Northern Province, Sri Lanka

Coordinates: 09°12′N 80°25′E / 9.200°N 80.417°E / 9.200; 80.417
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Northern Province
வட மாகாணம்
උතුරු පළාත
Province
Sunset over a lagoon
Sunset over a lagoon
Provincial council
14 November 1987
CapitalJaffna
Largest CityVavuniya
Districts
List
Government
 • Type
Governor
Jeevan Thiagarajah
 • MPs
List
Area
axis axis)
Websitewww.np.gov.lk

The Northern Province (Tamil: வட மாகாணம் Vaṭa Mākāṇam; Sinhala: උතුරු පළාත Uturu Paḷāta) is one of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka.[4] The province has an area of 8,884 km2, making it the 3rd largest province by area, and a population of 1,061,315, making it the least populated province. The city of Jaffna is the capital city of the province.

Between 1988 and 2006, the province was temporarily

Tamil population, the Northern Province is sometimes referred to as "Sri Lanka's Tamil country".[5][6][7] The majority of fighting in the Sri Lankan Civil War
took place in the Northern province.

History

The Jaffna royal family

Parts of present-day Northern Province were part of the pre-colonial

Colebrooke-Cameron Commission, the ethnic based administrative structures were unified into a single administration divided into five geographic provinces.[9] The districts of Jaffna, Mannar, Nuvarakalaviya (present day Anuradhapura District) and Vanni formed the new Northern Province.[10] Nuvarakalaviya was transferred to the newly created North Central Province in 1873.[11]

The

devolve powers to the provinces and, in the interim, to merge the Northern and Eastern provinces into one administrative unit. The accord required a referendum to be held by 31 December 1988 in the Eastern Province to decide whether the merger should be permanent. Crucially, the accord allowed the Sri Lankan president to postpone the referendum at his discretion.[12]

On 14 November 1987 the

proclamations enabling the Northern and Eastern provinces to be one administrative unit administered by one elected Council.[15] The North Eastern Province
was born.

The proclamations were only meant to be a temporary measure until a referendum was held in the Eastern Province on a permanent merger between the two provinces. However, the referendum was never held and successive Sri Lankan presidents issued proclamations annually extending the life of the "temporary" entity.[16]

The merger was bitterly opposed by

provincial council for the East.[15] On 16 October 2006 the Supreme Court ruled that the proclamations issued by President Jayewardene were null and void and had no legal effect.[15]
The North Eastern Province was formally de-merged into the Northern and Eastern provinces on 1 January 2007.

Much of the Northern Province was under the control of rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam for many years during the

Sri Lankan military
in 2009.

While the Northern province has seen an era of peace after the end of the war, the scars left by the war still remain. Despite the large amount of infrastructure projects undertaken by the Mahinda Rajapaksa government, at the cost of over $3 billion, the projects have been unable to create new jobs and as a result the province is suffers from extreme levels of unemployment.[17]

In late 2014, then-incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa imposed a travel ban to prevent foreigners from traveling to the former war zone in the province. The ban was lifted three months later by the newly elected president Maithripala Sirisena.[18]

Geography

A bridge over a lagoon

Northern Province is located in the north of Sri Lanka and is just 22 miles (35 km) from India. It is connected with Indian mainland by Adam's Bridge (also known as Sethu Paalam or Rama's Bridge). It has an area of 8,884 square kilometres (3,430 sq mi).[1]

The province is surrounded by the Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay to the west, Palk Strait to the north west, the Bay of Bengal to the north and east and the Eastern, North Central and North Western provinces to the south.

The province is divided into two distinct geographic areas:

Aruvi Aru, Kanakarayan Aru, Kodalikkallu Aru, Mandekal Aru, Nay Aru, Netheli Aru, Pali Aru, Pallavarayankaddu Aru, Parangi Aru, Per Aru, Piramenthal Aru, Theravil Aru
.

The province has a number of

Kokkilai lagoon, Nai Aru Lagoon and Chalai Lagoon
.

Most of the

Mandativu
.

Northern Province is covered in tropical forests, with numerous rivers flowing through them. The north-west coast is part of the deep

Gondwanaland
.

