Jaffna
From: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition
|
Date: 2008
Jaffna , peninsula, northernmost part of Sri Lanka, separated from India by Palk Strait. The peninsula is densely inhabited, largely by Tamil-speaking people. Jaffna suffered under the Portuguese and Dutch occupations of the 17th-18th cent. Tobacco, rice, coconuts, palmyra palm, and vegetables are grown; fishing is an important occupation. The main industries are salt, cement, chemical, and tobacco production. The city of Jaffna (1995 est. pop. 135,000), on the southwestern portion of the peninsula, on Jaffna Lagoon, is a regional trade center with a small port. The Univ. of Jaffna is there. The city includes Nallur, capital of the independent Tamil kingdom conquered by the Portuguese in 1617.
The center of an independent kingdom from the 13th to the 15th cent., Jaffna was occupied by the Portuguese (1617-1658) and the Dutch (1658-1795) until the British conquest. Since the 1980s it has been the center of violent Tamil resistance against Sinhalese dominance in Sri Lanka. Guerrilla groups, particularly the Liberation Tigers, which controlled the area during 1986-1988 and 1990-1996. have tried to transform the peninsula and E Sri Lanka into an independent nation called Tamil Eelam. Indian troops occupied the peninsula from 1988 to 1990 in an attempt to help quell the rebellion. In 1996 government forces claimed to have taken the last rebel stronghold on the peninsula, but Tamil insurgents continued their fight from jungle bases, retaking much of the peninsula by early 2000. The Dec., 2004, Indian Ocean tsunami caused destruction and loss of life on peninsula.
Author not available, JAFFNA.,
The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition 2008
The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright 2008 Columbia University Press
For permission to reuse this article, contact Copyright Clearance Center.
Related articles from HighBeam Research:
|
U.S. Says Jaffna's Fall Won't Ease Conflict
India Abroad; 12/8/1995; Aziz Haniffa; 996 words;
... Haniffa India Abroad 12-08-1995 U.S. Says Jaffna's Fall Won't Ease Conflict. The Administration ... capture of the Tamil rebel stronghold of Jaffna by Sri Lankan troops would be a significant ... Government troops last week entered part of Jaffna, highlighting a monthlong campaign that ...
|
&type=4 "Morning Edition (NPR)")
|
Sri Lanka Fighting Traps Thousands in Jaffna
Morning Edition (NPR); 2/27/2007; This is MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Renee Montagne. STEVE INSKEEP, host; 954 words;
This is MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Renee Montagne. STEVE INSKEEP, host Morning ... 02-27-2007 Sri Lanka Fighting Traps Thousands in Jaffna Time 11:00-12:00 PM Play Audio This is MORNING ... northern tip of the country. Their home is the Jaffna Peninsula. That peninsula is controlled by the ... rebels ... .
|
|
Tamil Rebels Press Attack On Key Sri Lankan City; Government Invokes Emergency Powers, Vows to Hold Jaffna
The Washington Post; 5/11/2000; Pamela Constable; 971 words;
... within a few miles of the northern city of Jaffna today, raising the possibility that the ... Elephant Pass, the gateway to the narrow Jaffna peninsula. The Tamil advance led the Sri ... bridge and cut off the major highway to Jaffna, a city of 500,000, in a "massive offensive ...
|
|
|
Strategic import of a peninsula called Jaffna
India Abroad; 5/19/2000; Senadhira, Sugeeswara; 600 words;
... 05-19-2000 Strategic import of a peninsula called Jaffna The boost to the morale apart, the capture of Jaffna, the biggest Tamil town in Sri Lanka, will ... advantages, both financial and strategic. Jaffna was the first independent Tamil sovereign ...
|
&type=2 "The Economist (US)")
|
Ghost town: Sri Lanka. (Tamil Tigers compel the evacuation of Jaffna, Sri Lanka)(Brief Article)
The Economist (US); 11/18/1995; 505 words;
... capture the Tamil Tiger stronghold of Jaffna. The battle to take the town was expected ... Some 1,500 Tigers are thought to be in Jaffna and have said they will resist every inch ... collapse of five years of Tiger rule. Jaffna is a ghost town. Most of the 250,000 inhabitants ...
