Burning of Jaffna Public Library

Burning of Jaffna library
Part of 1981 anti-Tamil pogrom
Burnt shell of the library
LocationJaffna, Sri Lanka
DateJune 1, 1981[1][2] (+6 GMT)
TargetPrimarily Sri Lankan Tamil
Attack type
Rioting, burning, shooting, arson
WeaponT56
Petrol bomb
Sword
Grenade
Deaths4+
InjuredUnknown
PerpetratorsUNP
Sri Lankan government (Jayewardene cabinet)
Sri Lanka Police
Pro Sinhalese mob gang
Government employees
No. of participants
1,000+
MotiveEthnic cleansing

The burning of the Jaffna Public Library (Tamil: யாழ் பொது நூலகம் எரிப்பு, Yāḻ potu nūlakam erippu; Sinhala: යාපනය මහජන පුස්තකාලය ගිනිබත් කිරීම, Yāpanaya mahajana pustakālaya ginibat kirīma) took place on the night of June 1, 1981, when an organized mob of Sinhalese individuals went on a rampage, burning the library.[1] It was one of the most violent examples of ethnic biblioclasm of the 20th century.[Term][3] At the time of its destruction, the library was one of the biggest in Asia, containing over 97,000 books and manuscripts.[4][5]

The priest and scholar Rev. Fr. (Dr.) H. S. David died of shock the next day after seeing flames engulfing Jaffna Library from his room at St. Patrick's College, Jaffna the night before.[6][7]

  1. ^ a b "Burning Of The Jaffna Public Library: Whodunit?". Colombo Telegraph. June 1, 2014.
  2. ^ நீலவண்ணன். "மீண்டும் யாழ்ப்பாணம் எரிகிறது". Retrieved May 31, 2016.
  3. ^ "Destroying a symbol" (PDF). IFLA. Retrieved February 14, 2007.
  4. ^ "Fire at Kandy public library". BBC. Retrieved March 14, 2006.
  5. ^ Wilson, A.J. Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism: Its Origins and Development in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, p.125
  6. ^ "Appreciations:He died seeing the Jaffna library burn". The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka). June 1, 1997. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
  7. ^ "37 years on - remembering the burning of the Jaffna Public Library". Tamil Guardian. May 31, 2018. Retrieved May 23, 2024.

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