“Ravana had been unconscious (after the arrow shot by Rama hit him) and regained consciousness after the LTTE war ended…”
Historian Dr. Mirando Obeysekera’s statement may seem silly, but the Ramayana was revived after the LTTE war ended. The reason is that during the war, most of the areas related to the Ramayana were occupied by the LTTE. Subject to their control, because of this, Sri Lankan and Indian tourists who wanted to see the Ramayana Sites were banned from visiting those areas. After the assassination of Prabhakaran and the end of the war, Indian tourists again came to Sri Lanka to see the Ramayana Site.
Although it was said that Ravana would rise again after the war, the Tamil people in the north thought that Prabhakaran was an avatar of Ravana. The main reason is that Prabhakaran went into conflict with India and killed Indian leader Rajiv Gandhi. They believed that just as Ravana’s brother Vibhishana had supported Rama against Ravana and destroyed Ravana, the Sinhalese government took help from India and killed Prabhakaran.
Many of the leaders who wanted to become Ravana in Sri Lanka are leaders who challenged India. When Ranasinghe Premadasa ran for the presidential election in 1988, his literary advisor, Arisen Ahubudu, produced a play called Sakvithi Ravana, indirectly showing that the era of Premadasa would be an era of Ravana. When Premadasa threatened to quit the Indian peacekeeping force, his propaganda advisers called Premadasa a Ravana incarnation.
After that, Mahinda Rajapaksa was cast as Ravana. When Mahinda destroyed Prabhakaran and brought China closer and challenged India, Mahinda’s campaign advisers showed him as the latest incarnation of Ravana.
Ravana mania spread again in Sri Lanka when Mahinda was defeated and Gotabhaya was taken to the Bribery Commission for corruption charges. The organization called Ravana Power surrounded the Bribery Commission and expressed their support to Gota. After this, many Ravana organizations came into being under different names. These organizations did a great service to make Gotabaya president. After Gota became the president, many young people painted the image of Ravana on the walls on the streets. They saw Gota as a fearless leader of India.
But the end of leaders who became Ravana’s avatar ended in tragedy. Premadasa was killed. Prabhakaran was killed. Mahinda and Gota had to give up power and flee for their lives.
The concept of the avatar of Ravana is creating problems for Sri Lanka. The reason is that Ravana is a myth. What Sri Lanka should do is not to create Ravanas, but to attract Indian tourists to Sri Lanka through the Ramayana Trail. Singapore has made a small town called Little India to attract Indian tourists. Sri Lanka has both Ramayana and Buddhist trails to attract Indian tourists. India wants to promote both of these trails. Indian Prime Minister Modi’s Ram Temple and Indian Foreign Minister Jayashankar’s promotion of the Ramayana for Indian diplomacy is a good opportunity for Sri Lanka. It is Sri Lanka’s responsibility to take advantage of this opportunity and not wait for Ravana to rise
