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Groundviews

Author: Uditha Devapriya

Year
Month
75 Years of Independence, Colombo, Peace and Conflict, Politics and Governance

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…

Uditha Devapriya Uditha Devapriya on 02/04/2023
Economy, Politics and Governance

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…

Uditha Devapriya Uditha Devapriya on 01/29/2023
Arts and Theatre, Colombo, Culture, Moving Images

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…

Uditha Devapriya Uditha Devapriya on 01/22/202301/23/2023
Colombo, Diplomacy, International Relations, Politics and Governance

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…

Uditha Devapriya Uditha Devapriya on 01/15/2023
Colombo, Economy, Human Rights, Peace and Conflict, Politics and Governance, Poverty

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%…

Uditha Devapriya Uditha Devapriya on 01/01/202301/01/2023
Colombo, Peace and Conflict, Politics and Governance

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…

Uditha Devapriya Uditha Devapriya on 12/25/202212/25/2022
Colombo, Politics and Governance, Religion and faith

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…

Uditha Devapriya Uditha Devapriya on 10/01/2022
Colombo, Politics and Governance

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…

Uditha Devapriya Uditha Devapriya on 07/15/2022
#GoHomeGota, #GotaGoHome, Colombo, Peace and Conflict, Politics and Governance

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…

Uditha Devapriya Uditha Devapriya on 05/22/202205/24/2022
#GoHomeGota, Colombo, Economy, Peace and Conflict, Politics and Governance

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…

Uditha Devapriya Uditha Devapriya on 04/17/202204/18/2022
#GotaGoHome, Colombo, Human Rights, justice, Peace and Conflict, Politics and Governance

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…

Uditha Devapriya Uditha Devapriya on 04/06/202204/18/2022
Colombo, Development, Economy, Politics and Governance

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…

Uditha Devapriya Uditha Devapriya on 03/19/202203/19/2022
Colombo, Corruption, Economy, Healthcare, Politics and Governance

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…

Uditha Devapriya Uditha Devapriya on 04/07/202104/07/2021
Colombo, justice, Politics and Governance

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.…

Uditha Devapriya Uditha Devapriya on 01/13/2021
Colombo, Features, Politics and Governance

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…

Uditha Devapriya Uditha Devapriya on 08/26/2020

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