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Kilinochchi District

Kilinochchi District (Tamil: கிளிநொச்சி மாவட்டம் Kiḷinocci Māvaṭṭam; Sinhala: කිලිනොච්චි දිස්ත්‍රික්කය) is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative division of the country. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a District Secretary (previously known as a Government Agent) appointed by the central government of Sri Lanka. The capital of the district is the town of Kilinochchi.

Kilinochchi District
கிளிநொச்சி மாவட்டம்
කිලිනොච්චි දිස්ත්‍රික්කය
Administrative District
Kilinochchi District & Magistrate’s Court
Kilinochchi District & Magistrate’s Court
Location within Sri Lanka
Location within Sri Lanka
Coordinates: 09°25′N 80°25′E / 9.417°N 80.417°E / 9.417; 80.417
CountrySri Lanka
ProvinceNorthern
CreatedFebruary 1984
CapitalKilinochchi
DS Division
List
Government
 • District SecretaryR. Ketheeswaran
 • MPs
List
 • MPCs
List
Area
[1]
 • Total
1,279 km2 (494 sq mi)
 • Land1,205 km2 (465 sq mi)
 • Water74 km2 (29 sq mi)  5.79%
 • Rank23rd (1.95% of total area)
Population
 (2012 census)[2]
 • Total
112,875
 • Rank23rd (0.56% of total pop.)
 • Density88/km2 (230/sq mi)
Ethnicity
(2012 census)[2]
 • Sri Lankan Tamil109,528 (97.03%)
 • Indian Tamil1,682 (1.49%)
 • Sinhalese962 (0.85%)
 • Sri Lankan Moors678 (0.60%)
 • Other25 (0.02%)
Religion
(2012 census)[3]
 • Hindu93,084 (82.47%)
 • Christian18,118 (16.05%)
 • Buddhist945 (0.84%)
 • Muslim678 (0.60%)
 • Other50 (0.04%)
Time zoneUTC+05:30 (Sri Lanka)
ISO 3166 codeLK-42
Vehicle registrationNP
Official LanguagesTamil, Sinhala
WebsiteKilinochchi District Secretariat

History

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A LTTE parade in Killinochchi, 2002

Between 5th century BC and 13th century AD present day Kilinochchi District was part of Rajarata. Much of Kilinochchi District was thereafter part of the pre-colonial Jaffna kingdom.[4] The district then came under Portuguese, Dutch and British control. In 1815 the British gained control of the entire island of Ceylon. They divided the island into three ethnic based administrative structures: Low Country Sinhalese, Kandyan Sinhalese and Tamil. The district, which was then part of Jaffna District, was part of the Tamil administration. In 1833, in accordance with the recommendations of the Colebrooke-Cameron Commission, the ethnic based administrative structures were unified into a single administration divided into five geographic provinces.[5] Jaffna District, together with Mannar District and Vanni District, formed the new Northern Province.[6]

The district was colonised in 1936 by residents from Jaffna Peninsula as part of a scheme that sought to ease overpopulation and unemployment.[7] At the time that Ceylon gained independence, Jaffna was one of the three districts located in the Northern Province. Parts of Jaffna District were transferred to newly created Mullaitivu District in September 1978. Kilinochchi District was carved out of the southern part of Jaffna District in February 1984.

Kilinochchi District was under the control of rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam for many years during the civil war. The district was recaptured by the Sri Lankan military in late 2008/early 2009.

Geography

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Kilinochchi District is located in the north of Sri Lanka in the Northern Province. It has an area of 1,279 square kilometres (494 sq mi).[1]

Administrative units

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Kilinochchi District is divided into 4 Divisional Secretary's Division (DS Divisions), each headed by a Divisional Secretary (previously known as an Assistant Government Agent).[8] The DS Divisions are further sub-divided into 95 Grama Niladhari Divisions (GN Divisions).[8]

DS Division Main Town Divisional Secretary GN
Divisions
[8] 		Area
(km2)
[8][9] 		Population (2012 Census)[10] Population
Density
(/km2)
Sri Lankan
Tamil		 Indian
Tamil		 Sinhalese Sri Lankan Moors Other Total
Kandavalai Kandavalai T. Mugunthan 16 318 22,920 7 58 17 1 23,003 72
Karachchi Kilinochchi G. Nageswaran 42 358 58,901 1,501 533 178 24 61,137 171
Pachchilaipalli Pallai Sivapathasundram Sathiyaseelan 18 164 8,274 6 222 8 0 8,510 52
Poonakary Poonakary K. S. Vasanthakumar 19 439 19,433 168 149 475 0 20,225 46
Total 95 1,279 109,528 1,682 962 678 25 112,875 88

Demographics

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Population

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Kilinochchi District's population was 112,875 in 2011.[2] The population of the district is almost exclusively Sri Lankan Tamil.

