Batticaloa District - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Batticaloa district is one of the 25 administrative districts

Districts of Sri Lanka

In Sri Lanka, districts are the second-level administrative divisions, and are included in a province. There are 25 districts organized into 9 provinces. Each district is administered under a District Secretary, who is appointed by the central government...

of Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a District Secretary

Government Agent (Sri Lanka)

A Government Agent or a District Secretary is a Sri Lankan civil servant of the Sri Lanka Administrative Service appointed by the central government to govern a certain district of the country. The GA is the administrative head of public services in the District. As Sri Lanka has 25 districts,...

(previously known as a Government Agent

Government Agent (Sri Lanka)

) appointed by the central government of Sri Lanka

Politics of Sri Lanka

Politics of Sri Lanka takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Sri Lanka is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both...

. The headquarters is located in Batticaloa town

Batticaloa

Batticaloa is a city in the Eastern province of Sri Lanka. It is the seat of the Eastern University of Sri Lanka. It is on the east coast, south by south east of Trincomalee, and is situated on an island.-Etymology:...

. Ampara district

Ampara District

Ampara district is one of the 25 administrative districts of Sri Lanka. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a District Secretary appointed by the central government of Sri Lanka. The headquarters is located in Ampara town...

was carved out of the southern part of Batticaloa district in 1958.

Ancient history

Natural disasters affected the Eastern Province population throughout history.

Nagas and Yakshas are the first settlers of the island. As such it has been a target of destruction and settlement by various races.

The local population is a mixture of Tamils and Sinhalese.

Ancient name of Tamiravarni derives from the colour of the soil. Tamira means red. Varni means colour. Thus the name Vanni or Varni and it is a mutated name from Tamiravarni, Tambravarni, Tambapanni or Tammanna. A river called Tamirabharani is located in Tuticorin area and there was a connection of land which kept both countries together during ancient times. The name Tamil is derived from Tamir.

Mahawamsa narrates that Prince Vijaya, a cruel lawless bandit prince and 700 drifter gangsters who were banished from their motherland, landed in Sri Lanka at this place around 500 B.C. and called this place Tambapanni

Tambapanni

Tambapanni is a name derived from Tamira Varni or Tamirabarani . This means the colour of copper or bronze. A river by this name is located at close proximity across the sea in Thirunelveli District . A derivative of this name is Taprobane . Tambapanni is a Pali version of the name Tamira Varni....

. They married Tamil brides from Pandya Nadu. Pandyan princes started ruling the land afterwards with prefixes of Pandu

Pandu

In the Mahābhārata epic, King Pandu is the son of Ambalika and Rishi Ved Vyasa. He is more popularly known as the father of the Pandavas and ruled Hastinapur.-Birth:...

.

Vijaya and his clan came from Sindh

Sindh

Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...

. They landed in Hela Diva. From that cross breeding the name Sinhala came to all the progeny of these immigrants (Sind + Hela = Sinhala).

The Mahavamsa describes the Pandyan ladies as originating from "Dakkhina Madura" or "southern Madura" which most Sinhala scholars have interpreted as modern-day Madurai in Tamil Nadu, "northern Madura" being the city of Mathura in Uttar Pradesh. However, there had been more than one Madurai in Tamil history. The Tamil literary tradition holds that three academies were held to collate the poetry of the Sangam age. The last of these was held in Madurai and the second was in a city called Kapatapuram, but the first academy was held in "Then Madurai," translating to "southern Madurai." Historians believe that Then Madurai was a real city on the southeastern coast of Tamil Nadu near modern Korkai, which would have been very close to the settlement of "Thambapanni" which Vijaya had constructed in Lanka. If "Then Madurai" can be equated with "Dakkhina Madura" of the Mahavamsa, then we would have evidence that the seat of the first Sangam was a historical city, and not a myth.

1st Century to 4th Century

Karikala Chola

Karikala Chola or Karikala Chozhan was one of the great Tamil kings of Early Chola during the Sangam period. He was the son of Ilamcetcenni and ruled around 270 BC....

invaded and took thousands of prisoners. Gajabahu went to Chola Nadu

Chola Nadu

Chola Nadu is a region of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. It encompasses the lower reaches of the Kaveri River and its delta, and formed the cultural homeland and political base of the Chola Dynasty which ruled most of South India and parts of Sri Lanka and South-East Asia between the 9th and...

and brought those prisoners and their descendents back. Along with the released prisoners, thousands of Tamils were brought and settled. They were settled in the Eastern, Western and Central Provinces.

