[21] Prior to the military capitulation to the Portuguese Empire in 1619, the capital of the local Jaffna Kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of the Aryacakravarti was Nallur,[21] which is close to the city limits of Jaffna. [9] Iron Age urn burials including other Tamil-Brahmi inscribed potsherds found in Kandarodai, Poonakari and Anaikoddai in the Jaffna region, reflects the burial practices of older times. The temperature is coolest in December â January. [35][36] Under British rule, Jaffna enjoyed a period of rapid growth and prosperity,[34] as the British built the major roads and railway line connecting the city with Colombo, Kandy and the rest of the country. Palmyrah groves can be seen where land has not been used for construction. Post-independence the city was overtaken by the growth of settlements near Colombo. The proposed Sathi Pola construction project in Ginigathhena was designed under plan number NU/ABM/2015/203 following on a request by Ambagamuwa PS Secretary H. … Later the D.R.O.s became 'Assistant Government Agents' and the Divisions were known as 'A.G.A. The districts of Sri Lanka are divided into administrative sub-units known as divisional secretariats.These were originally based on the feudal counties, the korales and ratas. This district consists of 14 electorates and 4432 villages. [39] After the departure of the Indians, the city came under the control of the LTTE once more, but they were ousted in 1995 after a 50-day siege. [18] It maintained very close commercial and political relationships with the Thanjavur Nayakar kingdom in southern India as well as the Kandyan and segments of the Kotte kingdom. After 2009, foreign governments within the EU, US, India, and investors from the south of the island and the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora have shown an interest in making investments in Jaffna district in general and Jaffna city in particular. The Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora and business interests from Colombo have invested in commercial enterprises. [22][23] The capital city was known in royal inscriptions and chronicles as Cinkainakar and in other sources as Yalpaanam in Tamil and Yapaapatuna in Sinhalese. They had according to scholars fully assimilated to Tamil language and culture by the 9th century AD or earlier.[14]. [34] Shopping malls such as the Cargills Square and hotels such as Jetwing Jaffna, Tilko Jaffna City Hotel have been built boosting the tourism industry in the city. [15] When the Pandyan Empire became weak due to Muslim invasions, successive Aryacakravarti rulers made the Jaffna kingdom independent and a regional power to reckon with in Sri Lanka. [34] Britain maintained many of the Dutch mercantile, religious, and taxation policies. The LTTE again occupied the city from 1989 until 1995, when the Sri Lankan Army regained control. It was made into a colonial port town during the Portuguese occupation of the Jaffna peninsula in 1619 who lost it to the Dutch, only to lose it to the British in 1796. Jaffna has the highest average temperature in Sri Lanka of 83 °F (28 °C). [46] There were 15 years without elections after 1983. It also has number of commercial institutions, minor industrial units, banks, hotels and other government institutions. During the medieval times, the Kingdom of Aryacakravarti came into existence in the 13th Century as an ally to the Pandyan Empire in South India. It has a rich cultural heritage, and the first known Buddhist writings of Sri Lanka, the Pāli Canon, date back to the Fourth Buddhist council in 29 BCE. [25] De Oliveira moved the center of political and military control from Nallur to Jaffnapatao[26][broken footnote] (variously spelt as Jaffnapattan or Jaffnapattam), the Portuguese rendition of the native name for the former Royal capital. [24] Over time the composition changed with Tamils and Moors predominating and Europeans and Burghers either assimilating or moving away. During the period of LTTE occupation, all Muslim residents were expelled in 1990 and forced evacuated all residents in 1995. Other notable vegetation is a leafless shrub called talai (alae africana) and koddanai (oleander). Jaffna is known in Tamil as Yalpanam and earlier known as Yalpanapattinam.A 15th century inscription of the Vijayanagara Empire mentions the place as Yalpaanayanpaddinam. By Ifham Nizam Plans are underway to install hybrid renewable energy systems to provide clean electricity to the islands of Nagadeepa, Delft and Analativu in the Northern Province. The average rainfall is 50 inches in the western part of Jaffna peninsula.