India’s Strategic Colonization of Eastern Sri Lanka (TRINCOMALEE): A Silent Entrapment

India’s strategic colonization of Sri Lanka’s Eastern Province—centered around Trincomalee—is not a coincidence but the result of decades-long encirclement through war, diplomacy, economics, and cultural erasure. What began as military intervention in the 1980s has transformed into economic domination and spiritual displacement. Today, India holds de facto control over Sri Lanka’s most valuable port, energy assets, and sacred lands—threatening not just sovereignty, but national identity.

 

Phase 1: The Pretext – Trincomalee Targeted (1980s)

 

• India’s real aim wasn’t Tamil rights — it was blocking U.S., Chinese, Israeli, or Pakistani access to Trincomalee, South Asia’s best natural harbor.
• The1987 Indo-Lanka Accord, forced on Sri Lanka, merged the North & East (which even Prabhakaran opposed) — giving India a foothold to “protect” the East.
• India sent in theIPKF, claiming to keep peace, but laying the foundation for future control.

 

Behind the mask of Tamil protection, India secured a strategic grip on Trincomalee.

Phase 2: 2002 Ceasefire – The Trap Is Set

 

• Norway brokered a ceasefire between Prabhakaran and PM Ranil — withIndia quietly backing it.
• India used the peace toreturn economically without military risk.
• Viewing Prabhakaran as a barrier to the East, India quietly backed his elimination in 2009 — clearing the path for its interests.

Strategic Land Grab Begins:

 

• In 2003,Lanka IOC gained 14 Trinco oil tanks, 150+ fuel stations, and fuel import rights under PM Ranil.
• Profits flowed to India— with no reinvestment or local benefit.
• India mapped out ports, pipelines, and a power grid — but waited for the right moment.

 

India used the ceasefire not for peace — but for positioning.

 

Phase 3: Post-War Expansion (2009–2019)

 

With Prabhakaran gone, India moved swiftly:

 

• Secured political influence in the Tamil-majority East
• ExpandedIOC’s footprint
• Blocked Chinafrom entering Trincomalee
• Funded housing, roads, and rail —only through Indian firms
• Accelerated power grid and pipeline plans via MoUs

 

Soft power became hard control.

Phase 4: The Takeover (2020–2025)

 

Sri Lanka’s crisis became India’s opening. Influence turned into control:

• 75 of 99Trinco oil tanks now under Indian control or joint venture
• Sampur Solar Plant(1,000+ acres) run by India’s NTPC
• Trinco Port co-developed withIndia, UAE, and CPC
• Industrial zone, grid, and fuel pipeline linkEast Sri Lanka to Tamil Nadu

 

Sri Lanka’s core energy and port assets are now under Indian control or co-management.

 

Land Grab by the Numbers:

Through JVs, leases, and “aid,” India has locked in operational control over thousands of acres in Trincomalee and Sampur.

 

Trincomalee Oil Tank Farm (TOTF)
• 75 of 99 tanks under Indian control or JV
• ≈ 2,350 acres

 

Sampur Solar Power Project
• Joint NTPC–CEB project
• ≈ 800–1,000 acres

 

Proposed Indian Industrial Zone
• Linked to port/logistics
• ≈ 400–600 acres

 

Trincomalee Port & Logistics Zone
• Joint India–UAE–SL development
• ≈ 2,500–3,000 acres

 

Total Land Area: 6,050–7,950 acres

Roughly 10–12 square miles—larger than Colombo—is now tied to Indian control.

 

 

What’s at Stake?

• Energy Blackmail:If relations sour, India can cut fuel, electricity, and port services — crippling Sri Lanka within days.
• Loss of Sovereignty:Vital decisions on energy, trade, and ports shift from Sri Lanka’s leaders to foreign MOUs and Indian boardrooms.
• Enclave Economy:Trincomalee risks becoming an Indian-controlled zone — with few jobs, little access, and no local say.
• Military Threat:Dual-use energy projects could mask surveillance or naval bases.
• Strategic & Spiritual Loss:A double colonization — erasing national identity and sacred heritage.

 

The Bitter Irony

• Indiaarmed militants, fueled conflict, then posed as peacekeeper and investor—only to quietly absorb the East through legal deals, JVs, and loans.
• Now aQUAD partner with the U.S., India uses Sri Lanka as a geopolitical pawn in the Indo-Pacific.

 

Trincomalee is not just land — it’s power, security, and survival.

 

Imagine this: South Asia’s most valuable harbor… our backup oil reserves… solar power, ports, and industries — all locked under India’s long-term grip.

• If India turns hostile, fuel stops, power fails, and vital shipments halt.
• If conflict rises, India already controls logistics — right on our soil.
• Want to build our own systems? We’ll need foreign permission, since the land and pipelines aren’t ours anymore.