5th Century to 9th Century

After the seventh century, the principle arena for the East-West exchange trade had shifted from the Arabian Sea to the Bay of Bengal. Consequently there was an increasing interest in the north-eastern zone of Sri Lanka wherein was located Trincomalee

Trincomalee

Trincomalee is a port city in Eastern Province, Sri Lanka and lies on the east coast of the island, about 113 miles south of Jaffna. It has a population of approximately 100,000 . The city is built on a peninsula, which divides the inner and outer harbours. Overlooking the Kottiyar Bay,...

port. It is significant that between seventh and tenth centuries A.D. four Sinhalese Kings Aggabodhi IV, Aggabodhi VII, Udaya I and Sena I left Anuradhapura and ruled from the north-eastern city of Polonnaruwa, situated on the banks of the Mahaweli Ganga within easy access to Trincomalee.

10th Century to 15th Century

Rajaraja I invaded Sri Lanka in 993 CE

Common Era

Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...

. The copper-plate inscription mention that Rajaraja's powerful army crossed the ocean by ships and burnt up the kingdom of Lanka. Mahinda V was the king of Sinhalas. In 991 CE, Mahinda's army mutinied with help from mercenaries from Kerala. Mahinda had to seek refuge in the southern region of Rohana. Rajaraja utilised this opportunity and invaded the island. Chola armies occupied the northern half of Lanka and named the dominion 'Mummudi Chola Mandalam'. Anuradhapura

Anuradhapura

Anuradhapura, , is one of the ancient capitals of Sri Lanka, famous for its well-preserved ruins of ancient Lankan civilization.The city, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, lies 205 km north of the current capital Colombo in Sri Lanka's North Central Province, on the banks of the historic...

, the 1400-year-old capital of Sinhala kings was destroyed. The destruction was so extensive the city was abandoned. Cholas made the city of Polonnaruwa

Polonnaruwa

The second most ancient of Sri Lanka's kingdoms, was first declared the capital city by King Vijayabahu I, who defeated the Chola invaders in 1070 AD to reunite the country once more under a local leader.-History:While Vijayabahu's victory and shifting of Kingdoms to the more strategic Polonnaruwa...

as their capital and renamed it Jananathamangalam. The choice of this city demonstrates the desire of Rajaraja to conquer the entire island. Rajaraja also built a Temple for Siva

Shiva

Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...

in Pollonaruwa.

To complete the task began by his father, of conquering the island of Srilanka, Rajendra Chola I

Rajendra Chola I

Rajendra Chola I was the son of Rajaraja Chola I and was one of the greatest rulers of Tamil Chola dynasty of India. He succeeded his father in 1014 CE as the Chola emperor...

invaded the island in 1018 CE. As a result of the campaign, Rajendra claimed to have captured the regal jewels of the Pandya kings, which Parantaka I

Parantaka I

Parantaka Chola I ruled the Chola kingdom in southern India for forty-eight years. The best part of his reign was marked by increasing success and prosperity.-The Invasion of the Pandya Kingdom:...

tried in vain to capture. Rajendra also captured the crown of the Sinhala king, his Queen and daughter. The Sinhala king Mahinda V was taken prisoner and transported to the Chola country. He was held prisoner for over twelve years and died in captivity. Mahavamsa

Mahavamsa

The Mahavamsa is a historical poem written in the Pali language, of the kings of Sri Lanka...

gives a graphic illustration of the carnage wrought by the pillaging Chola army in the Sinhala country, claiming the invading army destroyed monasteries seeking treasure. Chola inscriptions however are silent regarding the details of this campaign and draws a veil over the pillage.

Mahinda's son Kassapa

Kassapa

Kassapa may refer to:*Kassapa Buddha, also known as Kāśyapa Buddha, an ancient buddha*Mahākāśyapa, also known as Mahakassapa, a disciple of Śakyamuni Buddha...

became the centre of Sihalese resistance against the Tamil Power. The war between the Cholas and the Sinhalese raged for over six months in which a great number of Singhalase and Tamils were killed. At the end of the battle Kassapa managed to drive out the Chola army from the southeast corner of the island and ruled as Vikramabahu I.

Remains of a number of Hindu temples have been discovered around the Polonnaruwa

Polonnaruwa

area attesting to the presence of the Tamil army.

In 1041 CE, Rajendra had to lead another expedition into Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

to quell the continuing attacks against the Chola army by Vikramabahu. Vikramabahu died soon after and anarchy reigned outside the Chola territories. An assortment of adventurers including Sinhalese, dispossessed Pandya princes and even a certain Jagaitpala from distance Kanauj asserted authority over portions of the island. Chola army had to fight and defeat them all.