[41]. Divisions'. [28][30], In 1658, Portuguese lost Jaffapatao to the Dutch East India Company (VOC) after a three-month siege. [12] Excavations of black and red wares (1000BCEâ100CE), grey wares (500BCEâ200CE), SasanianâIslamic wares (200BCEâ800CE), Yue green wares (800â900CE), Dusun stone wares (700â1100CE) and Ming Porcelains (1300â1600CE) conducted at the Jaffna Fort hints to maritime trade between the Jaffna Peninsula and South Asia, Arabian Peninsula and the Far East. [7] The Columbuthurai Commercial Harbor situated at Colombuthurai and the harbor known as âAluppanthyâ situated previously at the Gurunagar area seem as its evidences. [24] During the Dutch occupation, the city grew in population and size. This period saw the building of Hindu temples in the peninsula and a flourishing of literature, both in Tamil and Sanskrit. As soon as it went into foreign language, it lost the Tamil ending m and consequently stood as Jaffna. During the British colonial period, almost all the schools that eventually played role in the high literacy achievement of the Jaffna residents were built by missionaries belonging to American Ceylon Mission, Weslyan Methodist Mission, Saivite reformer Arumuka Navalar and others. The districts of Sri Lanka are divided into administrative sub-units known as divisional secretariats. Most Tamils are Hindus belonging the Shaivite tradition but might also propitiate the village deities. [37] Sri Lankan military and police were using the Dutch era fort as their encampment which was surrounded by various Tamil militant groups. [8], Jaffna is a corrupted version of Yalpanam. [38] More than 200 civilians were also killed during attempt to take the city over by the IPKF. [58], Jaffna city has number of education institutions founded by the missionary efforts and Saivite revivalism during the British colonial period. Most historic buildings such as Temples, Saraswathy Mahal library and palaces in the royal city of Nallur and the rest of Jaffna peninsula were destroyed by the Portuguese colonials. Our mission is the registration of legal documents pertaining to movable and immovable properties and registration of titles in Sri Lanka and registration of marriages, births and deaths, the primary domestic events of the populace; the preservation of such documents and the issue of certified copies there from at request and thereby assisting the populace to protect their rights. These early journals were followed by number popular newspapers in Tamil such as Eelakesari and Eelanadu. Although a historic port used by the native Jaffna kingdom was already in existence when the Portuguese arrived, it was the European mercantile activity that made it prominent. [16] However, it met with simultaneous confrontations with the Vijayanagar empire that ruled from Vijayanagara, southern India, and a rebounding Kotte Kingdom from the southern Sri Lanka. [52][broken footnote] Most Sinhalese were either Buddhists or Catholics. Divisions' after the 'Divisional Revenue Officer'. Within one mile (1.6 kilometres) of the city center is the island of Mandativu which is connected by a causway. පනය, romanized: YÄpanaya) is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. [41], Jaffna features a tropical savanna climate with a dry season between February and August, and a wet season between September and January. Peter Percival a Wesleyan Missionary started several schools in Jaffna city including Jaffna Central College and Vembadi Girlsâ High School. Following further deterioration of political discourse, the Jaffna library was burnt down in 1981 by Police and other miscreants. The Dutch rebuilt the fort and expanded it considerably. The temperature is highest in the months of April â May and August â September. As a consequence the city's population is significantly lower than it was 30 years ago. Sister City initiatives give opportunities for the cities' residents to become familiar with each other's cultures. Most houses were modest in size and the streets were kept clean. Currently, the Divisions are administered by a 'Divisional Secretary', and are known as 'D.S. The prosperity of the city's citizens enabled them to underwrite the building of temples and schools, and the library and museum. [54][55], Jaffna is 396 kilometres (246 miles) from Colombo. Great Britain took over the Dutch possessions in Sri Lanka from 1796. They also built Presbyterian churches and government buildings, most of which survived until the 1980s, but suffered damage or destruction during the subsequent civil war. They were formerly known as 'D.R.O. Power and Energy Minister Dullas Alahapperuma yesterday said the total cost of the project would be USD 12 million and the Cabinet approval had been granted last […] [32][broken footnote] During the Dutch period, Jaffna also became prominent as a trading town in locally grown agricultural products with the native merchants and farmers profiting as much as the VOC merchants.