Archive for the ‘Identity’

I REMEMBER: 19 May 2010

As we come together to commemorate the anniversary of the end of Sri Lanka’s long and bloody civil war, these are some of the things I remember: I remember hearing reports in late January 2009 of UN workers and their families being shelled by government forces in the Vanni while hiding in bunkers and under UN trucks. I remember not quite believing these stories. I remember the hospitals and medical centres shelled, and the patients and medical staff killed and wounded in what the Sri Lankan government was calling no fire zones”.  I remember later on meeting some of those who survived and hearing their terrifying stories. I remember the extraordinary bravery and generosity of all the doctors, medical workers, and staff members of the International Committee of the Red Cross who served under terrifying conditions. I remember that some of them gave their lives saving others. I remember seeing Gotabaya Rajapaksa on TV in February 2009 telling an interviewer…

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19th may, 2010

Killinochci-Sumathy

killinochchi town getting ready… may 2010 19th may. you have nothing to say? i can only falteringly mouth, nothing of …. nothing begets nothing, a king says, and launches a war against garrulous daughters and sulking ones; and i think of an other daughter, too too loud or too soft, of other wars and other deaths, slipped between a pillow and its case, a letter, a bomb, a whisper, slipped between the familiar and the family, the nation and its engender. on 19th may, 1991, sivaramani, took her own positive life, her cry strangled with that strenuous cord, blazing a trail of blood of the nation and its many stories; 300, 000 slipped between a miserable soul-dead wretch, who would not take his life and the dark of a storm shelling sky, a black and blue sea, dotted with doom, a king without daughters striking those ‘[trojans =delete] crushed between sea and sky’, a tale slipped between waiting and waking,…

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A clueless regime’s parade for glory with a bumpkin polity

While a victory parade with military highlights is on to commemorate the war victory, that provides occasion for this regime to revel on its own pride in defeating the LTTE, what is the most important need of the 19 million people, right now ? In a more direct way, does the Sri Lankan polity know what they most urgently need ? The whole pugnacious crisis in Sri Lanka lies in the answer to this simple question. The bumpkin Sri Lankan polity knows not, what they most urgently need. This was aptly demonstrated and proved in the two most historically important elections held in post war Sri Lanka. The presidential elections in January 2010, announced in November 2009, just 06 months after the war was declared victorious with the defeat of the LTTE and thereafter the parliamentary elections held in April 2010, within 01 year of the conclusion of the war, discussed nothing of importance in terms of Sri Lanka’s future….

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Jaffna after the war: Observations by a visitor

Large crowds rush to Jaffna every day. Some of them have never been there before. The 30 years war is over and thanks to president Rajapakse, (General Fonseka is already forgotten), they are now at last free to visit those territories the Tigers once claimed as theirs. They are eager to visit the many places of worship including a few recently discovered ones. They are genuinely happy to be there, moving from Nallur to Mavattapuram, Keerimalai, Nagadeepa, Dambakola Pattuna and   Kandarodai. Dambakola Pattuna in Madagal is where Theri Sangamitha is said to have landed with the sacred Bo sapling. A new dagoba has been built there and a statue of bikkuni  Sangamitha has been installed in December 2009, by the first lady herself. Kandarodai where the mini dagobas are found has acquired a new Sinhala name. In all these places name boards and notices are found in Sinhala. Therefore the visitors from the South feel very homely and comfortable. The…

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  • 7 May, 2010
  • 1,076 Comments
  • Colombo,
    Identity,
    Religion and faith

The Agnostics vs. The Believers regarding karma, reincarnation, nirvana as described in Buddhism being real aspects of this world

One of the challenges put forth by The Agnostics camp (myself, SomewhatDisgusted, BalangodaMan, with help from Heshan) to The Believers (Yapa, Wijayapala, Off The Cuff, etc.) in the 1000+ comments discussion/debate that’s taking place in the comments section of the Akon & Buddhism article at Groundviews is: prove, using modern science or math or any other verifiable method available, to non-believers, that karma, reincarnation, nirvana, as described in Buddhism, are real aspects/actual things that exist in this world. So far, in spite of their strong feeling that karma, reincarnation, & nirvana are real, and in spite of hundreds of comments by them, The Believers have not been able to show that karma, reincarnation and nirvana are in fact real – and not just speculative items used to introduce and sustain the Buddhist world view. So, I will renew the call at this new article (since the previous article mentioned now has over 1000 comments – many wildly off point –…

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Should we sacrifice progress for tradition?