It was the most important port for vessels coming from South India and there was a strong Tamil element in the population of this port during most periods of history. Mannar located at the mouth of the Aruvi Aru had easy access to the capital Anuradhapura, which was located on the banks of the same river. However with the increased emphasis on the South-East Asian Sri Vijayan Kingdom as the main centre of entrepot trade after the seventh century A.D. the importance of the port of Mannar had diminished to some extent. Owing to this change even the capital Anuradhapura

Anuradhapura

lost much of its attractiveness.

Thus, the emergence of Polonnaruwa and the port of Trincomalee is significant in terms of the changing patterns of trade in the Bay of Bengal and Sri Lanka's interest in it. The South Indian Chola occupation of Polonnaruva (1017–1070) was partly motivated by the commercial policy of the Cholas aimed at controlling the western seaboard of Bay of the Bengal. The importance of Trincomalee for the Bay of Bengal and South-East Asian trade was realized also by the Sinhalese rulers of Polonnaruva particularly Vijayabahu I

Vijayabahu I

Vijayabahu I was a medieval king of Sri Lanka. Born to a royal bloodline, he grew up at a time which parts of the country were ruled by the invaders from the Chola dynasty of India. He assumed rulership of the Ruhuna principality in the southern parts of the country in 1055...

(1070–1110) and Parakramabahu (1153–1186).

However, Mannar did not completely lose its glamour in the period between the seventh and the twelfth centuries and it functioned as an important trading centre where South Indian merchants flourished. In addition to the ancient temple of Tiruketisvaram at Mathottam another temple named Rajarajavarattu Mahadeva was constructed near the port in the eleventh century for the worship of the trading communities and soldiers living there by the Chola conqueror Rajaraja Chola I

Rajaraja Chola I

Raja Raja Chola I born Arunmozhi Thevar , popularly known as Raja Raja the Great, is one of the greatest emperors of the Tamil Chola Empire of India who ruled between 985 and 1014 CE...

.

The new commercial policy of the southern Sung dynasty (1127–1278) of China deviated from the "tributary trading system" in south East Asian and South Asian waters. As a result, the role of the intermediaries in the Bay of Bengal trade declined drastically. Once again the coastal ports in India regained their eminent position in trade and the theatre of activity shifted from the Bay of Bengal to the Arabian Sea.
Mathottam continued as the chief port of Rajarata at least up to the middle of the thirteenth century. The Rasavahini written in the Polonnaruva period implies that traders collected various commodities from Mahatittha and sold them in the interior. The Saddharmalankara refers to a merchant of Mavatupatuna who went eastwards for trade. However, by the fifteenth century Mathottam appears no longer to be an important port. The Kokila Sandesa written during the reign of Parakramabahu VI of Kotte, in giving a description of the important places along the western littoral of the Island does not mention Mathottam.

After that, there was a local ruler who ruled from Digavapi. Later, the capital shifted to Anuradhapura. When Anuradhapura was destroyed the capital changed from Anuradhapura to Pollonaruwa. When Pollonaruwa was destroyed the capital moved to Kotte and then to Kandy. Anuradhapura was destroyed by Rajaraja Cholan

Rajaraja Cholan

Rajaraja Cholan is a 1973 Tamil film about the life of the Chola king Rajaraja Chola. The film has Sivaji Ganesan playing the title role. The film was the first CinemaScope film to be released in Tamil. Sivaji Ganesan's portrayal as Rajaraja Chola was critically acclaimed.-Cast:* Sivaji Ganesan as...

and Pollonaruwa was destroyed by Kalinga Magha

Kalinga Magha

Magha , also known as Kalinga Magha and Magha the Tyrant, is a medieval king of Sri Lanka who is remembered primarily for his tyrannical and oppressive rule. Magha invaded the country from Kalinga in eastern India, usurping the throne from Parakrama Pandya, in 1215...

.

As a catalyst for change, Kalinga Magha

Kalinga Magha

is arguably one of the most significant rulers in Sri Lankan history. His invasion marks the final - cataclysmic - destruction of the kingdom of Rajarata, which had for so long been the heart of native power on the island. The great cities of the ancient kings were now lost and disappeared into the jungle, and were not rediscovered until the 19th century. Native power was henceforth centred on a kaleidoscopically shifting collection of kingdoms in south and central Sri Lanka. The north, in the meanwhile, eventually evolved into the Jaffna Kingdom

Jaffna Kingdom

The Jaffna kingdom , also known as Kingdom of Aryacakravarti, of modern northern Sri Lanka was a historic monarchy that came into existence around the town of Jaffna on the Jaffna peninsula after the invasion of Magha, who is said to have been from Kalinga, in India...

