Burning of Jaffna Public Library
1981 event during the Sri Lankan civil war / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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]
Burning of Jaffna library | |
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Part of 1981 anti-Tamil pogrom | |
![]() Burnt shell of the library | |
Location | Jaffna, Sri Lanka |
Date | June 1, 1981[1][2] (+6 GMT) |
Target | Primarily Sri Lankan Tamil |
Attack type | Rioting, burning, shooting, arson |
Weapon | T56 Petrol bomb Sword Grenade |
Deaths | 4+ |
Injured | Unknown |
Perpetrators | UNP Sri Lankan government (Jayewardene cabinet) Sri Lanka Police Pro Sinhalese mob gang Government employees |
No. of participants | 1,000+ |
Motive | Ethnic cleansing |
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]