The vihara, pictured in 2023, whilst under construction by the Sri Lankan military.
The Governor of the Northern Province, N. Vethanayakan, has issued a press release addressing the controversy surrounding the Tissa Vihara, located in Kankesanthurai, Jaffna, where private landowners have called for the removal of an illegally constructed Buddhist temple and the return of their lands.
According to the statement, landowners have submitted documents proving that the land is privately owned and have requested that an adjacent plot of land be provided to them in exchange. They further informed the Governor that the official land belonging to Tissa Vihara is located elsewhere.
The landowners have also alleged that the Vihara has encroached on additional lands and have requested that these be cleared. In response, Governor Vethanayakan has held discussions with both the head priest of Tissa Vihara and the head priest of Nainathivu Vihara. Steps have also been taken to bring the matter to the attention of the Ministry of Buddhasasana, according to the press release.
This controversy of growing Sinhalisation in the Tamil homeland was raised in Parliament last month by Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) leader Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, who challenged the government to demonstrate its commitment to anti-racism by addressing the issue of the Tissa Raja Vihara in Thaiyiddy, Jaffna, another illegal construction.
“The original vihara has a particular plot of land—that land, nobody disputes,” Ponnambalam stated. “But instead, the military, under the guise of a high-security zone, illegally took over six acres of privately owned land and built this temple.”
Ponnambalam tabled a 2023 report from the Divisional Secretariat confirming that the temple had been constructed on private land without any authorisation from local authorities. Despite official recognition of the illegality of the construction, he noted, the Sri Lankan military proceeded to build the temple anyway.
The TNPF leader further framed the dispute as a test of the government’s sincerity in addressing institutional racism and Sinhala Buddhist hegemony.