, which was subjected colonial rule by the Portuguese in 1619.

Kalinga Magha

Kalinga Magha

's geopolitical impact is reflected in the changing language of the Culavamsa as well. The traditional divisions of Sri Lanka, into Rajarata, Dhakkinadesa, and Ruhuna, first undergo a change of names (Rajarata becomes Pathithadesa, Dhakkinadesa becomes Mayarata), and then slip into obsolescence altogether. Their successor kingdoms tended to be geographically smaller and centred on a strong citadel-capital, such as Yapahuwa or Gampola; they also tended to be much short lived, like Sitawaka.

The bitter memory of Magha's invasion also tainted the previously close relationship between the Sinhalese and the Chola, Chera and Pandya inhabitants of southern India. Whereas the great families of Rajarata had invariably been polity-spanning clans, with extensive intermarriage between Indian and Sri Lankan branches, the royal families of the Middle Ages became more distinctive and recognisably Sinhalese in the modern sense of the word. This is not to say however that south Indian influence in Sri Lankan politics ended altogether - witness the Nayakkar dynasty of Kandy

Kandy

Kandy is a city in the center of Sri Lanka. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills in the Kandy plateau, which crosses an area of tropical plantations, mainly tea. Kandy is one of the most scenic cities in Sri Lanka; it is both an...

. However the age of the great, Indo-Lankan clans like the Moriya and Lambakanna was over.

Native authority on Sri Lanka, already in decline before Magha's invasion, never fully recovered from the invasion; the next three centuries were marked by near-anarchy. This period of Sri Lanka's history ended only with the arrival of a foe that would eventually subsume both the great empires of south India and the kingdoms of Sri Lanka under its authority - the forces of colonial Europe.

The Kandyan Kings have ruled Eastern Province throughout history. Thus the racial mixture was ensured by the Kandyan kings marrying into the families of Batticaloa rulers. Dutch invasion took place through Batticaloa with the alliance of Batticaloa rulers and Kandyan king Rajasinghe. Both were Tamils and Hindus. even though the Kandyan Kingdom was Sinhala Buddhist to the core, the kings were Tamil Hindus of Madurai

Madurai

Madurai is the third largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It served as the capital city of the Pandyan Kingdom. It is the administrative headquarters of Madurai District and is famous for its temples built by Pandyan and...

Nayakkar origin.

Since Kandyan kings were of Madurai origin they brought ship loads of Mappilla Muslims from Kerala as the trading partners of the kingdom and granted asylum when the Portuguese launched the Holocaust against the Muslims in Sri Lanka. Thus the Eastern Province is the residence of majority of Muslims and a safe haven for them during the Sri Lankan Civil War.

Places like Karadiyan Aru and Urugam contain stone inscriptions in Brāhmī script

Brāhmī script

Brāhmī is the modern name given to the oldest members of the Brahmic family of scripts. The best-known Brāhmī inscriptions are the rock-cut edicts of Ashoka in north-central India, dated to the 3rd century BCE. These are traditionally considered to be early known examples of Brāhmī writing...

which are still in existence.

History after the fall of Polonnaruwa

With the decline of the Rohana sub-kingdom and the defeat of Polonnaruwa

Polonnaruwa

, coming with the rise of Chola power, i.e., from about the 13th century CE, these regions became wild. The many irrigation works (tanks etc., which exist even today) became home to malaria( see History of Sri Lanka

History of Sri Lanka

The History of Sri Lanka begins around 30,000 years ago when the island was first inhabited. Chronicles, including the Mahawansa, the Dipavamsa, the Culavamsa and the Rajaveliya, record events from the beginnings of the Sinhalese monarchy in the 6th century BC; through the arrival of European...

). In the meantime, the eastern coastal region remained less affected by Malaria and began to be occupied. Thus sea faring people who had begun to settle down along
the coast since the Anuradhapura

Anuradhapura

times, circa 6th Century CE began to flourish. The forests continued to be dominated by the Veddha population which claimed kingship ("cross-cousins") with the Sinhala kings of Kandy.

