Ponniah Manikavasagam

Ponniah Manikavasagam also known as P. Manikavasagam was a Sri Lankan news reporter, journalist, editor and broadcaster. During his career as a news reporter, he predominantly covered the Sri Lankan Civil War in his agenda. He was known for his affiliation with Virakesari and BBC Tamil.

Career He began his career as a reporter at Virakesari in 1980s and served as Virakesari's Vavuniya District correspondent. He also began working as a stringer for international news channels such as BBC and Reuters covering the Sri Lankan region. He was part of the BBC Tamil Radio Service for a duration of roughly 25 years until its suspension in 2016. He also reported stories for Asia Calling (Indonesia) and Free Speech Radio as its Sri Lankan correspondent.

He served as President of the Sri Lanka Tamil Media Alliance and the Vanni Journalists' Association for a brief stint. He faced imminent threats from the government for reporting on sensitive topics focusing on the Sri Lankan civil war. He published a book titled Memories and events are waves of thoughts crashing into the chest that focuses on the tragedies and sorrowful circumstances faced by Jaffna Tamils during the peak of the war.

Awards He won the Northeastern Provincial Governor's Award for journalism.