State-backed changes to cultural identities keep tensions simmering in SL

IN the Tamil-majority northern province of Sri Lanka, as a road turns uphill towards Old Chemmalai, near the scenic Nayaru Lagoon in Mullaitivu district, there stands a statue of Lord Buddha.

- PON VASANTH BA

The nation's Department of Archaeology now recognises this as an ancient Buddhist site of significance. Adjacent to the statue stands the small Neeraviyadi Pillaiyar Kovil. Local Tamilspeaking Hindus say they have worshipped the Hindu deity here for generations.

In recent years, this location has become a site of contested identities; the latest report of the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA), titled "The Intersectional Trends of Land Conflicts in Sri Lanka,' terms this a sign of increasing "Sinhala-Buddhisisation" in the northern and eastern provinces, where large numbers of Sri Lankan Tamils and Muslims reside.

Raja Chinnathambi, secretary of the Neeraviyadi Pillaiyar Kovil and resident of Chemmalai, claims the identity of the place has been altered since the final Eelam War when people of his village had to flee.