|
|
Panic as battle for Jaffna rages
The Independent - London; 11/1/1995; TIM McGIRK New Delhi; 370 words;
... were trapped on the northern shore of the Jaffna lagoon yesterday, trying to clamber aboard ... army attack on the rebel citadel- city of Jaffna. A government military spokesman said ... aircraft, had closed to within five miles of Jaffna, the nation's second-largest city. It ...
|
|
|
A child's sad end as Tigers near Jaffna
The Independent - London; 5/14/2000; PETER POPHAM IN RAMESWARAM SOUTHERN INDIA; 923 words;
... TIGERS guerrillas advanced closer to the centre of Jaffna city in the far north of Sri Lanka yesterday, threatening ... loss of three soldiers, and insisted: "Life in Jaffna town goes on as usual. Residents are not showing ... month at Elephant Pass, the key to control of the Jaffna peninsula, had thrown Sri ...
|
|
|
U.S. condemns the killing of Jaffna mayor
India Abroad; 5/29/1998; 512 words;
... Abroad 05-29-1998 U.S. condemns the killing of Jaffna mayor Even as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil ... Devi Yogeswaran, the recently elected Mayor of Jaffna. Yogeswaran was gunned down at her Jaffna residence May 17 by a group calling itself the ...
|
|
|
Sri Lanka Rebel Chief Said to Escape As Indian Troops Take Over Jaffna
The Washington Post; 10/24/1987; Loren Jenkins; 743 words;
... Indian Army assault on the northern city of Jaffna, Tamil Tigers militia leader Velupillai ... before them, had apparently escaped from Jaffna, possibly with most of his key lieutenants ... city of Mannar about 50 miles south of Jaffna on Sri Lanka's western coast. Prabhakaran ...
|
|
|
Tigers take to the jungle as Jaffna falls
The Independent - London; 12/6/1995; TIM MCGIRK New Delhi; 615 words;
... forces conquered the rebel citadel of Jaffna. For the first time in five years, the ... year old Dutch fort. Until yesterday, Jaffna had been the centre of a mini-state set ... For many Tamil militants, the loss of Jaffna town was a devastating blow to their dreams ...
|
|
|
Tigers fight on to the last in Jaffna
The Independent - London; 11/21/1995; TIM McGIRK Colombo; 661 words;
... yesterday advanced into the rebel city of Jaffna. A military spokesman in Colombo, however ... forces were one and a half miles from Jaffna's centre and had run into stiff resistance ... Lankan army began its final assault on Jaffna, this was already a city disfigured by ...
|
|
|
War-weary Jaffna votes for moderate Tamil party
India Abroad; 10/20/2000; Jayaram, P.; 451 words;
... P. India Abroad 10-20-2000 War-weary Jaffna votes for moderate Tamil party The moderate ... and virtually driven out of the northern Jaffna peninsula, has made an impressive return ... of the desire of the residents of the Jaffna peninsula to see an end to the violence ...
|
|
|
Tigers on the verge of recapturing Jaffna
India Abroad; 5/5/2000; Senadhira, Sugeeswara; 655 words;
... Abroad 05-05-2000 Tigers on the verge of recapturing Jaffna Guerrillas of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam ... appeared set to recapture the government-held northern Jaffna peninsula, their erstwhile stronghold, forcing Sri ... Elephant Pass, which is located at the gateway of Jaffna. Visibly buoyed by ...
|
|
Making love, not war at gathering of Jaffna Tamils and Singhalese
New Straits Times; 6/3/2007; Balan Moses; 882 words;
... 06-03-2007 Making love, not war at gathering of Jaffna Tamils and Singhalese Byline: Balan Moses ... the Sri Lankan community, overwhelmingly Jaffna Tamil with a Sinhalese minority, going ... possible to do so these days. Today, young Jaffna Tamils are pursuing education abroad ...
|
|
|
Indians and Tamil Rebels Said to Battle for Jaffna; Sri Lankan Insurgent Losses Put at 170
The Washington Post; 10/13/1987; Seema Sirohi; 530 words;
... rebels advanced on the northern city of Jaffna today against strong resistance, official ... Battles raged around the old Dutch fort in Jaffna and in the nearby villages of Chunnakam ... parachuted into the area northeast of Jaffna overnight. J.N. Dixit, the Indian ambassador ...
|
See all results from premium newspaper and magazine articles, images, maps and more at HighBeam Research.
Related articles from newspapers, magazines and other sources:
|
|