Sri Lankan Navy-backed Buddhist ceremony in Nainativu 

A large-scale Buddhist ceremony held in Nainativu, Jaffna, has reignited concerns among Tamils about the ongoing militarisation and Sinhalisation of the North-East, as the Sri Lankan Navy once again played a central role in organising and facilitating Buddhist events in the Tamil homeland.

The annual Katina Pinkama ceremony of the Nagadeepa Purana Rajamaha Viharaya took place on 10 and 11 October, with extensive assistance from the Northern Naval Command under the direction of Navy leadership and the guidance of Most Ven. Nawadagala Padumakitti Tissa Thera, the Chief Sanghanayake for the Northern Province.

The event, held on the Tamil island of Nainativu, was attended by senior Buddhist clergy and military officers, reinforcing what locals described as the state’s growing use of Sinhala-Buddhist institutions and ceremonies to assert dominance in Tamil areas.

Amongst those present was Ravindra Chandrasiri Wijegunaratne , who served as Sri Lanka's Chief of Defence Staff. He is accused of being involved in the cover up of the disappearance and murder of 11 Tamil youths. He was also accused of trying to shoot and abduct a key witness in the case. In 2016, he was caught on camera assaulting a journalist covering a story on Hambantota port.

This event exemplifies the state’s broader strategy of using Sinhala Buddhist religious activities, often supported or led by the military, to entrench cultural and demographic dominance in the North and East. Although such efforts date back to 1948, when the British granted independence to Ceylon, the pace of Sinhalisation has accelerated since the end of the armed conflict in 2009, with Sinhala Buddhist structures proliferating across the region. Many of these have been established with military or government support.