Mullaitivu District Explained

Mullaitivu District
Settlement Type:Administrative District
Image Map1:Sri Lanka Mullaitivu District.jpg
Map Caption1:DS and GN Divisions of Mullaitivu District, 2006
Coordinates:9.2333°N 112°W
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:Sri Lanka
Subdivision Type1:Province
Established Title:Created
Established Date:September 1978
Seat Type:Capital
Seat:Mullaitivu
Parts Type:DS Division
Parts Style:coll
P1:Manthai East
P2:Maritimepattu
P3:Oddusuddan
P4:Puthukudiyiruppu
P5:Thunukkai
Leader Title:District Secretary
Leader Name:N. Vethanayagam
Leader Title1:MPs
Leader Title2:MPCs
Unit Pref:Metric
Area Total Km2:2617
Area Land Km2:2415
Area Water Km2:202
Area Water Percent:7.72
Area Rank:11th (3.99% of total area)
Population Total:91947
Population Rank:25th (0.45% of total pop.)
Population As Of:2012 census
Population Density Km2:auto
Demographics Type1:Ethnicity
Demographics1 Footnotes:(2012 census)
Demographics1 Title1:Sri Lankan Tamil
Demographics1 Info1:79,081 (86.01%)
Demographics1 Title2:Sinhalese
Demographics1 Info2:8,851 (9.63%)
Demographics1 Title3:Indian Tamil
Demographics1 Info3:2,182 (2.37%)
Demographics1 Title4:Sri Lankan Moors
Demographics1 Info4:1,760 (1.91%)
Demographics1 Title5:Other
Demographics1 Info5:73 (0.08%)
Demographics Type2:Religion
Demographics2 Footnotes:(2012 census)
Demographics2 Title1:Hindu
Demographics2 Info1:69,628 (75.73%)
Demographics2 Title2:Christian
Demographics2 Info2:11,989 (13.04%)
Demographics2 Title3:Buddhist
Demographics2 Info3:8,155 (8.87%)
Demographics2 Title4:Muslim
Demographics2 Info4:2,013 (2.19%)
Demographics2 Title5:Other
Demographics2 Info5:162 (0.18%)
Timezone1:Sri Lanka
Utc Offset1:+05:30
Postal Code Type:Post Codes
Postal Code:42000-42999
Area Code Type:Telephone Codes
Iso Code:LK-45
Registration Plate:NP
Blank Name Sec1:Official Languages
Blank Info Sec1:Tamil, Sinhala

Mullaitivu District (Tamil: முல்லைத்தீவு மாவட்டம், ; Sinhala; Sinhalese: මුලතිවු 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 Mullaitivu.

History

Parts of present-day Mullaitivu District were ruled by the pre-colonial Jaffna kingdom.[1] 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 Vanni 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.[2] Vanni District, together with Jaffna District and Mannar District, formed the new Northern Province.[3]

Vanni District was later renamed Mullaitivu District and then Vavuniya District. The district was colonised in the second half of the 18th century by residents from Jaffna Peninsula, primarily from Alaveddy, Udupiddy and Navaly.[4] At the time that Ceylon gained independence, Vavuniya was one of the three districts located in the Northern Province. Mullaitivu District was carved out of the northern part of Vavuniya District together with parts of the then Jaffna District, Mannar District and Trincomalee District in September 1978.

Mullaitivu 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 early 2009.

Geography

Mullaitivu District is located in the north east of Sri Lanka in the Northern Province. It has an area of 2617km2.[5]

Administrative units

Mullaitivu District is divided into 6 Divisional Secretary's Division (DS Divisions), each headed by a Divisional Secretary (previously known as an Assistant Government Agent).[6] The DS Divisions are further sub-divided into 136 Grama Niladhari Divisions (GN Divisions).[6]

Main TownDivisional SecretaryGN
Divisions
Area
(km2)
[7]
Population (2012 Census)[8] Population
Density
(/km2)
Other Total
N.Ranjana 15 515 6,277 10 634 8 0 6,929
M.Umamagal 46 744 25,976 1,071 150 1,678 34 28,909
P.Jeyarani 27 639 14,158 792 51 31 15,658
S.jeyakanth 19 371 23,480 50 215 19 6 23,770
A.Lathumeera 20 344 9,180 157 391 2 2 9,732
Weli Oya (Manal Aru) Ehatugaswewa9 180 10 6,937 0 2 0 6,949
align=left colspan=3Total 136 2,617 79,081 8,851 2,182 1,760 73 91,947 35

Demographics

Population

Mullaitivu District's population was 91,947 in 2012. The population of the district is mostly 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.[9] Several hundred thousand Sri Lankan Tamils, possibly as much as one million, emigrated to India or to the West during the war.[10] 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, though most of them have returned to the district since the end of the civil war.

