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The Jaffna Peninsula, known for its Tamil population and cultural heritage, is located in the:
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Answer: Option D — Northernmost part of Sri Lanka
Detailed Solution
The Jaffna Peninsula forms the northern tip of Sri Lanka, in the Northern Province, just across the Palk Strait from Tamil Nadu in India.
Geography:
- It is a low, flat limestone peninsula, separated from the rest of Sri Lanka by the Jaffna Lagoon, and linked to the mainland by a narrow strip of land called Elephant Pass.
- Point Pedro, on the peninsula, is the northernmost point of Sri Lanka.
- Its main city is Jaffna.
Population and culture:
- The peninsula is the cultural heartland of the Sri Lankan Tamil community.
- Most people are Tamil Hindus, with Christian and other minorities.
- The Nallur Kandaswamy Temple, dedicated to Lord Murugan, is one of its most important temples.
History:
The Jaffna Kingdom was a Tamil kingdom that ruled the region from the 13th century until the Portuguese conquest in 1619.
The civil war:
- Jaffna was at the centre of the long civil war (1983 to 2009) between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
- The Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) was sent to Sri Lanka in 1987 under the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord and operated in Jaffna until 1990.
India and Jaffna:
- India has funded many development projects in the region, such as housing for displaced people, the Jaffna Cultural Centre, and the renovation of the Kankesanthurai port.
- A ferry service between Nagapattinam (Tamil Nadu) and Kankesanthurai (Jaffna) started in 2023.
About Sri Lanka:
Sri Lanka is an island country in the Indian Ocean; its executive and judicial capital is Colombo, and its legislative capital is Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Jaffna is not in India or the Maldives.
- ✗The southern coast of Sri Lanka has cities such as Galle and Matara.
Quick tip
Remember: Jaffna Peninsula = northern tip of Sri Lanka (Northern Province), heart of Sri Lankan Tamil culture; Elephant Pass links it to the mainland.
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This question tests your understanding of World Geography, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers the physical and political geography of the world: continents, major countries, mountain ranges, plateaus, rivers, deserts, grasslands, and the world's important cities, ports and resources. Exams test the longest rivers (the Nile and the Amazon), the highest peaks and the ranges they belong to, the largest deserts, and the local names of grasslands, such as the Prairies, Pampas, Steppes and Veld. Questions on cities located on rivers, such as Baghdad on the Tigris or London on the Thames, are also common. Practise the world geography questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.