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Mullaitivu District

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Mullaitivu District (Tamil: முல்லைத்தீவு மாவட்டம், Mullaittīvu Māvaṭṭam; Sinhala: මුලතිවු දිස්ත්‍රික්කය, Mulativu distrikkaya) 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.

Mullaitivu District
  • முல்லைத்தீவு மாவட்டம்
  • මුලතිවු දිස්ත්‍රික්කය
Administrative District
Iranamadu Tank
Iranamadu Tank
Location within Sri Lanka
Location within Sri Lanka
DS and GN Divisions of Mullaitivu District, 2006
DS and GN Divisions of Mullaitivu District, 2006
Coordinates: 09°14′N 80°32′E / 9.233°N 80.533°E / 9.233; 80.533
CountrySri Lanka
ProvinceNorthern
CreatedSeptember 1978
CapitalMullaitivu
DS Division
List
Government
 • District SecretaryN. Vethanayagam
 • MPs
List
 • MPCs
List
Area
[1]
 • Total2,617 km2 (1,010 sq mi)
 • Land2,415 km2 (932 sq mi)
 • Water202 km2 (78 sq mi)  7.72%
 • Rank11th (3.99% of total area)
Population
 (2012 census)[2]
 • Total91,947
 • Rank25th (0.45% of total pop.)
 • Density35/km2 (91/sq mi)
Ethnicity
(2012 census)[2]
 • Sri Lankan Tamil79,081 (86.01%)
 • Sinhalese8,851 (9.63%)
 • Indian Tamil2,182 (2.37%)
 • Sri Lankan Moors1,760 (1.91%)
 • Other73 (0.08%)
Religion
(2012 census)[3]
 • Hindu69,628 (75.73%)
 • Christian11,989 (13.04%)
 • Buddhist8,155 (8.87%)
 • Muslim2,013 (2.19%)
 • Other162 (0.18%)
Time zoneUTC+05:30 (Sri Lanka)
Post Codes
42000-42999
ISO 3166 codeLK-45
Vehicle registrationNP
Official LanguagesTamil, Sinhala
WebsiteMullaitivu District Secretariat

History

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Parts of present-day Mullaitivu District were ruled by the pre-colonial Jaffna kingdom.[4] 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.[5] Vanni District, together with Jaffna District and Mannar District, formed the new Northern Province.[6]

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.[7] 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

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Mullaitivu District is located in the north east of Sri Lanka in the Northern Province. It has an area of 2,617 square kilometres (1,010 sq mi).[1]

Administrative units

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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).[8] The DS Divisions are further sub-divided into 136 Grama Niladhari Divisions (GN Divisions).[8]

DS Division Main Town Divisional Secretary GN
Divisions
[8] 		Area
(km2)
[8][9] 		Population (2012 Census)[10] Population
Density
(/km2)
Sri Lankan
Tamil		 Sinhalese Indian
Tamil		 Sri Lankan Moors Other Total
Manthai East Pandiyankulam N.Ranjana 15 515 6,277 10 634 8 0 6,929
Maritimepattu Mullaitivu M.Umamagal 46 744 25,976 1,071 150 1,678 34 28,909
Oddusuddan Oddusuddan P.Jeyarani 27 639 14,158 792 51 31 15,658
Puthukkudiyiruppu Puthukkudiyiruppu S.jeyakanth 19 371 23,480 50 215 19 6 23,770
Thunukkai Thunukkai A.Lathumeera 20 344 9,180 157 391 2 2 9,732
Weli Oya (Manal Aru) Ehatugaswewa 9 180 10 6,937 0 2 0 6,949
Total 136 2,617 79,081 8,851 2,182 1,760 73 91,947 35

Demographics

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Population

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Mullaitivu District's population was 91,947 in 2012.[2] 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.[11] Several hundred thousand Sri Lankan Tamils, possibly as much as one million, emigrated to India or to the West during the war.[12] 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

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Population of Mullaitivu District by ethnic group 1981 to 2012[2][13][14]
Year Tamil[a] Sinhalese Muslim[b] 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[c] 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[d] 51,737 99.99% 0 0.00% 4 0.01% 0 0.00% 51,741
2009 Estimate[e] 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

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Population of Mullaitivu District by religion 1981 to 2012[3][15]
Year Hindu Christian[f] Buddhist Muslim 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

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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

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Local government

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DS Divisions of Mullaitivu District, 2006

Mullaitivu District has four local authorities all of which are Divisional Councils (Pradesha Sabhai or Pradeshiya Sabha).[8]

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

Notes

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  1. ^ Sri Lankan Tamil and Indian Tamil.
  2. ^ Sri Lankan Moors and Indian Moors.
  3. ^ 2001 Census was not carried out in Mullaitivu District.
  4. ^ Excludes Maritimepattu, Puthukudiyiruppu and Thunukkai divisions - no data available.
  5. ^ Excludes Maritimepattu and Puthukudiyiruppu divisions - no data available.
  6. ^ Roman Catholic and Other Christian.
  7. ^ Includes Citizen's Front.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Area of Sri Lanka by province and district" (PDF). Statistical Abstract 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-11-13.
  2. ^ a b c d "A2 : Population by ethnic group according to districts, 2012". Census of Population & Housing, 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka.
  3. ^ a b "A3 : Population by religion according to districts, 2012". Census of Population & Housing, 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka.
  4. ^ de Silva, K. M. (1981). A History of Sri Lanka. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. pp. xvii.
  5. ^ Mills, Lennox A. (1933). Ceylon Under British Rule (1795 - 1932). London: Oxford University Press. pp. 67–68.
  6. ^ Medis, G. C. (1946). Ceylon Under the British (2nd (revised) ed.). Colombo: The Colombo Apothecaries Co. pp. 39–40.
  7. ^ Sivaratnam, C. (1968). The Tamils in early Ceylon. p. 153.
  8. ^ a b c d e f "Statistical Information 2012". Northern Provincial Council.
  9. ^ "Land area by province, district and divisional secretariat division" (PDF). Statistical Abstract 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-11-13.
  10. ^ "A6 : Population by ethnicity and district according to Divisional Secretary's Division, 2012". Census of Population & Housing, 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka.
  11. ^ "Up to 100,000 killed in Sri Lanka's civil war: UN". ABC News (Australia). 20 May 2009.
  12. ^ Harrison, Frances (23 July 2003). "Twenty years on - riots that led to war". BBC News.
  13. ^ "Statistical Information 2010" (PDF). Northern Provincial Council.
  14. ^ a b "Enumeration of Vital Events 2011 - Northern Province" (PDF). Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka.
  15. ^ "Population by religion and district, Census 1981, 2001" (PDF). Statistical Abstract 2011. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-11-13.
  16. ^ "Geospatial Poverty Portal: Interactive Maps". World Bank. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
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