Will We Watch Our History Be Buried?

CALL TO ACTION: Will We Watch Our History Be Buried?

By the Save Kanniya Heritage 

TRINCOMALEE — As of January 2026, the silence at the Kanniya Hot Water Wells is broken not by the prayers of devotees, but by the roar of heavy excavators. Our history is being rewritten in real-time.

For centuries, Kanniya has been the bedrock of our identity—a place where the legend of King Ravana meets the sacred waters used for our Aadi Amavasai rites. This is not "archaeological restoration." This is archaeological aggression. While the Department of Archaeology claims to be protecting the past, they are physically removing the foundations of the ancient Pillaiyar Temple, a landmark documented as far back as the 1834 Ceylon Gazetteer.

The Failure of Leadership

Despite local "prohibition orders" from the Trincomalee Town and Gravets Pradeshiya Sabha, the state continues its work with impunity. The question we must ask today is: Where are our representatives?

We cannot afford to wait for a court hearing on February 9. By then, the physical evidence of our heritage may be gone forever. The Tamil community—both in the homeland and the diaspora—must now demand that our political leaders and civil society activists stop issuing statements and start taking action.

Our Demands: The Mandate for Action

We urge every Tamil citizen to demand the following from their elected representatives (MPs) and political parties (ITAK, TNPF, and the NPP Tamil wing):

1.     Parliamentary Intervention: Demand an immediate Adjournment Motion in Parliament. Our MPs must force a public debate on the weaponization of the Antiquities Ordinance.

2.     Physical Oversight: We demand that our representatives stand at the gates of Kanniya. Their physical presence at the site is required to stop the heavy machinery and provide a shield for local activists.

3.     Diplomatic Pressure: Our leaders must hand-deliver the Kanniya Dossier to the High Commissions of India, the UK, and Canada. The world must know that "reconciliation" cannot happen while cultural erasure is state policy.

4.     Legal Support: Civil society organizations like the Center for Human Rights and Development (CHRD) must be empowered with the resources to file a Fundamental Rights (FR) petition in the Supreme Court against this discriminatory land grab.

How You Can Act Today

The power to save Kanniya does not just lie in Geneva or Colombo; it lies in your hands.

●       Call Your MP: Use the contact list below. Do not ask for a meeting; demand to know what they did today to stop the excavators at Kanniya.

●       Sign the Endorsement: Ensure your local temple, sports club, or community center signs the formal UN Endorsement Form to back our international petition.

●       Document Everything: If you are in Trincomalee, safely photograph any new machinery or changes at the site. Every photo is a piece of evidence for the UN.

---

Targeted Contact List for Immediate Action

 

Stakeholder	Key Contacts	Focus of Demand
Trincomalee MPs	K. S. Kugathasan (ITAK): 0766932971 / kugathasanks@parliament.lk   Roshan Akmeemana (NPP)	Demand immediate physical presence at the site and a parliamentary motion.
Human Rights (Trincomalee)	HRCSL Regional Office: 026-2222607 / hrctrinco@sltnet.lk	Demand an official monitoring mission to document the use of heavy machinery.
Local Government	Trincomalee Town & Gravets Pradeshiya Sabha	Support their "Prohibition Orders" and provide legal aid for their court cases.

The Deadline is Now

The excavators do not wait for court dates. The concrete being poured today will take decades to remove. We call on all Tamil political, civil, and religious leaders: Act now, or explain to the next generation why you allowed their history to be buried.

---