Jaffna Monitor Jan-2025


“ICCR scholars have shaped Sri Lanka’s higher education landscape,” says Ankuran Dutta

“ICCR scholars have shaped Sri Lanka’s higher education landscape,” says Ankuran Dutta

Prof. (Dr.) Ankuran Dutta is an academic and public intellectual who serves as the Director of the Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre (SVCC), the cultural arm of the High Commission of India in Sri Lanka. SVCC functions under the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), which oversees India’s cultural and educational outreach abroad. He recently visited Jaffna, where SVCC is a major partner of the Jaffna International Cinema Festival. In this interview with us, Prof. Dutta discusses SVCC’s


Our Special Correspondent

Our Special Correspondent

The Man the LTTE Couldn’t Kill

The Man the LTTE Couldn’t Kill

Most Sri Lankans may not know that veteran former minister and MP Douglas Devananda, now jailed over a pistol allegedly found with a criminal after being given to his party, employed many former Tamil Tigers in his office even as he passionately opposed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). When Douglas, as he is widely known, was a minister in Colombo, his personal secretary responsible for fixing his appointments was one Gowri, who was earlier a high-ranking operative in the rebels’ ba


M.R. Narayan Swamy

M.R. Narayan Swamy

“My Fellow Russians, Avoid Europe and Unfriendly Countries—Visit Sri Lanka Instead,” Says Russian Ambassador Levan S. Dzhagaryan

“My Fellow Russians, Avoid Europe and Unfriendly Countries—Visit Sri Lanka Instead,” Says Russian Ambassador Levan S. Dzhagaryan

On January 5 and 6, Jaffna received a rare diplomatic visitor. Levan S. Dzhagaryan, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, spent two days in the Northern Province at a time when international attention is slowly returning to the region. Against this backdrop, Jaffna Monitor sat down with him for an exclusive conversation, discussing geopolitics, cultural ties, tourism, education, and Russia’s engagement with Sri Lanka’s North and East. How has your visit to Jaffna b


Our Special Correspondent

Our Special Correspondent