Enter Sirisena It was around six in the evening. Friendship Villa in the South Eastern University was full of activity. As I made my way through the corridor in search ofdrinking water, a batch mate from Batticalo beamed at me. He was shaking withexcitement. Sinhalese students could be heard shouting from their rooms. I sooncame to know the cause of ...
Tamil Nationalist struggle has brought only pain, agony and losses. There is general agreement among different actors that local Tamils were far better off when the struggle began than now. I recently asked a prominent Tamil activist, and academic, Kumaravadivel Guruparan via twitter, ‘Can you name a single (long-term) good thing that Tamils have achieved so far in their nationalist ...
I wish to draw your attention to two myths Lankans, commonly, agree upon. First is the ‘pre-colonial utopia’, second is the notion that Sri Lanka ‘struggled’ for independence. None of these ideas have historic basis. Pre-colonial utopia originates from Sinhala revivalists like Anagarika Dharmapala. This, in essence, speaks of the time when we were, apparently, a thriving, sovereign, and ...
The Great Division Most would agree that the country needs to move on. However, on the question of ‘how the country should move on?’ there seems to be a difference of opinion. The Tamils are adamant on accountability, whereas the Sinhalese believe that it is needless. Victims vs. Victors I will, first, elaborate on ...
Beware of the STV A deadly virus, namely the Saints and Traitors’ Virus (STV), plagues Sri Lanka. The virus is contagious. The effects of the virus may take months to show. Contraction by this peculiar virus is a slow and long process. Apart from human carriers, the internet, TV channels, newspapers, and radio stations play significant roles in spreading ...
All state school textbooks carry an excerpt from a speech made by President Rajapaksa in 2010: “Beloved Sons and Daughters, Many countries that lagged behind us at the time we gained independence have now passed us and gone far ahead. But, we must not be prepared to copy those countries or work according to the development models of those ...
| I am one of the 243,876 lucky students who sat for the Advanced Level Examinations in 2011. It has been almost one-and-a-half-years since then, and I received my university registration form only yesterday (6 – 4 – 2012). I was privileged enough to receive A/L results four times in the space of ten months. For this, I am eternally ...
The night mail from the Fort to Vavuniya was packed. All the third-class compartments looked like Nazi gas chambers, and picking one (knowing that you would spend eight hours inside it) was no ordinary task. Given our limited options, we chose a compartment that looked like a festival-season oven. My fellow traveller, ...
As I observed in one of my earlier posts ‘Ghosts from Our Past’ (1) a new wave of anti-minority tide is sweeping across Sri Lanka. This phenomenon is led by Buddhist monks, in the name of preserving Buddhism and the ‘chosen race’. I came across a YouTube video titled ‘Buddhist Extremism’.(2) The person who made the video, I am certain, is ...
The day was still tender; the air cold, foul and unforgiving. For some reason the sun was hiding her face from the earth. Darkness ruled over the eastern coast of Sri Lanka. A small hut in Pottuvil stood decidedly facing east eagerly waiting for the arrival of dawn. Inside the hut Ruban lay on a termite-ridden mat. The mat offered ...
Four years have passed since the end of the war. Indeed, the scenes from this year’s victory celebration event are still fresh in our minds. We are told that the country is free. But, little has changed for the ‘liberated’ people. One only has to travel via Omanthai (on A9) in public transport to understand what I mean. It was ...
| I was in Trincomalee for a few days after a long time. The trip was fantastic. But, fun aside, the trip was also a harrowing experience as a Tamil. The speed at which the history and heritage of the town has been reversed by the hegemonic state is remarkable. For example, a huge statue of Buddha (annexed) has been erected ...
|By - Prof. Daya Somasundaram, University of JaffnaThere is an ecological disaster of serious proportions taking shape over the last few years with the effects already showing in the Vallikamam area of Northern Sri Lanka. It is being realized by the more than quarter million people living in Vallikamam that their ground water is polluted by oil waste. According to ...
Retelling the country’s history objectively is an important step towards creating an ‘inclusive Sri Lankan’ identity (I say creating because an ‘inclusive Sri Lankan’ identity does not exist). Let us take a detour to 18th Century United States. At that time, most of the Whites held that the Blacks were of a lesser breed. Some were of the belief ...
I In the Year of Our Lord 1952, Mr Herbert Sundarampillai died in a car crash, leaving behind a week-old son, a widow, and considerable wealth. Mrs Shanthi Sundarampillai, a qualified music teacher, in typical upper-middle class fashion, continued to teach ...
JOHN RATNAJOTHY IREANEUS HOOLE: Unforgettable Personality Jothy, as he was lovingly called passed away on December 28, 2011. He was the son of Fr. Richard Hoole and the grandson of Canon Somasunderam. He had his beginnings in Jaffna. It was discovered that he was virtually a genius in Maths. He went to the UK for his studies where he ...
Sri Lanka Unites, a youth movement for reconciliation, has launched an online campaign to counter the anti-Muslim hate campaign. This tri-lingual campaign aims to provoke thought on matters like racism, national identity, cost of intolerance and so on. Within days of launching the campaign, the Sri Lanka Unites facebook page has been getting unprecedented hits. Instead of just complaining about ...
Last year saw multiple instances of people of all walks of life engaging in civil protests for various causes. Fishermen, university teachers and students, lawyers, nurses and many other segments of our population united to demand fairness, justice, good governance, protection of livelihood and education. The signature response of the government has been characterised by intimidation, violence and the ...
In stark contrast to the ‘victory celebration’ scenes in Colombo, in the North and the East Tamils lit candles and mourned their dead. Unsurprisingly, public assemblies were disturbed by the powers be. Yesterday, in Vavuniya, a stone laid in the memory of Tamil civilians who died during the final war was demolished by unknown thugs. There were many other incidents ...
White girl: oh what's that tattoo on your arm? Me: it's a dhammachakra White girl: Me: it's a symbol of the Buddha's teachings, amongst other things. It's Buddhist. White girl: oh that's so cool! I love Buddhism Me: uh huh. White girl: it's the most awesome religion because it's so peaceful and everyone is so chilled Me: well that's a ...
