Kilinochchi: A Story of Trauma and Resilience
In Himali McInnes’ story, Kilinochchi, which is short listed to win the Commonwealth Short Story Prize for 2023, the protagonist is Nisha, a Tamil tea plucker with a turbulent past who moves…
Colombo
State Formation and Contemporary Policy Issues in Sri Lanka
The starting point of the analysis in this article is to question the conventional approach to studying a state. The conventional approach treats the state as a concrete, self-contained entity that has…
Political Will Needed to Abolish Period Tax
On Menstrual Hygiene Day, we are reminded of the ongoing efforts to normalize menstruation worldwide by the year 2030. In Sri Lanka we are still engaged in the struggle to eliminate the…
A.K. Dissanayake Still on Track for President
In April polling for Institute for Health Policy’s (IHP) Sri Lanka Opinion Tracker Survey (SLOTS) MRP tracking of Presidential Election voting intent, support among likely voters for A.K. Dissanayake, NPP/JVP leader, slipped…
Taking Care of Refugees and Asylum Seekers
Many Sri Lankans engage in protests for a variety of grievances but protests by refugees and asylum seekers, one of the most marginalized communities in Sri Lanka, are rare. From my memory,…
Sri Lanka’s Economic Crisis: Causes, Consequences and Cure
The principal problem faced by people due to the economic crisis is of rising prices while incomes for many remain unchanged. As a result, the poverty rate has doubled from 2021 from…
The Politics of Archaeology Spreads Discord in the North and East
Media personnel and activists are reporting several cases of Hindu religious sites being damaged, relics removed and Buddhist statues erected in their place with the collaboration of the Department of Archaeology. Hindu…
The Case of VM and Meeting Sri Lanka’s International Obligations
Star As Sri Lanka marks the end of a long and bloody civil war 14 years on, the legacy of the brutal past remains unaddressed and continues to haunt the country. The…
Politics of Addiction
This week marked the 14th anniversary of the ending of the long Eelam War. This week also saw the re-emergence of BBS head-honcho Galgoda Aththe Gnanasara to save the nation from that enterprising…
War Never Ends
This anniversary marks a stage, a pause in the fighting, does not a lasting peace reflect( especially when celebrated as if one party won). But dictates of reason, and…
Remembrance and Reconciliation: One Can’t Happen Without the Other
“How are we supposed to heal when we can’t even remember our loved ones in peace?” asked Vinitha (name changed), a Tamil social worker who grew up during the most violent times…
The Fearless Collective: Fighting Oppression with Beauty
In 2012, visual artist Shilo Shiv Suleman started the Fearless Collective in response to the protests that shook India after the Delhi gang rape and murder. The Fearless Collective says that it…
Fighting for Rights in a Repressive State
Piyath Nikeshala, a prominent social media activist, was attacked with machetes in broad daylight by former deputy mayor of Kaduwela Municipal Council, SLPP member Chandika Abeyrathne and his supporters. And then Piyath,…
Enabling Systematic Torture in Sri Lanka
The recent economic crisis in Sri Lanka exposed the police as an authoritarian institution. Protestors were arbitrarily arrested by officers in plain clothing without warrants and with complete disregard to due process…
Betrayal of Trust: Child Abuse by Buddhist Monks
Buddhism has been a part of Sri Lanka’s culture for centuries and the ordination of young boys as novice monks is a well established tradition. It is a practice that is meant…
