Tamils across the North-East commemorated Annai Poopathy on Saturday, marking 37 years since her hunger strike unto death, in protest of atrocities committed by the Indian Peace Keeping Forces (IPKF).

Sri Lanka’s newly released preliminary census figures from 2024 illustrated how the Tamil North-East, particularly the Vanni region, remains the worst-affected part of the island in terms of population loss and stagnation.

During Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to Colombo in April 2025, India and Sri Lanka signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Defence Cooperation—an agreement that both governments say is rooted in shared security interests and mutual trust.

What the agreement includes

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he hoped Sri Lanka would “meet the aspirations of the Tamil people” during a state visit to the island this weekend, while unveiling a slate of development projects and signing a defence agreement with Colombo.

Addressing the media alongside Sri Lankan president Anura Kumara Dissanayake in Colombo, Modi stated, “We hope that the Sri Lankan Government will meet the aspirations of the Tamil people and fulfil its commitment towards fully implementing the Constitution of Sri Lanka, and conducting Provincial Council Elections.”

In a wide-ranging and reflective online discussion, Eelam Tamil writer and researcher Sinthujan Varatharajah joined Palestinian journalist Hebh Jamal to explore the politics of international solidarity, hierarchies of attention, and the contradictions faced by oppressed peoples organising for liberation. 

The event, titled “Hierarchies of Solidarity”, drew on themes from the book co-authored by Varatharajah and Moshtari Hilal.

The United Kingdom has announced sanctions against four individuals implicated in “serious human rights violations”, in a move it says is aimed at promoting accountability and challenging the culture of impunity that continues to shield perpetrators.

A heated battle is unfolding between Tamil Nadu and India’s central government over the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, a sweeping reform introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration. 

Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has led the opposition, labelling the policy a “Hindutva policy” that prioritises Hindi and Sanskrit over regional languages and threatens Tamil Nadu’s progressive education system.