The Nation at 75
Sri Lanka celebrates its 75th independence day today. The event has provoked much debate and discussion. Coming on top of the worst financial crisis in the country’s post-independence history, it coincides with…
Author: Uditha Devapriya
Putting the Petition in Perspective
The petition from 182 economists and development experts calling for the cancellation of Sri Lanka’s sovereign debt has provoked rather interesting discussions in Sri Lanka and elsewhere. W. A. Wijewardena calls these…
Sumitra: Last Emissary of a Bygone Era
My Lunches with Orson is the title of a collection of interviews that Henry Jaglom, a US avant-garde filmmaker, did with Orson Welles over a period of two years (1983-1985). It is…
Sri Lanka and the World: Towards a New Approach
Speaking in Parliament in 1996, Anura Bandaranaike dwelt on the legacy of his father and mother. He spoke of how the world had viewed Sri Lanka in their time and how it…
Ranil Wickremesinghe and the Politics of Incompatibility
A recent World Food Programme (WFP) report underlines the magnitude of the food crisis in Sri Lanka. The report shows that 36% of the country’s households are effectively food insecure while 76%…
In Retrospect: The Protests That Were
When I look back at 2022, what strikes me more than anything else is how agonisingly slowly it passed. The early days of COVID-19 had been slow enough. But 2022 broke that…
A Pivotal Shift in the Status Quo
The Mahanayakes of Sri Lanka’s three Buddhist monastic orders – Siam, Amarapura, and Ramanya – have written a letter to President Ranil Wickremesinghe. They have requested concessions on the recent electricity tariff…
Gotabaya Rajapaksa in Retrospect
Colombo was noticeably subdued when news of Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s resignation letter reaching the speaker of the parliament came out; perhaps because people were unable to buy them, there were no firecrackers. In…
The Future of the Aragalaya
Lenin once remarked that there are decades when nothing happens and weeks when decades happen. Much more than a decade passed last week at Galle Face. Beginning with Mahinda Rajapaksa’s desperate and…
The IMF, the Middle Class and #GotaGoHome
Sri Lanka will enter into negotiations with the International Monetary Fund next week. Led by Ali Sabry, the country’s Finance Minister, and Nandalal Weerasinghe, the Governor of the Central Bank, the delegation…
Critiquing the Protests Constructively
I’d like to say this is the beginning of the end but it’s not. The latest spate of protests to hit the country has now been going on for more than a…
The Crisis and Where We Go From Here
Much more lucid than in his disastrous last address to the nation, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was noticeably sombre and sober on Wednesday night. Perhaps mindful of the critiques that followed his earlier…
Bitter Sugar, Poisoned Oil
The recent scandals involving sugar and coconut oil should point the country to the dangers of private sector mafias and rent seekers. These are not your typical consumer goods: they are fast…
No, Ranjan Ramanayake Is Not a Hero
Sri Lankans are, in general, an emotional lot. They like conspiracy theories and where there aren’t any they like to cook some up. The Ranjan Ramanayake verdict is a case in point.…
An Alternative Reading of the Jathika Chintanaya
The Jathika Chintanaya which emerged in the 1980s and matured in the 1990s continues to exert a considerable influence on mainstream politics and popular opinion here today. The movement’s contribution to historiography…