next day. The order was revoked, due to the efforts of the police and the sangha.   The Department of Archaeology can   now continue at Kurundi.   We will continue our conservation work, he concluded.

The second tactic tried by the Tamil Separatist Movement regarding Kurundi, was to stop the   Kurundi conservation   by obtaining a court order. The same charges were filed again and again and work on Kurundi was stopped from time to time, said Santhabodhi.    Buddhist lawyers and the All Ceylon Buddhist Congress (ACBC) took an interest in the matter.

 In 2018, TNA obtained a temporary restraining order from the courts by saying that the conservation efforts may cause unrest in the area.  This was revoked. TNA filed a case in Supreme Court on August 2021.   This seems to have been settled in favor of the Department of Archaeology. 

TNA filed a case on July 18.2022 in Magistrate Court.  Mullaitivu magistrate R.Sarvanarajah ordered the removal of new constructions at Kurundi and no further construction work.  The order was in Tamil.  Santhabodhi and his team obtained a translation and found that The Magistrate had been told that this was a kovil and a stupa had been built on top.

 To break a stupa, as ordered, is a serious thing. Also it was not possible for us to say what we dug up and what we added.    We asked Chief Justice for instructions, said Santhabodhi.  Mullativu Police also informed the Magistrate that issues may crop up, if the constructions were removed.  On the orders of the Chief Justice, Magistrate Saravanarajah came to Kurundi, looked around and withdrew the order.  The Archaeology Department could continue.  Work resumed. (Continued)