April 2026

A Cultural Centre Without a Living Culture: Jaffna’s Silent Promise

A Cultural Centre Without a Living Culture: Jaffna’s Silent Promise

By Sidhartha Thamby This is a USD 12 million gift from the Government of India. But let us be clear about what a gift of this scale actually is: it is not merely money transmuted into concrete. It is an act of civilisational faith. India looked at Jaffna — a city that has survived what few cities in the world have been asked to survive — and said: we believe you are worth building for. The only adequate response to that faith is activation. And activation, so far, has not come. There is a part
April 2026 Guest Column
Jaffna Monitor

Jaffna Monitor
India’s Vice President Calls for Unity as Tamil Leaders’ Divisions Spill Into the Open

India’s Vice President Calls for Unity as Tamil Leaders’ Divisions Spill Into the Open

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — A meeting between India’s Vice President, C. P. Radhakrishnan, and Sri Lankan Tamil political leaders in Colombo on Sunday highlighted internal tensions within ITAK, with participants describing moments that strained political decorum. At the outset of the meeting, the seven representatives of Tamil political parties introduced themselves. During the introductions, Sivagnanam Sritharan, who is engaged in an ongoing leadership dispute with M. A. Sumanthiran, said he had been
April 2026 JM Exclusive
Our Reporter

Our Reporter
India’s Vice President Urges Sri Lanka to Hold Provincial Elections Without Delay

India’s Vice President Urges Sri Lanka to Hold Provincial Elections Without Delay

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — India’s Vice President, C. P. Radhakrishnan, said he had personally urged Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to hold long-delayed provincial council elections without further postponement, during a meeting between the two leaders on Sunday. Mr. Radhakrishnan disclosed this during a subsequent discussion with representatives of Tamil political parties at the Taj Samudra in Colombo on Monday afternoon, a source who participated in the meeting told Jaffna Monitor.
April 2026 JM Exclusive
Our Reporter

Our Reporter
Accountability delayed is accountability denied.

Accountability delayed is accountability denied.

By: Lankan The resignations of Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody and Ministry Secretary Prof. Udayanga Hemapala are a welcome — if belated — step toward accountability. In a political culture where public office is often treated as a shield against scrutiny, stepping down to allow an unimpeded investigation is the appropriate course of action. The National People’s Power (NPP) government, elected on a platform of uncompromising integrity, could scarcely have done otherwise. But let us be clear:
April 2026 Guest Column
Lankan

Lankan
India–Sri Lanka Ties: Partnership in Practice, Distrust in Memory

India–Sri Lanka Ties: Partnership in Practice, Distrust in Memory

By M.R. Narayan Swamy Relations between India and Sri Lanka have depth and are blossoming. But all is not hunky-dory, notwithstanding the generous multi-faceted help India has provided during crises, more so in recent times. Yes, more and more Sinhalese, the community most cross with India for more than one reason, have begun to view India sympathetically but it will take a long time for bitter memories to fade and the irritants in overall bilateral ties to dissipate. Indeed, if Sri Lanka’s eco
April 2026 Book Review
M.R. Narayan Swamy

M.R. Narayan Swamy
Sri Lanka’s Reform Government Struggles to Deliver on Its Promises

Sri Lanka’s Reform Government Struggles to Deliver on Its Promises

COLOMBO — Eighteen months after a landslide election victory that swept away Sri Lanka’s discredited political dynasties and promised a new era of transparent, accountable governance, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and his National People's Power government are struggling to deliver on the sweeping changes they rode to power on, according to a new report by the International Crisis Group titled “Sri Lanka’s Bumpy Road to a Political Reset.” The findings, drawn from dozens of interviews with
April 2026
Jaffna Monitor

Jaffna Monitor
Xi Presses China’s Case as Middle East Peace Broker in Talks With Emirati Crown Prince

Xi Presses China’s Case as Middle East Peace Broker in Talks With Emirati Crown Prince

With the Gulf reeling from a U.S.-Israeli military operation against Iran, Beijing advances a four-point framework positioning itself as a steady, alternative diplomatic voice. BEIJING — President Xi Jinping of China used a high-profile meeting at the Great Hall of the People this week to outline China’s approach to peace in the Middle East, presenting a four-point framework that underscores Beijing’s growing diplomatic ambitions in a region unsettled by war. Receiving Khaled bin Mohamed bin Z
April 2026 OP-ED
Li Wei

Li Wei
Colombo Eyes Control of Jaffna’s Cultural Centre

Colombo Eyes Control of Jaffna’s Cultural Centre

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka’s Cabinet is expected to consider a proposal to place the Jaffna Thiruvalluvar Cultural Centre under a new seven-member governing body dominated by central government representatives, according to officials familiar with the plan. If approved, the move would formalize national oversight of a complex built with Indian grant funding on land owned by the Jaffna Municipal Council — and presented, repeatedly, as a gift to the people of the North. The proposal has not b
April 2026 JM Exclusive
Our Reporter

Our Reporter