[7] At the time that Ceylon gained independence, Jaffna was one of the three districts located in the Northern Province.

The population of the district, like the rest of the north and east of Sri Lanka, has been heavily affected by the civil war.

[11] Several hundred thousand Sri Lankan Tamils, possibly as much as one million, emigrated to the West during the war.

[12] Many Sri Lankan Tamils also moved to the relative safety of the capital Colombo.

[8] On 18 October 2016, Jaffna District twinned with the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in London.

[19] This has been a milestone to build “greater understanding and sharing knowledge” in the fields of governance, healthcare and education.