38 years on: victims of IKPF massacre at Jaffna Teaching Hospital remembered

Staff attached to the Jaffna Teaching Hospital offered flowers in memory of the fallen medical staff 38 years ago at the hospital. 

A commemorative event was held at Jaffna Teaching Hospital yesterday (21) to remember at least 70 victims, including patients, a medical doctor and hospital staff who were massacred by the then Indian Peace Keeping Forces (IPKF) within the hospital premises 38 years ago.

Management of the hospital organized the event, which was attended by fellow medical doctors, nurses, staff and relatives of the victims whose loved ones were killed in the massacre that went on for two days. 

On October 21 and 22 of 1987, IPKF forces opened fire inside the ward of the hospital while on a search operation to identify Tamil militants following an attack that targeted them. 

Deputy Director of the hospital, Dr T. Kugathasan, who was then a fourth-year Medical faculty student of the University of Jaffna, recalled the massacre and how the hospital staff worked tirelessly to serve the people even at the height of the conflict period in the region.

In memory of late V. Sanmugalingam, who was attached to the hospital as a driver at that time and was later killed in the massacre, his wife donated a wheelchair to a patient at the event. 

Marking 38 years since that painful day, Director of the hospital Dr. T. Sathiyamoorthy said that the hospital community came together in quiet reflection to mark the event with prayers. "Flowers were laid, prayers were offered, and candles were lit in memory of patients, staff, and others whose lives were lost. The atmosphere was one of solemnity, unity, and remembrance.

"Hospitals are meant to be sanctuaries—places of healing, hope, and humanity. Today’s ceremony served as a reminder of the resilience of the medical community and the strength of compassion even in the darkest times." This annual act of remembrance is not just about looking back, but also about carrying forward the values that bind a community together: peace, care, and dignity for all. It is a call to protect spaces of healing and to nurture a future where every person can receive care in safety and peace, he stressed in a Facebook post.

"Though 38 years have passed, the memory of those who were lost lives on—in the hearts of their families, their colleagues, and in the halls of the hospital where they once walked. May their memory continue to inspire a path of healing and harmony for generations to come.

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