Our Special Correspondent

Our Special Correspondent

The writer behind the byline ‘Our Special Correspondent’ is also the editor-in-chief of Jaffna Monitor.


Tilvin Silva Functions as Sri Lanka’s Shadow President, Says Mano Ganesan in Conversation with Jaffna Monitor

Tilvin Silva Functions as Sri Lanka’s Shadow President, Says Mano Ganesan in Conversation with Jaffna Monitor

To grasp the shifting currents of Sri Lanka’s politics, Jaffna Monitor sat down with Mano Ganesan—Member of Parliament and leader of the Democratic People’s Front (DPF) and the Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA), both part of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya, the country’s main opposition. What follows is a no-holds-barred conversation with one of the most outspoken voices in Parliament. How do you see the one-year performance of the NPP government? Although it may still be too early to draw firm conc


Our Special Correspondent

Our Special Correspondent

Less Than 1% Representation: Tamil Publishers Challenge Colombo Book Fair Exclusion
Muhammad Sabry

Less Than 1% Representation: Tamil Publishers Challenge Colombo Book Fair Exclusion

For 26 years, the Colombo Book Fair—organized by the Sri Lanka Book Publishers’ Association (SLBPA)—has transformed Colombo into a hub of books, bustle, and festivity. What began as a trade fair has grown into a cultural carnival, drawing thousands from every corner of the island and earning its place as one of Colombo’s most anticipated annual events. But behind the festive atmosphere, Tamil publishers allege that they have been systematically sidelined, with their repeated requests for stalls


Our Special Correspondent

Our Special Correspondent

Dreaming to Fly in the Wrong Land, with the Wrong Ethnicity: An Exclusive Interview with Deluxion Mohan
Dreaming to Fly in the Wrong Land, with the Wrong Ethnicity: An Exclusive Interview with Deluxion Mohan

Dreaming to Fly in the Wrong Land, with the Wrong Ethnicity: An Exclusive Interview with Deluxion Mohan

Imagine a prodigy: blessed with immense talent, relentless hard work, and unshakable grit. He sets out to build an aircraft—perhaps the first of its kind in the country. Not with imported technology or expensive gadgets, but using only the raw materials at hand. Motorbike engines, makeshift components, and pure ingenuity. Against all odds, he was on the verge of success. In most countries, such brilliance would have been celebrated. He would have been hailed, encouraged, and supported. The gove


Our Special Correspondent

Our Special Correspondent

"The LTTE's 2009 military defeat was the culmination of the diplomatic and moral isolation that began with Rajiv Gandhi's assassination." — Anirudhya Mitra, journalist and author of 90 Days, and writer behind the series The Hunt
Anirudhya Mitra

"The LTTE's 2009 military defeat was the culmination of the diplomatic and moral isolation that began with Rajiv Gandhi's assassination." — Anirudhya Mitra, journalist and author of 90 Days, and writer behind the series The Hunt

The teleseries The Hunt: The Rajiv Gandhi Assassination Case has emerged as both a cultural flashpoint and a streaming triumph — celebrated by many and debated with particular fervour within Sri Lankan circles and the global Tamil diaspora. At the heart of this narrative stands the man whose original work inspired the series: Anirudhya Mitra, author of the bestselling 90 Days: The True Story of the Hunt for Rajiv Gandhi’s Assassins. A gripping account of India’s most high-stakes manhunt, 90 Days


Our Special Correspondent

Our Special Correspondent

"If Sri Lankan Tamils Truly Want to Shape Their Destiny, They Must First Become Financially and Institutionally Self-Reliant” – Prof. Thavam Thambipillai in Exclusive Interview with Jaffna Monitor
Prof. Thavam Thambipillai

"If Sri Lankan Tamils Truly Want to Shape Their Destiny, They Must First Become Financially and Institutionally Self-Reliant” – Prof. Thavam Thambipillai in Exclusive Interview with Jaffna Monitor

In many ways, Prof. Thavam ThambiPillai stands as an inspiring role model for Sri Lankan Tamils—and a guiding light for a community long in search of grounded, visionary leadership. A distinguished transplant surgeon, educator, and institutional leader, he became the first Sri Lankan Tamil—and possibly the first Tamil globally—to be elected World President of the International College of Surgeons (ICS). His journey is a masterclass in transforming tragedy into triumph and pain into profound purp


Our Special Correspondent

Our Special Correspondent

“Sri Lankans Are Hilarious, Creative, Sharp - And We’re Finally Getting to Show That to the World”: Sri Lankan Diaspora Comedian Sath Nadesan Speaks to Jaffna Monitor

“Sri Lankans Are Hilarious, Creative, Sharp - And We’re Finally Getting to Show That to the World”: Sri Lankan Diaspora Comedian Sath Nadesan Speaks to Jaffna Monitor

When you scroll through your social media feed and burst into laughter at the unapologetically absurd sketches of Yeah Mad, chances are you’re catching a punchline from Sath Nadesan. Or rather, Sathya Nadesan—as he was named at birth. Born to a Tamil father, Vasanth Nadesan of Kandy, and a Sinhalese mother, Araliya de Silva of Mount Lavinia, Sath grew up straddling identities in Sri Lanka before making his way to Australia. Today, he’s a Sydney-based stand-up comedian, a full-time cast member o


Our Special Correspondent

Our Special Correspondent

"Why Not?" — Dr. Gamini Goonetilleke, Sri Lanka’s Daredevil Surgeon, Speaks Exclusively to Jaffna Monitor
Dr. Gamini Goonetilleke

"Why Not?" — Dr. Gamini Goonetilleke, Sri Lanka’s Daredevil Surgeon, Speaks Exclusively to Jaffna Monitor

What drives a surgeon born into a well-to-do Colombo family, educated at prestigious schools, and trained in Manchester’s finest hospitals, to choose rural Polonnaruwa as his first consultant posting? For Dr. Gamini Goonetilleke, the answer lies in his daredevil spirit—a trait that has defined his extraordinary four-decade career and continues to shape the man he is today. While most surgeons sought comfortable urban postings, Dr. Goonetilleke made a deliberate choice—to become the sole surgeon


Our Special Correspondent

Our Special Correspondent

Noolaham.org:A Digital Middle Finger to the Arsonists Who Burned Jaffna’s Treasure Trove

Noolaham.org:A Digital Middle Finger to the Arsonists Who Burned Jaffna’s Treasure Trove

In the decades since the Jaffna Public Library was reduced to ashes-its nearly 97,000 books and manuscripts deliberately set alight in what remains one of the most egregious acts of cultural genocide in Sri Lankan history-a quiet yet determined renaissance has taken root. A new generation of Sri Lankan Tamils, both at home and across the diaspora, has come together to build a library that no racist mob can ever burn again. That library is Noolaham.org-Tamil for "repository of books." Today, thi


Our Special Correspondent

Our Special Correspondent