Are we Sri Lankans laid back as a nation? I have a sneaky feeling that we are, particularly, during New Year celebrations. No doubt, it is a wonderful tradition for family and friends to get together and celebrate. But aren’t the celebrations carried too far, in terms of time! In fact, it has become an excuse for dragging the holiday period further by several more days on account of transport issues and fuel shortages. In our ancient past, life moved at an easy pace. There was adequate time for fulfilling customs and rituals according to astrological times such as ceasing work, ceasing cooking, lighting the hearth, partaking of meals, bathing, anointing with oil and starting work. Isn’t it a little anachronistic for us to continue celebrating New Year in an identical manner in this modern era when our economic and social patterns have drastically changed from a largely pastoral to an industrial setting?  – When the pace of life has…

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“Oya Sinhalade? Demalade?” – Questioning a question in post-war Sri Lanka

“Oya Sinhalade? Demalade?” I can’t begin to count the number of times I’ve had that question asked from me over the years. Ironically enough, in these days of ‘peace’ I’ve had it asked of me more and more frequently. Firstly in Colombo and now in Jaffna too. Jaffna – a town where 99% of the resident community is Tamil, the question is still asked. But why? What can one possibly gauge/assess by the response to that response? If both Sinhalese and Tamils are meted out the same treatment at a check point (or anywhere else this question is asked) what possible need is there to ask this question, unless our post-war land of ‘no minorities’ is a complete and utter falsehood? A cynic you say? Making a mountain out of a mole hill? Alright. If that be the case, can anyone answer why this question is still asked of us? Nobody I’ve spoken to, to date, has been able to…

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Aiding and abetting to kill plurality in ‘patriotic’ Sri Lanka

“I’m worried about an opponent who uses ‘nation building’ and ‘the military’ in the same sentence.” said George W. Bush Jnr. in Nov 06, 2000, referring to Al Gore and then to journalist Mickey Herskowitz, he said “One of the keys to being seen as a great leader, is to be seen as a Commander-in-Chief.” So, the military has nothing to do with “nation building” and a great leader has to be seen as a Commander in Chief. This same logic of Bush would also explain that, “an Army Commander is no nation builder and also, a Commander in Chief, though seen a great leader would not necessarily build nations.” Leaving any and all comparisons and such formal logic aside, we have had no great leaders and have not been building a nation, for citizens of this island known and named as Sri Lanka. “Nation building” is what we failed in, all through our past 62 years since independence from…

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Life is no better for many migrants in UK

When I came to Britain for the first time in 1976 there were hardly any Sri Lankans except those who came to study. If ever I saw a Sri Lankan I was more than thrilled and I never turned down an invitation to a meal since I was surviving on fish and chips and the occasional long-grain rice and curry with green pepper instead of chillies and throwing in papkrika for chilli powder. This time round in 2001 I could not walk the streets without spotting a Sri Lankan shop selling everything from spices to Karuthakolumbu, from dried fish to fresh seer fish. You are practically at home in London. But all is not well with the Tamils in the UK. Having lived my younger days in Jaffna where divorce was unheard of, domestic violence only among a very few, I was shocked to find that quite a number of Tamil women are subjected to beatings and verbal abuse on…

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Post War Muslim Minority Party Politics : Surviving Political Quietus

Screen shot 2010-04-07 at 12.31.42 PM

The decision by the leader of the National Unity Alliance (NUA), Minister Ferial Ashraff’s to join the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) in February 2010 raises serious questions for Muslim politics in Sri Lanka and minority politics at large. She did not announce a formal disbanding of NUA, the party’s fate remains unclear. Although NUA is not an exclusively Muslim party it emerged from and is closely linked to Muslim minority politics. A central question arising from this move is whether this is part of a larger shift away from minor and minority political parties which would give way to the consolidation of the major national political parties (like the SLFP) in the East and North or is it just part of the political hopscotch endemic to current Muslim and Sri Lankan politics at large? It may still be too early to answer this question, especially given that the results from the general elections are still being counted. Yet, it…

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Black Paintings & Other Works: An exhibition by Chandraguptha Thenuwara

