February 2026

DEPARTMENT OF CHOSEN ONES: What Really Ails Sri Lanka? An Insider Dusts the Cobwebs

DEPARTMENT OF CHOSEN ONES: What Really Ails Sri Lanka? An Insider Dusts the Cobwebs

By M.R. Narayan Swamy When kings become authoritarian and develop disdain for their subjects, their kingdoms collapse. This is what happened in modern Sri Lanka when a president and his kin presided over the picturesque country as if it were family property. A child prodigy who grew to be an insider with a conscience, Thisuri Wanniarachchi, unveils the story in a most chilling and gripping manner. Thisuri was just 15 when she bagged Sri Lanka’s most prestigious literary award for her first
Book Review February 2026
M.R. Narayan Swamy

M.R. Narayan Swamy
400 Kilometres for a Fingerprint

400 Kilometres for a Fingerprint

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — At the Jaffna bus stand, the overnight service to Colombo fills steadily. Some passengers carry small backpacks; others clutch thick plastic folders secured with elastic bands. Many have made this journey before. They are not travelling for work or leisure. They are heading south to fulfill a visa requirement — specifically, to provide biometric fingerprints at a visa application centre. The appointment itself may take only a few minutes. The journey will consume most of a n
Article February 2026
Aruliniyan Mahalingam

Aruliniyan Mahalingam
Colombo Accused of Governing Tamil North Through the Back Door

Colombo Accused of Governing Tamil North Through the Back Door

Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, leader of the Tamil National People's Front (TNPF) and a member of Parliament, has accused Sri Lanka's government of attempting to administer the country's Tamil-majority Northern Province through a network of unofficial "shadow ministers," bypassing a long-dormant elected provincial council and effectively concentrating power in the hands of the ruling party. He made the allegations on the floor of Parliament this week, warning that the move amounted to an unconstitu
February 2026 Monitor Memo
Our Reporter

Our Reporter
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
February 2026
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
February 2026 Monitor Memo
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
February 2026 Guest Column
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
February 2026 Monitor Memo
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
February 2026 Monitor Memo
Our Reporter

Our Reporter