At the end of May 1981, during the day of the Jaffna Development Council elections, the city of Jaffna was swarmed with government security forces, affiliated politicians, and their hired thugs. It was evident that the election could no longer proceed under normal conditions. On the night of May 31st, a fiery blaze in central Jaffna was visible even from a distance, catching the attention of the city’s residents. However, many were unable to reach the site, as security forces had established barriers. The news spread rapidly, echoing even to this day:“The Jaffna Library is burning.”
The Jaffna Library was established under the patronage of K.M. Chellappah, who served as a secretary in the Jaffna District Court early 20th century. In 1933, he opened his personal collection of books, gathered over the years, to the public, marking the beginnings of what would become a prominent public library. After securing government permission to build libraries in the Northern and Eastern regions, Chellappah rented a building on Jaffna Hospital Road in 1934 to formally house the library. By 1936, the library had to be taken to the Abubakar building due to space constraints and was later transferred to the Municipal District Council in 1935.
When Jaffna was elevated to “Municipal Council” status, its first mayor, Sam A. Sabapathy, proposed a new library building on land near the Jaffna Fort. The building design was entrusted to V.M. Narasingham, a renowned architect from Madurai, who incorporated Dravidian architectural elements. Construction began on March 29, 1954, and was completed on October 11, 1959. Then-Mayor Alfred Thuraiappah, who was assassinated by Tamil Tigers around 15 years later, inaugurated it for the public. By 1980, the library’s collection boasted over 97,000 volumes in Tamil, English, Sinhala, and other languages.
The Tamil community in Jaffna, deeply committed to establishing their autonomy in the North, took great interest in the District Development Council elections. On May 31, 1981, shortly after a rally organized by the Tamil United Liberation Front, Sergeant Punchi Banda and Constable Kanagasundaram were murdered. The killing was later attributed to a People’s Liberation Organization of Tamil Ealam (PLOTE).
That same night, many shops in Jaffna were set on fire, including the Tamil United Liberation Front’s Jaffna office. The residence of Jaffna’s Member of Parliament V. Yogeswaran was also set ablaze, forcing him and his wife to flee over the parapet wall to escape.
State Terrorism
Shortly afterward, an armed police squad arrived and went on a rampage, brutalizing anyone they encountered in the streets. The streets were deserted as they attacked with fury, destroying property in their path. More than 150 stores were looted and burned, a nearby Kovil too. They set fire to parked vehicles, and the office of the “Eela Nadu” newspaper was destroyed. Its chief editor, S.M. Gopalrathnam, was severely beaten, and the Tamil United Liberation Front office was similarly reduced to ashes. Four Tamil civilians were dragged through the streets, tortured, and murdered. Statues of notable figures like Thiruvalluvar, Poet Avvaiyar, and Pandit Somesundaram near Jaffna Periyakadai were smashed and desecrated.
These acts were orchestrated by groups with guidance from two southern politicians, who directed their gangs to loot and burn. This violence unfolded under emergency law. Only after the events subsided, on June 2nd, did the government impose a curfew, effectively providing the culprits easy escape.
The destruction continued relentlessly throughout the night, with arson and pillaging the following day as well. On June 1, attackers entered the Jaffna Library and set fire to its collections. Over 97,000 books, including centuries-old manuscripts, palm-leaf manuscripts, and first editions of rare books, were engulfed in flames. Among them was the only surviving original copy of the revered text, Yalpana Vaipava Malai.
As the library burned, the intellectual heritage it represented was lost, sparking a collective sense of mourning. Father David, a 74-year-old priest from St. Patrick’s College, witnessed the library burning from the upper floor and suffered a fatal heart attack.
“The Tamil people viewed this as the destruction of their intellectual heritage. This state-sponsored repression was, in their view, a direct assault on the Tamil society,” stated Professor K. Sivathamby, a renowned political analyst and intellectual. M.K. Eelavendran described it as a “cultural genocide of the Tamil community.” Professor Sunil Ariyaratne, a prominent Sinhala scholar and an advocate for Tamil language, art, and culture, serving as a lecturer at Jaffna University, expressed his anguish:
“The Tamil people have a rich, unbroken history that spans thousands of years. They possess a significant body of literature and rare, invaluable books. We mainly utilized the Jaffna University library, but for further studies, we relied on the central Jaffna Library. It contained books found nowhere else, not even in India. No amount of money could replace these books. This act is comparable to setting ancient monuments ablaze.”
Swaminathan Vimal, a lecturer in the Sinhala department at Jaffna University, added:
“The Jaffna Library housed books from the colonial period, including collections associated with educational institutions in Jaffna. Its vast compilation of works, particularly those born out of the colonial educational renaissance in Jaffna, held significant historical value for many. It was a crucial center of documentation for Jaffna’s unique cultural and historical records.”
Among the destroyed collections were several priceless works, including:
- Manuscripts by Ananda Coomaraswamy
- The C. Vanasingham collection (nearly 100 books)
- The Isaac Tambiah collection (around 850 religious and advisory books)
- The collection of Kathiravel Pillai (approximately 600 books)
- An extensive set of palm-leaf manuscripts
- A donated collection of reference books from the American Library
State terrorism has historically directed violence against the Tamil community, as evidenced in violent episodes in 1939, 1956, 1958, and 1977. However, the 1981 destruction of the Jaffna Library is often cited as an unforgettable and unforgivable act. Subsequent investigations revealed that the library’s destruction was orchestrated by state security forces and politicians of the ruling party who had mobilized hired thugs from their regions.
In 1998, a reconstruction project for the library was initiated, aiming to restore trust with both the Tamil community and the international community. Spearheaded by Ministers Mangala Samaraweera and Lakshman Kadirgamar, the project raised over $1 million to restore the building and replenish its collection, ultimately gathering 25,000 new books.
Despite LTTE opposition to reopening the library in its original location, the library was ceremoniously reopened to the public in 2003, even as some opposed the move. With its white-walled buildings, the library stands proudly today, symbolizing resilience yet haunted by its history of destruction.
Conclusion
The Jaffna Library stands as an institution of pride for Jaffna, though its tragic past cannot be erased. The structures and books still hold the echoes of pain and loss inflicted by political leaders and the armed forces of a previous era. The 1981 fire represents an immeasurable loss, forever marking the legacy of the Jaffna Library.