Parakramabahu's coronation took place in 1236. He turned his attention to the recovery of Polonnaruwa from the Tamils, and achieved this purpose by 1244. In this connection two kings are mentioned, Kalinga Magha

Kalinga Magha

and Jaya Bahu, who had been in power forty years, apparently reckoned from the time of the military rule after Sahasa Malla. As the Tamil war' and the 'Malala war' as specifically mentioned by contemporary chronicles the two kings may have held different parts of the country. In the king's eleventh year (1244/5) Lanka was invaded by Chandrabhanu

Chandrabhanu

Chandrabhanu or Chandrabhanu Sridhamaraja was the King of the Malay state of Tambralinga in present day Thailand. A Savakan, he was known to have ruled from during the period of 1230 until 1263. He was also known for building a well-known Buddhist stupa in southern Thailand. He spent more than 30...

, a Javanese (Javaka) from Tambralinga

Tambralinga

Tambralinga was an ancient kingdom located on the Malay Peninsula that at one time came under the influence of Srivijaya. The name had been forgotten until scholars recognized Tambralinga as Nagara Sri Dharmaraja. Early records are scarce while estimations range from the seventh to fourteenth...

, with a host armed with blow-pipes and poisoned arrows: he may have been a sea- robber, and though now repulsed descended on the Island later on.

The rest of the reign according to the contemporary records was spent in pious works; the king also held a convocation for the purpose of reforming the priesthood, whose discipline had been relaxed during the Tamil occupation. The chronicles make no mention of a great Pandyan invasion which seems to have taken place between 1254 and 1256, in which one of the kings of Lanka was slain and the other rendered tributary. From this it is clear that Parakramabahu- never had recovered the north of the Island, which certainly had been held by his great namesake.

15th Century to 20th Century and the Advent of the Europeans

From Cape Comorin, the Dutch Admiral Spitzburgen steered his course to Point de Galle; but, without landing there or at any of the other places which were strongly fortified by the Portuguese, he sailed round the south coast of the Island and made for Batticaloa, where he anchored on the 31 May 1602.

He learnt that the town of Batticaloa, where the chief of the province resided, was about
three miles (5 km) inland ; so he sent him a messenger proposing to enter into trade with him. In
the meantime he learnt from some Tamils who came on board that there was plenty of
pepper and cinnamon to be had, but that it was to be obtained from the chief of the place. These
Tamils brought with them a Portuguese interpreter; for Portuguese was the only European
language then heard or spoken in Ceylon, and the natives of the Island had no idea that there
were other white people who spoke a different language.

The Admiral was taken from Batticaloa to Kandy and was given a liberation hero's welcome as King Rajasinghe seized the opportunity to get rid of the Portuguese, the oppressors who were slowly encroaching the island systematically and promoting subversion against Rajasinghe.

The Batticaloa fort was built by the Portuguese in 1628 and was the first to be captured by the Dutch (18 May 1638). It is one of the most picturesque of the small Dutch fort of Sri Lanka, it is situated in an island, still in good condition. Near Batticaloa the Portuguese had a tiny fort at Tanavare (there is a map of it but no remains) There is a 1st century CE Buddhist Dagaba inside the Dutch fort.

2004 Tsunami

Situated on the east coast of Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

, the district was hit hard by the tsunami

Tsunami

A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...

caused by Indian Ocean earthquake

2004 Indian Ocean earthquake

The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...

in 2004. The tsunami resulted in 3,177 dead or missing persons and affected 255,000 people in in the district.

Geography

Batticaloa district is located in the east of Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

in the Eastern Province

Eastern Province, Sri Lanka

The Eastern Province is one of the 9 provinces of Sri Lanka. The provinces have existed since the 19th century but they didn't have any legal status until 1987 when the 13th Amendment to the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka established provincial councils. Between 1988 and 2006 the province was...

. It has an area of 2854 square kilometres (1,101.9 sq mi).

Administrative units

Batticaloa district is divided into 14 Divisional Secretary's (DS) Divisions

Divisional Secretariats of Sri Lanka

The districts of the Sri Lanka are divided into administrative sub-units known as divisional secretariats. These were originally based on the feudal counties, the korales and ratas. They were formerly known as 'D.R.O. Divisions' after the 'Divisional Revenue Officer'. Later the D.R.O.s became...

, each headed by a Divisional Secretary (previously known as an Assistant Government Agent). The DS Divisions are further sub-divided into 348 Grama Niladhari (GN) Divisions (villages).

