Abinaya: One thing that shocked me when I became exposed to the world of academia in my early twenties was how popular Eelam/Ilankai Tamils were as a research issue. For most of my childhood and early adulthood, I was intrigued by and grasped onto representations of any kind. Growing up in the UK, we were dwarfed by the huge North Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi populations whose representations of the subcontinent dominated the mainstream. While I do not believe in representation politics, I

Content warning: This article contains mention of miscarriage.

The long wait at my local A&E while I was miscarrying may have been the worst six hours of my life. Since then I’ve declared more than once, only half-jokingly, that even if I was in a life-threatening situation, I would rather die than ever step foot in an A&E again. As the hours ticked by, both my masked breath and my mood became increasingly foul. I watched person after person who had arrived after me be called in. There were ple

During the 1983-2009 war and in the past 12 years, the Eelam Tamil diaspora (many of whom are war refugees) has been instrumental in the struggle to resist the Sinhalese ethnocratic violence of the Sri Lankan state. Written in the wake of the ousting of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, this text by Abinaya Nathan describes her growing up in the vibrant Eelam Tamil diaspora of North-West London, from the remote support to the Liberation Tigers to the last decade’s demonstrations.

As a diaspora, Eel

The Sri Lankan military has undertaken massive deforestation of parts of the Tamil homeland since the end of the armed conflict. Sharing images from Google Earth on Facebook, Kilinochchi journalist M. Thamilselvan illustrated the loss of forest cover surrounding army camps on the east side of the A9 road between Mankulam and Murikandy in the Mullaitivu district.

The Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) shared the images and stated that before 2009, forests in the Vanni region were well maintain

Amidst the uproar over Kollywood star Vijay Sethupathi’s impending appearance as Sri Lankan cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan, came the news that Eelam Tamil singer and actor Teejay Arunasalam had already declined a major role in the film.

The London-based artist who made his Kollywood debut last year, starring in Asuran alongside Dhanush, revealed earlier this week that he had been approached by the makers of the controversial ‘800’ biopic to play the young version of Muralitharan.

Though Murali

Thirty-five years ago, while many slept and some were already in the fields, the Sri Lankan army declared a sudden curfew in the town of Cheddikulam and surrounding villages on the border of Vavuniya district.

As news of the curfew seeped through the town through radio and word of mouth, residents scrambled to their homes or the closest house of someone they knew so as not to be caught outside.

Sri Lankan soldiers went house to house, rounding-up young men and boys for inquiry.

Houses were se

Tamil Guardian exclusive interview with rapper and musician M.I.A. following the release of her latest track and video on the 27th November 2015.

Sometimes friends of M.I.A. (aka Mathangi “Maya” Arulpragasam) tell her, just make what you want to make. “But every time I make something, this is what comes out,” she says. “I can’t help it.” She’s talking about her latest video and track of course, ‘Borders’. It’s controversial, political and topical, but to Maya, the British Tamil once-refugee, th