Burning of Jaffna library

Burning of Jaffna library
Burnt shell of the library
Location	Jaffna, Sri Lanka
Date	June 1, 1981 (+6 GMT)
Target	Primarily Sri Lankan Tamil
Attack type	Burning, Shooting
Weapons	Fire, Guns
Deaths	4
Non-fatal injuries	Unknown
Perpetrators	rioters

The burning of the Jaffna Public Library (Tamil: யாழ் பொது நூலகம் எரிப்பு, Yāḻ potu nūlakam erippu) was an important event in the Sri Lankan civil war. An organized mob of Sinhalese origin went on a rampage on the night of June 1, 1981, burning the library. It was one of the most violent examples of ethnic biblioclasm of the 20th century. At the time of its destruction, the library was one of the biggest in Asia, containing over 97,000 books and manuscripts.

The library was built in many stages starting from 1933, from a modest beginning as a private collection. Soon, with the help of primarily local citizens, it became a full-fledged library. The library also became a repository of archival material written in palm leaf manuscripts, original copies of regionally important historic documents in the contested political history of Sri Lanka and newspapers that were published hundreds of years ago in the Jaffna peninsula. It thus became a place of historic and symbolic importance to all Sri Lankans.

Eventually the first major wing of the library was opened in 1959 by then Jaffna mayor Alfred Duraiappah. The architect of the Indo-Saracenic style building was S. Narasimhan from Madras, India. Prominent Indian librarian S.R. Ranganathan served as an advisor to ensure that the library was built to international standards. The library became the pride of the local people as even researchers from India and other countries began to use it for their research purposes.

On Sunday May 31, 1981, the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), a regionally popular democratic party, held a rally in which three majority Sinhalese policeman were shot and two killed.