Jaffna Monitor - Unafraid and Unbowed

Sri Lanka Moves to Create a Tobacco-Free Generation, Joining a Growing Global Push

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka’s National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol (NATA) has formally presented the country’s Health Minister with a concept paper proposing that all citizens born after 2010 be permanently prohibited from purchasing tobacco products — a sweeping generational policy that would align Sri Lanka with a growing global movement gaining legislative momentum from London to the Maldives. The proposal was presented to Health Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa by NATA Chairman Dr. An

Our Reporter

Apr 30, 2026 — 7 min read

Indian Lawmaker Seeks to Bar Perarivalan From Legal Practice

April 2026 Monitor Memo

Our Reporter

Apr 30, 2026 — 4 min read

Sri Lankan Fisherman Taken Hostage and Assaulted by Indian Fishermen, Renewing Palk Strait Tensions

April 2026 JM Exclusive

Our Reporter

Apr 28, 2026 — 3 min read

The ‘High’ Road to Enlightenment

April 2026 JM Exclusive

Jaffna Monitor

Apr 27, 2026 — 7 min read

Jaffna’s Legendary Teacher Questions Tamil Youths’ Support for Vijay’s TVK

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — R. Kumaran, a veteran physics teacher from Jaffna who has taught generations of students in northern Sri Lanka, has publicly questioned the political maturity of young Sri Lankan Tamils supporting actor-turned-politician Vijay and his Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) movement in neighboring Tamil Nadu. In a video widely circulated online, reportedly from a Zoom session with his advanced-level students, Mr. Kumaran — widely regarded in Jaffna as one of the region’s most influen

April 2026 JM Exclusive

Our Reporter

Apr 28, 2026 — 3 min read

U.S. Embassy Marks 15 Years of American Corner in Jaffna, Unveils “Freedom 250” Pavilion

JAFFNA — The U.S. Embassy in Sri Lanka on April 26 marked the fifteenth anniversary of the American Corner Jaffna at its premises on Athiyady Road in Nallur, and inaugurated a new outdoor structure it has named the “Freedom 250 Pavilion.” The pavilion forms part of a global State Department initiative built around the 250th anniversary of American independence, which falls on July 4, 2026. The American Corner Jaffna was established in 2011 in partnership with the Jaffna Social Action Center, in

April 2026 Monitor Memo

Our Reporter

Apr 28, 2026 — 4 min read

A.G. Perarivalan, Once Convicted in Rajiv Gandhi Assassination Case, Enrolls as a Lawyer

CHENNAI, India — A.G. Perarivalan, who spent 31 years in prison in connection with the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi before being released by India’s Supreme Court in 2022, has enrolled as a lawyer, returning to the legal system where he once fought for his freedom. Mr. Perarivalan, 54, was registered as an advocate with the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry at the Madras High Court complex this week, according to officials. The enrollment marks a notable turn in a

April 2026 JM Exclusive

Our Reporter

Apr 27, 2026 — 2 min read

Sowing the Future

A policy framework for agricultural revival in Sri Lanka's Northern Province — and the case for treating it not as a welfare programme, but as an economic system designed to win. By Jeevan Thiagarajah The Northern Province of Sri Lanka holds more than 100,000 hectares of paddy land, some of South Asia's most productive onion soil, and a coastline that ranks among the country's richest fishing grounds. Revitalising it is not merely a regional ambition — it is a national opportunity. This pie

April 2026 Guest Column

Jeevan Thiyagaraja

Apr 27, 2026 — 12 min read

Unafraid and Unbowed

Archbishop, Archbishop, why hast thou forsaken us in our hour of sorrow and slaughter?

"Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins." - Isaiah 58:1 His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, Archbishop of Colombo and chief shepherd of the Catholic flock in all of Sri Lanka, has recently marked fifty years in the sacred priesthood. As the highest-ranking prelate whose dominion spans the entire island, he now stands as a mighty voice crying for justice, calling upon the nations of the earth for interv

Editorial July 2025

Kaniyan Pungundran

Jul 14, 2025 — 12 min read

Jaffna Library Burning: The Day They Burned the buddha and his dhamma

Why South Asia Reveres Books-and Fears Their Destruction Irrespective of religion, across the Indian subcontinent, books have long held an exalted status. In the indigenous spiritual traditions that emerged from this land-Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism-knowledge is not merely valued; it is venerated in the highest order. In homes, temples, and schools across the region, people treat books with profound reverence-never touching them with their feet, and if done accidentally, offering a

Cover Story June 2025

Kaniyan Pungundran

Jun 16, 2025 — 14 min read

Chemmani: Where Justice Was Buried

The dead do not speak - but the earth does A few years ago, I visited Cambodia. My original aim was to see the Angkor Wat temple complex. But, as always, my journalistic instincts led me deeper into rural Cambodia, where I found myself in quiet conversations with a few former soldiers of the Pol Pot regime, now living ordinary lives as toddy tappers, farmers, and small shop owners. One of them - a former henchman of the Khmer Rouge - opened up after a few glasses of toddy. In a hauntingly calm

Editorial June 2025

Kaniyan Pungundran

Jun 16, 2025 — 7 min read

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Jaffna M.P. Archchuna Ramanathan Arrested After Brandishing Gun in Land Dispute

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — Ramanathan Archchuna, a controversial Jaffna District M.P., was arrested on Monday after he was accused of brandishing a firearm during a land dispute in Periyavilaan, the police said. The arrest follows the circulation of video footage, reviewed by Jaffna Monitor, that appears to show Mr. Archchuna pointing a handgun during a confrontation with a group of residents, including women. Police said one of the women involved in the dispute was also arrested and remanded by cour

April 2026 JM Exclusive

Our Reporter

Apr 27, 2026 — 2 min read

The Double-Edged Sword: Navigating the Human and Social Paradoxes of the Bhagavad Gita

Mahesh Nirmalan MD, FRCA, PhD, FFICM, University of Manchester, United Kingdom Human life is defined by a deep-seated paradox which at times may seem unsurmountable. On the one hand we are biological organisms subject to the rules of physics and chemistry and therefore subject to entropy, decay and dissolution. We get hungry, tired, we age and ultimately, we all cease to function. Yet within this fragile and time limited existence there remains a sense of ‘I’ or ‘me’ that feels constant. Despit

April 2026 Guest Column

Prof. Mahesh Nirmalan

Apr 27, 2026 — 10 min read

G.L. Peiris, in Jaffna, Revisits Federalism and Says Sri Lanka’s Slide Into War Was Avoidable

Delivering the S.J.V. Chelvanayakam Memorial Oration at Jaffna Central College, the legal scholar and former minister traced decades of missed opportunities for political accommodation. The full text of his address is published below. JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — On the forty-ninth anniversary of the death of S. J. V. Chelvanayakam — the lawyer who founded the Federal Party and gave the Tamil demand for self-rule its modern political form — G. L. Peiris on Sunday delivered the S.J.V. Chelvanayakam Memor

April 2026 JM Exclusive

Our Reporter

Apr 26, 2026 — 22 min read

Controversial Jaffna MP Ramanathan Archchuna Brandishes Handgun in Land Dispute

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — Ramanathan Archchuna, a controversial Member of Parliament from Jaffna, is again facing scrutiny after he was seen brandishing a handgun during a land dispute, according to video reviewed by Jaffna Monitor and interviews with witnesses — an episode that has also raised fresh questions about the authorities who authorized him to carry a firearm. The episode occurred on Saturday in the Periyavilaan area of Jaffna, where the property at the center of the confrontation is curren

April 2026 Monitor Memo

Our Reporter

Apr 26, 2026 — 2 min read