Over a temple for Sita

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Over a temple for Sita

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Controversy surrounds a temple built in Nuwara Eliya, a Tamil-

dominated plantation area in Sri Lanka, at the site believed by some

people to be where Sita remained in Ravana's custody.

 

ANUPAMA KATAKAM

 

 

NUWARA ELIYA, the picturesque Sri Lankan hill station known for its

fine quality tea, has seen a growing traffic of visitors to what

tourist brochures term "the only Sita temple in the world". The

recently constructed complex, which is patterned on the m odern

south Indian temple, is set in idyllic countryside beside a clear

stream. Adjacent to it is another new temple dedicated to Hanuman,

the monkey-god, who according to mythology was instrumental in

rescuing Sita from Lanka. The location and historici ty of the

temples situated in the country's plantation heartland has in recent

years given rise to a controversy, which is taking on some divisive

overtones in this island nation already torn by ethnic strife.

 

The Seetha Amman Temple Trust decided some two years ago to build a

Sita temple at a spot believed to be the exact place where Sita was

held captive by the demon-king Ravana in the Lanka of the epic,

Ramayana. Myth has it that Sita, the wife of King Rama , was

imprisoned in the Ashoka forests of the region. The temple trustees

believe that this is no myth and that Sita's imprisonment at this

spot is a historical fact.

 

Realising the tourism potential of such a temple, the Sri Lankan

Ministry of Tourism plans to make it the centre of a sacred site cum

pilgrim complex. It earmarked 12.8 hectares around the temple for

further development. The move was held up following st rong

objections by Buddhist organisations and environmental groups. Both

sections have their reasons to oppose the temple, but they agree

that there is little historical basis to the story of Sita's

imprisonment in these forests.

 

The president of the Seetha Amman Trust and Central Province

Minister for Tourism, V. Radha Krishnan, however offered the

following as evidence that Sita once stayed in these parts: the

concentration of Ashoka trees - various versions of the Ramayana sta

te that Sita's home in Lanka was inside a thick Ashoka forest

(Ashoka Vana) - and the discovery about a century ago of three

idols, one of which was that of Sita. It is believed that the idols

have been worshipped at this spot for centuries. There is als o a

belief that Ravana's palace existed somewhere in the vicinity.

Clearly, this "evidence" can hardly stand up to any test of

historical validation.

 

This correspondent visited the region demarcated for the "Sita

Eliya" project as it is now known. The temple complex is situated

approximately 5 km from the Nuwara Eliya town on the road to Kandy.

The two new temples exist on a quarter-acre strip of land . One

temple is dedicated to Sita, and the other to Hanuman. The Sita

temple looks like any modern-day temple with a multi-coloured dome

filled with mythological figures. Three new statues - of Rama, Sita

and Laxman - have been installed in the new struc ture. On the side

closer to the river bank is a small shrine with the three darkened

idols which were found a century ago.

 

ANUPAMA KATAKAM

The Sita temple in a forest setting.

 

"There is a rock on the opposite bank where Sita sat and meditated.

Also this Ashoka forest is a clear indication that she came here

when she was brought to Lanka," said G.T. Prabhakaran, who is in

charge of the temple. There is also a belief that at a p articular

point in the stream, the water has no taste. "This is the spot she

cursed. You cannot drink the water. Drink it further downstream,"

one temple worker said. Temple workers are keen to show visitors the

spot where Sita bathed, the stone she sat on, and where she prayed.

Beliefs here are evidently strong and devotees are convinced that

this episode of the Ramayana epic did indeed take place here.

 

Most places of worship in Sri Lanka (as in India) have legends,

beliefs and myths associated with them. These in fact lend a special

charm to such places. It is when attempts are made, often with an

underlying political agenda, to give legends the stamp of history,

that problems and controversies arise. This seems to be happening in

the case of the Sita Eliya project.

 

In fact, many historians of ancient India and Ceylon are of the view

that the Lanka of the Ramayana lay no further south than the

Vindhyas, and that the geographical position of Sri Lanka as

reflected in the Ramayana was an interpolation made after trade

routes with the island were opened. Indeed, the historicity of this

site was denied by a leading Sri Lankan archaeologist. S.U.

Deraniyagala, Director-General of the Archeological Department of

Sri Lanka, said: "These are all new- fangled ideas which ha ve the

potential to create all sorts of divisions among people." He

believes that the issue is "best left alone". He pointed out that

there is no scientific or historical evidence to indicate that this

area is connected to the Ramayana.

