Colombo

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences on Monday over the death of R. Sampanthan, a senior Tamil politician in Sri Lanka and the leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA).

My deepest condolences to the family and friends of veteran TNA leader R. Sampanthan. I will always cherish fond memories of meetings with him, Modi wrote on X. He lived a life dedicated to peace, security, equality, justice, and dignity for Tamil nationals in Sri Lanka. He will be greatly missed by his friends and followers in both Sri Lanka and India, he added.

India’s External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar, also shared his grief over Sampanthan’s passing. Deeply saddened to hear about the passing of Sri Lankan Tamil leader Shri R. Sampanthan, said Jaishankar. I recall many meetings and conversations with him over the decades. He dedicated his life to fighting for equality, dignity, and justice for Tamils in Sri Lanka, he added.

R. Sampanthan, 91, passed away on Sunday night while being treated at a private hospital in Colombo. He was one of Sri Lanka’s longest-serving lawmakers, first elected to parliament from the Eastern district of Trincomalee in 1977. As the leader of the TNA, which had the second-highest number of MPs, he served as the Opposition leader in Parliament from 2015 to 2018. He was a member of Parliament for 23 consecutive years, starting in 2001.