Dhammapada,Triptych on wood,2007

Chandraguptha Thenuwara’s “Black Paintings & Other Works-an exhibition of paintings and installation” was inaugurated today (3 April 2010) at the Lionel Wendt Gallery, Colombo. The exhibition will continue till 5 April 2010. He has used perfect colours to depict the situation.  Many art lovers had a preview today. Chandraguptha Thenuwara says “The exhibition consists of two parts – one, the preface consists of three previously exhibited works and the other represents the current moment with nine new paintings and an installation. The preface was needed because the ideas expressed through the works are still valid. Among them is a triptych (2007) based on three selected Dammapada of the Lord Buddha that – ‘hatred never ceases by hatred’; ‘to all, life is dear and all fear death’; and ‘one should neither kill nor cause to kill’.  The other is the ‘Erasing Camouflage: Peace’ Triptych (2008); and the third is a painting which I exhibited last year in July, with the slogan…

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Akon and Buddhism in Sri Lanka: A Response to Bhikkhu K. Tanchangya

[Editor's note: This article is a rejoinder to “Akon and Buddhism in Sri Lanka – A Monk's Response” by Bhikkhu K. Tanchangya published on the Buddhist Channel website on the 28th of March 2010. Bhikkhu K. Tanchangya's article was a response to the author's original article 'Akon and Buddhism in Sri Lanka'.] I wrote “Akon and Buddhism in Sri Lanka” exclusively for Groundviews, a prominent citizen journalism website in Sri Lanka. I expressed my opinion on the “Akon issue” as a citizen of Sri Lanka. Groundviews published my article on the 27th of March 2010 and later ‘The Buddhist Channel’ website published it attributing the original article to Groundviews. The Constitution of Sri Lanka guarantees its citizens the freedom of speech, expression and publication [Article 14(1) (a)]. Therefore, as a citizen of Sri Lanka I have every right to publish what I think and write be it under my name or under a nom de plume. I feel that Bhikkhu…

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Justice Our Way

Intervening in the controversy over the teaching of English ‘our way’, retired Senior DIG Edward Gunawardena wrote a satirical letter to The Island of March 27, 2010, which concluded: “So Sir, let us appreciate the fact that speaking or writing English “our way” can have entertainment value too. The Queen’s English can be, murdered. But “English our way” … cannot be murdered. There lies the only advantage of learning English that is recommended… “We know they are who. They don’t know we are who!” What follows is a comment in English-Our-Way, on Justice-Our-Way. For you know who A woman got jailed for she is who By those who think we should stay we are who So if you are not you are who But convert to she is who Better not let they are who Know you are who

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Putting cuts, part-putting and pol symbol

I have always had a fascination for Sri Lankan English. In fact, Sri Lankans use English the way the British used Ceylonese in subjugating them to their will. Now that the good old British have left our shores handing us independence on a silver platter we took English and quite liberally infused it with our own Tamil and Sinhala interpretations. If Americans substituted lengthy and often awkward British notices such as, “Trespassers will be prosecuted” with “Do not enter”, we went one step further and spun our own interpretations. Oh how the compilers of OED would wince when they listen to us  using the word `put’ among others. Putting is not for those yuppies on golf courses. There was my news editor at the Daily News who would shout out to his clerk/henchman Perumal to `put a transport to parliament’ meaning to book a vehicle for the reporters. Taking an AWOL from school is `putting a cut’. Pretending to be…

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Meeting a VIP London, Summer, 2008

He asked me how it was that I could be Sinhalese was it 50%? if my mother was Sinhalese and in that case whether I was 50% burgher or whether I had one quarter Belgian blood in my veins It was a bit tiresome to explain to say I think 1/8th means 12 and a half percent Belgian and then another 1/4th is Dutch and two 25 percents on either side probably makes me 50% Sinhalese (but I cannot be sure, I could be 25% Tamil with my Kandyan blood) And I couldn’t do the math in my head because I was jet lagged and sleep deprived and I was tempted to say last time I got sick they did a FBC sir, I think there were the normal percentages of plasma and white cells but I was a bit low on the red cells you see I don’t eat red meat sir and I was always a bit anaemic….

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About Groundviews

Located at the Centre for Policy Alternatives in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Groundviews is a citizen journalism website that uses a range of genres and media to highlight critical perspectives on governance, reconciliation, human rights, the arts and literature, democracy and other issues. The site has won two international awards, including the prestigious Manthan Award South Asia in 2009. The grand jury's evaluation of the site noted, "What no media dares to report, Groundviews publicly exposes. It's a new age media for a new Sri Lanka... Free media at it's very best!"

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