A replica display of the Vedukkunaari Malai Shiva lingam was forced to have the name written on the artwork erased, following reported “pressure from higher authorities” in the wake of attempts to reclaim the area by Sinhala Buddhists.

The replica Shiva Lingam was placed at the Vavuniya Chitrai Art Festival with the name of the temple inscribed in white chalk. The name was visible on the first day of the art exhibition which is held by the Vavuniya District Secretariat in coordination with the cultural council at the municipal ground. However, the name of the temple was erased from the shrine with black paint on the following day. 

Officials on duty said that the name was erased due to pressure from higher authorities. 

The Vedukkunaari Athi Shiva temple ignited after Sri Lanka police raided the site on Maha Shivarathri this year, as they arrested eight devotees during the pooja. The devotees were released after days of protests and condemnation in the homeland and from the diaspora. 

This incident occurred following the many obstacles the Sri Lankan Police Department and the Sri Lankan Archaeological Department had put up in the recent past, including filing a case at the Vavuniya Magistrate Court in 2021 which led to the arrest of the temple priest and administrator.

The idol itself has also previously faced vandalism from suspected Sinhala Buddhists.

Tamils in the North-East have witnessed an escalation of increased ‘Sinhalisation’ throughout the North-East where there has been a concentrated and explicit attempts to erect Sinhala Buddhist sites.

(The inscription was legible on the first day of the festival as shown above)