[33]. [29] Portuguese merchants took over the lucrative trade of elephants from the interior and monopolised the import of goods from Colombo and India, disfranchising the local merchants. The first Tamil monthly was Sanmarkapothini which was published in 1884.[59]. A king (supposedly Ukkirasinghan) was visited by the blind Panan musician, who was an expert in vocal music and one skilled in the use of instrument called Yal. With a population of 88,138 in 2012, Jaffna is Sri Lanka's 12th most populous city. Many of the city's residents who left during the civil war have settled down elsewhere and are unlikely to return. Ministry of Home Affairs has been established under Extra Ordinary Gazette Notification No.1933/13 of the Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, published on 21 September 2016. There was a small community of nomadic wanderers known as Kuravar who visited Jaffna seasonally and spoke a dialect of Telugu or Tamil. During the civil war many publishers, authors and journalists were assassinated or arrested and the media heavily censored. The 1980s insurgent uprising led to extensive damage, expulsion of part of the population, and military occupation. [1] Jaffna is approximately six miles (9.7 kilometres) from Kandarodai which served as an emporium in the Jaffna peninsula from classical antiquity. [60], Left: Restored Muslim Mosque in a bombed out portion of the city. There have been reports, particularly after the end of the civil war in 2009, about resettling those residents who wish to return to Jaffna but there hasn't been any substantive effort to do so yet. Being the center of civil administration, facilitation and coordination functions for the related services of the Ministry Divisions'. Politically, it was an expanding power in the 13th and 14th century with all regional kingdoms paying tribute to it. The economic embargo of the rebel controlled territories in general also had a negative impact in Jaffna including lack of power, critical medicines and food. The first known English and Tamil weekly called, Uthayatharakai in Tamil or Morning Star was published jointly in 1840 by American Ceylon Mission and the Weslyan church. Most Sri Lankan Tamils are Hindus followed by Christians, Muslims and a small Buddhist minority. Four (04) more Reverse Osmosis (RO) plants, newly built as part of Naval Social Responsibility project in Padiyathalawa Divisional Secretariat, Ampara were declared open for community use on 04th February 2021. The population of Jaffna, like the rest of the North and East, has been heavily affected by the civil war. [27] Jaffnapatao was attacked number of times by A local rebel Migapulle Arachchi and his allied Thanjavur Nayakar expeditionary forces attacked Jaffnapatao a number of times, but the Portuguese defence of the city withstood the attacks. Jaffna was also the seen the publication of journals committed to the growth of modernistic and socially purposive literature such as Bharati and Marumalarchi in 1946. Jaffna's suburb Nallur, served as the capital of the four-century-long medieval Jaffna Kingdom. [34] The city's small Moor and Sinhalese population have either been forcibly expelled or fled. Bombardment from air and land of the city led to damage to civic and civilian properties, death and injury to civilians and destruction the economic potential of the city. [clarification needed][40] Since the end of civil war in 2009, refugees have begun to return and visible reconstruction has taken place. The municipal council consists of 29 members. Impetus for a permanent fortified settlement happened only after 1619, when the expeditionary forces of the Portuguese Empire led by Filipe de Oliveira captured Cankili II, the last native king. Historically residents of Jaffna city were Tamils, Moors (Muslims), Europeans and Eurasian Burghers. There is a small community of Tamil Buddhists who converted to Theravada Buddhism during the 20th century due to the efforts of Maha Bodhi Society. The bronze Anaikoddai seal with Tamil-Brahmi and Indus script indicates a clan-based settlement of the last phase of the Iron Age in the Jaffna region. These were originally based on the feudal counties, the