The population of the district, like the rest of the north and east of Sri Lanka, has been heavily affected by the civil war. The war killed an estimated 100,000 people.[11] Several hundred thousand Sri Lankan Tamils, possibly as much as one million, emigrated to the West during the war.[12] Many Sri Lankan Tamils also moved to the relative safety of the capital Colombo. Most of the Sri Lankan Moors and Sinhalese who lived in the district fled to other parts of Sri Lanka or were forcibly expelled by the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

Ethnicity

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Population of Kilinochchi District by ethnic group 1981 to 2012[2][13][14]
Year Tamil[a] Sinhalese Muslim[b] Other Total
No.
No. % No. % No. % No. %
1981 Census 89,197 97.33% 741 0.81% 1,567 1.71% 136 0.15% 91,641
1999 Estimate n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 156,428
2000 Estimate[c] n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 154,015
2001 Estimate n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 148,052
2002 Estimate n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 153,721
2003 Estimate n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 140,145
2004 Estimate n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 140,920
2005 Estimate 165,781 99.77% 2 0.00% 383 0.23% 0 0.00% 166,166
2006 Estimate 196,611 99.78% 2 0.00% 424 0.22% 0 0.00% 197,037
2007 Estimate 195,386 99.78% 2 0.00% 424 0.22% 0 0.00% 195,812
2008 Estimate 190,599 99.78% 2 0.00% 424 0.22% 0 0.00% 191,025
2009 Estimate 22,099 93.54% 1 0.00% 1,525 6.46% 0 0.00% 23,625
2011 Enumeration 102,779 99.10% 138 0.13% 774 0.75% 26 0.03% 103,717
2012 Census 111,210 98.52% 962 0.85% 678 0.60% 25 0.02% 112,875

Religion

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There are 92,986 Hindus in Kilinochchi District.Also 18,499 Christians, 1275 Buddhists, 700 Muslims and 50 Other Religious people in Kilinochchi District

Poverty

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In 2016 the district was the poorest in Sri Lanka and had the highest incidence of extreme poverty according to the World Bank.[15]

Religion in Kilinochchi District (2011)[16]

  Hinduism (82.5%)
  Christianity (16.1%)
  Buddhism (0.8%)
  Islam (0.6%)

Politics and government

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Local government

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Kilinochchi District has three local authorities all of which are Divisional Councils (Pradesha Sabhai or Pradeshiya Sabha).[8]

Local Authority Area
(km2)
[8] 		Population
(2011)
[14] 		Registered
Electors
(2011) 		Elected Members
(2011)
TNA[d] UPFA Total
Karachchi Divisional Council 620.66 76,770 42,800 15 4 19
Pachchilaipalli Divisional Council 167.70 7,641 7,116 6 3 9
Poonakary Divisional Council 478.73 19,306 11,301 6 4 10
Total 1,267.09 103,717 61,217 27 11 38

Notes

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  1. ^ Sri Lankan Tamil and Indian Tamil.
  2. ^ Sri Lankan Moors and Indian Moors.
  3. ^ 2001 Census was not carried out in Kilinochchi District.
  4. ^ Includes TULF.

References

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  1. ^ a b "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. Archived from the original on 2017-04-28. Retrieved 2012-11-04.
  3. ^ "A3 : Population by religion according to districts, 2012". Census of Population & Housing, 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 2019-01-07. Retrieved 2012-11-04.
  4. ^ de Silva, K. M. (1981). A History of Sri Lanka. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. pp. xvii.
  5. ^ Mills, Lennox A. (1933). Ceylon Under British Rule (1795 - 1932). London: Oxford University Press. pp. 67–68.
  6. ^ Medis, G. C. (1946). Ceylon Under the British (2nd (revised) ed.). Colombo: The Colombo Apothecaries Co. pp. 39–40.
  7. ^ Manogaran, Chelvadurai (1987). Ethnic conflicts and reconciliation in Sri Lanka. University of Hawaii Press. p. 90. ISBN 0-8248-1116-X.
  8. ^ a b c d e f "Statistical Information 2012". Northern Provincial Council.
  9. ^ "Land area by province, district and divisional secretariat division" (PDF). Statistical Abstract 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-11-13.
  10. ^ "A6 : Population by ethnicity and district according to Divisional Secretary's Division, 2012". Census of Population & Housing, 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 2016-11-01. Retrieved 2012-11-04.
  11. ^ "Up to 100,000 killed in Sri Lanka's civil war: UN". ABC News (Australia). 20 May 2009.
  12. ^ Harrison, Frances (23 July 2003). "Twenty years on - riots that led to war". BBC News.
  13. ^ "Statistical Information 2010" (PDF). Northern Provincial Council.
  14. ^ a b "Enumeration of Vital Events 2011 - Northern Province" (PDF). Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-05-23. Retrieved 2012-03-28.
  15. ^ "Geospatial Poverty Portal: Interactive Maps". World Bank. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
  16. ^ Department of Census and Statistics,The Census of Population and Housing of Sri Lanka-2011
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