Jaffna (Tamil: யாழ்ப்பாணம் Yalpanam, Sinhala: යාපනය Yāpanaya) is the capital city of the Northern
Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of
the Jaffna district located on a peninsula of the same name.
With a population of 88,138, Jaffna is Sri Lanka's 12th largest
city. Jaffna is approximately six miles away
from Kandarodai which served as a famous emporium in
the Jaffna peninsula from classical antiquity. Jaffna's
suburb, Nallurserved as the capital of the four centuries-long medieval Jaffna
kingdom. Prior to the Sri Lankan civil war, it was Sri Lanka's second most
populated city after the commercial capital Colombo. Since the 1980s
insurgent uprising, military occupation, extensive damage, expulsion and depopulation
has happened. Since the end of civil war in 2009, refugees and internally
displaced people are returning to their homes and government
and private sector reconstruction has begun.
Historically,
Jaffna has been a contested city. It was made into a colonial port town during
the Portuguese occupation of the Jaffna peninsula in 1619. It changed
hands to the Dutch colonials, who lost it to the British in
1796. After Sri Lanka gained independence 1948, the political relationship
between the minority Sri Lankan Tamils and majority Sinhalese worsened
and after the Black July pogrom, civil war erupted in 1983.
Jaffna was occupied by the rebelLiberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in
1986 and from 1989 until 1995. Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF)
briefly occupied the city in 1987. The Sri Lankan military gained
control in 1995.
The
majority of the city’s population are Sri Lankan Tamils, although there was a
significant number of Sri Lankan Moors, Indian Tamils and other
ethnic groups present in the city prior to the civil war. Most Sri Lankan
Tamils are Hindus followed by Christians, Muslims and a small
Buddhist minority. The city is home to number of educational
institutions established during the colonial and post-colonial period. It
also has number of commercial institutions, minor industrial units, banks,
hotels and other government institutions such as the hospital. It is home
to the popular Jaffna library that was burnt down and rebuilt. The city is
anchored by the Jaffna fort rebuilt during the Dutch colonial period.
Excavations
that were conducted by Sir Paul E. Pieris during 1918 and 1919, that were
utilised in the ancient Jaffna capital of Kantarodai and Vallipuram; a coastal
town six kilometres from Point Pedro revealed coins called "puranas",
and "kohl" sticks that dated back to 2000 B.C similar in style to the
sticks used to paint pictures in Egypt, suggesting that the Northern part
of Sri Lanka was a "flourishing" settlement prior to the arrival
of Prince Vijaya. In the chronicleMahavamsa, around sixth century
B.C, there are descriptions of exotic tribes such as
the Yakkhas strictly inhabiting the centre of the island, and
the Nagas who worshiped snakes inhabiting the northern, western and
eastern parts of the island, which was historically referred to as "Nagadipa". Jaffna
city[citation needed], along with the rest of the Jaffna
peninsula was part of the Kingdom of Tambapanni in 543 BC.
Ancient Sinhala chronicles including Mahavamsa describes Jaffna
city as a vital part of the island nation.[4] It Briefly come under the
rule of South Indian Kingdoms, after several incursions it has been recaptured
by Sinhalese Kings thereafter, last of which was Parakramabahu VI.
Jaffna
city was established as a colonial administrative center by the Portuguese
colonials in 1621. 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. Nallur
is close to the city limits of Jaffna. The capital city was known
in royal inscriptions and chronicles as Cinkainakar and in
other sources as Yalpaanam in Tamil and Yapaapatuna inSinhalese.
Entrance
of Jaffna Fort that was originally built by the Portuguese and
renovated by the Dutch on 1680.
From
1590, Portuguese merchants and Catholic missionaries were active within the
Jaffna kingdom. Impetus for a permanent fortified settlement happened only
after 1619, when the expeditionary forces of the Portuguese Empire led
by Phillippe de Oliveira captured the last native king Cankili
II.[12] Phillipe de Oliveira moved the center of political and military
control from Nallur to Jaffnapatao[13] (variously spelt as Jaffnapattan or
Jaffnapattam), the Portuguese rendition of the native name for the former Royal
capital. Jaffnapatao was attacked number of times by a local
rebel Migapulle Arachchi and his allied Thanjavur Nayakkar expeditionary
forces but the Portuguese defence of the city withstood the attacks. Jaffnapatao
was a small town. It had a fort, a harbour and Catholic chapels and other
government buildings. Portuguese merchants took over the lucrative trade
of Elephants from the interior and monopolised the import of goods from Colombo and India thus disfranchising the local
merchants. Portuguese period was a time of population movement to
the Vannimais in the south, religious change and as well as
introduction of many European educational and health care methods to the city.
Nallur Temple
St. James Church
Mosque
Buddhist Temple
In
1658, Portuguese lost Jaffapatao to the Dutch East India
Company (VOC) after a three-month siege. During the Dutch occupation,
the city grew in population and size. Dutch were also tolerant towards native
mercantile and religious activities. Most Hindu temples that were destroyed by
the Portuguese were rebuilt. A community of mixed Eurasian Dutch
Burghers formed and became part of the city during this period. The Dutch
expanded rebuilt the fort considerably, built notable Presbyterian churches
and other government buildings most which survived until the 1980s and were
destroyed or damaged during the Civil war.[18] 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. Great Britain took over Dutch possessions in Sri Lankan from
1796.Britain maintained many of the Dutch mercantile, tolerant religious and
taxation policies. 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. All the major roads and railway line connecting
the city with Colombo, Kandy and the rest of the country were built.
Under the British, Jaffna enjoyed a period of rapid growth and prosperity. The
excess wealth of the citizens of the city was directed towards building civic
projects like temples, schools, library and the museum.