Former LTTE Fighter Says Debt Cost Her a Kidney

Former LTTE Fighter Says Debt Cost Her a Kidney

MANNAR, Sri Lanka: The war took her leg. The peace, she says, took her kidney. Along Sri Lanka's northwestern coast, where lagoons fringed with palmyra palms still hold the quiet residue of a three-decade civil conflict, a former female combatant of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam says she survived artillery fire and battlefield amputation — only to be driven, years later, into selling one of her kidneys to repay a high-interest loan. "I survived the war," she said, seated inside her that


Our Special Correspondent

Our Special Correspondent

RDA Signals Need for Permanent Mullaitivu Bridge, India Open if Asked

RDA Signals Need for Permanent Mullaitivu Bridge, India Open if Asked

MULLAITIVU, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka’s Road Development Authority (RDA) has confirmed that the temporary Bailey bridge installed on the Paranthan–Karaichchi–Mullaitivu (A035) road after Cyclone Ditwa was never intended to serve as a long-term solution, as pressure grows for the construction of a permanent structure along one of the district’s most vital transport corridors. In an interview with Jaffna Monitor, a senior engineer attached to the RDA’s Northern Province office, speaking on condition


Our Reporter

Our Reporter

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


Jeevan Thiyagaraja

Jeevan Thiyagaraja

Residents of Mullaitivu Appeal to India for Permanent Bridge After Temporary Structure Faces Restrictions

Residents of Mullaitivu Appeal to India for Permanent Bridge After Temporary Structure Faces Restrictions

MULLAITIVU, Sri Lanka —Residents of Mullaitivu District are appealing to the Government of India to replace the temporary bridge on the Paranthan–Karaichchi–Mullaitivu (A035) road with a permanent structure, arguing that while the emergency installation restored vital connectivity after a devastating cyclone, it is no longer sufficient to meet the region’s daily transportation demands. The bridge was installed by India following Cyclone Ditwa, which caused extensive damage to infrastructure acr


Our Reporter

Our Reporter

Namal Rajapaksa Event Cancelled at Cambridge After Protests — But Who Benefits?

Namal Rajapaksa Event Cancelled at Cambridge After Protests — But Who Benefits?

The Cambridge Union has cancelled a scheduled speaking event featuring Namal Rajapaksa following sustained pressure from the Tamil diaspora. The decision, announced after what the Union described as “urgent and serious discussions,” was justified on the grounds that it did not believe “a balanced and open discussion on this subject” was possible at present. The invitation had sparked coordinated opposition from Tamil student organisations across the United Kingdom, who accused both the Cambridg


Our Reporter

Our Reporter

Jaffna Alumni Honour Classmate Killed at 17 by Building a Study Hall

Jaffna Alumni Honour Classmate Killed at 17 by Building a Study Hall

On a humid morning inside the premises of Jaffna Hindu College, a group of middle-aged men stood quietly as a plaque was unveiled on a newly constructed study hall for hostel students. They were not donors in the conventional sense. They were former classmates — members of the school’s 2001 Advanced Level batch — returning more than a quarter century later to honour a friend whose life was cut short when he was killed by the military during the civil war. The facility, completed at a cost of 1


Our Reporter

Our Reporter

The Cosmic Dance of Shiva: A Journey through Time and Philosophy

The Cosmic Dance of Shiva: A Journey through Time and Philosophy

The temporal evolution of Hindu iconography was the result of changes in the philosophical understanding on the nature of existence and the ability to express these insights through suitable artistic media. In addition to being a source of artistic inspiration these changes also trigger reflection and introspection amongst religious seekers. The journey from the abstract and amorphic Shivalinga through the early anthropomorphic ‘Pasupathi’ of the Indus Valley civilisation and the further exubera


Prof. Mahesh Nirmalan

Prof. Mahesh Nirmalan

The Battle for Elephant Pass – 1991

The Battle for Elephant Pass – 1991

Editor’s Note The Battle of Elephant Pass has long been remembered through differing — and often opposing — narratives. Many Tamils are familiar with the version told from the LTTE’s perspective. The account that follows offers another vantage point: that of a surgeon who was on duty at Palaly during the siege and witnessed its human cost firsthand. It is presented as a personal historical recollection. Documenting multiple perspectives is essential to understanding the full complexity of Sri


Dr. Gamini Goonetilleke

Dr. Gamini Goonetilleke