Climate and weather

Sri Lanka enjoys a typical tropical monsoonal climate. The Northern Province tends to be hot and dry in the dry season (February to September), and moderately cool and wet in the wet season (October to January). The province's climate is of the tropical kind, and therefore during monsoons there is always the chance of a deluge. In the lowlands, the climate is typically tropical with the average temperature is around 28°C to 30°C throughout the year. January is typically the coolest month and May is the hottest month. Relative humidity varies from 70% during the day to 90% at night. The Dry Zone of the Sri Lanka is the north and east of the island, this region is affected by the north east monsoon (December to March) and southwest monsoon (June to October). It is thought to be dry because most of the rains fall during the north-east monsoon.

Annual rainfall is less than 1250 mm in the north west and south east of the Inland. It has two rainy seasons South West Monsoon- May to August, North East Monsoon- November to February.[19]

Administrative divisions

Districts

The Northern Province is divided into five districts, 34 divisional secretariats and 921 Grama Niladhari divisions.

District Capital
District Secretary
DS
Divisions
 GN
Divisions 		Total
Area
(km2)[1] 		Land
Area
(km2)[1] 		Population Population
Density
(/km2)
Jaffna District Jaffna N. Vethanayagam 15 435 1,025 929 583,378 569
Kilinochchi District Kilinochchi S. Arumainayaham 4 95 1,279 1,205 112,875 88
Mannar District Mannar M. Y. S. Deshapriya 5 153 1,996 1,880 99,051 50
Mullaitivu District Mullaitivu R. Ketheeswaran 6 136 2,617 2,415 91,947 35
Vavuniya District Vavuniya M. K. Bandula Harischandra 4 102 1,967 1,861 171,511 87
Total 34 921 8,884 8,290 1,058,762 119

Major cities and towns

See also:
List of towns in Northern Province, Sri Lanka
City/town District Population
(2012
est)[20]
Vavuniya Vavuniya 99,653
Jaffna Jaffna 88,138
Chavakacheri
 Jaffna 41,407
Mannar Mannar 35,817
Point Pedro Jaffna 31,351
Valvettithurai Jaffna 27,210

Demographics

The population of the northern province was 1,058,762 in 2012.

Sri Lankan Tamil, with sizeable Sri Lankan Moor and Sinhalese
minorities.

The population of the province, like that of the Eastern Province, was heavily affected by the civil war. The war killed an estimated 100,000 people.[21] Several hundred thousand Sri Lankan Tamils, possibly as much as one million, emigrated to Western countries during the war.[22] Many Sri Lankan Tamils also moved to the relative safety of the capital city Colombo. Most of the Sri Lankan Moors and Sinhalese who lived in the province fled to other parts of Sri Lanka, though most of them have returned to the province since the end of the civil war.

Ethnicity

Population of Northern Province by ethnic group 1881 to 2012[2][23][24]
Year
Tamil[a]
 Muslim[b] Sinhalese Other Total
No.
No. % No. % No. % No. %
1881 Census 289,481 95.70% 10,416 3.44% 1,379 0.46% 1,224 0.41% 302,500
1891 Census 304,355 95.32% 11,831 3.71% 1,922 0.60% 1,188 0.37% 319,296
1901 Census 326,379 95.73% 11,862 3.48% 1,555 0.46% 1,140 0.33% 340,936
1911 Census 352,698 95.41% 12,818 3.47% 2,890 0.78% 1,245 0.34% 369,651
1921 Census 356,801 95.19% 13,095 3.49% 3,795 1.01% 1,138 0.30% 374,829
1946 Census 449,958 93.82% 18,183 3.79% 9,602 2.00% 1,829 0.38% 479,572
1963 Census 689,470 92.93% 30,760 4.15% 20,270 2.73% 1,410 0.19% 741,910
1971 Census 799,406 91.07% 37,855 4.31% 39,511 4.50% 996 0.11% 877,768
1981 Census 1,021,006 92.03% 50,991 4.60% 35,128 3.17% 2,279 0.21% 1,109,404
2000 Estimate n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 1,085,478
2001 Estimate[c] n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 1,111,741
2002 Estimate n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 1,109,182
2003 Estimate n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 1,118,753
2004 Estimate n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 1,131,854
2005 Estimate n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 1,206,326
2006 Estimate n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 1,350,961
2007 Estimate 1,277,567 97.39% 20,583 1.57% 13,626 1.04% 0 0.00% 1,311,776
2008 Estimate[d] 1,022,431 96.90% 19,184 1.82% 13,492 1.28% 50 0.00% 1,055,157
2009 Estimate[e] 943,312 95.68% 26,304 2.67% 16,240 1.65% 0 0.00% 985,856
2011 Enumeration 942,824 94.49% 32,659 3.27% 21,860 2.19% 411 0.04% 997,754
2012 Census 993,741 93.86% 32,364 3.06% 32,331 3.05% 326 0.03% 1,058,762

