Kachchativu Island lies about 15 miles northeast of Rameshwaram and 14 miles southwest of Delft Island within the territorial waters of Sri Lanka.
Kachchativu Island and Church (Sri Lanka) K achchativu Island is an islet that lies about 15 miles northeast of Rameshwaram and approximately 14 miles southwest of Delft Island within the territorial waters of Sri Lanka. Located in Palk Strait, the island is one mile long, 300 yards broad and extends into an area of 285.2 acres (Raju, 2009). There are no permanent inhabitants or any permanent structures on the island other than a Roman Catholic Church, administered by the bishop of Jaffna (De Silva, 2008). The total control of the island is presently under the Sri Lankan Navy. History The oldest name of the island, Kacci (modern Kaccativu) is found in the Rameswaram Inscription of King Nissankamalla (1187-1196 A.D.), along with other nearby islands including Puvagu (modern Pungudutivu), Mininak (Maninaga) and Kara [(modern Karaitivu) Ranawella, 2007]. It mentions that Nissankamalla visited these islands during his expeditions within the realm (Paranavitana, 1970; Ranawella, 2007). Also, more historical evidence indicates that Ka…