korales and ratas. The Jaffna Catholic Guardian and the Hindu Organ were published by Roman Catholic and Hindu organisation to present their religious interests between 1876 and 1889 respectively. COLOMBO(News1st): The illegal clearing of the Bogahapattiya forest in the Dahaiyagala reserve, which belongs to the Udawalawe National Park, has not ended - … Prior to the civil war, the city had one of the highest literacy rates within Sri Lanka. It is home to many historical sites such as the popular Jaffna library that was burnt down and rebuilt and the Jaffna fort which was rebuilt during the Dutch colonial period. The Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) briefly occupied the city in 1987. [56] The primary railway station in the city is the Jaffna Railway Station. [47] As the original municipal council building was destroyed during the civil war, a new building is to be constructed for the current municipal council in 2011.[48]. Tamils were also divided along the caste system but as an urban area class was more important than caste which was more pronounced in rural areas of Jaffna district. Since the end of civil war in 2009, refugees and internally displaced people began returning to homes, while government and private sector reconstruction started taking place. After Sri Lanka became independent in 1948 from Britain, the relationship between majority Sinhalese and minority Tamils worsened. [4], The origin of the name can be traced to a legend about the town's etymology. [6] The Panan returned to India and introduced some members of his tribe as impecunious as himself to accompany to this land of promise, and it is surmised that their place of settlement was that part of the city which is known at present as Passaiyoor and Gurunagar. Reports True iff the second item (a number) is equal to the number of letters in the first item (a word). Within the Jaffna city proper, the Dutch fort is an imposing structure followed by many Dutch era homes, churches and civil buildings most of which were damaged during the civil war. Now defunct English weekly Saturday Review was an influential news magazine that came out of Jaffna. During the civil war, the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) occupied Jaffna in 1986. The city is surrounded by Jaffna Lagoon to its west and south, Kokkuvil and Thirunelveli to the north, and Nallur to the east. Prior to the Sri Lankan Civil War, it was Sri Lanka's second most populous city after Colombo. [53] In modern times, the port was its principal source of revenue but it has declined drastically. Materials from destroyed buildings were used in the construction of the Jaffna fort and other fortifications. The limestone is grey, yellow and white porous type. [17][19][20], The Portuguese established Jaffna city in 1621 as their colonial administrative center. [28] The Portuguese era was a time of population movement to the Vannimais in the south, religious change, and as well as the introduction to the city of European education and health care. Residents of Jaffna city along with the rest of Tamil population of Sri Lanka were in the fore front of the political mobilisation behind Tamil nationalist parties. In 1987, the Indian forces brought to Sri Lanka under the auspices of the Indo- Sri Lankan peace accord led an operation to take the city from the rebels. Currently it survives as a fishing port. Countries in Europe, US and India have shown an interest in investing in infrastructure projects and other economic activities. Failure of the political class to find an adequate compromise led to full-scale civil war starting in 1983 soon after the Black July pogrom. [16] The kingdom was re-established with the disintegration of Kotte kingdom and the fragmentation of Viyanagara Empire. Since the 2000s Jaffna is served by newspapers such as Uthayan, Yarl Thinakkural and Valampurii. It was established under the Municipalities Ordinance Act of 1865. The A-9 highway connecting the city with the rest of the country was opened after the 2002 ceasefire. [60], The initiatives will facilitate the cultural, educational, municipal, business, professional and technical exchanges and projects among the sister cities. [5] The king who was delighted to the music played with the Yal by the Panan, presented him a sandy plain. The city had a wide range of industries, including food processing, packaging, making of household items, and salt processing, but most ceased after 1995. Divisions' after the 'Divisional Revenue Officer'. It is directly connected by railways and the roads system. The