Religion

Population of Northern Province by religion 1981 to 2012[3][23][25]
Year Hindu Christian[f] Muslim Buddhist Other Total
No.
No. % No. % No. % No. % No. %
1981 Census 860,281 77.54% 169,004 14.19% 54,534 4.92% 25,281 2.28% 304 0.03% 1,109,404
2011 Enumeration 755,066 75.68% 187,663 18.81% 33,185 3.33% 20,451 2.05% 1,389 0.14% 997,754
2012 Census 789,362 74.56% 204,005 19.27% 34,040 3.22% 30,387 2.87% 968 0.09% 1,058,762

Governance and politics

Main article:
Government of the Northern Province

Sri Lankan Parliament

First elected representation at provincial level to a legislative came about after the Second Manning Reforms of the

Sri Lankan Parliament
.

Provincial council

Main article: Northern Provincial Council

Until 1978, the administration of the provinces in Sri Lanka where mainly carried out by the

Provincial council were established in the Provinces.[28]

The 13th

elections for provincial councils took place on 28 April 1988 in North Central, North Western, Sabaragamuwa, and Uva provinces.[29]

Elections in the newly merged North-East Province were scheduled for 19 November 1988. However, the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF), which at that time occupied the North-East Province, rigged the elections in the north so that the Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) and Eelam National Democratic Liberation Front (ENDLF), two Indian backed paramilitary groups, won all of the 36 seats in the north uncontested.[30] However, elections did take place for the 35 seats in the east. The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress won 17 seats, EPRLF 12 seats, ENDLF 5 seats and the United National Party 1 seat. On 10 December 1988 Annamalai Varatharajah Perumal of the EPRLF became the first Chief Minister of the North-East Provincial Council.[30]

On 1 March 1990, just as the IPKF were preparing to withdraw from Sri Lanka, Permual moved a motion in the North-East Provincial Council declaring an independent Eelam.[31]

Since the early 1990s parts of the north-east provinces were controlled by the

elections were held in the demerged the Eastern Province which was followed by elections in the Northern Province in September 2013.[33]

Following the end of the civil war,

G.A. Chandrasiri was sworn in as the Governor of Northern Province with effect 12 July 2009[34] and C. V. Vigneswaran was appointed Chief Minister of the Northern Province following the provincial council elections 2013.[35]

Major

EPDP.[citation needed
]

Economy

Farm land in Kandarodai

The majority of the people earn their livelihood as

professionals in the civil and business sectors. Before the civil war cement and chemical industries along with fishing made a major contribution to the economy. However now they have been abandoned and the factories are rusting. Close to a third of the population is unemployed far more than Sri Lanka and work is mostly informal and thus unstable. The population that managed to flee to foreign nations provide a steady flow of foreign remittances to their relatives in the province.[36]
However, with the election victory of President Maithripala Sirisena and the removal of restrictions that prevented foreigners from visiting the north contributed to the sense of economic renewal alongside the development of Kankesanthurai Harbor the Palali Airport. Hospitals and schools as well as a cultural center and vocational training facility is being built in Jaffna. Investments have also started to flow into an industries such chemical and cement factories, hotels, apparel factories, power plants and aquaculture farms. As of 2018 the apparel industry of the province employ 7,917 staff and represent an investment of US$65 million with factories in Vavuniya, Killinochchi, Mannar and Mullaitivu.[36]

The Northern Province's contribution the gross domestic product is the lowest among the nine provinces representing only 3.5% of the overall GDP in 2015 however the provincial gross domestic product nominal growth rate was 12.1% in 2015 and is the fastest growing province alongside the North Central Province.[37][38]

Northern Province being an agricultural dominant province, where agricultural sector is 25.9% and trade sector comes next to it is 19.3%. Most of the people engaged in service sector covering 31.2% of the total.[39]

Gross State Domestic Product in Rs. Crores and Current Prices[39]

Year GSDP Change Share of Sri Lanka
2001 29,490 Increase % Increase 2.37%
2002 37,400 Increase % Increase 2.67%
2003 43,123 Increase % Increase 2.76%
2004 52,988 Increase % Increase 2.94%
2005 64,004 Increase % Increase 3.05%
2006 72,722 Increase % Decrease 2.93%

Transport

Causeway linking Mannar Island with the mainland
Vallai bridge

Transport infrastructure in the province is poorly developed and limits economic activity. Most people still use bullock carts for transportation.

