Tensions are rising in Trincomalee following reports that the Sri Lankan Air Force is seeking to install a radar system within the sacred grounds of the historic Thirukoneswaram Temple, intensifying longstanding concerns over militarisation and encroachment on Tamil religious land.
A member of the temple’s Trustee Board, Jeyasankar, has publicly opposed the proposal, urging local residents to resist what he described as a continuing pattern of state appropriation. Speaking to media, he noted that the temple, spanning approximately 247 acres, has already experienced successive encroachments by multiple branches of the Sri Lankan military.
He detailed how areas surrounding the temple have gradually come under state control. The vicinity of the temple’s historic pond has been closed off and occupied by the Sri Lanka Army, followed by the establishment of a police post within temple grounds, and later the construction of a naval base at Nandi Malai. The proposed Air Force installation, he warned, would further reduce what remains of the temple’s traditional lands, raising concerns over the preservation of its sacred space.
The temple’s historical land ownership, supported by colonial-era copper plate grants (CV 217), is today largely symbolic. Administratively, the land falls outside the authority of local government or temple management, instead coming under the control of the Ministry of Buddha Sasana. Critics say this arrangement has enabled state authorities to authorise commercial and structural developments along access routes to the temple, often benefiting Sinhala settlers, without meaningful revenue returning to the temple.
The site is also designated under the Department of Archaeology, a classification that allows the state to override traditional ownership claims. Observers argue that such provisions are applied selectively, privileging Buddhist heritage narratives while marginalising Tamil Hindu claims, despite the temple’s long-standing Saivite significance.
Thirukoneswaram Temple, with a recorded history spanning over 3,000 years, holds profound cultural and religious importance for Tamil Hindus. Revered as one of the island’s ancient Pancha Ishwarams, the shrine is celebrated in the Tevaram hymns of the Saivite Nayanmars and referenced in classical works such as the Thiruppugal and Periya Puranam. Its origins are also linked in tradition to the Ramayana and to the figure of King Ravana, a devotee of Lord Shiva.
Local observers warn that the continued militarisation and administrative control of the temple’s lands reflect ongoing structural shifts that risk altering the site’s religious and cultural character. The proposed radar installation, they contend, is not merely a security measure but part of a wider trajectory that could further militarise a historically Tamil Hindu sacred space.