Kalmunai
Kalmunai
கல்முனை | |
|---|---|
City | |
| Country | Sri Lanka |
| Province | Eastern |
| District | Ampara |
| DS Division | Kalmunai |
| Government | |
| • Type | Municipal Council |
| • Mayor | H. M. M. Harees (SLMC) |
| Population (2001[1]) | |
• Total | 94,579 |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (Sri Lanka Standard Time Zone) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+6 (Summer time) |
Kalmunai (Template:Lang-ta Sinhala: කල්මුනේ Kalmune) is a municipality within the Ampara District of Eastern Province of Sri Lanka. It had a total population of 91,457 as of 2001.[2] And It is the one and only Muslim majority municipality in the country.When Muslims in Colombo were chased away by Portuguese in 17 th century, they fled to Kandy and sought refugee at the Sinhalese king in Kandy. Then the Sinhalese king (Rajasinghe 11) resettled these Muslim refugees in Kalmunai (8000 refugees)and Kaththankudi(4000).Kalmunai was the Royal farm of the Sinhalese king.Because of this settlement, today it has become a Muslim majority area.[3]
There were Sri Lankan Muslims, Sri Lankan Tamils, Sinhalese, and Burghers with the Moors forming a majority. It consists of four major regions namely Kalmunai Town (Thalavatuvan Junction to Zahira College Road), Kalmunai North (Pandiruppu, Maruthamunai and Neelavanai), Kalmunai South (Sainthamaruthu) and Kalmunai West (Natpittimunai, Savalakkadai etc..). The devastated Sri Lankan civil war has adversely affected the area with number forced disappearances, and civil unrest targeting the local civilians. It was also directly impacted by the 2004 Tsunami leading to number of deaths and destruction of property worth of millions of rupees. It is bounded on the east by the Indian Ocean on the north by the Periyaneelavanai village and on the south by Karaitivu village which is considered to be a suburb of the town.[4][5][6]
References
- ^ Census July 17, 2001 (via citypopulation.de)
- ^ Sri Lanka census
- ^ Knox, Robert (1681). An Historical Relation of the Island of Ceylon.
- ^ [1] Kalmunai Municipal (English)
- ^ UTHR report on Kalmunai UTHR (English)
- ^ Wiki-map Kalmunai
7°25′N 81°49′E / 7.417°N 81.817°E
