The 1981 anti-Tamil pogrom occurred in Sri Lanka during the months of June, July and August 1981. Organised Sinhalese mobs looted and burnt Tamil shops and houses in Jaffna, Ratnapura, Balangoda, Kahawatta, Colombo and in the border villages in the Batticaloa and Ampara Districts. Further looting, arson and killings then spread to the rural interior:
Brian Eads, in the London Observer of 20 September 1981, reported that an orgy of arson and looting was planned, orchestrated and carried out in Jaffna by the predominantly Sinhalese Buddhist police force in the area.
During the violence the Jaffna public library was burned, as well as the offices of a Tamil newspaper, and the home of a Tamil MP. On the night of 31st May 1981, MP V. YogeswaranâÂÂs jeep and house was completely burnt down by a mob of over 50 drunk Sinhalese security forces armed with rods, swords and rifles.
The violence was said to have been organised by members of the ruling United National Party. In all, 25 people died, scores of women were raped, and thousands were made homeless, losing all their belongings.