Packiyanathan Ahilan (b. 1970) is a Senior Lecturer in Art History at the Department of Fine Arts, University of Jaffna. He holds a PhD from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, and an MA from the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda. He has published four collections of poetry and writes about visual art, theatre, cultural politics, and minority heritage practices. Ahilan’s poetry is known for a minimalist style that captures the nuances of decades of conflict in Northern and Eastern Sri Lanka.