Although quite a lot of information has recently been published on the Eastern Province, very little information regarding demography and other factors have been revealed about the Northern Province (NP), especially in the relation to Tamil claims to a 'Tamil homeland.' Therefore, this is a basic attempt to illustrate some interesting features regarding the NP. Some of these facts tend to cast serious doubts as to whether the Wanni region is historically or demographically part of a 'Tamil homeland.'

The other important factor is the land area and population densities. How a very high population concentration in a small area such as the Jaffna peninsula can statistically cause an excessive skewing of percentages, so that even Anuradhapura can be construed as part of a 'Tamil homeland,' is demonstrated below. This type of dabbling with statistics in relation to populations and territory has been resorted to by Tamil separatists so as to demonstrate that the Eastern Province (EP) is a 'Tamil homeland' and that Sinhalese 'colonization' has been deliberately done so as to increase the Sinhalese ratio within the province.

In order to understand the situation, the map and six tables given below, must be carefully referred to.

History
The island's historical records date back to around 2500 years. According to available historical, archacological, epigraphical and cartographic evidence, South Indian (Tamil) settlers infiltrated the north throughout. But it is evident that they were absorbed by the indigenous Sinhalese who were occupying Jaffna (Yapapatuna) and the rest of the north. There is no trace of these early Tamil settlers today. According to historians (including many Tamil historians), the north and east were populated by Sinhalese and these areas were ruled by Sinhalese Kings throughout except for very brief periods when both north and south Indian invaders managed to capture and rule parts of the north and north-central regions. It is accepted that of the period between the arrival of Vijaya (543BC) and the beginning of the 13th century AD (i.e., a period of 1743 years), the north was under foreign rule (Indian) only for a period of 160 years. This is only 9.25 of this long historical time span.

In each instance of foreign rule, records show that the invader was either killed or sent back. However, it is evident that fair numbers of the invading armies settled down here, but were absorbed into the indigenous Sinhala population.

Large scale settlement of Tamils commenced in the 13th century AD with the invasion of Kalinga Magha in 1215 AD. Magha was an Aryan from Orissa but his armies consisted of 24,000 Malayalese from Kerala. Almost all the Sinhalese were killed or chased out of the north. From this point on, the north began to get 'Tamilized.' Subsequent occupation by the Aryachakravartis (a line of Aryan chieftains from Kalinga) and by representatives of the Vijayanagara rulers of South India, established a substantial Tamil population which was concentrated in the Jaffna peninsula and Mannar island. The Wanni and the east remained under the direct rule of the Sinhala Kings. The Wanni remained in forest while the east was occupied by Sinhalese with Tamils migrating there only during the colonial period.

Even during the above periods of Tamil occupation, the Sinhala kings of Kotte, Kandy etc., were accepted as the de-jure rulers of the north. This is proved by several historical records and also by inscriptions.

According to the Medawela inscription of 28 November, 1359, King Wickramabahu III of Gampola signed a treaty with the Aryachakravarti of Jaffna where the former was recognized as sovereign of the whole island. This Aryachakravarti (named Marttandam) was referred to as a 'perumal' (Provincial chieftain). (Ref. Paranavithana, 1961).

Rev. S. Gnanaprakasar, OMI, (1971), a Tamil historian said: "The Sinhalese occupation of Jaffna was antecedent to the Tamil period as exemplified by a long list of Sinhala place names in the Jaffna peninsula."

H. W. Codrington (1938) stated that: "The colonization of Jaffna by the Tamils cannot be of extreme antiquity." He goes on to confirm that even Mailvaganar Pulaivar (1736) who wrote the 'Yalpana Vaipavamalai' which is a composition of Jaffna history, admitted and recorded the fact that Sinhalese were present in Jaffna even during the 15th century.

Mudaliyar C. Rasanayagam, in his heavily Tamil biased book, 'Ancient Jaffna' (1926) admits: "Jaffna was occupied earlier by the Sinhalese than by the Tamils as seen not only in the place names of Jaffna, but also in some of the habits and customs of the people."

After the conquest of Jaffna by the Portuguese in 1618, it remained under colonial occupation. Prior to this, it was under the jurisdiction of the Sinhala Kings. Portuguese historian, de Queyroz and Dutch priest Baldaeus, provide substantial evidence to support the above.

