Jaffna Monitor - Unafraid and Unbowed

India Expands Footprint in Sri Lanka as Radhakrishnan Announces OCI Plan for Tamils

By M.R. Narayan Swamy India has taken a strategic decision to help tens of thousands of Sri Lankans obtain Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) status during a packed two-day visit to the island nation by Vice President C. P. Radhakrishnan, a move that Tamil leaders across the political spectrum described as positive and emotionally fulfilling. Although the visit saw India and Sri Lanka deepen their growing bilateral ties, Tamil leaders from the country’s North and East, along with representatives

M.R. Narayan Swamy

Apr 20, 2026 — 4 min read

A Refugee’s Protest Exposes the Long Shadow of Sri Lanka’s Conflict in India

April 2026 JM Exclusive

M.R. Narayan Swamy

Apr 20, 2026 — 3 min read

A Cultural Centre Without a Living Culture: Jaffna’s Silent Promise

April 2026 Guest Column

Jaffna Monitor

Apr 20, 2026 — 9 min read

India’s Vice President Calls for Unity as Tamil Leaders’ Divisions Spill Into the Open

April 2026 JM Exclusive

Our Reporter

Apr 20, 2026 — 1 min read

India’s Vice President Urges Sri Lanka to Hold Provincial Elections Without Delay

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — India’s Vice President, C. P. Radhakrishnan, said he had personally urged Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to hold long-delayed provincial council elections without further postponement, during a meeting between the two leaders on Sunday. Mr. Radhakrishnan disclosed this during a subsequent discussion with representatives of Tamil political parties at the Taj Samudra in Colombo on Monday afternoon, a source who participated in the meeting told Jaffna Monitor.

April 2026 JM Exclusive

Our Reporter

Apr 20, 2026 — 2 min read

Accountability delayed is accountability denied.

By: Lankan The resignations of Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody and Ministry Secretary Prof. Udayanga Hemapala are a welcome — if belated — step toward accountability. In a political culture where public office is often treated as a shield against scrutiny, stepping down to allow an unimpeded investigation is the appropriate course of action. The National People’s Power (NPP) government, elected on a platform of uncompromising integrity, could scarcely have done otherwise. But let us be clear:

April 2026 Guest Column

Lankan

Apr 19, 2026 — 3 min read

India–Sri Lanka Ties: Partnership in Practice, Distrust in Memory

By M.R. Narayan Swamy Relations between India and Sri Lanka have depth and are blossoming. But all is not hunky-dory, notwithstanding the generous multi-faceted help India has provided during crises, more so in recent times. Yes, more and more Sinhalese, the community most cross with India for more than one reason, have begun to view India sympathetically but it will take a long time for bitter memories to fade and the irritants in overall bilateral ties to dissipate. Indeed, if Sri Lanka’s eco

April 2026 Book Review

M.R. Narayan Swamy

Apr 19, 2026 — 5 min read

Sri Lanka’s Reform Government Struggles to Deliver on Its Promises

COLOMBO — Eighteen months after a landslide election victory that swept away Sri Lanka’s discredited political dynasties and promised a new era of transparent, accountable governance, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and his National People's Power government are struggling to deliver on the sweeping changes they rode to power on, according to a new report by the International Crisis Group titled “Sri Lanka’s Bumpy Road to a Political Reset.” The findings, drawn from dozens of interviews with

April 2026

Jaffna Monitor

Apr 19, 2026 — 8 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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Colombo Eyes Control of Jaffna’s Cultural Centre

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka’s Cabinet is expected to consider a proposal to place the Jaffna Thiruvalluvar Cultural Centre under a new seven-member governing body dominated by central government representatives, according to officials familiar with the plan. If approved, the move would formalize national oversight of a complex built with Indian grant funding on land owned by the Jaffna Municipal Council — and presented, repeatedly, as a gift to the people of the North. The proposal has not b

April 2026 JM Exclusive

Our Reporter

Apr 15, 2026 — 3 min read

The Tamil Renaissance

By Jeevan Thiyagaraja Generations have scattered across the globe while others remained, tending to the soil of their ancestors through the unimaginable. Though separated by oceans and time, all share the same roots. The time has come for the North to reclaim its narrative—a Tamil Renaissance where a smart, confident, and contented North acts as catalyst for a proud, cultured, and developed community found around the world. I. The Ancient Maritime Spirit: A Legacy of Global Connection Long b

April 2026 Guest Column

Jeevan Thiyagaraja

Apr 15, 2026 — 10 min read

Iluppai Tree and the Young Generation

Translated from the original Tamil short story iluppai maramum iḷanñcantatiyum (இலுப்பை மரமும் இளஞ்சந்ததியும்) from the 1976 collection of short stories titled kōṭukaḷum kōlaṅkalum (கோடுகளும் கோலங்களும்) by Kuppilan Ai. Shanmugan. He woke up at around seven in the morning, when it was already rather bright. His little sister shook him awake, calling out, “aṇṇai, aṇṇai.” He stretched lazily, rolled up the reed mat and stood it next to the wall. The house was buzzing with activity. His sibling

April 2026 Story

Eḻuttukkiṉiyavaṉ

Apr 14, 2026 — 7 min read

Indian Vice President to Visit Sri Lanka as Bilateral Ties Deepen

COLOMBO — India’s Vice President, C. P. Radhakrishnan, will undertake a two-day official visit to Sri Lanka from April 19 to 20, in a trip expected to highlight expanding cooperation between the two countries across energy, infrastructure and regional development. The visit, made at the invitation of the Sri Lankan government, is being coordinated through the Presidential Secretariat and the High Commission of India in Colombo, officials said. Mr. Radhakrishnan is scheduled to hold formal talk

April 2026 Monitor Memo

Our Reporter

Apr 13, 2026 — 2 min read