Velanai Island
Island in Sri Lanka / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Velanai Island (Tamil: வேலணை), also known as Leiden in Dutch, is a small island off the coast of Jaffna Peninsula in the north of Sri Lanka.[1][2] There are number of villages within the island, such as Allaipiddy, Mankumpan, Velanai, Saravanai, Puliyankoodal, Suruvil, Naranthanai and Karampon.
Velanai Island
வேலணைத் தீவு | |
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Coordinates: 9°40′0″N 79°52′0″E | |
Country | Sri Lanka |
Province | Northern |
District | Jaffna |
The majority of the island's inhabitants are Hindus, along with a sizeable minority of Christians. There are number of Hindu Temples along with few Churches on the island. The village also consists of a few schools. Sir Vaithilingam Duraiswamy, a well known member of the State Council of Ceylon during the British colonial period, and his son Yogendra Duraiswamy, a Hindu activist and well-known diplomat, were both born in Velanai.
Velanai was also marred by violence during the Sri Lankan Civil War, with the island being the main setting of the Allaipiddy massacre.[3][4]