M.R. Narayan Swamy - Jaffna Monitor

India Sends a Message to Colombo — and to Tamil Leaders

By M.R. Narayan Swamy The Indian government has publicly raised a demand for early Provincial Council elections in Sri Lanka despite knowing that powerful interest groups in the country are arrayed against devolution of power. During a hectic day-long visit to Colombo on Wednesday, Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri urged President Anura Dissanayake to hold the much-delayed balloting to the Provincial Councils “at the earliest”. It is the closest India has come to saying that the elections

Guest Column Opinion & Analysis

M.R. Narayan Swamy

Aug 8, 2026 — 4 min read

How the LTTE Hollowed Out Tamil Society Long Before Its Military Defeat

By M.R. Narayan Swamy At a workshop for teenage Tamil girls in Jaffna, a teacher wanted to know who Nelson Mandela was. Several hands went up. Mandela fought for South Africa’s freedom and to end apartheid. The answer was apt. Okay, who was Mahatma Gandhi? Again, several hands went up. Gandhi led the Indian independence movement against the British. He was an apostle of non-violence. Correct. A third question followed: Who was (Appapillai) Amirthalingam? There was a silence in the classroo

Opinion Article

M.R. Narayan Swamy

Aug 3, 2026 — 7 min read

How Deep Do China-Sri Lanka Ties Really Go? A New Book Explores

By M.R. Narayan Swamy China and Sri Lanka have enjoyed decades of close and warm relations. Many Sri Lankans also credit China with providing extensive military assistance that helped Colombo defeat the Tamil Tigers. But is there a side of this relationship that has been kept under wraps? Yes, says a Sri Lankan scholar in a revealing new book. After detailing at length the many ways China has come to the economic and military rescue of Sri Lanka since the 1950s, Colombo-based Bhagya Senaratne

Book Review Article

M.R. Narayan Swamy

Jul 31, 2026 — 4 min read

Why the President Needs the August 3 Meeting as Much as Tamil Leaders Do

By M.R. Narayan Swamy There is an important reason President Anura Dissanayake must be equally looking forward to a meeting on August 3 with leaders of six Tamil and Muslim parties in Sri Lanka. In the first major initiative since coming together on July 13 to flag issues of common concern, the six parties sought a meeting with Dissanayake to address a string of unresolved issues plaguing the Tamil-speaking communities. Immediately after Batticaloa MP Shanakiyan Rasamanickam sent a letter req

Guest Column July 2026

M.R. Narayan Swamy

Jul 28, 2026 — 3 min read

1987: The Year Sri Lanka's War Could Have Ended

By M.R. Narayan Swamy It was close to midnight on July 28, 1987, when I got a tip I had been waiting for: Velupillai Prabhakaran and Anton Balasingham were in a meeting with Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, ahead of his trip to Colombo to sign the India-Sri Lanka Agreement. My source was the indefatigable Shankar Rajee of EROS. This was breaking news. The Tamil Tigers, we knew, were unhappy with the proposed accord and were avoiding Gandhi. The TULF and other militants had given their approval, ev

Guest Column July 2026

M.R. Narayan Swamy

Jul 26, 2026 — 5 min read

United but Vulnerable: JVP Faces an Uncertain Electoral Future

By M.R. Narayan Swamy Despite ideological U-turns since taking power in 2024, Sri Lanka’s dominant ruling Marxist party remains a united political force, although it is most likely to lose if fresh elections were to take place now, experts and insiders say. Most people spoken to insist that President Anura Dissanayake remains personally far more popular than his own Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) or the National People’s Power (NPP) coalition, which he leads. Dharman Wickramaratne, an acknow

Guest Column July 2026

M.R. Narayan Swamy

Jul 21, 2026 — 4 min read

Can Sri Lanka’s Tamil and Muslim Parties Stand Together?

By M.R. Narayan Swamy Six political parties representing Tamils and Muslims in Sri Lanka have come together for the first time in years to pressure the government on issues concerning the minorities ahead of Provincial Council elections expected next year. But even as commoners voice scepticism about the grouping’s viability, one of its key leaders asserts that the front will “advance the historical responsibilities” towards the Tamil-speaking people that transcend elections. Political pundit

July 2026 Monitor Memo

M.R. Narayan Swamy

Jul 20, 2026 — 5 min read

The Cardinal Who Talks Like a Politician

By M.R. Narayan Swamy “He is a cardinal, isn’t he? Why does he always talk like a politician?” No one could have put it better when describing Cardinal Albert Malcolm Ranjith Patabendige Don, known simply as Malcolm Ranjith. And those words came from a respected member of Colombo’s Catholic community. Probably because the government appears to be on his side, the Cardinal may not realise that there is widespread disgust over his unending aggression about a supposed international conspiracy be

Guest Column July 2026

M.R. Narayan Swamy

Jul 19, 2026 — 4 min read