The Year in Photos
As 2017 draws to a close, Groundviews shares a selection of photos taken over the course of the year, covering a variety of issues, from displacement and militarisation in the North to…
Year: 2017
Is it too much to ask for emotionally Intelligent mindful leaders in the 21st Century?
Photo courtesy Dwight D. Eisenhower said “I think that people want peace so much that one of these days government had better get out of their way and let them have…
Local Government election dynamics in the North and East
Photo courtesy Despite the year end holiday season, the political focus is on the upcoming local government elections scheduled for February 10th next year. With nominations closing by end December, January will…
Mary’s Consent for Jesus’s birth: A Christmas reflection
Image courtesy Wikipedia Christmas is the story of Mary, a young unwedded mother, giving birth to a refugee child, Jesus, in a sheep shed. The central male character in this story is…
A Christmas Reflection
Bethlehem – Birth place of the Incarnate One Bethlehem is the little village in which Jesus was born. It was here, that the unseen God emptied himself to become human in the…
Reclaiming Social Sciences and Humanities: Notes from South Asia
Image courtesy Hilary Burage Let me begin by thanking Prof P.S.M. Gunaratne for inviting me to deliver this keynote address. Interestingly however, despite being a Sri Lankan university insider for nearly twenty…
Killing Tuskers and Culling Hopes
“I just passed a polling place and it’s crowded. There’s no parking… There’s an electricity. It’s exciting.”[i] That was American activist Lecia Brooks (of the Southern Poverty Law Centre), referring to the…
Rokheya, Sultana and the Muslim Women Dreaming of Gender Justice in Sri Lanka
In tending to all domestic chores. However, men enter purdah voluntarily after sustaining injuries in a war. Women take over, win the war through non-violent means and continue to rule Ladyland. With…
Corruption and Complicity: Perceptions from across Sri Lanka
Discussions around corruption and its prevalence often focus on the highest echelons of power. In Sri Lanka, irregularities around the Central Bank bond issue continue to make the news – with the President most…
Conviviality vs Censorship: On Media Freedom in Sri Lanka
Under the Presidency of Mahinda Rajapaksa between 2005 and 2015, government brutality and censorship towards the media in Sri Lanka reached new levels. This was to the extent that in the Reporters…
#justaphotolka : Highlighting and Pushing Back Against Ongoing Surveillance in Vavuniya
On November 24, two youth were questioned in Vavuniya around posts they had made on Facebook. One of the photos was of the Divisional Secretariat of Vavuniya North, Nandukerni, and specifically, a…
The Human-Elephant Conflict: Moving Towards Solutions
Recently the famous tusker, “Dala Puttuwa” of Galgamuwa was killed by poachers, renewing the public discussion around the ongoing human -elephant conflict in Sri Lanka. Investigators found that Dala Puttuwa was killed…
In Their Absence: Families of the Disappeared Share Treasured Keepsakes
“Do you have anything that reminds you of your son/daughter/husband/grandchildren? Something that they used?” Mother/Father/Wife/Sister/Grandmother: “I have, son. I kept it safely. I washed my son’s blood-stained shirt, and kept it with…
The Crackdown on Corruption
On November 8 President Maithripala Sirisena called the irregularities around the Central Bank bond issue a (a huge destruction) and said that those behind it must accept responsibility. He was speaking at…
Vijay Nagaraj: Contributions to public discourse in many guises
Vijay Nagaraj, who passed away in a tragic car accident in August, was someone I interacted with for around six years. We didn’t meet regularly, yet when we did, we carried on…