Ya and Ja including pp and ff are easily interchangeable. [45] Number of subsequent mayors were assassinated such as Alfred Duraiappah, Sarojini Yogeswaran and Pon Sivapalan. Prior to the civil war there were Moors, Sinhalese, Indian Tamils and other ethnic groups living in Jaffna. [44] The first elected mayor was Cathiravelu Ponnambalam. The Jaffna Municipal Council governs the City of Jaffna. Divisions'. In 1863 the Ceylon Patriot was published by a local advocate as a weekly. The - … [34] Since then, most industrialists, entrepreneurs, and business people have relocated to the rest of Sri Lanka and abroad. They were formerly known as 'D.R.O. The Dutch were more tolerant towards native mercantile and religious activities than the Portuguese had been. In colonial times, production of clothes, items of gold and silver, processing of tobacco, rice and other related activities formed an important part of the economic activities. The 331 divisions[1] are listed below, by district: "Grama Niladhari Administration Division", Southwestern Sri Lanka rivers and streams, Deputy speaker and chairman of committees, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Divisional_Secretariats_of_Sri_Lanka&oldid=1001101377, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 18 January 2021, at 07:06. There are number of British colonial era building such as the Indo-Sarasenic style clock tower and the Public library that are notable. [16] Nallur a suburb of Jaffna served as the capital of the kingdom. It is served by government and private sector coaches and buses. [13], Jaffna and surrounding region was part of the chiefdom of Naga Nadu mentioned in the 5th century AD Tamil epic Manimekalai and the Pali chronicle Mahavamsa as inhabited by tribal Naga people, surmised as one of the earliest tribes of Sri Lanka. This reflected the desire of the British bureaucrats to govern the city directly rather than share power with a highly literate electorate. Later the D.R.O.s became 'Assistant Government Agents' and the Divisions were known as 'A.G.A. [17] This led to the kingdom becoming a vassal of the Vijyanagar Empire as well as briefly losing its independence under the Kotte kingdom from 1450 to 1467. The entire land mass is flat and lies at sea level. [6], Megalithic excavations reveal settlements of an early period in this region. [10][11] Excavated ceramic sequences in Kandarodai, similar to Arikamedu, revealed South Indian black and red ware, potteries and fine grey ware from 2nd to 5th BCE. Most of the Hindu temples that the Portuguese had destroyed were rebuilt. Europeans and the natives lived in separate sections of the city. The annual rainfall is brought in by the North East monsoon and it varies from one place to the other and also from year to year. The majority of the city's population are Sri Lankan Tamils with a significant number of Sri Lankan Moors, Indian Tamils and other ethnic groups present in the city prior to the civil war. [3] The suffix -pattinam indicates the place to have been a seaport town. [2] Historically, Jaffna has been a contested city. The colloquial form of Yalpanam is Yappanam. The post civil war elections were held in 2009 after a gap of 11 years. COLOMBO(News1st): President Gotabaya Rajapaksa reassured the public that the COVID-19 inoculation program is being conducted in a systematic manner. A community of mixed Eurasian Dutch Burghers grew up. Mission. [32] Cankilian Thopu or entrance of the palace of Cankili I and Mantri Manai or minister's palace are few of the pre-colonial buildings still standing in the royal quarters of Nallur. [49] After the 1900s the population increased and Sinhalese from the south also settled in Jaffna. During colonial times Jaffna was Ceylon's (Sri Lanka) second largest city. Most Christians are Roman Catholics with a small but influential number of Protestants belonging to the Church of South India, the successor organisation of American Ceylon Mission and other colonial era Protestant churches. Jaffna is known in Tamil as Yalpanam and earlier known as Yalpanapattinam. [57][broken footnote] Since 2017 an express ferry service connects Jaffna with Delft islands. Although other cities such as Kandy, Galle and Colombo had elected municipal councils soon after the 1865 ordinance, Jaffna did not have an elected municipal council for many years. Almost all Hindu temples in Jaffna including the socially important Nallur Kandaswamy temple were reconstructed during the Dutch and British period. [citation needed] The name also occurs on copper plates issued by Sethupathi kings of the same era. Take any number of input lists, and create a new list containing the items of the input lists. [24], From 1590, Portuguese merchants and Catholic missionaries were active within the Jaffna kingdom. After the Tamil conference incident in 1974, the then mayor of Jaffna Alfred Duraiappah was assassinated by the leader of rebel LTTE, Velupillai Prabhakaran in 1975. [57], Jaffna has had a media sector from the mid-1800s. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name. It led to incidents like the Jaffna University Helidrop and Jaffna hospital massacre in which patients and medical workers were killed by the Indian Army. Further, one Municipal Council, one Urban Council and 18 Pradeshiya Sabhas are included in the district. Commercial flights are available from Chennai, India and Colombo to Jaffna via the Jaffna International Airport. The city was served by the Yal Devi train and other 5 trains daily from Colombo. [28] Jaffnapatao was a small town with a fort, a harbour, Catholic chapels, and government buildings. But even in 1981 Jaffna was the largest city outside the Greater Colombo area. The city is home to number of educational institutions established during the colonial and post-colonial period. All Moors were Muslims with the Sunni sect predominating with a small number of Shias prevalent amongst mercantile immigrants from North India or Pakistan. Jaffna peninsula is made of limestone as it was submerged under sea during the Miocene period. Etymology. [citation needed] The name also occurs on copper plates issued by Sethupathi kings of the same era.The suffix -pattinam indicates the place to have been a seaport town.. The number of Divisional Secretary’s Divisions in the district is 30 and the number of Grama Niladhari Divisions is 1610. A 15th century inscription of the Vijayanagara Empire mentions the place as Yalpaanayanpaddinam. Jaffna city was founded as a trading town by European merchants. Right: St.James Church originally established in 1861, located in, harvnb error: no target: CITEREFDauril_Alden1996 (, harvnb error: no target: CITEREFLibrary1880 (, harvnb error: no target: CITEREFDe_Silva_&_Beumer1997 (, harvnb error: no target: CITEREFFindlay,_Holdsworth_&_West1924 (, harvnb error: no target: CITEREFPlunkett_&_Ellemor2003 (, harvnb error: no target: CITEREFGunawardena2004 (, harvnb error: no target: CITEREFKatiresu1905 (, majority Sinhalese and minority Tamils worsened, List of schools in Northern Province, Sri Lanka, "Sri Lanka: largest cities and towns and statistics of their population", "Improving Urban Services and Livability Across Sri Lanka", "Jaffna Divisional Secretariat â Overview", "Post-Conflict Archaeology of the Jaffna Peninsula â Durham University", "Short history of Sri Lanka:Dambadeniya and Gampola Kings (1215â1411)", "Bird's eye view of the city of Jaffnapatnam / , 4.VEL inventorynumber 997", "Eminent Persons' displayed lack of independence", "World Weather Information Service â Jaffna", "Stamp to honour Cathiravelu Sittampalam", "Jaffna Municipal Council election to be held soon", "New Town Hall for the Jaffna Municipal Council", "Basic Population Information on Jaffna District â 2007", "Jaffna wakes up to tourism but long way to go | The Sundaytimes Sri Lanka", "Express ferry service between Jaffna and Delft Island", "Jaffna becomes a Sister City of Sterling Heights, United States", "Twin City Agreement signed between the City of Jaffna and City of Kingston in London", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jaffna&oldid=1010429384, 1621 establishments in the Portuguese Empire, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia indefinitely semi-protected pages, Articles containing Sinhala-language text, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2020, All articles with broken links to citations, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from January 2018, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Srpskohrvatski / ÑÑпÑÐºÐ¾Ñ ÑваÑÑки, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Source 2: Department of Meteorology (records up to 2007), This page was last edited on 5 March 2021, at 12:13. The Catholic Church has a diocese headquartered in the city. In 1986, the Sri Lankan military withdrew from the city and it came under the full control of the LTTE. Many of its Tamil residents have emigrated to the West or moved to the relative safety of Colombo. Sri Lanka's documented history spans 3,000 years, with evidence of prehistoric human settlements dating back at least 125,000 years.
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