by International Truth & Justice Project Sri Lanka and Human Rights Data Analysis Group, May 14, 2026 IMPORTANT: ITJP allows victims or those who know victims to add their information to the database! Sri Lanka Casualties /lkdd.itjpsl.com Current database for causalties during IPKF period contains over 10,000 names. from ITJP’s Twitter: @hrdag and the ITJP… Read more »
Abraham Lincoln’s “Emancipation Proclamation” and S.J.V. Chelvanayagam’s “Vaddukoddai Resolution”
Drawing parallels by Balan Kugabalan, May 13, 2026 On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed Presidential Proclamation 95, later known as the “Emancipation Proclamation,” freeing 3.5 million enslaved African Americans in the Confederate States. More than a century later, on May 14, 1976, in Sri Lanka, S. J. V. Chelvanayagam led the adoption of… Read more »
The Hindu: On the 2026 Assembly Elections
Lost and found The National Democractic Alliance’s success in Bengal and Assam is partly offset by its failure in Tamil Nadu and Kerala The Hindu editorial, Chennai, May 05, 2026 The results of the 2026 Assembly elections in Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry highlight several factors that have a bearing on India’s direction as a secular, democratic, federal republic. In… Read more »
From Tamil Cinema Superstar to Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister
Joseph Vijay by Unni K Chennamkulath, The New Indian Express, May 9, 2026 Whether his government succeeds or falters will shape Tamil Nadu’s next political chapter. But Vijay has already transformed the state’s political landscape, emerging as the architect of one of its most significant modern political breakthroughs. ‘Thalapathy’ Vijay has scripted one of the… Read more »
Vijay’s Historic Victory
Chance for Lanka to reset relations by The Examiner, Colombo, May 8, 2026 Vijay’s two-year-old political party has redrawn the Tamil Nadu electoral map. Though he echoed the long-standing consensus on Sri Lankan issues, this fresh chapter in Tamil Nadu politics may be an opportunity to ‘reset’ Lanka-Tamil Nadu relations. Actor-turned-politician C. Joseph Vijay upended… Read more »
Chelliah Rajadurai: The Rajah of Batticaloa – Part 3
by Sachi Sri Kantha, May 3, 2026 A Trend setter In comparison to his Federal Party colleagues of 1960s (excluding Pundit K.P. Ratnam), Rajadurai was blessed with Tamil literary mind. Majority of his Federal Party colleagues were advocates and lawyers, with E.M.V. Naganathan being the solitary medical doctor. Even those who began their career as… Read more »
“Pasarai Pāṇar” Thenisai Chellappa Dies Aged 85
https://youtu.be/EEP-uL-ktoc?si=e3fjgAwEufogo14j Singer of Eelam revolutionary songs by Tamil Guardian, London, April 28, 2026 Veteran Tamil singer Thenisai Chellappa, fondly known as the “Pasarai Pāṇar” for his powerful and evocative musical contributions to Tamil Eelam national consciousness, passed away on Tuesday, 28 April 2026, at the age of 85 following a period of ill health. Born… Read more »
Asha Bhosle, Longtime Voice of Indian Cinema, Dies at 92
Her distinctive and adventurous voice was the soundtrack for generations of Bollywood films. by Pragati K.B., The New York Times, April 12, 2026 Asha Bhosle, the Indian singer whose astonishing range and longevity made her one of the most recorded voices in modern Indian music, died on Sunday in Mumbai. She was 92. Her death,… Read more »
Amnesty: Prageeth, the Trinco 5 & 2026 Reports
by Amnesty International, London, various dates *** Amnesty Annual Report on Human Rights, April 21, 2026 Sri Lanka 2025 A new government took office in late 2024, promising transformational change. However, the new administration continued to use the draconian anti-terror law and failed to reform other laws, negatively affecting freedom of expression and rights for… Read more »
The Role of Sinhala Nationalism
In Political Conflict and Violence in Sri Lanka by Louisa Steijger, Retrospect Journal, Edinburgh, Scotland, January 4, 2024 The complexities of Sri Lanka’s socio-political landscape have been deeply influenced by the ideology of Sinhala nationalism, which espouses belief in the ethnic and religious superiority of the Sinhalese majority, claiming that Sri Lanka is the primordial… Read more »
Sri Lanka’s Complex Dance of Sinhala and Tamil Nationalist Politics
by Uditha Devapriya, Himal SouthAsian, Colombo July 30, 2024 With mainstream Sri Lankan parties feeling compelled to pander to Sinhala Buddhist voters, Tamil-led parties have been pushed to take more hardline positions to address Tamil voters’ frustrations – historically and today At present, the Sri Lankan government is caught in a tricky situation. Elections are… Read more »
Examiner: Will Sinhalese Nationalism Die?
