Security has been beefed up in Sri Lanka as the army increased its deployment by 1,300 to 6,300.
65,000 Sri Lankan Tamil refugees still live in Tamil Nadu. Rediff.com's A Ganesh Nadar discovers the challenges for the refugees to return home.
'The residual historical hostility against India was certainly a factor,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Sri Lanka declared a state of emergency on Wednesday as angry protesters stormed the prime minister's office in Colombo, hours after president Gotabaya Rajapksa fled to the Maldives on a military jet, amid the country's worst economic crisis in decades.
The Bharatiya Janata Party's key ally in Tamil Nadu, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Wednesday slammed the saffron party alleging that it is anti-Tamil and claimed that the party could never grow in the state.
There was a 'fascist threat' to democracy in Sri Lanka and 'we can't let them tear up our Constitution', acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe told the crisis-hit nation on Wednesday, as he vowed to restore normalcy as well as stop the destruction of state property.
Speaking in unison, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, key United Progressive Alliance ally Dravida Munettra Kazhagam and other parties in Tamil Nadu on Tuesday condemned the Centre's stand on continued training of Sri Lankan military, with All India Anna Dravida Munetra Kazhagam chief castigating government for 'insensitivity' and the DMK accusing it of hurting Tamils.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Friday vowed to protect the country's military from possible international scrutiny over allegations of human rights violations during its prolonged conflict to end ethnic violence.
The blockade of Facebook and WhatsApp has been imposed from mid-night following violent incidents between the minority Muslim and majority Sinhalese communities, officials said.
The Indian contingent of more than 300 navy personnel was assisting in the relief, with divers searching the brackish waters and medical teams seeing patients in makeshift tents set up at shelters.
Twenty four-year-old Charles, the eldest of the two sons and a daughter of the elusive LTTE chief, was injured in the fighting in the Tiger bastion of Pudhukkudiyiruppu, Defence Ministry officials said.
Pakistan government pledged the same level of security to Sri Lankan cricketers as is provided to visiting heads of state.
Sirisena's sacking of Wickremesinghe was the culmination of an year of bitter relations between them on several policy matters. The president has been critical of the prime minister and his policies, especially on economy and security.
The dinner Jill Biden and her husband US President Joe Biden hosted for Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, June 22, at the White House brought together, Indians and Americans from so many firmaments.
Defence and strategic experts on Monday said that China's posturing in the Indian Ocean will disturb stability and peace in the region.
Vaiko, who was present in the court, said he never sought any leniency.
The security forces continue their hunt for members of the local terror group National Thowheeth Jamath which was behind the deadly Easter Sunday bombings in which 253 people were killed and over 500 injured.
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned on Monday, hours after his supporters attacked anti-government protesters outside embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's office, leaving at least 78 people injured and prompting authorities to impose a nationwide curfew and deploy army troops in the capital.
Xi Jinping is winning the war without firing a shot in Sri Lanka, observes Colonel R Hariharan (retd).
Colombo's enduring interests suggest the relationship between the Sri Lanka and China will only strengthen, says Nitin Pai.
General Sarath Fonseka may have violated the official secrets act by accusing Sri Lankan Defence Secretary of ordering the killing of surrendering Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam leaders, a presidential legal adviser has said.
Over 24 Tigers rebels are believed to have been killed on Sunday when the Sri Lankan Navy attacked and destroyed a ship carrying arms for the LTTE. "There were 24 to 25 people aboard the ship and we believe all of them have been killed," Defence Spokesman Udaya Nanayakkara said. The Lankan naval task group comprising Off Shore Patrol vessels SLNS Sayura, SLNS Sagara, Fast Attack Vessel SLNS Suranimila and Rendezvous vessel 521 were engaged in the elite operation.
The country has a fiendishly complicated electoral system that is a combination of population-based proportional representation and party-based national lists, says Aditi Phadnis
If the stories weren't bound by their themes or expectations or if they weren't limited to the time and the medium, Mani Ratnam's Navarasa could have been something better, feels Divya Nair.
'Putting tanks on the Ladakh border is not enough to combat China, what is needed to ensure resilience against any cyber-attacks or attacks in outer space or China flexing its economic muscle, as it did with Australia.'
"India would have loved to get more involved in Sri Lanka positively -- helping us to fight terrorism. Now, remember, India suffered a lot in the sense, it lost its leader -- Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by the LTTE. That is something, which India can never forgive nor forget," says Razik Zarook, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse's Counsel.
President Maithripala Sirisena has issued a gazette notice banning three Islamic extremist organisations, including National Thowheeth Jama'ath that was blamed for the Easter bombings.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said his government has always taken care of the welfare of Sri Lankan Tamils and 'consistently' flagged the issue of their rights with the leaders in the island nation.
Dr Anil Jasinghe, Director General of the Health Services, said the larger death toll was released as a result of a calculation error.
As we celebrate the actor's much deserved award, Divya Nair presents 10 landmark films in Suriya's career, ranked in order of performance.
Even as the polity find ways and means to address the genuine concerns and fears of the society, the Sri Lankan State apparatus would have to unravel these mystery-questions with convincing answers, and a road-map to the future, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
India has said that the onus is on Pakistan to create an environment free of terror and hostility.
Sri Lanka's former Army Chief Sarath Fonseka, who had dared to challenge the country's powerful President in the 2010 electoral battle, will now form his own political party.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has approved the 30-month jail term given to former army chief Sarath Fonseka by a military court on charges of corruption, top officials said on Thursday.
Two years after the decisive battle in which the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam were vanquished, Sri Lankan security forces made their biggest-ever haul recovering 6,250 kg of hidden explosives belonging to the outfit.
Speaker Karu Jayasuriya questioned the president's decision to suspend parliament till November 16, saying it will have "serious and undesirable" consequences on the country.
"Just a handful of Indian youth have joined the ISIS. Some have also returned after being persuaded by their families," asserted the home minister.
MDMK chief Vaiko today charged the UPA Government with helping Sri Lanka by giving arms, which enabled that country's army to capture the "deserted" Killinochi and said the LTTE will win the war ultimately.
Amid widespread speculation about the whereabouts of the Tamil Tiger supremo, who has vowed not to be captured alive, the Lankan military on Monday said that Velupillai Prabhakaran could be at the centre stage of the battle with the army.
At least 10 persons were killed and up to 300 missing on Wednesday after a massive landslide triggered by monsoon rains struck central Sri Lanka, forcing authorities to deploy the army to conduct rescue operations.