Creation of Provinces
After the British arrived in 1796, they occupied only the maritime areas conquered from the Dutch. These coastal areas were divided into three 'collectorates' for purposes of revenue collection. In 1801, these were divided into 13 units for administrative purposes, which were later reduced to 8 units and once again increased to 13. These administrative units were called 'agencies' and later again referred to as 'collectorates.' The rest of the island came under the Kandyan kingdom, which was a huge area by comparison, and it was traditionally divided into 'ratas' and 'disavanis.' Having acquired the Kandyan kingdom in 1815, the British retained the 'ratas' and 'disavanis' until 1833.

The division of the island into 'provinces' was prompted by the Uva rebellion of 1817-18. Having quelled this rebellion (actually a war of liberation) with great difficulty, the colonial regime felt that it would-be e expedient to break up the 'ratas' and 'disavanis' and reconstitute these, in conjunction with the maritime areas, into separate administrative units which would break up the unity of the Kandyan provinces. They felt that such an exercise was necessary to break up the unity of the Sinhalese so as to prevent a further uprising. (These moves are recorded in British House of Commons sessional papers of the period).

Accordingly, the country was first divided into five 'provinces' in 1833, viz., northern, eastern, southern, western and central, (see Map). Subsequently, more provinces were formed and finally in 1889, the present nine provinces were demarcated. It must be made very clear that these provinces were never intended to denote ethnic territories. The demarcations were totally ad-hoc with no intention of separating out Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims whatsoever. Ethnicity was considered only in the creation of the smaller units, viz., AGA divisions and Headmen (Grama Sevaka) divisions. Generally, such sub-units (AGA and Headman divisions) tended to follow the former boundaries of 'pattus,' which were ethnic in character. Thus, the only ethnoterritorial units which may be considered today are these AGA and Grama Sevaka divisions. This pattern is very clear in the Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Ampara districts where each AGA division has a clear ethnic basis.

Demography
The Map illustrates the present (1889) and former (1833) NP and EP. Today, the NP consists of five districts, viz., Jaffna, Mannar, Kilinochchi, Vavuniya and Mullativu. The latter was demarcated in 1978 while Kilinochchi district appeared later, separated out as the mainland (southern) area of Jaffna district. The 1981 census figures which was the last census done) which are used in this analysis, shows only the four districts minus Kilinochchi (which was then part of Jaffna).

Table I shows the population in the NP. It is evident that most of the Ceylon Tamils (CT) are in Jaffna (792,246), while there are sizeable populations of Sinhalese and Muslims in the Wanni districts (Mannar, Vavuniya and Mullativu).

Table 2 is interesting. It indicates that almost three-quarters (74.8%) of the NP population is within Jaffna district - mostly in the peninsula itself, whereas the land area of Jaffna is less that one-quarter (23.8%) of the total area of the province. The Wanni is a large area (76.2% of the land area of the NP) while its population is only about one-quarter (25.2%) of the provincial total. Thereby, the population density of Jaffna is extremely high (401.06 per sq. km.) While it is abnormally low in the Wanni (average of 42.39 per sq. km). This means that almost 75% of the people in the north are confined to Jaffna peninsula while the Wanni is in forest.

The question then arises as to how the Wanni is claimed as part of a 'Tamil homeland.' To get a better idea, one must examine Table 3, where the populations of Jaffna and the Wannia as a whole are compared. It is evident that of the total CT population, only 17.5% occupy the Wanni while 82.5% live in Jaffna. Of the total Sinhalese population, 86.1% live in the Wanni while only 13.9% live in Jaffna. Similarly, of the Muslim population, 73.9% live in the Wanni. Therefore it is evident that the Wanni cannot be considered the hinterland of a Tamil Jaffna or part of an extended 'Tamil homeland.' The very high population of Tamils in the Jaffna peninsula causes a skewing of the population percentages to such an extent, that, taken overall, the sparosely populated Wanni, when linked to Jaffna, yet shows an average Ceylon Tamil (CT) population of 86.4% within the whole NP. But only 17.5% of them live in the Wanni.

The effect of this type of skewing of population data can be further demonstrated by considering the original NP of 1833 (see Map) where Anuradhapura was included and this whole province was administered from Jaffna. If the British, by any chance, decided to stay with this original demarcation, it is certain that Tamil separatists would have insisted that their 'homeland' would yet consist of these two provinces (NP and EP). The Cleghorn minute of 1799 would have been invoked as done now, to impress upon us that these two huge provinces comprise the ancient 'Tamil homeland.'

The area of this original (1833) NP was 15,800 sq.km, while the original EP was about 17,200 sqkm. (see Map). This totals to 33,000 sq.km or 51% of the total land area of the country. Thus over one-half of the country would have been claimed as a purported' Tamil homeland.'

