Kilinochchi ( ta, கிளிநொச்சி, translit=Kiḷinocci; si, කිලිනොච්චි, translit=Girānika) is the main town of
Kilinochchi District
Kilinochchi District ( ta, கிளிநொச்சி மாவட்டம் ''Kiḷinocci Māvaṭṭam''; si, කිලිනොච්චි දිස්ත්රික්කය) is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level ...
,
Northern Province 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 ...
. Kilinochchi is situated at the
A9 road This is a list of roads designated A9.
* A009 road (Argentina), a road in the northeast of Santa Fe Province
* ''A9 highway (Australia)'' may refer to :
** A9 (Sydney), a road linking Windsor and Campbelltown
** A9 highway (South Australia), a l ...
some south-east of
Jaffna
Jaffna (, ) is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name. With a population of 88,138 in 2012, Jaffna is Sri Lanka's 12th most ...
. It was the administrative center and de facto capital of the
LTTE
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...
(Tamil Tigers) until 2 January 2009, when troops of the
Sri Lankan Army
ta, இலங்கை இராணுவம்
, image = File:Sri Lanka Army Logo.png
, image_size = 180px
, caption = Emblem of the Sri Lanka Army
, start_date ...
recaptured the city.
History
Creation (1936)
The Kilinochchi town was established in 1936 as part of a colonization project that sought to ease overpopulation and unemployment in Jaffna.
Kilinochchi is still part of Jaffna electoral division and it was separated from the Jaffna district in the 1980s as a new district. Most of the people living in this district are farmers and related to agricultural work. Most of the people were migrated from Jaffna 1930s to acquire government grants for land and to engage in paddy (rice) cultivation. Large influx of migration from Hill country into Kilinochchi happened in 1970s. They were then migrated overseas (Europe, US, Canada, Australia, etc.) during the civil war (1990 onward). The population is rising again after the end of the civil war.
Sri Lankan Civil War
![LTTE car with soldiers in Killinochi april 2004](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/LTTE_car_with_soldiers_in_Killinochi_april_2004.jpg)
The
LTTE
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...
first took hold of the town in 1990 when the Army withdrew its garrisons from Kilinochchi. Then the area was retaken by the Army during operations Sathjaya I, II, and III in September 1996. The town again fell into the LTTE's hand in September 1998 who held their administrative hub there until retreating during the
Battle of Kilinochchi on 2 January 2009.
"Ruined remains of rebel 'capital'"
BBC, January 5, 2009
Several institutions of the LTTE
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...
were forced to relocate from Kilinochchi to Tharmapuram Tharmapuram, or Dharmapuram, is a town in Kilinochchi District, Northern Province, Sri Lanka. It is about 13 km east to the town of Kilinochchi.
Tharmapuram is situated in Kandavalai (or Kandawalai) DS Division. There are two GN divisions wh ...
, a town about 13 km in the east, by early October, 2008 in fear of death by advancing government troops. Security Forces Headquarters – Kilinochchi
Security Forces Headquarters – Kilinochchi (SFHQ-KLN) was a regional command of the Sri Lanka Army, that was responsible for the operational deployment and command all army units stationed in Kilinochchi District, this includes several division ...
was established on June 29, 2009, in the town.
Demography
Most people living in Kilinochchi are Sri Lankan Tamils
Sri Lankan Tamils ( or ), also known as Ceylon Tamils or Eelam Tamils, are Tamils native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Today, they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, live in significant numbers in the Eastern Pro ...
and Indian Tamils.
Economy
Kilinochchi is one of the major agrarian cultivation destinations in the island from the pre-historic
Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...
times. Iranamadu
Iranamadu or Iranaimadu ( ta, இரணைமடு, translit=Iraṇaimaṭu, lit=Double-bund; si, ඉරණමඩුව, translit=Iraṇamaḍuva) is a military city in Kilinochchi District, Sri Lanka. It includes a lake that provides water to ...
Tank, Kanakampikai Kulam (Pond), and Kilinochchi Kulam are the major irrigation
Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow Crop, crops, Landscape plant, landscape plants, and Lawn, lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,00 ...
source for paddy and various other cultivations.
Transport
Kilinochchi is connected to the Sri Lanka railways
The Sri Lanka Railway Department (more commonly known as Sri Lanka Railways (SLR)) ( Sinhala: ශ්රී ලංකා දුම්රිය සේවය ''Śrī Laṃkā Dumriya Sēvaya''; Tamil: இலங்கை புகையிரத ...
northern line via its railway station.
Media
Kilinochchi is served with all Jaffna- and Colombo-based newspapers. The Jaffna-based Uthayan
''Uthayan'' ( ta, உதயன் Utayaṉ, en, Morning) is a Tamil language Sri Lankan daily newspaper published by New Uthayan Publication (Private) Limited, part of the Uthayan Group of Newspapers. It was founded in 1985 and is published from ...
has a regional office in Kilinochchi.
There have been discussions of not distributing Jaffna-based newspapers in the Vanni area, especially Uthayan. Uthayan is highly critical of inappropriate land acquisition in the Jaffna peninsula and the Vanni region by the Sri Lankan Military and Government.
Education
This district has one university faculty and several Government Colleges such as Faculty of Agriculture of University of Jaffna
The University of Jaffna ( ta, யாழ்ப்பாணப் பல்கலைக்கழகம், translit=Yāḻppāṇap Palkalaikkaḻakam; si, යාපනය විශ්වවිද්යාලය, ''Yāpanaya Viśvavidyālaya''; ...
, Kilinochchi Central College
Kilinochchi Madhya Maha Vidiyalaya, which is also known as Kilinochchi Central College ( ta, கிளிநொச்சி மத்திய கல்லூரி, ''Kiḷinocci Mattiya Kallūri''; si, කිලිනොච්චි මධ් ...
, Hindu College, Uruthirapuram Maha Vidyalayam school, Vaddakkachchi Maha Vidyalayam school, institution etc.
References
External links
{{Authority control
Towns in Kilinochchi District
Karachchi DS Division