A commemoration has been held to mark the 43-year anniversary of the burning of the Jaffna Library, which held one of the largest collections of books and manuscripts in South Asia.
The commemoration was held on 1 June 2024, under the patronage of Librarian Sivakaran Anushiya and the participation of Jaffna Urban Council Commissioner S. Krishnendran. It has been held to remember the founder of the original library and a scholarly priest who died due to the destruction of the library.
The library staff offered flowers and lit lamps portraits of K.M. Chellappa, who donated his books and house in 1933 to create the library, and also former St. Patrick’s College teacher and language specialist Hyacinth Singarayar David, who succumbed to a heart attack after witnessing the burning of the library by a state sponsored mob that was bussed from the south.
Regional correspondents said that readers also attended the commemoration in addition to the staff of the library.
Both Tamil and Muslim communities attended a commemoration held near the library on that evening under the patronage of Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) MP Selvarajah Kajendran.
Cyril and Gamini
The Jaffna Library was home to over 97,000 books. This included Tamil, Sinhala and English books as well as Sanskrit, Dutch, French and Latin books, historical documents, and manuscripts. The epistemicide was unleashed when ministers Cyril Mathew and Gamini Dissanayake were present in Jaffna in the run up for development council elections.
Ranil Wickremesinghe served as the minister in charge of youth affairs in the UNP government led by the then President J.R. Jayawardena. Ranasinghe Premadasa, father of incumbent Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, served as the Prime Minister.
Ranil’s apology
In 2018, the then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had publicly apologized for the burning of the library under a UNP government. According to scholars, the library is an invaluable asset lost to the human race.
“During our time, the library was set on fire. We are sad about it. We apologize for it,” the then Prime Minister Wickremsinghe said during the budget debate held in the Parliament on 6 December, 2018.
On that day, Wickremesinghe challenged the then President Mahinda Rajapaksa to apologize for the crimes committed in the north during Rajapaksa’ tenure.
On the same day, Wickremesinghe had further said in the Parliament that mosques and churches were destroyed during the war.
The Jaffna Library was one of the most valuable cultural heritages that were destroyed during the three-day violence unleashed by the defense forces and south-based UNP supporters in Jaffna.
This occurred following three police officers being shot dead during a public event held by the then main parliamentary opposition, the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), in Jaffna.
When the attack occurred amidst curfew, UNP members were at the Jaffna Rest House which was a short distance from the library.
In addition to the arson attack on the library, thugs and defense forces hailing from the south destroyed the Eelanadu newspaper office, TULF office, a Hindu kovil, and hundreds of stores and houses.
Thus far, legal action has not been taken against any of the perpetrators.
