Why Religious Intolerance Makes Me Mad
Image courtesy My name is Anisha, I am a liberal Muslim woman and more than anything a proud Sri Lankan. I support the Sri Lankan cricket team…always have and always will. I…
Year: 2012
Restrictions and intimidation on journalists covering resettlement process in the Vanni
From After more than 11 months of the LLRC report being handed over to the President, the above recommendation remains far from reality, despite the National Action Plan to Implement Recommendations of…
Socialism?
Photo courtesy socialistworld.net Over the past months there has been a debate in some newspapers regarding socialism and/or socialism vs. capitalism. It is a great thing to see happening, especially as the…
A-Z of Sri Lankan English: V is for vel festival
A Hindu vel festival is better described in pictures than words. The photos here were taken a few years ago at the annual festival on Havelock Road, on a rainy August morning……
In conversation with Shashi Tharoor: India, literature, politics and South Asia
Having moderated a session with Shashi Tharoor earlier this year at the Galle Literary Festival, we met up again in Colombo last week to talk about the writer-politician’s new book, and his…
A Review of Quotas in University Admissions
Photo courtesy My good friend Somapala Gunadheera has made some thoughtful observations (, 10 Sept 2012) on the problems of University admissions, and noted that in my “ Tamil Language Rights in…
“Nothing to call our own…” – The plight of the recently returned, resettled and landless IDPs in Sri Lanka’s North
Recently returned to Puthumathalan “As you drive past pile upon pile of corroding vehicles stacked one above the other, past pots, pans, sarees, slippers and plates (that once belonged to the people…
FUTA and Free Education in Sri Lanka: Question of Social Justice and Democracy in an Oligarchy
Photo courtesy The results of the so-called ‘mother’s examination’, or the year five scholarship examination of this year, have once again sturdily testified for the importance and significance of preservation and continuation…
LONG READ | Beyond History, Against the Present: Preliminary Thoughts on Re-imagining ‘South Asia
Original graphic from In my mind, delivering a keynote address in a conference that has as its theme the stated objective of ‘connecting South Asia and dynamics of art and culture in…
Menik Farm: The tragic end of a bitter saga, from detention to forced relocation
These were some of the questions that people who had fallen victim to the Sri Lankan Government’s latest resettlement program asked us when we visited them last Sunday 30th September 2012. The…
Happiness Blues, Sri Lanka
I don’t know what to say, my friend, I have some blues that don’t seem right, too light and fancy free, happiness and all that putty you poke and pat, grinning silly,…
Comprehensive archive of tweets: 8 May to 1 October 2012
Given that , unique updates after eventful Presidential Elections, alerting and real time information curation during tsunami warnings and the international fallout over Twitter of media content published domestically, it’s been a real challenge…
Religious sensitivities, the Islamic world and the communication revolution
Much hue and cry has been raised the world over the US made video titled “The Innocence of Islam”. In Sri Lanka too we have seen protests and numerous articles on the…
“Inventors are like artists – we must celebrate and nurture them!”
For over two decades, Deepal Sooriyaarachchi made a name for himself as an innovative Chartered Marketer and Management Development Consultant. While holding top executive positions in leading companies, he also excelled as…
Putting paid to the Government’s false claims: The new IDPs in Sri Lanka
Editors note: On the day Menik Farm was officially closed, an urgent memo was circulated widely on the fate of the IDPs from Keppapilavu. The memo adds vital context to the following…
