JM Exclusive

THAIYIDDY, Sri Lanka — For more than three decades, Sarujan Sukumari and many others were unable to set foot on their family lands. Seized by the military and designated a High Security Zone, the area remained inaccessible even after the war ended in 2009. Years later, as the country settled into an uneasy peace, a Buddhist temple rose on what had once been their ancestral property. Recently, she and other landowners sat in a government conference room in Jaffna as a cabinet minister and senio

JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — April 10, 2026 — After months of disruption caused by Cyclone Ditwah, passenger trains resumed full service on Thursday between Colombo and Kankesanthurai, restoring Sri Lanka’s most important north–south rail link just days before the Sinhala and Tamil New Year. For thousands of travelers in the Northern Province, the reopening offered immediate relief — and a familiar sense of uncertainty. “We can travel again, but we don’t know for how long,” said S. Tharmalingam, a sma

The photographs were clearly intended to project an image of simplicity. There was the President, the Prime Minister, and cabinet ministers — seated on ordinary plastic chairs, eating from simple plates like ordinary citizens at an almsgiving ceremony hosted by a senior government minister at his residence in Kaduwela. The images circulated widely on social media, amplified by the ruling National People's Power party's supporters. For a moment, they achieved their intended effect, drawing admir

By M.R. Narayan Swamy With a weather-beaten face, SR looks older than his years. By his own admission, he is a ‘coolie’ near Paranthan in northern Sri Lanka — a life of drudgery far removed from the time when he was a Tamil Tiger, fighting a protracted and determined war to carve out an independent Tamil homeland. Ever since he surrendered to the military in 2009, along with thousands of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) guerrillas, SR has led a difficult life, struggling to adjust to

CHENNAI, India — April 6, 2026 — Sri Lanka’s Deputy High Commissioner for South India, Ganesanathan Ketheeswaran, has come under scrutiny following allegations that he attended a politically linked gathering in Puducherry, drawing criticism from Indian opposition figures and raising questions about diplomatic conduct during an election period. Pawan Khera, a senior leader of the Indian National Congress, alleged in a social media post that Mr. Ketheeswaran participated in an event organized by

A Tamil student from the war-affected district of Kilinochchi has topped Sri Lanka’s Physical Science stream. A Muslim student from Kattankudy has ranked first in Commerce. And in Mullaitivu, a young woman from a once-displaced Muslim community has emerged as the district’s top performer and secured a place in medical studies. Jaffna, Sri Lanka — April 1, 2026 In results that have drawn attention beyond the usual examination season headlines, a Tamil student from the war-affected northern dist