Sri Lankan English: The state of the debate
In the two and a half years since I published my book, , I have followed the ongoing debate on the subject with interest. The good news is that there is a…
In the two and a half years since I published my book, , I have followed the ongoing debate on the subject with interest. The good news is that there is a…
What prevents the ruling coalition from unveiling a new ‘first past the post’ electoral system and going for a mid–term parliamentary election? Judging by current trends and data of a decade, the…
I experienced three disturbing scenarios within the last 5 months. In no particular order they are as follows. I recently visited Sri Lanka after seven years. End of it I was overwhelmed…
Yesterday marked the ending of the fourth round of peace talks endorsed by the late Lakshman Kadirgamar, FM, in the Kumaratunga administration on January 08,1995. On the night of April 19, 1995,…
Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu is the Executive Director of the Centre for Policy Alternatives. I begin this interview with a pointed question, asking Dr. Saravanamuttu to flag anything the government has done well…
Some of us are born at the wrong time or in the wrong place or in both the wrong time and place. Â Nietzsche said he was born posthumously. He meant that the…
– John Foster Dulles Commonly violence is defined as  the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community that either…
A few days ago a parent of a potential player of a big match for a Colombo school told me of calls they got asking them for one lakh of Rupees to…
I can’t begin to count the number of times I’ve had that question asked from me over the years. Ironically enough, in these days of ‘peace’ I’ve had it asked of me…
Torture is one of the most serious abuses of human rights. Generally torture is referred to as ‘any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted…
Remember the “Bandaranaike Sri Lanka’s Northern Question (Gramsci spoke of Italy’s ‘Southern Question’) can be amicably resolved. President Mahinda Rajapakse has proved himself a superb politician and a successful wartime leader. Can…
A decent enough interval has not lapsed between Dr Nihal Jayawickrama’s first expression of views on sovereignty in the a fortnight ago, and his more reasoned and most recent expression, for the…
So, the military has nothing to do with “nation building” and a great leader has to be seen as a Commander in Chief. This same logic of Bush would also explain that,…
A news item on Lakbima News titled . “Websites such as , a partial NGO website run by one Sajana Hattotuwa, under-qualified sub-standard ‘‘journalist’’ pretender, with a sub-standard ‘qualification’ from some obscure…
It is with utter frustration, one sees, the total apathy and fatality with which the educated and informed segment of Sri Lanka’s polity are succumbing to the despicable level of bad governance,…