If the 1981 population figures are extrapolated onto this original (1833) NP, a very interesting feature becomes evident. This is illustrated in Table 4. In this extended NP which includes Anuradhapura, the Ceylon Tamils become a significant majority of 56.9%, thus, Anuradhapura would have been claimed as part of the 'Tamil homeland. 'This statistical exercise demonstrates the fact that a high density area (Jaffna) will override a low density area (Wanni and Anuradhapura combined) when linked together, giving a completely false picture when population averages or percentages only are considered. This principle is made use of by Tamil separatists when claiming the EP and the Wanni as Tamil 'majority' areas. Separatist elements have used this same principle to condemn so-called 'state-aided colonization' in the EP due to which, it is claimed that the percentage of Sinhalese in the whole EP increased from 4.5% in 1921 to 24.9% in 1981. Taking such overall provincial figures is very deceptive because Sinhalese settlement was confined to only a few AGA divisions which were originally Sinhalese majority. There was no adverse bearing on Tamil majority divisions at all.

To further reiterate the fact that the high density in Jaffna causes a deceptive overall picture in considering the Wanni, it is intersting to check urbanre and rural populations in the province. Table 5 shows that while Jaffna has a high urban population (32.6%), the Wanni appears to be a highly rural area (e.g., 99.1% in Mullativu).

Tamil Colonization Schemes
Many are unaware of the fact that past governments have set up many colonization schemes in the NP for the benefit of Tamils. On a TV programme some time ago, it was observed that the editor of a popular Sinhala tabloid, was totally ignorant of this. Table 6, indicates that at least 25 settlement schemes under major irrigation works were set up in the NP. Of over 10,000 families settled, only seven were Sinhalese. Similarly, there were many such settlement projects under minor irrigation schemes. In the EP too, large numbers of Tamils were settled. In the Gal-Oya project, 75% of the settlers were Tamil and Muslim. In the Kantale scheme, there were hardly any Tamil applicants for land, thus proving that land hunger is not a significant problem among Tamils, who have ample land in the north and east. However, it is a very acute problem in the south amongst Sinhalese where population densities are very high.

Sinhalese & Buddhism in the NP
What has happened to the Sinhalese in the NP? 1981 figures (Table I) show a total Sinhalese population of 33,149 in the NP in 1981. Of these, 4615 were in Jaffna. Today, except for a few in the Vavuniya south (Sinhala) AGA division, the rest have disappeared. Many were killed by the LTTE and no government or human rights group has bothered to find out their fate, although there are a plethora of organizations shedding crocodile tears over Tamil refugees.

As shown above, the NP and EP were historically Sinhala-Buddhist areas. There were a large number of Buddhist sites and monuments in the north. Many were destroyed by Indian invaders such a Kalinga Magha. Kovils had been built atop some of these Buddhist sites.

Dutch priest and historian, Baldaeus (1672) wrote that there was a great Buddhist pagoda at Atchuvelly in Jaffna. No trace of this is left today. The Department of Archalology has mapped all the so-far discovered Buddhist sites in the NP and EP. This map drawn in 1980, shows 18 sites in Jaffna district, 02 in Kilinochchi and 109 sites in the Wanni, the vast majority of which are in Mullaitivu and Vavuniya. This indicates that the latter areas were densely populated by Sinhalese at one time. In fact, there were important ports near Mullaitivu (Tiriyaya etc.) which were connected to the capital city of Anuradhapura through Vavuniya. In fact, the areas where the 'Jayasikuru' operation is being conducted today lies squarely within this ancient Buddhist territory.

In the EP too, there were many such Buddhist sites (i.e., 77 in Trinco, 27 in Batticaloa and 28 in Ampara).

Place names in the north were originally Sinhala. Tamil historians (Rev. Gnanaprakasar, C. Rasanayagam and others) too, confirm this view. Chunnakam was 'Hunugama' while Valikamam was 'Weligama' and Chavakachcheri was 'Javaka-Kotte' (where Javanese forces had a fort). In the EP, Kantale was 'Gantalawa'. The list is endless.

All this is irrefutable proof that even the north (leave alone the east), cannot be considered a 'Historical Tamil homeland'. This is the myth on which is based the so-called 'Thimpu principles', i.e., that the Tamils are a 'nation', entitled to their 'homeland' (the present NP and EP) in which they are entitled to 'self-determination' and even to 'secession'. This is the so-called Tamil 'Aspiration' for which the LTTE is fighting. It is the 'aspiration' for which the government and opposition and several others are trying to offer 'viable alternatives'.

There cannot be 'viable alternatives' to such incorrigible 'aspirations'.