Adjudicating Antiquity

Résumé fourni par la source

This chapter explores how Buddhist nationalists, including Buddhist nationalist Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) sympathizers, appropriated local history to locate the “intrinsic religiosity of Devanagala,” a hillock in Mawanella, some 15 miles west by southwest of Kandy. In this effort, Devanagala becomes identified with either the eight or sixteen traditional places of Buddhist pilgrimage on the island. Buddhist interests have called for the creation of a buffer zone around the hillock that would result in the exclusion of many Muslim families—families who have held legal title to their lands for generations. According to the BBS and its local sympathizers, the presence of Muslims infringes on Devanagala’s intrinsic Buddhist religiosity. The analysis provides insight into the aims and machinations of the BBS within the context of specific local campaigns.

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