The global political stage has become intensely heated these days following the release of controversial files related to American billionaire Jeffrey Epstein. The names of many of the world’s most powerful heads of state, business leaders, and intellectuals have surfaced through these revelations. In a development that has surprised Indian politics, the name of India’s current Energy Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has also been prominently mentioned in those files.
Today, Puri is a key figure in the Bharatiya Janata Party and a close associate of Narendra Modi. However, he is no stranger to Sri Lankans. During the bloody conflict of the 1980s that shaped Sri Lanka’s fate, Puri was one of the principal diplomatic strategists operating behind the scenes. At that time, he represented the Indian government in efforts to bring LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran to the negotiating table. Today, however, Puri faces one of the most serious challenges of his political career due to alleged links with Epstein, who was branded an international sex offender.
Puri’s Sri Lankan role began in 1984. From 1984 to 1988, he served as First Secretary (Political) at the Indian High Commission in Colombo. This was a period when Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict had escalated dramatically. According to then Indian High Commissioner J. N. Dixit in his book Assignment Colombo, Puri was a key actor in the decisive negotiations that led to the 1987 Indo–Sri Lanka Peace Accord. During that era, when India attempted to exert influence to establish peace in Sri Lanka, Puri was entrusted with the responsibility of directly engaging with Prabhakaran.
He conducted both official and secret discussions with Prabhakaran and his associates regarding the contents of the agreement and created the necessary environment to bring them to New Delhi. The operation was so sensitive that, prior to the signing of the accord, Puri organized the logistics to transport Prabhakaran and his family members by Indian Air Force helicopters via Madras (now Chennai) to Delhi.
Prabhakaran, along with his wife Mathivathani and children, was accommodated at the Ashoka Hotel. Before presenting him to then Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, Puri arranged the necessary psychological and political groundwork. He reportedly gave Prabhakaran a special assurance: whether or not he agreed to the accord, he would be safely returned to Jaffna. This diplomatic intervention is recorded in history as a decisive moment when India directly intervened in Sri Lanka’s internal politics. When Rajiv Gandhi and Sri Lankan President J. R. Jayewardene signed the peace accord on July 29, 1987, one of the individuals standing nearby was Hardeep Singh Puri.
However, today he finds himself at the center of a political storm that has shaken India. According to foreign media revelations, email correspondence between Puri and Jeffrey Epstein reportedly began in 2014. It appears that Puri engaged in extended discussions with Epstein regarding investment opportunities. The files suggest that Puri communicated with Epstein about bringing LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman to India and discussed aspects of the Modi government’s economic plans.
Following these revelations, opposition groups including the Indian National Congress have strongly demanded Puri’s resignation, calling the issue a severe blow to the Indian government’s image.
Puri has firmly denied the allegations, stating that all his interactions with Epstein were strictly limited to professional business matters. He argues that before Epstein’s criminal background became globally known, he was perceived as an international business facilitator, and therefore there was nothing wrong in attempting to attract investments to India through him. Although no criminal charges have been filed against Puri, politically the controversy has had a significant impact on him.
Once regarded as a “silent witness” to India’s regional operations in Sri Lanka during the Cold War era, Puri now finds himself linked to a globally infamous dossier — an ironic twist of fate.
Puri’s story highlights the complexity of power and politics. Once a young diplomat who played a role in shaping Sri Lanka’s destiny, he is now an elderly politician fighting to defend his personal integrity. For Sri Lankans, this story is significant because it helps us understand how individuals who shaped our country’s past continue to play roles on the global political stage. Whether the dark shadow of Epstein will halt Puri’s distinguished political journey, or whether he will overcome this challenge as he has others, remains to be seen.
— S. Pathinayake
