Tamil families of the disappeared in Vavuniya remembered the 42nd anniversary of the burning of Jaffna library.
Flowers were laid and candles lit to commemorate the burning which was orchestrated by the Sri Lankan state.
Over 95,000 unique and irreplaceable Tamil palm leaves (ola), manuscripts, parchments, books, magazines and newspapers, housed within an impressive building inspired by ancient Dravidian architecture, were destroyed during the burning. Some texts that were kept in the library, such as the Yalpanam Vaipavamalai (a history of Jaffna), were literally irreplaceable, being the only copies in existence. It was one of the largest libraries in Asia.
Read more here: History in flames: remembering the burning of Jaffna library.
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