Post Tamil Eelam war coverage in Dinamani newspaper

The war for Tamil Eelam and the last battle at northern region of Sri Lanka between the Government and LTTE has been seriously viewed and reported by media around the world. However ‘Eelam’ is an issue close to the heart of the Tamils in the world. The present investigation has chosen the post war period January 2009-January 2011 to study how the Tamil print media in Tamil Nadu reacted to the end of the LTTE and whether it reflected the sentiments of the Tamil population. Editorials and columns are one place where newspapers can freely voice their opinions on any issue. However, only one Tamil newspaper-Dinamani-had been publishing editorials during that period. Therefore Dinamani newspaper was chosen for content analysis of all the editorials and columns published during 2009–2011. The study revealed that editorials and columns published during that time exposed violations of human rights than other war related issues in Sri Lanka, after the war was over. It also criticized the roles played by the then Indian and Tamil Nadu Government and discussed the post-war impacts on India. It can be concluded that the editorials and columns published in the renowned Tamil daily expressed a pro-Tamil sentiment reflecting the social context of that period.