Road

Major roads in Province are divided into two categories:

  • A Class roads or National Highways - Maintained and controlled by Central Government.
  • B Class roads or Provincial Highways - Maintained and controlled by Provincial Government.

There are number of underdeveloped C and D Class roads in the province.

Rail

Mannar Line
, in the Northern Province.

Most of the railways were developed during the British colonial period.

The railway lines between Vavuniya, Jaffna, and Kankesanthurai and between Medawachchiya and Talaimannar were destroyed during the civil war. For a time during reconstruction the Northern Line operated south of Pallai, while the Mannar Line operates between Medawachchiya and Madhu Road, but by 2015 it was reconstructed past Jaffna to its terminus at Kankesanthirai. Both lines are under reconstruction to restore the original network and upgrade the operating technology used.[40][41]

Air

Airways and airports are underdeveloped in this province. Jaffna International Airport is the primary airport in the province, once an international airport that had regular passenger flight service to Colombo and Tiruchirappalli, India. It had been under the control of the Sri Lanka Navy and now has been turned into an international airport again with the help of India.[42] Daily flights between Colombo and Chennai, India and Jaffna are available. There are a few small airports and airstrips in Vavuniya and Iranamadu.

Education

Founded in 1817 Jaffna Central College is one of the oldest schools in the Northern Province
See also: List of schools in Northern Province, Sri Lanka and University of Jaffna

The Northern Province has one

missionaries
.

Total Schools of Northern Province (1981) and (2006)
Districts No. of Schools (1981) No. of Schools (2006)
Jaffna 488 410
Kilinochchi 85 96
Mannar 105 95
Vavuniya 183 188
Mullaitivu 100 103

Media

The first newspaper in Jaffna, Uthayatharakai (Morning Star) was published in 1841 by

C.W. Thamotharampillai[44]
By the 1940s, daily newspapers had already been started Eelakesari and Virakesari in 1930 and Thinakaran in 1932 and journals committed to the growth of modernistic, socially purposive literature Bharati and Marumalarchi in 1946 had also started coming out.

Few newspapers are published in the province now in the principal language of Tamil. None in English and Sinhala. Before the Civil war commenced dozens of newspapers and magazines were published. Press freedom is limited and mostly censored by Government and Pro-government paramilitaries.[45] Now most of the Tamil, English, Sinhala magazines come from Colombo and Chennai, India.

See also

Notes

  1. Sri Lankan Tamil and Indian Tamil
    .
  2. ^ Sri Lankan Moors and Indian Moors.
  3. ^ 2001 Census was only carried out partially in the Northern province.
  4. Thunukkai
    divisions - no data available.
  5. Puthukudiyiruppu
    divisions - no data available.
  6. Roman Catholic
    and Other Christian.

