Sri Lanka marked its 69th Independence Day on Saturday with a military parade in the capital as well as military-run events across the North-East. Tamils across the homeland held protests, despite Sri Lankan police seeking court orders to prevent demonstrations, rejecting celebrations of the day.

The annual harvest and thanksgiving festival of Thai Pongal was celebrated by Tamils around the world today.

On this day 11 years ago, five Tamil students were summarily executed by Sri Lanka's Special Task Force, whilst they spent an afternoon on the beach in Trincomalee.

As 2016 proved to be an eventful year world over, Tamil Guardian looks back at some significant moments in pictures

On December 26th, 2004, over 35,000 people perished during the catastrophic tsunami that hit the coasts of the North-East and South of the island of Sri Lanka.
 

Today marks 10 years since the passing of Anton Balasingham, the chief negotiator and political strategist of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister Jayaram Jayalalithaa has passed away on Monday evening, according to officially confirmed reports from both her AIADMK party and the hospital in Chennai where she has been receiving medical treatment.

Following a prolonged hospital admission, Ms Jayalalithaa eventually succumbed to complications after suffering a cardiac arrest on Sunday evening. The influential and popular figure in Tamil Nadu politics was 68 years old.

Thousands of supporters have gathered outside the Apollo Hospital in Chennai, whilst Tamil Nadu police have deployed extra security personnel across the state due to fears of unrest.

In the run up to Maaveerar Naal, young Tamil artists took to Instagram to commemorate the thousands who gave their lives fighting in the Tamil struggle.

The Tamil nation, in the homeland and in the diaspora, holds steadfastly to records of the liberation struggle. The well-known dates and the lesser known dates are tirelessly observed. Heroes are canonised in the Maaveerar Naal calendar.

But with the destruction of LTTE records and cemeteries, it becomes inevitable that some names are lost to us, at least momentarily.

The record of Muslim fighters remains incomplete. Their contribution to the Tamil struggle for liberation is often overlooked in the mainstream commemoration of Maaveerar Naal.