Amid the economic crisis, Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe firmly stated that the full implementation of the 13th Amendment in addressing the demands of the Tamils is on the cards and even promised to make it public before 4 February 2023, the 75th independence anniversary of Sri Lanka. While he could not do it as promised, it opened up the discussion again on the provision of the 13th Amendment in Sri Lanka. It remains highly significant to watch whether the president’s move will end up with at least an effective implementation of the 13th Amendment or if it will be another politically expedient futile attempt.

The authors would like to acknowledge the valuable comments of the reviewers that helped in enhancing the article subsequently.

Since the early 1990s, the 13th Amendment that was proposed as a part of the India–Sri Lanka accord as a constitutional provision to address the Tamil national question in Sri Lanka has been constantly debated and discussed. President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s recent announcement to fully implement the 13th Amendment once again stirred debate among both Tamil and Sinhala political party leaders on its efficacy. This comes amid Sri Lanka’s economic crisis as interestingly the current president opines that without ethnic reconciliation there will be no economic stability in the country (Daily Mirror 2023a).

Incidentally, in Sri Lanka, as far as the 13th Amendment is concerned, different stands can be identified, with one in favour of the repeal of the 13th Amendment. Sinhala hardliners and political parties, such as the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), National Freedom Front (NFF), and Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) are the major advocates of this stand. They oppose the Provincial Council System as it was “forced on Sri Lanka” by external forces like India (Manoharan 2013).

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