The moon is out
In Sri Lanka The moon is out I think No, not a full moon Just a patch of light Straining through the darkness And not everywhere equally bright In the north I…
Year: 2015
Maithripala Sirisena’s Victory: Winning the Hearts of Women
Photo courtesy The Hindu As the campaigning for both candidates has ended, and the celebrations for the victory of Maithripala Sirisena have begun, larger battles are still being waged, and will be…
Hope
I drove past Temple Trees this morning at sunrise, a few minutes after the first SMS from a major news service proclaimed Mahinda Rajapaksa would step down as President. I couldn’t believe…
The Chandrika Bandaranaike factor in Sri Lankan politics, Part I
Photo courtesy DBS Jeyaraj A Gaullist executive presidency for Sri Lanka was an idea that J.R. Jayewardene cherished since the early years of the Dominion state. Having won a spectacular majority against…
Voting for Lasantha Again, 26 Years Later
Photo courtesy CNN A quarter century ago, as an eager first time voter, I cast my maiden vote for a young journalist friend who had recently taken to electoral politics. Lasantha Wickrematunge…
Why people seek a change
Photo courtesy IPS Today, January 8, approximately 15 million Sri Lankans will seek to elect the island’s next president at a tightly-contested presidential election. The chosen day is a special one. It…
The Moment, Opportunity and the Possibility for Change
Photo via The Republic Square The moment and opportunity have arrived! Sri Lankans are going to the polling booths across the country on this 8th day of January 2015 to elect their…
#IVotedSL infographic: How to vote
Voting is an important civic responsibility and one way all of us exercise and enjoy our Sovereignty. This responsibility becomes particularly important during a Presidential Election, because of the immense power vested…
#IVotedSL infographic: Voter turnout in the region
Voting is an important civic responsibility and one way all of us exercise and enjoy our Sovereignty. This responsibility becomes particularly important during a Presidential Election, because of the immense power vested…
MISSED OPPORTUNITIES – My reflections
Photo by REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte, via Channel 4 I belong to a generation of Sri Lankans who witnessed many missed opportunities. Opportunities to stand proud as a nation, to grow politically and socially as…
Remembering Lasantha six years on: Launch of photo-essays on Sri Lanka
Photo by Abdul-Halik Azeez Journalist Lasantha Wickrematunge‘s murder on 8th January 2009 was utterly horrible and yet, even more unforgettable was the Rajapaksa government’s reaction to it. Lasantha’s last editorial, published posthumously, didn’t mince…
Contrasting post civil war development trajectories in Nepal and Sri Lanka
Photograph courtesy Asian Tribune In both Nepal and Sri Lanka the transition from war to durable peace has been painful and is ongoing and not devoid of pitfalls as has been the…
And that’s what my country is like…
Photo by REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte via Channel 4 So what is country like? This question is put to me by a new friend of mine. I hesitate, flinch. Uncertain about what I should say……
Towards an Enlightened Nation: An Epiphany Reflection
Photo from Nuklearfishing Epiphany is the festival of enlightenment. It commemorates the visit of the wise-persons from the east to the Christ child and is observed on the 6th of January. The…
How is this development?
A few months ago I travelled to Jaffna. I saw a very different, ‘developed’ Jaffna than the one I had visited just a few years previously in 2011; a mall, 3D cinema,…
