‘A group of religious extremists had set to the Jaffna library, the biggest of its kind in Asia.’

Senior lecturer Dr. Saminathan Wimal translated the two books and co-organized the event.

A group of around 50 writers and other artistes as well as university students have got together and donated 10,000 books, written in the Sinhala, Tamil and English languages, to the Jaffna Library, BBC Sandeshaya reports.

The library has been renovated since being set on fire several decades ago.

The book donation took place at the launch of a Sinhala translation of three novels by Tamil poet V I S Jeyapalan and a Tamil translation of ‘Amma’ by Upul Shantha Sannasgala.

Dr. Saminathan Wimal of the languages department of the Jaffna University has done the translations and co-organized the event.

Sannasgala said on the occasion that language was a key to uniting the south and the north, and that this was part of efforts to bring about that harmony.

The next step will be to select 25 Tamil books in consultation of children and adults of the north and translate them to Sinhala, and also to translate 25 Sinhala books to Tamil within a year, he said.

Noting that a group of religious extremists had set to the Jaffna library, the biggest of its kind in Asia, he said the shock of the incident was still being felt.

Building a library is like building a country, Sannasgala noted.

Dr. Wimal said literature was not just printing a book, but it includes the creation of a dialogue to get the purpose of that book into society.

A priminary discussion also took place about the arts festival to be held in Jaffna next year, he said, adding that they would fully support such events.