December 2025

Pottu Amman Was the Architect of the LTTE’s Downfall, Says Ex-Tiger Turned Writer Saththiri

Pottu Amman Was the Architect of the LTTE’s Downfall, Says Ex-Tiger Turned Writer Saththiri

Saththiri, born in Sandilipai, Jaffna, is a Sri Lankan Tamil writer. In the aftermath of the 1983 anti-Tamil pogrom, like many youths of that era who turned to militancy, he joined the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), operating under the nom de guerre Siyam. Due to his role in the organization’s explosives division, which was then headed by senior LTTE member Appaia, he became known among the cadres as Sakkai (Explosive) Siyam. He later worked for several years within the LTTE’s interna
December 2025 Interview
Our Special Correspondent

Our Special Correspondent
EXCLUSIVE: First Sri Lankan Tamil knight in 50 years — Sir Sabaratnam Arulkumaran on his journey from Jaffna to transforming global maternal care

EXCLUSIVE: First Sri Lankan Tamil knight in 50 years — Sir Sabaratnam Arulkumaran on his journey from Jaffna to transforming global maternal care

There is a photograph somewhere in the archives of British medical history: a Tamil man from war-torn Sri Lanka, standing in the wood-panelled chambers of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, holding a gavel once wielded by some of the most powerful physicians in the Western world. It shouldn't have happened. Not to a boy from Jaffna. Not to someone who began his career in a country that would soon tear itself apart. Not to a Tamil doctor in an era when the world chose to see
December 2025 Interview
Our Special Correspondent

Our Special Correspondent
Cyclone Ditwah and the NPP Government's Storm of Failure

Cyclone Ditwah and the NPP Government's Storm of Failure

Nearly two weeks after Cyclone Ditwah claimed 644 lives and wreaked destruction on a scale larger than the 2004 tsunami, one question continues to demand an answer: how did a second-category storm—tracked for sixteen days in advance—become Sri Lanka’s deadliest weather disaster in recent memory? From Natural Disaster to Man-Made Tragedy Sri Lanka's encounter with Cyclone Ditwah has moved beyond natural disaster into man-made catastrophe. Official figures confirm 644 deaths, 183 people still m
December 2025 Editorial
Kaniyan Pungundran

Kaniyan Pungundran
One Thousand Years of Belonging – One Mad Command of Exile: The Story of Jaffna’s Muslims

One Thousand Years of Belonging – One Mad Command of Exile: The Story of Jaffna’s Muslims

Part-1 I was only a few years old when the LTTE committed one of its most heinous crimes — the mass expulsion of Jaffna’s Muslims. Three decades later, I found myself sitting in Sonagar Theru (Moor Street), Jaffna, with a group of Muslim women who still carry the scars of that history. Their bodies and souls bear the weight of one of the greatest tragedies and injustices ever committed in the name of the Sri Lankan Tamil struggle. Among them was 68-year-old Mahroopa — fragile, elderly, yet
Cover Story December 2025
Aruliniyan Mahalingam

Aruliniyan Mahalingam
Why Hamas Is Like the LTTE — Yet Unlike the LTTE

Why Hamas Is Like the LTTE — Yet Unlike the LTTE

When two hijacked planes tore into the World Trade Centre in New York, causing the iconic buildings to collapse with hundreds of casualties, an Indian friend remarked even before it was known who the mass murderers were: “This could have been done only by the Al Qaeda or the LTTE.” Osama bin Laden, of course, proudly claimed responsibility for the horrific deed. But the fact that someone thought the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) could have carried out the history-changing terror attac
December 2025 Special Article
M.R. Narayan Swamy

M.R. Narayan Swamy
The Heart of the East: How Sri Sathya Sai’s Karuna Nilayam Hospital Is Healing Batticaloa and Beyond

The Heart of the East: How Sri Sathya Sai’s Karuna Nilayam Hospital Is Healing Batticaloa and Beyond

In the gently sunlit plains south of Batticaloa, where plantations and paddy fields meet the sea breeze, we found ourselves on the dusty road toward Kirankulam. It was a drive of about thirty minutes — through the bustling lanes of Kattankudy, past roadside stalls and temple bells — before the noise faded into rural serenity. And there, seemingly out of nowhere, rose the Sanjeevani Hospital. As we pulled up to the entrance, one sign caught our eye: “All patients are seen free of charge.” Opposi
Article December 2025
Dr. Shane Halpe

Dr. Shane Halpe
Former Allies Explore Path to a Re-Emerging TNA

Former Allies Explore Path to a Re-Emerging TNA

Former allies from the now-defunct Tamil National Alliance (TNA) have resumed discussions on forming a united political front, raising the possibility of a reconstituted alliance ahead of the next electoral contest. The Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK), the TNA's principal constituent, and the Democratic Tamil National Alliance (DTNA)—a coalition of parties that broke away from the TNA—held talks at ITAK's Martin Road office in Jaffna last week to explore coordination on key political issues.
Article December 2025
Our Reporter

Our Reporter
The Very Internal Investigation

The Very Internal Investigation

Translated from the original Tamil short story mika uḷḷaka vicāraṇai (மிக உள்ளக விசாரணை) by Shobasakthi. The original story is available at his website. If you have any questions or feedback, please contact ez.iniyavan@gmail.com. Picture created using Bing Image Creator https://www.bing.com/images/create There is one commonality and one difference between this story and the famous novel by Franz Kafka. They are both about judicial inquiries: the title of his novel is ‘The Trial’ and the
December 2025 Story
Eḻuttukkiṉiyavaṉ

Eḻuttukkiṉiyavaṉ