Holy Cow! Is it cricket?
Photo via Markandey Katju, quondam Justice of the Supreme Court of India, is a man who does not mince his words. A maverick, he has a penchant for courting controversies. Not long…
Year: 2016
Book Review: From Shame to Sin by Kyle Harper
Featured image courtesy Amazon (Adapted from Chaucer’s ‘The Canterbury Tales’) To use a colloquial phrase, Buddhism has no special “hang-up” about sex; the third of Buddhism’s five moral Precepts carries no more…
Singing of our National Anthem in the two National languages | Part 1
Image courtesy Narenthiran I read Prof. Carlo Fonseka’s article under the caption ‘Accolades for President and Prime Minister‘ in 10 Feb. with much interest and appreciation. Listening to the singing of the…
An Open Letter to HRH Prince Zeid Ra’ad Zeid Al-Hussein
Photo by FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images, via Migrant Teachers Rights Your Highness Prince Zeid Ra’ad Zeid Al-Hussein, In your capacity as the UN Commissioner for Human Rights, I write to your Highness with much…
Shrillness of Nonsensical Cultural Politics and the Social History of a Song
The latest news from Sri Lanka’s often bizarre domains of cultural politics is that Buddhism is under threat along with Sinhala culture. This however, is not due to the corrupt and violent…
An Appeal to Democratic Forces
Photography courtesy Huffington Post The great electoral victory won by democratic forces on 8th January 2015 against the anti-democratic, corrupt, murderous, and authoritarian family rule is in jeopardy. The Rajapaksa family and…
The High Commissioner for Human Rights visit to Sri Lanka raises hopes for victims
Photo courtesy Reuters, via CFR This week, the UN’s top human rights official, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein – the High Commissioner for Human Rights – is visiting Sri Lanka. He will see…
Common Ground: A series of photo essays
February 4, 1948 was a historic day for Sri Lanka. Yet, often forgotten is the struggle Sri Lankans faced to ensure independence. It was the concerted effort of people, regardless of class,…
Christ, Constitutions and Community: A Freedom Day Reflection
The sovereignty of all humans The essence of Jesus’ teaching on the law is the sovereignty of all humans. When confronted with the oppressive nature of the then Jewish (Sabbath) law, He…
The morning after the political honeymoon: President Sirisena’s future
Photo via Bloomberg With days turning into weeks and weeks into months, President Maithripala Sirisena appeared to have realized that power is ultimately the primary concern of politics and political leadership. What…
A 2500 year-old Culture that was!
Featured image courtesy AFP The current wave of Sinhala-Buddhist supremacism, and attempts to establish a ‘Sinhala-Buddhist Raj’ in Sri Lanka, if left unchecked will eventually lead to fragmentation of Sri Lanka into…
Legend along Littoral Landscapes: Tales from the Muslim World
The island of Sri Lanka, since ancient times, has featured prominently in the navigational and spiritual cartography of the Muslim world. The word of Persian origin ‘Sarandip ’ (سرانديپ) has long captured…
Yahapalanaya at 1: Is Transitional Justice in Crisis?
AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena, via Asian Correspondent In October 2015, the Sri Lankan government took a giant stride towards reconciliation when it co-sponsored a historic resolution at the Human Rights Council. Despite howls…
Independence Not An Accident: Muslim Leaders Put ‘Country Before Self’
Featured image courtesy Reuters The essence of statesmanship is not a rigid adherence to the past, but a prudent and probing concern for the future. –Hubert H. Humphrey ‘A Small Island of…
Time out on tusk trade
Photo courtesy A Voice for Wildlife Over 25 million elephants in Africa have succumbed to the now illegal ivory trade that has spanned across the last 200 years. To put that into…
