OP-ED


Black holes in India’s Sri Lanka Tamil policy

Black holes in India’s Sri Lanka Tamil policy

By M.R. Narayan Swamy When Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi prepared to fly to Colombo in July 1987, Tamil politicians and militants from Sri Lanka were invited to New Delhi to approve a proposed bilateral pact that sought to end Tamil separatism. Velupillai Prabhakaran, the founder leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), and his team were put up in the five-star Hotel Ashok, no doubt because the Tigers were the most formidable force in the military arena, even if they were a


M.R. Narayan Swamy

M.R. Narayan Swamy

The Strait of Malacca: The First Trade War That Shaped Asia

The Strait of Malacca: The First Trade War That Shaped Asia

By Abbi Kanthasamy Stand on the bridge of a ship crossing the Strait of Malacca at night, and you will see the modern world moving past you. Oil tankers carrying Middle Eastern crude glide east toward China, Japan, and Korea. Container ships loaded with Asian exports head west toward the Indian Ocean and eventually the Suez Canal on their way to Europe. Somewhere between Singapore and Sumatra, nearly a third of the world’s maritime trade squeezes through a channel barely wide enough in places


Abbi Kanthasamy

Abbi Kanthasamy

India Expands Footprint in Sri Lanka as Radhakrishnan Announces OCI Plan for Tamils

India Expands Footprint in Sri Lanka as Radhakrishnan Announces OCI Plan for Tamils

By M.R. Narayan Swamy India has taken a strategic decision to help tens of thousands of Sri Lankans obtain Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) status during a packed two-day visit to the island nation by Vice President C. P. Radhakrishnan, a move that Tamil leaders across the political spectrum described as positive and emotionally fulfilling. Although the visit saw India and Sri Lanka deepen their growing bilateral ties, Tamil leaders from the country’s North and East, along with representatives


M.R. Narayan Swamy

M.R. Narayan Swamy

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


Jaffna Monitor

Jaffna Monitor

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:


Lankan

Lankan

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


Li Wei

Li Wei

The Tamil Renaissance

The Tamil Renaissance

By Jeevan Thiyagaraja Generations have scattered across the globe while others remained, tending to the soil of their ancestors through the unimaginable. Though separated by oceans and time, all share the same roots. The time has come for the North to reclaim its narrative—a Tamil Renaissance where a smart, confident, and contented North acts as catalyst for a proud, cultured, and developed community found around the world. I. The Ancient Maritime Spirit: A Legacy of Global Connection Long b


Jeevan Thiyagaraja

Jeevan Thiyagaraja

The War That Reopened What Was Already Open

The War That Reopened What Was Already Open

By Abbi Kanthasamy The real winners of this war were not the Iranian people, not the Lebanese, not the Gulf Arabs, not the Americans, and certainly not the poor fools told to clap every time a missile takes off on television. The winners were the people who always win. The weapons manufacturers. The oil traders. The consultants in expensive suits using phrases like maritime de-risking and regional deterrence posture. The lobbyists. The think-tank parasites. The men who can turn blood into bil


Abbi Kanthasamy

Abbi Kanthasamy