BUDDHIST VIHARAS AND EELAM PT 11D.
Posted on December 20th, 2023
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 protests at Kurundi.
Many YouTube presentations show viewers the full extent of the Kurundi monastery area. In one presentation the camera took you along the road to Kurundi. It was very steep at the last part. Viewers were shown the extent of the Kurundi ruins. The camera circles the stupa, then the pilgrimage, then shows the other ruins, including the moonstone. This is an excellent coverage of the area for those who cannot go there.[1]
Several videos present the Kurundi case to the viewers. They highlight different aspects of the Kurundi issue. Ven. Medagoda Abeyaratne gave an excellent introduction to Kurundi. He urged Buddhists to visit Kurundi. [2] Bauddhaloka Foundation launched a series of talks on Kurundi. These were very factual and good, especially the presentations by the Department of Archaeology.[3]Lankadeepa Rathu Katta also carried out an excellent interview on Kurundi.[4]
Mahinda Palipane, a lecturer at Sabaragamuwa University, spoke about Kurundi on his channel Insights with Mahinda”, on June 12, 2023. This was a very instructive presentation. He started with the Jaffna peninsula. He showed that the correct name for the Jaffna peninsula was Nagadipa or Nakadiva. Jaffna was Buddhist, he said.
He drew attention to the Vallipuram manuscript found there in 1936. He gave the available historical information on Kurundi, citing Mahavamsa, Manorathapurani, and the British findings. Kurundi was deserted in the 13th century, he said. There were no Tamil Buddhists, he said, this is a new idea. Kurundi confirms that the northeast was Sinhala Buddhist [5]
News channels featured Kurundi, specially the demonstrations against Kurundi. Ada Derana 6.55 news on June 17, 2023, had a special feature on Kurundi giving the key information on Kurundi that the public wished to know. This would have helped entrench the matter in the minds of viewers as the late evening broadcast has a large audience.
This clip featured Santhabodhi explaining about the Hindu Kovil at Kurundi. In 1980 or so, the pilgrimage had been covered with soil and only the stone pillars were visible, he said. Tamil Separatist Movement has put a roof on these pillars and installed a Trisula. When the Department of Archaeology was informed, they prohibited entry as this was an archaeology and forest reserve.
When we came in 2018, continued Santhabodhi, the whole area was a dense forest. Once we started work on the stupa, the Tamil Separatist Movement decided that they too wanted to worship there and talked of a Hindu Kovil. Meke thiyenna thanikara Demela bedum vadaya,” Santhabodhi said. [6]
Madhura TV on 2022-07- 20 had a very good discussion on the subject. The panel consisted of two lawyers, Sarath Silva ( former Chief Justice}and Sudath Jayasundera with Ven. Santhabodhi. Santhabodhi gave a clear account of the work at Kurundi, how it had started, and how it was progressing. The panel noted that monuments identified by the Department of Archaeology came under the control of the Central government and not Provincial Council.
Then the discussion gathered momentum. Kurundi has now become political. How did that start, the panel asked. Santhabodhi described the different encounters with Tamil protestors, in 2018 and 2022 and the various obstructions he faced. They said we were going to create a vihara and have Sinhala settlements there. There was no need to create a vihara, it is already there”, he observed.
The Kovil story was dismissed. The panel laughed over the fact that the Tamils had said the Yupa gala was a Siva Lingam and the Korawak gala was worshipped in the ‘Kovil’. What about protection for the Sangha, asked Sarath Silva, with meaning. Santhabodhi said he thought he was safe.
Santhabodhi invited the public to support Kurundi. The Tamils are attacking Kurundi because it is isolated. It would be good if we could have two busloads of visitors regularly. He gave his mobile number and said that Kurundi had a Facebook page, and Web page and was on YouTube. [7].
YAKK production gave its You Tube clip the heading කුරුන්දි විහාරය මේ තරම් වැදගත් වෙන්නේ ඇයි? එහි සුවිශේෂි කථාව මෙන්න.The speaker referred to EW Adikaram’s reference to Kurundi attakatha, said that the trident and Kovil were set up only in 1980, and announced ‘they can slap an anti-Tamil Jativadi label on me if they wish. I hope the government will take some action on this matter. [8]
The marathon three-hour YouTube discussion presented by the IAHS, on 6.8.2022 had a mix of speakers. It featured specialists, non-specialists, and also amateurs who, in my view, should not have been allowed to join the discussion.[9]The discussion went in various directions, with a mix of correct and incorrect information, glibly trotted out, confusing the viewers, and in my view, creating a dithering audience incapable of deciding anything positive about Kurundi.
This discussion showed how ignorant the public was regarding Eelam and the politics of the Tamil Separatist Movement. This ignorance was shocking. Some speakers thought that the Tamils who opposed Kurundi did so very innocently. This was only a problem of communication, nothing more, they said. The Tamil public will cooperate once they are given the correct information. We should explain matters to them. Kurundi issue must be reported in all three languages, they said. [10].
Santhabodhi who had been listening intervened at this point. He was not scheduled to speak. Most people had left the discussion by then. However, it is on YouTube, at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiqG8CFJ6c4&t=321s the time stamp for his speech is 3.12.59.
Santhabodhi ‘s intervention is very important. It is more important than the rest of this over long discussion. Santhabodhi was clearly appalled by the naïve statements he was hearing. He cut in and stated very firmly, I have listened to this discussion. The speakers have no practical familiarity with the situation at Kurundi. Colombo thinks the Tamils are like us, very approachable, and nice. They only need to be spoken to. That is not so. Their interest in Kurundi is political. It is a part of their Eelam strategy.
It is a waste of time talking to them, Santhabodhi continued. They are not interested. They were not interested even in listening to the explanation of the Director of Archaeology, who arrived to settle a protest. They want control of the land and they want to eliminate the Buddhist presence in the north. That is all.
They say Sinhala Buddhist talk is over this is now ours.” Forget heritage management, said Santhabodhi bluntly to the IAHS audience. It is useless taking about heritage with them. This is Politics.
Santhabodhi also made two other observations which are not usually emphasized in the ethnic issues debate. He said that the Tamil MPs were not the only persons working towards Eelam. The Tamil officers working in the government and provincial offices in the district, were also working toward Eelam.
Santhabodhi also observed that the Tamil public is very scared of the Tamil officials and Tamil politicians. Both groups, politicians and officials, are directly associated with the Separatist Movement and they hold the power in the district. So the public will not oppose them.
Santhabodhi also pointed out, to whoever was listening to him, that University of Jaffna has also joined the game. An academic was sent to Kurundi to report on Kurundi. That academic had said that there was no point in denying the existence of Kurundi vihara. We should say it is Tamil Buddhist and keep the Sinhalese out. Jaffna University undergrads had gone in a mass to protest at Vadunagala, were there was another tussle going on , between temple and kovil, added Santhabodhi . ( Continued)
[1] https://youtu.be/yQuRSRHX2dI
[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCa5v-VmbGI
[3] https://youtu.be/QSdj7YRjbDM and https://youtu.be/fWzG_tMaPM4
[4] https://youtu.be/cfNqAwzR1Og
[5] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gg2Y5Bf7s34 .
[6] https://youtu.be/rYUgeq1alzg
[7] https://youtu.be/axpLwBPfbr8
[8] https://youtu.be/4BZtR4v4zN0