M.R. Narayan Swamy

By M.R. Narayan Swamy S. Krishna (assumed name) is a deeply frustrated doctor in Jaffna. He feels cheated that the Sri Lankan military is refusing to give up land belonging to his family, seized in the name of a war that ended way back in 2009. The specialist doctor, like so many Tamils, had high hopes when Marxist Anura Dissanayake became president in 2024, promising to address many of the historical wrongs, including the continued occupation of land belonging to Tamil civilians, predom

Dear Vijay, Heartiest congratulations on becoming the chief minister of Tamil Nadu! Now that you start governing one of India’s biggest and economically most developed states, plenty of problems, small and big, will crop up. You already mentioned the state’s fiscal mess after taking the oath of office. Unlike most chief ministers in India, you will be confronted now and then by matters affecting or involving a neighbouring country: Sri Lanka. This is where you need to exercise extreme cautio

By M.R. Narayan Swamy Just 824 days after he took to politics, Tamil superstar Vijay, nee C. Joseph Vijay, on Sunday, took oath as Tamil Nadu’s new chief minister amid cheers and wild whistling by thousands of supporters, and immediately vowed to provide “a new era” to one of India’s biggest states now saddled with a huge debt. As a packed Jawaharlal Nehru stadium roared in approval, Vijay, 51, was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, who, until

By M.R. Narayan Swamy After five days of tense, suspense-packed drama, Tamil superstar Vijay on Saturday was finally on the path to becoming the new chief minister of Tamil Nadu as he marshaled majority support before Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar. But Vijay supporters admitted that the 51-year-old actor-turned-politician had learnt some invaluable lessons in politics as his Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) desperately scouted for support since May 4 after falling short of a legislative m

By M.R. Narayan Swamy After days of uncertainty, movie heartthrob Vijay is finally set to be Tamil Nadu’s new chief minister after securing the support of three smaller parties, which helped him cross the magic number needed to form a government in the southern state. Losing no time, Vijay, 51, one of India’s highest-paid film stars, on Friday staked claim to form a government at his third meeting in as many days with Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, who until now refused to let him take