DS Division Divisional Secretariats of Sri Lanka The districts of the Sri Lanka are divided into administrative sub-units known as divisional secretariats. These were originally based on the feudal counties, the korales and ratas. They were formerly known as 'D.R.O. Divisions' after the 'Divisional Revenue Officer'. Later the D.R.O.s became...	Main Town	GN Divisions	Area (km²)	Population (2007 Estimate)
	Main Town	GN Divisions	Area (km²)	Sri Lankan Tamil	Sri Lankan Moor Sri Lankan Moors The Sri Lankan Moors are the third largest ethnic group in Sri Lanka comprising 8% of the country's total population . They are predominantly followers of Islam. The Moors trace their ancestry to Arab traders who settled in Sri Lanka some time between the 8th and 15th centuries...	Sinhalese Sinhalese people The Sinhalese are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group,forming the majority of Sri Lanka,constituting 74% of the Sri Lankan population.They number approximately 15 million worldwide.The Sinhalese identity is based on language, heritage and religion. The Sinhalese speak Sinhala, an Indo-Aryan language and the...	Indian Tamil	Burgher Burgher people The Burghers are a Eurasian ethnic group, historically from Sri Lanka, consisting for the most part of male-line descendants of European colonists from the 16th to 20th centuries and local women, with some minorities of Swedish, Norwegian, French and Irish.Today the mother tongue of the Burghers...	Malay Sri Lankan Malays The Malays of Sri Lanka originated in Southeast Asia and today consist of about 50,000 people...	Other	Total
Eravur Pattu Eravur Pattu Divisional Secretariat Eravur Pattu Divisional Secretariat is a Divisional Secretariat of Batticaloa District, of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka.-References:*...	Chenkalady Chenkalady Chenkalady or Chenkaladi is a town in the Batticaloa District of Sri Lanka, it is located about 15 km north-west of Batticaloa. In Tamil it translates to "By-the-brick"....	39	634.16	61,058	13,333	1,430	7	58	0	0	75,886
Eravur Town Eravur Town Divisional Secretariat Eravur Town Divisional Secretariat is a Divisional Secretariat of Batticaloa District, of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka.-References:*...	Eravur Eravur Eravur is a town in the Batticaloa District of Sri Lanka, it is located about 15 km north-west of Batticaloa.- Mosques :Akbar Jummah mosqueJamiul Akbar Jummah MosqueMohideen Jummah MosqueAboosalh thaikkah MosueJifry thikaah Mosque- Socities :...	17	3.74	3,497	21,447	4	0	76	0	0	25,024
Kattankudy Kattankudy Divisional Secretariat Kattankudy Divisional Secretariat is a Divisional Secretariat of Batticaloa District, of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka.-References:*...	Kattankudy Kattankudy Kattankudy or Kattankudi is a small city in Eastern province of Sri Lanka. It was the site of the Kattankudy mosque massacre of 1990.With over 40,000 inhabitants, Kattankudi is one of the few cities in Sri Lanka where ethnic Moors form the over all majority of the population...	18	3.89	5	39,517	0	0	0	0	1	39,523
Koralai Pattu Koralai Pattu Divisional Secretariat Koralai Pattu Divisional Secretariat is a Divisional Secretariat of Batticaloa District, of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka.-References:*...	Valaichchenai Valaichchenai Valaichchenai is a town in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka. It could also be spelled as Valaichenai. The world famous Pasikudah Beach is located about 3 km east of Valaichenai along the Indian Ocean. Pasikudah beach is famous for shallow and calm sea water.- Population :Valaichchenai has...	12	484.50	24,436	25	69	18	40	1	0	24,589
Koralai Pattu Central	Pasikudah Pasikudah Pasikudah or Pasikuda is a coastal resort town located about 35 kilometers northwest of Batticaloa, Batticaloa District, Sri Lanka. It used to be a popular tourist destination, however due to 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami and Sri Lankan Civil War tourist numbers have declined...	9		969	23,421	84	0	36	0	0	24,510
Koralai Pattu North Koralai Pattu North Divisional Secretariat Koralai Pattu North Divisional Secretariat is a Divisional Secretariat of Batticaloa District, of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka.-References:*...	Vakarai Vakarai (Sri Lanka) Vakarai or Vaharai is a town in the Batticaloa District of Sri Lanka, it is located about 65 km Northwest of Batticaloa....	16	550.00	21,262	0	1	0	0	0	0	21,263
Koralai Pattu South Koralai Pattu South Divisional Secretariat Koralai Pattu South Divisional Secretariat is a Divisional Secretariat of Batticaloa District, of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka.-References:*...	Kiran Kiran, Sri Lanka Kiran is a town in the Batticaloa District of Sri Lanka. It is located 25 km north-west of the district capital Batticaloa.-See also:* Karuna Amman* Poopathy Kanapathipillai...	18		19,639	0	7	13	0	0	0	19,659
Koralai Pattu West Koralai Pattu West Divisional Secretariat Koralai Pattu West Divisional Secretariat is a Divisional Secretariat of Batticaloa District, of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka.-References:*...	Ottamavadi	8	176.00	147	20,832	3	0	3	0	0	20,985
Manmunai North Manmunai North Divisional Secretariat Manmunai North Divisional Secretariat is a Divisional Secretariat of Batticaloa District, of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka.-References:*...	Batticaloa Batticaloa Batticaloa is a city in the Eastern province of Sri Lanka. It is the seat of the Eastern University of Sri Lanka. It is on the east coast, south by south east of Trincomalee, and is situated on an island.-Etymology:...	48	75.09	82,031	3,845	226	63	2,197	80	17	88,459
Manmunai Pattu Manmunai Pattu Divisional Secretariat Manmunai Pattu Divisional Secretariat is a Divisional Secretariat of Batticaloa District, of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka.-References:*...	Araiyampathy	27	31.72	24,202	6,541	1	2	1	0	0	30,747
Manmunai South & Eruvil Pattu Manmunai South & Eruvil Pattu Divisional Secretariat Manmunai South & Eruvil Pattu Divisional Secretariat is a Divisional Secretariat of Batticaloa District, of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka.-References:*...	Kaluvanchikudy	45	52.50	57,855	3	18	39	1	0	1	57,917
Manmunai South West	Kokkadichcholai Kokkadichcholai Kokkadichcholai is a village in Batticaloa District within the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka.-Geography:It is located west of the provincial town of Batticaloa across from the lagoon that separates the Batticaloa district's hinterland from the populated coastal area...	24	161.60	23,789	0	199	0	0	0	0	23,988
Manmunai West Manmunai West Divisional Secretariat Manmunai West Divisional Secretariat is a Divisional Secretariat of Batticaloa District, of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka.-References:*...	Vavunathivu Vavunathivu Vavunathivu is a town in Batticaloa District, Sri Lanka. It is located about 5 km Southwest of Batticaloa or 15 km Northwest of Kokkadichcholai....	24	292.70	25,024	0	1	0	0	0	0	25,025
Porativu Pattu Porativu Pattu Divisional Secretariat Porativu Pattu Divisional Secretariat is a Divisional Secretariat of Batticaloa District, of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka.-References:*...	Vellavely Vellavely Vellavely or Vellaveli or Vellaaveli is a town in the Batticaloa District of Sri Lanka, it is located about 30 km South of Batticaloa....	43	167.20	37,927	0	354	1	0	0	0	38,282
Total		348	2,633.10	381,841	128,964	2,397	143	2,412	81	19	515,857