by The Examiner, Colombo, April 24, 2026 Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s victory marked a high-water point for Sinhalese nationalism. But the NPP’s recent success in the North shows that its power is receding. Reading Rajesh Venugopal’s 2018 economic history suggests that the structural conditions which sustain this ideology are becoming weaker. The Examiner has more opinions than… Read more »
TG: CID Links Pillayan to Abduction and Killing of Eastern University Vice Chancellor
in landmark court disclosure by Tamil Guardian, London, April 7, 2026 Sri Lanka’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has, for the first time, formally linked former Eastern Province Chief Minister and Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Puligal (TMVP) leader Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, widely known as Pillayan, to the abduction and killing of Eastern University Vice Chancellor Professor Sivasubramaniam Raveendranath…. Read more »
TG: Sri Lanka Housing Crisis
Deepens inequality, raises land concerns in North-East by Tamil Guardian, London, April 7, 2026 Sri Lanka’s housing crisis is rapidly escalating into a full-scale affordability collapse, exposing deepening class divisions and structural inequalities across the island’s urban centres. Ranked as one of Asia’s most unaffordable housing markets by The Economist, the crisis reflects a widening… Read more »
Mahavamsa Mis-readings and Misconceptions – Part 1
by Sachi Sri Kantha Prelude In 2023, I was engaged in a double-handed correspondence duel (debate) in the ‘Tuppahi’s blog site, maintained by Prof. Michael Roberts. My two opponents were Sinhalese – namely Prof. Chandre Dharmawardena and Mr. Edward T. Upali. Their premise was ‘Mahavamsa is a reliable historical document’. I was opposed to this… Read more »
OSLAP 2026-2027 Update
by OHCHR Sri Lanka Accountability Project (OSLAP), Geneva, April 21, 2026 2026-2027 update on OHCHR Sri Lanka accountability project …Supporting relevant judicial and other proceedings, including in Member States,with competent jurisdiction Main Achievements (2025) In the absence of effective domestic accountability, OSLap prioritised support to formal Requests for Assistance (RFAs) from jurisdictions pursuing cases under… Read more »
Karaitivu 1985
A Forgotten Anti-Tamil pogrom in the Shadow of Sri Lanka’s Genocide by Seelan Rasathurai, Tamil Guardian, London, April 21, 2025 It was a quiet morning on 12 April 1985 when Karaitivu, a small coastal Tamil village in the Amparai district of Sri Lanka’s Eastern Province, was plunged into terror. As villagers prepared to celebrate the… Read more »
‘India’s Fiscal Federalism Must Be Reimagined’
To ensure every vote carries equal weight’ Shruti Rajagopalan, economist and professor at George Mason University, argues that any future effort to enlarge the Lok Sabha and apportion seats by population requires fundamental changes to the Indian polity by: Shruti Rajagopalan, Indian Express, Mumbai, April 20, 2026 Delimitation is the act of drawing political lines…. Read more »
Decentralise or Decline: The South’s Warning
by Nilakantan RS, Off Beat Concerns, India, April 19, 2026 Though the move for delimitation has for now, failed in Parliament, the concerns it raised about federal balance, representation, and transparency remain unresolved—especially for the southern states. In this conversation with Shahina KK, author and commentator Nilakantan RS, known for his work South vs North, examines… Read more »
TG: New Book by Tamil Historian
Re-examines early Jaffna civilisation through inscriptions and archaeology by Tamil Guardian, London, April 18, 2026 A new research volume by veteran historian and former University of Jaffna Chancellor Professor S. Pathmanathan, exploring early Tamil society in the island’s North, was launched on April 11, marking the culmination of more than five decades of scholarship. Titled… Read more »