Jaffna library burning. This act of destruction wiped out over 97,000 books, rare manuscripts, palm-leaf texts, and irreplaceable historical documents—a devastating blow to the Tamil identity and heritage. May 25, 2022 · On midnight 31st May 1981, the Jaffna Public Library, famous for being the crucible of Tamil literature and heritage, was set ablaze by Sri Lankan security forces and state-sponsored mobs. Jun 1, 2024 · Burning of the Jaffna Public Library 43rd anniversary remembrance by British Tamils Forum, London, June 1, 2024 June 1 st evokes the scar of the Burning of Jaffna Public Library in 1981, the irreplaceable asset of Tamil people. Jun 16, 2025 · Before 1981-before the burning of the Jaffna Public Library the last recorded destruction of a major library in the Indian subcontinent occurred nearly 800 years earlier, in the 12th century, when the Central Asian invader Bakhtiyar Khilji attacked Nalanda University in present-day Bihar. This act is widely regarded as a turning point in Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict and a calculated attempt to destroy the intellectual heritage May 31, 2020 · The Debate | Opinion The Burning of Jaffna Public Library: Sri Lanka’s First Step Toward Civil War The events of 39 years ago set the stage for Sri Lanka’s civil war – and still echo today. 06. Anchored to an event in Colombo, an article commemorating the burning of the library published on Groundviews last May 10, 2023 · The most destructive acts of this crime wave was setting fire to the Jaffna Library and burning of the house belonging to the Jaffna MP. It was the educational heritage of the people in the North of the island. As noted online, at the time of its destruction, the library was one of the biggest in Asia, containing over 97,000 books and manuscripts. Chellappha, the visionary behind the founding of the Jaffna Public Library, and to Reverend Father David, who passed away upon hearing the Jun 1, 2012 · 31 years ago, the public library in Jaffna was burnt. 2025 - Jaffna, Tamil Eelam. This documentary attempts to document war Jun 2, 2025 · The 44th anniversary of the burning of the Jaffna Public Library was held at the institute on Sunday, with staff and members of the public gathering to remember its destruction by a racist Sri Lankan mob. It was located south of the Jaffna town on the eastern end of a famous sports ground. Jun 1, 2025 · 01. It was one of the events that led up to the Sri Lankan Civil War. The burning of the Jaffna Public Library (Tamil: யாழ் பொது நூலகம் எரிப்பு, romanized: Yāḻ potu nūlakam erippu; Sinhala: යාපනය මහජන පුස්තකාලය ගිනිබත් කිරීම, romanized: Yāpanaya mahajana pustakālaya ginibat kirīma) by an organized mob of Sinhalese individuals took place on the night of 31 May 31, 2021 · At midnight on May 31, 1981, the Jaffna Public Library, the crucible of Tamil literature and heritage, was set ablaze by Sri Lankan security forces and state-sponsored mobs. 1981 Jaffna library was considered the largest library with the rarest collection of books and manuscripts in the whole of South Asia. The uncanny happenings was that after 41 years in 2022, the houses of the MP s in the south were set ablaze, including the house and the “ valuable library “ belonging to Ranil Wickramasinghe who was then the Jaffna Library after the last opening in 2003 The burning of the Jaffna Public Library (Tamil: யாழ் பொது நூலகம் எரிப்பு) was an attack at the central library in the city of Jaffna, Sri Lanka. Jan 6, 1981 · Burning of the Jaffna library 01. On the night of May 31 to June 1, 1981, one of South Asia’s largest libraries—the Jaffna Public Library—was deliberately set on fire by Sinhalese nationalist mobs. This calculated arsenic destruction was one of the major cultural genocides against Tamil people masterminded by Sri Lankan state to destroy historic evidence of Tamil One of the most traumatic events of the early stages of the civil war in Sri Lanka that has been raging for more than 25 years is the burning of Jaffna Public Library, which housed more than 97,000 books and irreplaceable palm leaf manuscripts, the wanton burning of the most important library of the Tamils was a major loss to the cultural heritage. During the commemoration, tributes were paid to Mr. Jun 1, 2025 · The Jaffna Public Library, a beacon of learning and cultural preservation, was deliberately set ablaze by mobs backed by state forces. . Nothing survived the flames. The burning has since been marked by Eelam Tamils as an act of genocide. mlu7nfr xtompf tmj bhmv ecred 4yut 9sqmr gpatts s9ga rddlbf