How to Deal with Racism
Photo courtesy The Platform/Raashid Riza The Lord Buddha once said “When someone fires an arrow into you, you don’t try and find out who fired the arrow and what they are all…
Identity
The Sinhalese…
[The triple gem of Anuradhapura; Abhayagiriya facing north and its synthesis of Theravada and Mahayana represents the spiritual values of balance and integration; Ruvanweliseya in the western corner symbolizes caution, orthodoxy and…
Mixed Messages and Bland Oversimplification in President Rajapaksa’s Independence Day Speech
In a significant act of outreach the Independence Day ceremonies were held in Trincomalee, a provincial city with a pronounced ethnic mix; while President Rajapaksa presented one part of his message in…
Ini Avan: Hauntingly beautiful but…
Ini Avan, Asoka Handagama’s latest film, in Tamil, has won international cinematic acclaim. And it is easy to see why. The film has interesting characters who within their confined destinies take some…
Will the Tamils Lose the Plot Again?
Photo courtesy Chaos and Fear Much has happened in the space of three months. Soon after the Eastern Provincial Council election came the (Heroes’ Day) incidents in Jaffna. It would seem…
Give Full Force and Effect to the Separation of Powers & Unity in Diversity
Photo courtesy On the 19th day of May 2009, with the end of the military conflict that had divided the country for over thirty years, Sri Lanka entered a new era. The…
To be or not to be Sri Lankan: That is the question!
Image from DW How do I define my identity? At first glance, the answer would be simple and clear: I am a French citizen with Sri Lankan origins. This would be enough…
Which way forward in post-conflict Sri Lanka? Lessons from the so-called ‘powerless’ women of the North
Image courtesy Introduction Before the war, we were all together. Now, we are widows with no security, and no one sees what we have to live through. But we go on, try…
Why Religious Intolerance Makes Me Mad
Image courtesy My name is Anisha, I am a liberal Muslim woman and more than anything a proud Sri Lankan. I support the Sri Lankan cricket team…always have and always will. I…
Religious sensitivities, the Islamic world and the communication revolution
Much hue and cry has been raised the world over the US made video titled “The Innocence of Islam”. In Sri Lanka too we have seen protests and numerous articles on the…
Elections in the East, reconciliation and politics: In conversation with Javid Yusuf
Javid Yusuf is an Attorney-at-Law and former diplomat. last featured him over two years ago, just after the Presidential Election in early 2010. In this programme, we talked about the recently concluded…
Muslims and the Eastern Provincial Council Elections in Sri Lanka: Kingmakers or Pawns?
Photo via As the campaigning for the Eastern Provincial Council (EPC) election concludes, there are only a few absolute certainties as to the outcome – most notably that there will be no…
A Critique of Political Fundamentalism in Sri Lanka
The mirror-like symmetries of dogmatic Sinhala and Tamil nationalism are occasionally remarked upon but not often pinned down. It is these interactive symmetries that constitute the amalgam which has hardened into the…
Ganesan Nimalaruban: A damning murder, funeral and silence
Photo credit: It is very likely readers of Sinhala mainstream print media have no clue who Ganesan Nimalaruban was, or exactly how he died. A simple Google news or general web search…