Ethnicity

Population of Mullaitivu District by ethnic group 1981 to 2012[11] [12] [13]
Year Other Total
No.
No. % No. % No. % No. %
1981 Census 69,670 89.88% 3,948 5.09% 3,777 4.87% 117 0.15% 77,512
1999 Estimate n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 184,655
2000 Estimate n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 187,281
2001 Estimate n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 180,401
2002 Estimate n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 144,959
2003 Estimate 140,556 99.92% 23 0.02% 49 0.03% 47 0.03% 140,675
2004 Estimate 152,724 99.83% 0 0.00% 237 0.15% 29 0.02% 152,990
2005 Estimate 157,410 99.77% 0 0.00% 365 0.23% 0 0.00% 157,775
2006 Estimate 214,713 99.75% 1 0.00% 547 0.25% 0 0.00% 215,261
2007 Estimate 220,117 99.91% 1 0.00% 193 0.09% 0 0.00% 220,311
2008 Estimate 51,737 99.99% 0 0.00% 4 0.01% 0 0.00% 51,741
2009 Estimate 36,741 100.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 36,741
2011 Enumeration 60,136 90.39% 3,966 5.96% 2,390 3.59% 34 0.05% 66,526
2012 Census 81,263 88.38% 8,851 9.63% 1,760 1.91% 73 0.08% 91,947

Religion

Population of Mullaitivu District by religion 1981 to 2012[14] [15]
Year Others Total
No.
No. % No.% No. % No. % No. %
1981 Census 60,117 77.88% 12,211 15.82% 1,060 1.37% 3,789 4.91% 12 0.02% 77,189
2012 Census 69,628 75.73% 11,989 13.04% 8,155 8.87% 2,013 2.19% 162 0.18% 91,947

Poverty

In 2016 the district was one of the poorest in Sri Lanka and had the second-highest incidence of extreme poverty according to the World Bank.[16]

Politics and government

Local government

Mullaitivu District has four local authorities all of which are Divisional Councils (Pradesha Sabhai or Pradeshiya Sabha).[6]

Local Authority Area
(km2)
Population
(2011)
Registered
Electors
(2011)
Elected Members
(2011)
Total
494.0 6,715 5,578 6 3 9
Maritimepattu Divisional Council 728.6 25,405
Puthukkudiyiruppu Divisional Council 968.0 22,110
326.3 9,126 5,227 7 2 9
Total 2,516.9 63,356 13 5 18

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: de Silva, K. M.. K. M. de Silva. A History of Sri Lanka. 1981. Oxford University Press. New Delhi. xvii.
  2. Book: Mills, Lennox A.. Ceylon Under British Rule (1795 - 1932). 1933. Oxford University Press. London. 67–68.
  3. Book: Medis, G. C.. Ceylon Under the British. 1946. The Colombo Apothecaries Co.. Colombo. 39–40. 2nd (revised).
  4. Book: Sivaratnam, C. . The Tamils in early Ceylon . 1968 . 153 .
  5. Web site: Area of Sri Lanka by province and district. Statistical Abstract 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20121113190301/http://www.statistics.gov.lk/Abstract2011/CHAP1/AB1-1.pdf. 2012-11-13.
  6. Web site: Statistical Information 2012. Northern Provincial Council.
  7. Web site: Land area by province, district and divisional secretariat division. Statistical Abstract 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20121113190307/http://www.statistics.gov.lk/Abstract2011/CHAP1/AB1-2-A.pdf. 2012-11-13.
  8. Web site: A6 : Population by ethnicity and district according to Divisional Secretary's Division, 2012. Census of Population & Housing, 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka.
  9. Web site: Up to 100,000 killed in Sri Lanka's civil war: UN . 20 May 2009 . ABC News (Australia).
  10. News: Twenty years on - riots that led to war . . 23 July 2003 . Frances . Harrison.
  11. Web site: A2 : Population by ethnic group according to districts, 2012. Census of Population & Housing, 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka.
  12. Web site: Statistical Information 2010. Northern Provincial Council.
  13. Web site: Enumeration of Vital Events 2011 - Northern Province. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka.
  14. Web site: A3 : Population by religion according to districts, 2012. Census of Population & Housing, 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka.
  15. Web site: Population by religion and district, Census 1981, 2001. Statistical Abstract 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20121113190535/http://www.statistics.gov.lk/Abstract2011/CHAP2/AB2-15.pdf. 2012-11-13.
  16. Web site: Geospatial Poverty Portal: Interactive Maps . 2024-01-22 . World Bank . en.