 

To a visitor from India, where the historicisation of myth has often

aided right-wing political mobilisation, the Sita temple controversy

build-up rings a warning bell. Indeed there is some opposition to

the project from some extremist Buddhist organisat ions. Nearly 42

groups, including the Buddhist Singhala Veera Vidhana, a

fundamentalist organisation, have opposed the Sita Eliya project,

saying it would lead to the conversion of the township into

a "Ramapuraya". In a joint statement, these organisatio ns expressed

the fear that as Indian devotees begin to throng the temple, it

would become the stronghold of Tamil political interests. In fact,

at the time of building the Sita temple the groups protested to such

an extent that work had to cease temporar ily. When the issue

subsided, the trust completed building the temple and on January 26

this year it was inaugurated by devotees who celebrated the

Kumbhabhishekam.

 

Moreover, the organisations said the pilgrimage site would uproot

people living in the area. Would the government provide adequate

rehabilitation packages, they asked. However, Minister Radha

Krishnan said that when the project gets the green signal "we might

have to shift one or two families and not several as the opposing

parties claim. This is to build a road but we will ensure safe and

secure rehabilitation."

 

ANUPAMA KATAKAM

The South Indian style entrance to the Sita temple.

 

Environmental groups have also targeted the move to build a sacred

site for tourism, stating that the stream which flows beside the

temple is one of the water sources for the area. Construction on its

banks would lead to environmental damage and pollutio n, they have

said. Sri Lanka's Central Environment Authority (CEA), however, has

not entered the fray. Director-General of the CEA L.J. Jayasinghe

told Frontline that there is not much the CEA can do even if the

Sita Eliya project poses a threat t o the environment. "The project

is the responsibility of the Tourism and Forest Ministries - unless

they ask for a study to be conducted, the CEA is quite removed from

the project," he said.

 

On the current status of the project, Deputy Foreign Minister Laxman

Kirialla said that it is "still alive" and that once the land is

acquired the project would be completed. The land belongs to the

Forest Department, which fears that developing the area into a

tourist-pilgrimage centre could damage the environment. A tourism

official said that the project plan was still being worked out. In

fact a progress report was presented to the Minister, who will

review the report and make a decision.

 

Radha Krishnan, whose portfolios include Trade, Livestock

Development, Hindu culture, Tamil Education and Estate Development

in the Central Province, said: "The project's progress is now in the

Ministry's court, we have to wait and see what happens." He added

that they did not face any antagonism from Buddhist organisations,

non-governmental organisations or local residents when the temple

was inaugurated and that was a positive sign.

 

Last year the Sita Eliya project got an additional boost when

President Chandrika Kumaratunga announced that Nuwara Eliya, Kandy

and Matale would be developed on a large scale for tourism. The

Ministry of Tourism estimates that the number of visitors to that

region would touch the two lakh mark. The Sita temple site would be

a major factor in promoting the province in India. The temple

currently attracts some 600 visitors a month - and the number is

rising. Several organisations from North India have sh own interest

in helping raise funds for the project, said Radha Krishnan. The

Tourism Ministry would look into the proposals, he said.

 

While the Ceylon Tourism Board and the Central Province government

have plans to develop the Sita Eliya area on the lines of historical

cum sacred sites such as Anuradhapura, Sigiriya and Kandy, they also

have ideas of starting other tourist attractions such as golf

courses and boating on Nuwara Eliya's lake. Tourism in Sri Lanka is

the fourth largest foreign exchange earner, according to a statement

issued by the Foreign Minister's office. Between 1994 and 1999, the

country earned Rs.80 billion through tourism. Having been declared a

thrust industry by the President, various concessions are now

offered to tourism development plans, which include hotels,

transport and duty-free imports.

 

Evidently, the issue is discussed widely in the country. Ministers,

bureaucrats, businessmen, journalists and tourists are aware of the

temple, if not the controversy. In many ways, opposing groups and

organisations have kept the campaign active through the media. While

they have been successful in keeping the project on hold, they have

been even more effective in keeping the issue alive.

 

Nuwara Eliya's population of 36,000 comprises mainly Sri Lankans of

Tamil origin who work as labourers on plantations. Politicians may

have their own agenda to make it the stronghold of a particular

community. It will be a pity to see this quaint town, w hich was

called "Little England" during the colonial period, succumb to the

prevalent ethnic tensions in Sri Lanka.