Jeevan Thiyagaraja

Jeevan Thiyagaraja

Jeevan Thiyagaraja, former Governor of the Northern Province and a former member of the Election Commission, is a seasoned civil society leader, policy expert, and a regular contributor to Jaffna Monitor.

Sri Lanka's Unfinished Promise on Language Rights
Tamil Federal Party leader S.J.V. Chelvanayakam leads a peaceful protest against the Sinhala Only Act in 1956, as Sri Lanka’s post-independence language conflict began to reshape the nation’s future.

Sri Lanka's Unfinished Promise on Language Rights

By Jeevan Thiyagaraja From the riots of 1958 to a Charter that awaits— the long arc of a promise made, deferred, and still owed. Language is never merely a tool for communication. It is the vessel through which a person experiences dignity — or its absence. It was this question, left dangerously unanswered, that ignited the riots of July 1958. Decades of armed conflict followed. The path to healing has, in fact, been laid — in Parliament, in the Constitution, and in a Language Charter that n
Guest Column May 2026
Jeevan Thiyagaraja

Jeevan Thiyagaraja
Sowing the Future

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

Jeevan Thiyagaraja
The Tamil Renaissance

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

Jeevan Thiyagaraja
The Shepherd's Flock: Protecting the Human Rights of the Public Servant

The Shepherd's Flock: Protecting the Human Rights of the Public Servant

By: Jeevan Thiagarajah At the heart of a functioning democracy lies a profound paradox: the public servant is both an instrument of the state and a citizen entitled to the full protection of the Constitution. Their service conditions — carefully stipulated by the Public Service Commission and relevant regulations — are not mere administrative guidelines. They are guarantees of dignity. Courts and tribunals have repeatedly reinforced this principle: a person does not surrender their fundamental
April 2026 Guest Column
Jeevan Thiyagaraja

Jeevan Thiyagaraja
Appointed, Then Abandoned: The Betrayal of Northern Health Volunteers

Appointed, Then Abandoned: The Betrayal of Northern Health Volunteers

By: Jeevan Thiagarajah A Travesty of Justice in the Northern Province In the annals of public service recruitment, few stories are as harrowing or as indicative of systemic failure as the plight of the Health Services Volunteers in the Northern Province. This is a saga marked by a cruel travesty of justice, where the hopes of the most vulnerable were raised and dashed by the very system designed to protect them. The most damning aspect of this tragedy is that letters of appointment to gove
March 2026 OP-ED
Jeevan Thiyagaraja

Jeevan Thiyagaraja
A Strategic Framework for Sea Transport and Tourism in the Northern Provin

A Strategic Framework for Sea Transport and Tourism in the Northern Provin

By: Jeevan Thiagarajah The High Price of Neglect For the residents of Sri Lanka’s Northern Province, the Palk Strait and the Jaffna Lagoon are not merely bodies of water; they are lifelines. The islands of Delft, Kayts, Karainagar, Pungudutivu, and Nainathivu are tethered to the Jaffna mainland by a fragile network of ferries. Every day, students, patients, and traders entrust their lives to these vessels. Yet, despite the existence of comprehensive maritime laws, the reality of compliance in
March 2026 OP-ED
Jeevan Thiyagaraja

Jeevan Thiyagaraja
The Cultural Heritage and History of Kataragama

The Cultural Heritage and History of Kataragama

Historical Context and Religious Co-existence According to Professor Ellawala in Social History of Early Ceylon, the conditions of pre-Buddhist Ceylon mirrored those of contemporary India. He suggests that due to this proximity, the people of Ceylon likely adopted forms of worship such as Saivism, which existed alongside Brahmanism [1]. With the subsequent spread of Buddhism to the villages, Buddhist viharas were often established near earlier Hindu shrines, symbolizing a long-standing traditio
February 2026 Guest Column
Jeevan Thiyagaraja

Jeevan Thiyagaraja
The toll of the missing: narratives of impunity, homicides and grief

The toll of the missing: narratives of impunity, homicides and grief

People becoming unaccounted for as a direct result of, or in connection with armed conflicts and other situations of violence is unfortunately, a common phenomenon throughout the world. The continuous emotional struggle endured by families of missing persons is an incomparable suffering. Absence of credible answers on the fate and whereabouts of their missing relatives drives the families to search relentlessly for meaning and for: knowledge of the exact circumstances of the disappearance; Fami
June 2025 Guest Column
Jeevan Thiyagaraja

Jeevan Thiyagaraja