Population

Batticaloa district's population was 515,857 in 2007. The population of the district mostly Sri Lankan Tamil.

The population of the district, like the rest of the North

Northern Province, Sri Lanka

The Northern Province is one of the 9 provinces of Sri Lanka. The provinces have existed since the 19th century but did not have any legal status until 1987 when the 13th Amendment to the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka established provincial councils. Between 1988 and 2006 the province was...

and East

Eastern Province, Sri Lanka

, has been heavily affected by the civil war

Sri Lankan civil war

The Sri Lankan Civil War was a conflict fought on the island of Sri Lanka. Beginning on July 23, 1983, there was an on-and-off insurgency against the government by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam , a separatist militant organization which fought to create an independent Tamil state named Tamil...

. The war has killed an estimated 70,000 people. Several hundred thousand Sri Lankan Tamils, possibly as much as 400,000, have emigrated

Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora

The Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora refers to the global diaspora of the people of Sri Lankan Tamil origin. It can be said to be a subset of the larger Sri Lankan as well as Tamil diaspora....

to the West

Western world

The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...

since the start of the war. There are a further 800,000 internally displaced person

Internally displaced person

An internally displaced person is someone who is forced to flee his or her home but who remains within his or her country's borders. They are often referred to as refugees, although they do not fall within the current legal definition of a refugee. At the end of 2006 it was estimated there were...

s in Sri Lanka, many of them living in refugee camps in the North

Northern Province, Sri Lanka

and East

Eastern Province, Sri Lanka

and depending on aid provided by NGOs

Non-governmental organization

A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...

. There are approximately 100,000 Sri Lankan refugees is India. Many Sri Lankan Tamils have also moved to the relative safety of Colombo

Colombo

Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...

