The heavy military presence in these regions has enabled land grabs to establish Buddhist viharas and bring in Sinhalese settlers. According to a report by the 'Oakland Institute', these provinces house five of the seven Regional Headquarters of the Sri Lankan military. Out of the around 1,75,000 soldiers in the Sri Lankan military, nearly 1,50,000 of them are concentrated in the north. While, a senior Indian journalist Sundaresha Subramanian, who closely follow Sri Lankan politics, thinks it is too quick to come to a conclusion. We need to see how this progresses and what actual steps are taken to return the land," he added.

Source: Indian Express November 15, 2024 02:12 UTC