Sri Lanka, June 3 -- Forty-five years have passed since the burning and destruction of the Jaffna Public Library, one of the most important repositories of knowledge and culture in South Asia, yet the scars left by the incident continue to resonate among the Tamil community.

A commemoration marking the 45th anniversary of the burning of the Jaffna Public Library was held at the library premises on Monday (1) with the participation of the Jaffna Public Library administration, activists, Local Government representatives and locals.

Tributes were paid to K. M. Chellappah, who played a leading role in the establishment of the library, and Rev. Fr. (Dr.) Hyacinth Singarayar David, who died of shock by seeing the destruction of the institutio...