Velanai Island
Sri Lanka · Asia
About
Velanai Island (Tamil: வேலணை), also known as Leiden in Dutch, or Kayts Island, is a small island off the coast of the Jaffna Peninsula in the north of Sri Lanka. There are a number of villages within the island, such as Allaipiddy, Mankumpan, Velanai, Saravanai, Puliyankoodal, Suruvil, Naranthanai, Kayts and Karampon.
The majority of the island's inhabitants are Hindus, along with a sizeable minority of Christians. There are a number of Hindu temples along with a few churches on the island. The village also consists of a few schools. Sir Vaithilingam Duraiswamy, a member of the State Council of Ceylon during the British colonial period, and his son Yogendra Duraiswamy, a Sri Lankan diplomat, were both born in Velanai.
Velanai was marred by violence during the Sri Lankan Civil War, with the island being the main setting of the Allaipiddy massacre in 2006. In 1992, Major General Denzil Kobbekaduwa and Commodore Mohan Jayamaha were killed along with several senior officers when their Land Rover hit a landmine off Araly Point in Kayts.
Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)。Photography via Wikimedia Commons.