. The war has also caused many people from all ethnic and religious groups who lived in the district to flee to other parts of Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Ethnicity

Population of Batticaloa District by ethnic group 1881 to 2007

Year	Tamils Tamil people Tamil people , also called Tamils or Tamilians, are an ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, India and the north-eastern region of Sri Lanka. Historic and post 15th century emigrant communities are also found across the world, notably Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, South Africa, Australia, Canada,... ¹		Sri Lankan Moors Sri Lankan Moors The Sri Lankan Moors are the third largest ethnic group in Sri Lanka comprising 8% of the country's total population . They are predominantly followers of Islam. The Moors trace their ancestry to Arab traders who settled in Sri Lanka some time between the 8th and 15th centuries... ²		Sinhalese Sinhalese people The Sinhalese are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group,forming the majority of Sri Lanka,constituting 74% of the Sri Lankan population.They number approximately 15 million worldwide.The Sinhalese identity is based on language, heritage and religion. The Sinhalese speak Sinhala, an Indo-Aryan language and the...		Others		Total
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
1881 Census	61,014	57.80%	37,255	35.29%	5,012	4.75%	2,277	2.16%	105,558	100.00%
1891 Census	69,584	56.71%	44,780	36.50%	6,403	5.22%	1,932	1.57%	122,699	100.00%
1901 Census	79,857	55.01%	54,190	37.33%	7,575	5.22%	3,539	2.44%	145,161	100.00%
1911 Census	83,948	54.53%	60,695	39.43%	5,771	3.75%	3,529	2.29%	153,943	100.00%
1921 Census	84,665	53.35%	63,146	39.79%	7,243	4.56%	3,655	2.30%	158,709	100.00%
1946 Census	102,264	50.33%	85,805	42.23%	11,850	5.83%	3,267	1.61%	203,186	100.00%
1953 Census	130,381	48.20%	106,706	39.45%	31,174	11.52%	2,232	0.83%	270,493	100.00%
1963 Census³	141,110	71.93%	46,038	23.47%	6,715	3.42%	2,326	1.19%	196,189	100.00%
1971 Census	181,527	70.71%	60,889	23.72%	11,548	4.50%	2,757	1.07%	256,721	100.00%
1981 Census	237,787	71.98%	78,829	23.86%	11,255	3.41%	2,462	0.75%	330,333	100.00%
2001 Census⁴
2007 Estimate	381,984	74.05%	129,045	25.02%	2,397	0.46%	2,431	0.47%	515,857	100.00%
Sources:

¹ Sri Lankan Tamils and Indian Tamils. ² Sri Lankan Moors

Sri Lankan Moors

The Sri Lankan Moors are the third largest ethnic group in Sri Lanka comprising 8% of the country's total population . They are predominantly followers of Islam. The Moors trace their ancestry to Arab traders who settled in Sri Lanka some time between the 8th and 15th centuries...

and Sri Lankan Malays

Sri Lankan Malays

The Malays of Sri Lanka originated in Southeast Asia and today consist of about 50,000 people...

. ³ Ampara district

Ampara District

was carved out of Batticaloa district in 1958. ⁴ 2001 Census was only carried out partially in Batticaloa district.

Local government

Batticaloa district has 12 local authorities of which one is a Municipal Council, one is an Urban Council and the remaining 10 are Pradeshya Sabhas.

Local Authority	Elected Members	Area (km²)	Population
Batticaloa Municipal Council Batticaloa Municipal Council Batticaloa Municipal Council is the local authority for the city of Batticaloa in eastern Sri Lanka. BMC is responsible for providing a variety of local public services including roads, sanitation, drains, housing, libraries, public parks and recreational facilities. It has 19 members elected...	19
Eravur Pattu Pradeshya Sabha		585.70	77,203
Eravur Town Pradeshya Sabha	9	4.90	40,819
Kattankudy Urban Council	9	6.50	46,597
Koralai Pattu Pradeshya Sabha		242.00	125,000
Koralai Pattu North Pradeshya Sabha	11	645.00	21,202
Koralai Pattu West Pradeshya Sabha	9	25.00	29,614
Manmunai Pattu (Arayampathy) Pradeshya Sabha		21.50	30,218
Manmunai South & Eruvil Pattu Pradeshya Sabha		44.17	70,256
Manmunai South West Pradeshya Sabha	9	161.60	25,279
Manmunai West Pradeshya Sabha	9	292.65	30,026
Poratheevu Pattu Pradeshya Sabha		176.00	49,066
Source:

External links

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