Iconic Tamil Pop singer A.E.Manoharan helped bridge the ethnic divide

“Ithaya Oasai”(Sound of the Heart”) was a drama put on the boards by the students of St. John’s College,Jaffna in 1963/64. The play proved so popular that it was staged to members of the public in Jaffna, Kandy, Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Colombo. The chief actor in the play was a handsome curly-haired student in the then Higher School Certificate (HSC)class. He was a hosteller as his family was living in the central high

Lasantha Wickrematunga Assassins Must Be Prosecuted Without Delay

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa in his misguided astrological and numerological wisdom held the seventh presidential elections on January 8th 2015. When the date was announced most people yearning for a regime change in Sri Lanka noted the symbolic significance of January 8th in a different context. It was on January 8th 2009 that Lasantha Manilal Wickrematunge , the well known editor of “The Sunday Leader” was brutally assassinate

Will Tamil film hero Rajinikanth become Tamil Nadu Chief Minister?

In the May 2014 Indian General elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led by Narendra Modi swept the poll in many states to form a government...

DMK abandons separatism; captures State power in TN

Thamizhan Illaathaa Naadumillai. Thamizhanukkendroru Naadumillai (There is no country without Tamils. There is no country for Tamils) is a saying in Tamil that vividly illustrates the angst felt by the more nationalist sections of Tamils about the lack of a country of their own - an independent sovereign self-governing Tamil state!

Split in dravidian movement And the decline of Tamil separatism

India gained freedom from Britain at midnight on August 15th 1947. At the time of Indian independence there was a separatist movement in South India...

Muslim Congress Founder’s Son Aman Ashraff Speaks Out Against SLMC

Aman Ahamed Ashraff is the only son of legendary Muslim Congress leader the late Mr. M.H.M. Ashraff and Ms. Ferial Ashraff who was Sri Lanka’s first Muslim woman cabinet minister. In spite of this family background 36- year- old Aman Ashraff who is the executive creative director of Ashraff Associates (pvt) Ltd has kept aloof from politics so far. However there has been in recent times 

Tamil secessionism and the Dravida State demand in India

Tamil secessionism in the island of Sri Lanka came to an effective end in May 2009, when the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Organization was militarily defeated by the Armed forces of the Government of Sri Lanka.

Will The Unseating Of Geetha Disqualify the UPFA List of Galle MPs?

Popular Sinhala movie actress Geetha Kumarasinghe, who was elected Member of Parliament from the Galle electoral District on the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) ticket in August 2015 has been unseated as an MP by rulings of the Sri Lankan Judiciary.

Alleged Killing Of 18 Navy and 8 Army Prisoners by LTTE In Jan 2009

President Maithripala Sirisena held successive discussions with two Tamil delegations in Colombo on Thursday (19) on the issue of Tamils detained in various prisons under the Prevention of Terrorism Act(PTA) in general and the hunger strike undertaken by three such detainees at the Anuradhapura Prison in particular. 

Abolishing J.R. Jayewardene’s Executive Presidency

Reputed American Writer and Humourist Samuel Clemens, known to the world as Mark Twain was in London in May 1897 on a lecture tour. A rumour began circulating in the USA that Mark Twain was gravely ill and on the verge of death. Subsequently another rumour began spreading in the US of Mark Twain passing  away in the UK.   

Govt. may lose referendum on new Constitution

The coalition government of President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has - as one of its primary objectives - the political project of enacting and passing a new Constitution. This requires a two-thirds majority in Parliament and endorsement by the people in an islandwide referendum. 

Aekiya Raajya - Orumiththa Nadu: For an undivided indivisible Sri Lanka

The Constitutional Assembly Steering Committee chaired by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has laboured mightily and brought forth the Interim Report of proposals for an envisaged new Constitution. It would be premature to prognosticate on the report’s potential future or delve deeply into its contents at this point of time. 

Clash of the Commanders

The recent spat - if one may call it that - between two former commanders of the Sri Lankan Army has caused quite a furore. Field Marshall Sarath Fonseka and Lieutenant-General Jagath Jayasuriya have engaged in a heated exchange over issues of command and control responsibility, as well as alleged war crimes. Sarath Fonseka served as Army Commander from December 6, 2005 to July 15, 2009. 

Federalism is not Separatism Rules Supreme Court

The month of August saw a flurry of hectic political activity in Sri Lanka. The statement made by controversial Minister Ravi Karunanayake at the Presidential Commission of inquiry followed by his resignation, the move to postpone Provincial Council polls by way of the 20th Constitutional 

Stooping to win

Thirty years ago on this day (July 29th 1987) an accord was signed by the then Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Junius Richard Jayewardene the then President of Sri Lanka in Colombo that had far reaching implications for both the tear drop island in the Indian Ocean and its giant neighbour. 

