New Delhi, May 26 -- Two commemorations of death anniversaries took place in India and Sri Lanka in the third week of May 2026 - one of a political leader and prime minister and the other of a militant leader and terror mastermind. The assassination of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu on May 21, 1991, remains one of South Asia's most consequential political killings. Carried out by the LTTE suicide bomber Dhanu during an election rally, the killing reshaped India's Sri Lanka policy, hardened India's anti-terror laws, and altered Tamil Nadu politics for generations.

Velupillai Prabhakaran, the militant leader who gave orders for Rajiv Gandhi killing, lived 18 more years until his death at Nanthikadal ...