BURNING CULTURE

A public library is a place where knowledge is open to all. Many libraries contain rare manuscripts and documents with important historical value and sometimes the manifestos of entire nations or cultures.

The destruction of these places and the loss of similar documents is irreparable damage that prevents present and new generations from benefiting from them.

The Jaffna Public Library represents a case of deliberate destruction of the historical, cultural and intellectual heritage of the Tamil people. Over 97,000 books along with numerous culturally important and irreplaceable manuscripts of the history of Tamils were burned by the Sinhalese police.

In this section, you can find some open-access scientific publications on the topic.

Knuth, R. 2006. Destroying a Symbol: Checkered History of Sri Lanka’s Jaffna Public Library. In 72nd IFLA General Conference and Council, 20-24 August, 1-8.


Gupta, V. K. 2019. Burning libraries: A review through the lens of history. Journal of Indian Library Association, 54(1), 17-26.