The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames has unveiled a plaque commemorating the twinning with Jaffna in celebrations held to mark Tamil heritage month in London.
The unveiling of the plaque on the 22nd of January comes as the Tamil community across the UK celebrate Thai Pongal and Tamils across London celebrate Tamil heritage month. January was declared by the London assembly to be Tamil heritage month in which celebrations were held across numerous boroughs, celebrating the Tamil language and culture. Kingston is home to around 12,000 Tamils and the language is the second most spoken in the borough. In 2016 former Northern Provincial Council Chief Minister C V Wigneswaran visited Kingston and signed an official Memorandum of Understanding which twinned the borough with Jaffna, a historic city situated in the Tamil homeland.
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The celebrations on Saturday which included music and dance performances were attended by the local Tamil community and leader of the Liberal Democrats, MP for Kingston and Surbiton Ed Davey. Sarah Olney MP for Richmond Park was also in attendance alongside the Mayor of the borough and local councillors, Thay Thaylan and Andreas Kirsch.
Attending Tamil Heritage Month Celebration & @RBKingston twinning with Jaffna at New Malden St Georges Square with @RBKMayor @EdwardJDavey @sarahjolney1 @thayalan_thay @AndreasKirsch7 Lots of communities represented Exhibition promoting Tamil culture & heritage pic.twitter.com/YjqnK2ninC
— Kingston Carnival (@carnivalKT) January 22, 2022
The twinning was first announced at a ceremony in 2016, when then Northern Provincial Council Chief Minister C V Wigneswaran attended an official signing ceremony in London.
See more here: Royal Borough of Kingston twins with Jaffna
See more photos below
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