Velanai Island
வேலணைத் தீவு | |
|---|---|
 Aerial view of the Velanai Island. | |
  Velanai Island  Velanai Island | |
| Coordinates: 9°40′0″N 79°52′0″E / 9.66667°N 79.86667°E | |
| Country | Sri Lanka |
| Province | Northern |
| District | Jaffna |
Velanai Island (Tamil: வேலணை), also known as Leiden in Dutch, is a small island off the coast of Jaffna Peninsula in the north of Sri Lanka.[1][2] There are number of villages within the island, such as Allaipiddy, Mankumpan, Velanai, Saravanai, Puliyankoodal, Suruvil, Naranthanai and Karampon.
The majority of the island's inhabitants are Hindus, along with a sizeable minority of Christians. There are number of Hindu Temples along with few Churches on the island. The village also consists of a few schools. Sir Vaithilingam Duraiswamy, a well known member of the State Council of Ceylon during the British colonial period, and his son Yogendra Duraiswamy, a Hindu activist and well-known diplomat, were both born in Velanai.
Velanai was also marred by violence during the Sri Lankan Civil War, with the island being the main setting of the Allaipiddy massacre.[3][4]
- ^ "AdministrativeMap" (PDF). United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Sri Lanka. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Sri Lanka. 28 May 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 October 2007. Retrieved 13 August 2007.
- ^ "District Secretariat Velanai". Gov of Sri Lanka. Gov of Sri Lanka.
- ^ K. T. Rajasingham (29 September 2001). "Sri Lanka: The Untold Story : Chapter 8: Pan Sinhalese board of ministers - A Sinhalese ploy". Asia Times Online. Archived from the original on 24 December 2001. Retrieved 1 November 2009.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Special Report No.2". University Teachers for Human Rights (Jaffna), Sri Lanka in association with Pax Christi (an international Catholic peacemaking movement). Retrieved 1 November 2009.