A decade ago on July 29, 1987, Rajiv Gandhi and Julius Richard Jayawardene signed the Indo-Sri Lanka accord, aimed at ending the vicious ethnic violence in the island and fostering good relations. In the process, the Indian Army got embroiled in a bloody two-year war. All players involved in the 1987 drama, with the lone exception of LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran, are dead: Jayawardene, Rajiv Gandhi and Gamini Dissanayake; opponents including ex-president Premadasa and Lalith Athulad-mudali; Tamil supporters of the accord, TULF leaders A. Amrithalingam and V. Yogeswaran and EPRLF leader Padmanabha. The chief minister of the India-created Northeastern Province, Varatharaja Perumal, is languishing as a refugee in Rajasthan.