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Area of Sri Lanka by province and district" (PDF). Statistical Abstract 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-11-13.
  2. ^ a b c d "A2 : Population by ethnic group according to districts, 2012". Census of Population & Housing, 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka.
  3. ^ a b "A3 : Population by religion according to districts, 2012". Census of Population & Housing, 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka.
  4. ^ "Provinces of Sri Lanka". Statoids.
  5. ^ "A trip to Sri Lanka's Tamil country". BBC News. 22 August 2009.
  6. IBN Live. 23 May 2014. Archived from the original
    on 26 May 2014.
  7. ^ Chambers, Geoff (10 July 2014). "Asylum seekers returned home by Australian naval vessels complain the authorities took their iPhones, credit cards and cameras". The Daily Telegraph (Sydney).
  8. ^ de Silva, K. M. (1981). A History of Sri Lanka. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. pp. xvii.
  9. ^ Mills, Lennox A. (1933). Ceylon Under British Rule (1795 - 1932). London: Oxford University Press. pp. 67–68.
  10. ^ Medis, G. C. (1946). Ceylon Under the British (2nd (revised) ed.). Colombo: The Colombo Apothecaries Co. pp. 39–40.
  11. ^ Medis, G. C. (1946). Ceylon Under the British (2nd (revised) ed.). Colombo: The Colombo Apothecaries Co. p. 84.
  12. ^ "Indo Sri Lanka Agreement, 1987". Tamil Nation.
  13. ^ "Provincial Councils". Government of Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 2009-07-07.
  14. ^ "The Constitution". Government of Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 2009-08-17.
  15. ^ a b c "North-East merger illegal: SC". LankaNewspapers.com. 20 October 2022.
  16. ^ Sambandan, V. S. (14 November 2003). "Sri Lanka's North-East to remain united for another year". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 25 February 2004.
  17. ^ "Papal Visit Rekindles Hopes in Former War Zone". 15 January 2015.
  18. ^ "Sri Lanka Scraps Ban on Foreigners Visiting Northern Former War Zone". New York Times. Reuters. Jan 16, 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  19. ^ "Climate and Seasons in Sri Lanka". www.info.lk. Archived from the original on June 5, 2009.
  20. ^ "Sri Lanka: largest cities and towns and statistics of their population". World Gazetteer.[dead link]
  21. ^ "Up to 100,000 killed in Sri Lanka's civil war: UN". ABC News (Australia). 20 May 2009.
  22. ^ Harrison, Frances (23 July 2003). "Twenty years on - riots that led to war". BBC News.
  23. ^ a b "Enumeration of Vital Events 2011 - Northern Province" (PDF). Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka.
  24. ^ "Statistical Information 2010" (PDF). Northern Provincial Council.
  25. ^ "Population by religion and district, Census 1981, 2001" (PDF). Statistical Abstract 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-11-13.
  26. ^ a b The Manning Constitutional Reforms (1920). Archived 2014-12-04 at the Wayback Machine
  27. ^ How Did The Provincial Councils Become White Elephants?
  28. ^ Hand book on Provincial councils
  29. ^ Ethnic Conflict of Sri Lanka: Time Line - From Independence to 1999, ICES Archived 2009-12-12 at the Wayback Machine
  30. ^ a b Sri Lanka" The Untold Story by K T Rajasingham (via Asia Times)
  31. ^ "I'm no traitor, says Perumal, Sunday Island 10 September 2000". Archived from the original on 1 May 2009. Retrieved 1 February 2009.
  32. ^ Kulatunga, K.M.H.C.B. (30 November 2014). "Opposition campaign under unholy alliance". Sunday Observer. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  33. ^ Commissioner of Elections Announces Nomination Dates For North, Central and North Western Provincial Councils
  34. ^ G A Chandrasiri re-appointed as NP Governor
  35. ^ Wigneswaran receives CM appointment letter
  36. ^ a b "Is Sri Lanka's peace dividend finally within reach?".
  37. ^ "Provincial Gross Domestic Product – 2015" (PDF).
  38. ^ "New businesses to add over 1,300 jobs in northern Sri Lanka". economynext.com. Retrieved 2018-09-03.
  39. ^ a b http://www.np.gov.lk/pdf/development.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  40. ^ Bhattacharjya, Satarupa (17 January 2010). "Indian Railways makes a beeline for the Lankan tracks". The Sunday Times.
  41. ^ "Agreement for supply and installation of Signaling & Telecommunication system for Northern railway network". Asian Tribune. 18 August 2011.
  42. ^ "Palali airport to be upgraded to int'l level". 15 March 2013.
  43. ^ "History".
  44. ^ "The Hindu : The first Madras graduate". Archived from the original on 2009-01-25. Retrieved 2009-08-08.
  45. ^ Wholesale attack on Tamil newspapers, Journalist kidnapped

Bibliography

  • Peninsular Jaffna from ancient to medieval times, Its significant historical and settlement aspects, Fernando, A. D. N., Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1987
  • Ancient Jaffna, Being a research into the History of Jaffna from Very Early Times to the Portuguese Period, Rasanayagam, Mudaliyar C., Asian Educational Services (AES), New Delhi, 1984
  • The laws and customs of the Tamils of Jaffna, Tambiah, H. W., Women's Education and Research Centre, Colombo, 2004
  • the Essential guide for Jaffna and its region, Fabry, Philippe; Lisa Fabry-Bewley, Alexandra Fabry & Emmanuel Fabry, Viator Publications (Pvt) Ltd, Negombo, 2003
  • Notes on Jaffna, Chronological, historical, biographical, Martyn, John H., Asian Educational Services (AES), New Delhi, 2003
  • Jaffna and Colombo, A century of relationships in three plays, Ludowyk, E. F. C. & Ernest MaCintyre, Vijitha Yapa Publications, Colombo, 2006

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Northern Province, Sri Lanka.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Northern_Province,_Sri_Lanka&oldid=1211465824"