‘Govigama’ monopoly of presidents and premiers in Sri Lanka

“Ram Nath Kovind was on Thursday declared elected as India’s 14th President polling 65.6% of the vote defeating the Opposition’s joint candidate, former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, who secured 34% of the vote. Mr. Kovind will be the second Dalit President of India after late President K.R. Narayanan but, more significantly, the first from politically significant Uttar Pradesh and the first person from the BJP to hold the offi

Ananthy: First NPC woman Minister

45-year-old Ananthy Sasitharan made history when she was sworn in before Northern Province Governor Reginald Cooray in Jaffna as Northern Provincial Minister of Women’s Affairs, 

Unsolved murder in broad daylight of Batticaloa journalist Aiyathurai Nadesan

Jaffna District MP, Mathiaparanam Abraham Sumanthiran waxed eloquent during the course of the adjournment debate in Parliament on June 6th 2017. M. A. Sumanthiran who is also the official Spokesperson of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and its premier constituent, the Ilankai Thamil Arasuk Katchi (ITAK) emphasised that they stood “for a country that is not divided, a country in which all the peoples will be proud of their equal status to

Operation Re-shuffle Key objective was removing Ravi Karunanayake as Finance Minister

The Oxford English dictionary defines the word ‘compromise’ as being “an agreement or settlement of a dispute that is reached by each side making concessions”. Sri Lanka witnessed a political compromise of sorts between President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, when the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and United National Party (UNP) leaders displayed a show of unity in bringing about a mini re-

Kautilyan machinations and Medamulana Machiavelli

Vesak festivity in Sri Lanka acquired an international dimension this year with the Island nation hosting the United Nations International Vesak day.

Journalist-Activist Poddala Jayantha’s White-Van Ordeal

Well-known Sri Lankan Journalist-activist Poddala Jayantha was in the news last week when he sent a letter to the Director-General of Information, Dr. Ranga Kalansuriya, who is also the Secretary to the Cabinet Sub Committee on granting measures of relief to media persons who were subjected to various types of harassment and oppression during the period 2005 to 2015. Media reports said that copies of the letter had also been sent to the respectiv

Geetha , Gotabhaya and the dual citizenship issue

Kumara Vidugalage Dona Geetha Samanmalee Kumarasingha popularly known as Geetha Kumarasinghe is in the eye of a politico-legal storm. The glamorous actress turned politician who was elected to Parliament in August 2015 from the Galle district on the United People’s Freedom Alliance(UPFA) ticket has been unseated by an Appeal court ruling.  

C.V.Wigneswaran hurts Christian sentiments

Northern Province chief Minister Canagasabapathy Visuvalingam Wigneswaran, who possesses a remarkable flair for getting embroiled in controversial issues, is in the eye of a storm again. 

Tamil nationalist politics and the process of “traitorization” in Sri Lanka

Octogenarian leader of the Opposition Rajavarothayam Sampanthan in a hard-hitting Parliamentary speech made four weeks ago drew attention to the prevailing practice of persons being condemned as Traitors 

Crown Prince of Sri Lankan Politics But never crowned King

That “Politics is a blood sport” was a famous saying by former Sri Lankan President Junius Richard Jayewardene. In the cut-throat competitive world of Sri Lankan politics there have been many casualties,

Divided Security apparatus weakens effort to combat overseas LTTE

Case No. B 85/17 concerning the assassination attempt targeting Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Jaffna district MP M. A. Sumanthiran was taken up at the Kilinochchi courts before Kilinochchi 

Many attempts by diaspora Tigers to foment violence in Sri Lanka

The ongoing investigation conducted by the Police Terrorism Investigation Department (TID) into the assassination plot targeting Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Jaffna district MP Mathiaparanam Abraham Sumanthiran has unearthed more details about the conspiracy hatched by “Tigerish” elements in the Global Tamil Diaspora.   

Sri Lanka’s Beloved Home-Grown Tycoon

Upali Wijewardene known widely as Upali was arguably Sri Lanka’s first home-grown tycoon of the post - Independence era who captured the popular imagination of the people at large.

Will Norway handover diaspora Tiger leader “Nediyavan” to Sri Lanka?

“What was your first military operation”? was a question posed to Veluppillai Prabhakaran in a media interview many years ago. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) leader replied “ Alfred Durayappah”.

Overseas LTTE-backed plot to assassinate TNA MP Sumanthiran in Jaffna revealed

“Nallavan” (not his real name) is a Tamil youth living in a Northern village. He was a former member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) organization who had surrendered to the armed forces in May 2009. He was incarcerated for a period of time and released after undergoing a process of rehabilitation.