 

Trincomalee isn’t just land. It’s freedom — or dependence

 

Eastern Sri Lanka — Sacred Buddhist Heritage at Risk

Trincomalee, Sampur, and the Eastern Province are more than economic zones — they’re the ancient Buddhist heartland of Sri Lanka, home to ruins, viharas, and sacred sites over 2,300 years old.

 

Girihandu Seya — Sri Lanka’s First Dagoba

• Located in Thiriyaya, north of Trincomalee, it is Sri Lanka’s earliest stupa.
• Built during the Buddha’s lifetime by merchant brothers Trapusa and Bahalika, his first lay disciples.
• According to tradition, the Buddha gave them hair relics, which they enshrined here with local help.
• This site predates Mahinda Thera’s arrival and Anuradhapura’s official Buddhist conversion by over 250 years.

Other Buddhist Heritage Sites in Eastern Sri Lanka

 

• Seruwila Mangala Raja Maha Viharaya— stupa housing sacred Buddha relics
• Velgam Vehera(near Trincomalee) — historic Buddhist monastery
• Deegavapi(Ampara) — visited by the Buddha
• Kanikaaravelika Samuddha Maha Viharaya(Kuchcheveli) — mentioned in ancient Pali texts
• Gokanna Vihara— ancient temple in Trinco port, destroyed by Portuguese; replaced by Koneswaram Hindu temple, signaling Buddhist heritage erasure
• Lankapatuna Vihara— arrival site of Princess Hemamala with Buddha’s Sacred Tooth Relic (4th century AD)
• Neelagiri Maha Seya(Lahugala) — one of the East’s largest stupas
• Sembimale Raja Maha Vihara— part of ancient meditation hermitage network
• Buddhangala Aranya Senasanaya(Ampara) — active forest monastery with 1,500+ years continuous occupation
• Kiliveddi Siriwaddana Bodhiya(Seruwila) — sacred Bodhi tree
• Muhudu Maha Viharaya(Pottuvil) — built 2,000+ years ago by King Kavan Tissa
• Magul Maha Vihara(Lahugala, Ampara) — dates to King Kavantissa’s reign (205–161 BC)

Many face covert attempts to reclassify or convert them into Hindu kovils—erasing Buddhist history under the guise of multiculturalism.

Numerous inscriptions, ruins, and cave temples prove an unbroken Buddhist presence here long before any Tamil settlement.

 

Why this matters Constitutionally

• Article 9of Sri Lanka’s Constitution gives Buddhism the foremost place and obliges the State to protect and promote the Buddha Sasana.
• Article 16(1)ensures all existing laws—written and unwritten—remain valid, including those protecting Buddhist heritage.
• Trincomalee and the Eastern Province are not just strategic or economic areas; they aresacred to the nation’s Buddhist identity.
• Failure to protect the Buddha Sasana here could be aconstitutional violation, not merely political negligence.

 

Threats to This Heritage

• Indian-led development risksexcluding Sri Lankans from sacred lands, especially if Trincomalee and Sampur become quasi-sovereign enclaves.
• Unchecked foreign infrastructure and pipelines couldencroach, neglect, or erase protected Buddhist sites over time.
• Demographic and political engineering—through Tamil homeland claims and foreign-funded “reconciliation” projects—threatens towipe out Sinhala-Buddhist heritage in the East.
• India’s Prime Minister, a Hindu nationalist, cannot mask these threats with symbolic reverence for Buddhism while advancing policies thaterode Sri Lanka’s Buddhist heartland.

 

Key Argument

India’s investments in the Northern and North-Western provinces aren’t goodwill — they’re a calculated corridor of control, ensuring direct logistical access to Trincomalee from South India.

Consider this:

• From Tamil Nadu (Rameswaram) to Jaffna– ~50 km (20 mins by sea)
• Jaffna to Trincomalee– ~230 km (by new roads India helps develop)
• Colombo to Trincomalee– ~270+ km (by road)

 

India can now reach Trincomalee faster than Sri Lanka’s own government can, from its capital Colombo

 

What Sri Lanka Must Urgently Do

1. Audit and renegotiate MOUs — restore national terms in fuel, ports, and energy deals.
2. Rebuild CPC capacity — end dependence on IOC.
3. End monopoly leases — reclaim control of Trincomalee tank farms and ports.
4. Ensure local benefit — enforce profit sharing, local hiring, and national oversight.
5. Return to a Non-Aligned Policy — avoid becoming India’s satellite or a U.S. pawn.

 

Beware the Illusion of Partnership

India’s global behavior shows it cannot be trusted—even by major powers. Starting 1 August 2025, the U.S. will impose a 25% tariff on Indian goods, with additional penalties over trade with Russia (Reuters, July 30, 2025). If India breaks commitments with the U.S., how can Sri Lanka trust it with our ports, energy, and sacred lands?

 

Sri Lanka may remain politically independent—but risks becoming an economic colony of India if no action is taken.

 

If Trincomalee is lost, Sri Lanka’s independence becomes a formality.

Action is no longer a choice—it is a necessity.

 

 

 

Shenali D Waduge