Kilinochchi District ( ta, கிளிநொச்சி மாவட்டம் ''Kiḷinocci Māvaṭṭam''; si, කිලිනොච්චි දිස්ත්රික්කය) is one of the 25
districts
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
of
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
, the second level
administrative division
Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...
of the country. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a
District Secretary A Government Agent (GA) or a District Secretary is a Sri Lankan civil servant of the Sri Lanka Administrative Service appointed by the central government to govern a certain district of the country. The GA is the administrative head of public servic ...
(previously known as a
Government Agent) appointed by the
central government of Sri Lanka. The
capital
Capital may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** List of national capital cities
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences
* Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...
of the district is the town of
Kilinochchi
Kilinochchi ( ta, கிளிநொச்சி, translit=Kiḷinocci; si, කිලිනොච්චි, translit=Girānika) is the main town of Kilinochchi District, Northern Province of Sri Lanka. Kilinochchi is situated at the A9 road so ...
.
History
![Tamil Tiger women at war](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/Tamil_Tiger_women_at_war.jpg)
Between 5th century BC and 13th century AD present day Kilinochchi District was part of
Rajarata
Rajarata ā dja ra tə(Meaning: King's country) ( Sinhala: රජරට) (Tamil: ரஜரட) was one of three historical regions of the island of Sri Lanka for about 1,700 years from the 6th century BCE to the early 13th century CE. Several anci ...
. Much of Kilinochchi District was thereafter part of the pre-colonial
Jaffna kingdom
The Jaffna Kingdom ( ta, யாழ்ப்பாண அரசு, si, යාපනය රාජධානිය; 1215–1624 CE), also known as Kingdom of Aryachakravarti, was a historical kingdom of what today is northern Sri Lanka. It came i ...
. The district then came under
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
,
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
and
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
control. In 1815 the British gained control of the entire island of
Ceylon
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
. They divided the island into three ethnic based administrative structures: Low Country Sinhalese, Kandyan Sinhalese and Tamil. The district, which was then part of Jaffna District, was part of the Tamil administration. In 1833, in accordance with the recommendations of the
Colebrooke-Cameron Commission, the ethnic based administrative structures were unified into a single administration divided into five geographic provinces. Jaffna District, together with
Mannar District
Mannar District ( ta, மன்னார் மாவட்டம் ''Maṉṉār Māvaṭṭam''; si, මන්නාරම දිස්ත්රික්කය) is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative divisi ...
and Vanni District, formed the new
Northern Province.
The district was colonised in 1936 by residents from
Jaffna Peninsula as part of a scheme that sought to ease overpopulation and unemployment.
At the time that
Ceylon gained independence, Jaffna was one of the three districts located in the Northern Province. Parts of Jaffna District were transferred to newly created
Mullaitivu District
Mullaitivu District ( ta, முல்லைத்தீவு மாவட்டம் ''Mullaittīvu Māvaṭṭam''; si, මුලතිවු දිස්ත්රික්කය) is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level ad ...
in September 1978. Kilinochchi District was carved out of the southern part of Jaffna District in February 1984.
Kilinochchi District was under the control of rebel
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...
for many years during the
civil war
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
. The district was recaptured by the
Sri Lankan military
The Sri Lanka Armed Forces is the overall unified military of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka encompassing the Sri Lanka Army, the Sri Lanka Navy, and the Sri Lanka Air Force; they are governed by the Ministry of Defence (Sri Lank ...
in late 2008/early 2009.
Geography
Kilinochchi District is located in the north of Sri Lanka in the Northern Province. It has an area of .
Administrative units
Kilinochchi District is divided into 4
Divisional Secretary's Division
The districts of Sri Lanka are divided into administrative sub-units known as ''divisional secretariats''. These were originally based on the feudal counties, the ''korale''s and ''rata''s. They were formerly known as 'D.R.O. Divisions' after the ...
(DS Divisions), each headed by a Divisional Secretary (previously known as an Assistant Government Agent).
The DS Divisions are further sub-divided into 95
Grama Niladhari
''Grama Niladhari'' (''village officers'') ( si, ග්රාම නිලධාරී) is a Sri Lankan public official appointed by the central government to carry out administrative duties in a ''grama niladhari'' division, which is a sub-un ...
Divisions (GN Divisions).
[
]
Demographics
Population
Kilinochchi District's population was 112,875 in 2011.[ The population of the district is almost exclusively Sri Lankan Tamil.
The population of the district, like the rest of the north and ]east
East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...
of Sri Lanka, has been heavily affected by the civil war. The war killed an estimated 100,000 people. Several hundred thousand Sri Lankan Tamils, possibly as much as one million, emigrated
Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...
to the West
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...
during the war. Many Sri Lankan Tamils also moved to the relative safety of the capital Colombo
Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...
. Most of the Sri Lankan Moors and Sinhalese who lived in the district fled to other parts of Sri Lanka or were forcibly expelled by the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
Ethnicity
Religion
There are ''92,986'' Hindus in Kilinochchi District.Also ''18,499'' Christians, ''1275'' Buddhists, ''700'' Muslims and ''50'' Other Religious people in Kilinochchi District
Politics and government
Local government
Kilinochchi District has three local authorities
Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...
all of which are Divisional Councils (Pradesha Sabhai or Pradeshiya Sabha).[
]
Notes
References
External links
Kilinochchi District Secretariat
{{Northern Province, Sri Lanka topics
1984 establishments in Sri Lanka
Districts of Sri Lanka