Eelam experiments: The transnational versus local realities
‘Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign. But stories can also be used to empower, and to humanize.’[1] I was inspired by the above words of Chimamanda Adichie talking about…
Diaspora
Fighting Windmills? Diaspora and Militarism in Post-Conflict Lanka
“Just then they came in sight of thirty or forty windmills that rise from that plain. And no sooner did Don Quixote see them that he said to his squire, “Fortune is…
Tamil Diaspora in Post-War Sri Lanka
One year ago today, the Sri Lankan army brutally and decisively ended its military campaign against the LTTE. The once hoped quiet dissolution of the national question through negotiation, devolution, and constitutional…
Curated list of best Twitter accounts by Sri Lankan bloggers
Visit http://twitter.com/groundviews/sl-bloggers to read updates from Sri Lanka’s leading bloggers. Resident in the country as well as in the diaspora, these Twitter feeds feature updates ranging from the quirky and personal to…
In conversation with Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu
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…
Shopping expedition in Little India: of Shalwars, samosas and Bollywood clones
Hanji is the word I picked off the air in Southall where I worked for a firm of solicitors. Travelling the bus 120 I could be in Bombay for hardly a word…
Life is no better for many migrants in UK
When I came to Britain for the first time in 1976 there were hardly any Sri Lankans except those who came to study. If ever I saw a Sri Lankan I was…
The Revenge of a Tamil Man
Some months ago, I arrived in Colombo on a trip to London from the Far East with Sri Lankan Airline. When the transit is more than eight hours, they put you in…
Saying what I want, when I want…
Five years have gone by since my entrance to the western hemisphere. Earlier inroads were always temporary; this time around it was reason to obtain citizenship. Which is done and dusted, the…
Post-war Sri Lanka: A conversation with Shanthi Sachithananthan
Shanthi Sachithananthan, the Chairperson of Viluthu has been featured on during the war. This interview, conducted late 2009 after war’s end, considers significant developments over the course of the year including the…
Interview with Prof. Kumar David
Prof. Kumar David, an electrical engineer by training, regular columnist in traditional print media and a frequent commentator on , talks about what’s left of leftist politics in Sri Lanka, the end…
An open letter to the Remote Control Diaspora
Dear RCD, I was having a meal at home recently when I heard this piece of news repeated on the radio. “…two men caught while trying to buy missiles and hundreds of…
Don’s Diary: One week in Sri Lanka
Saturday: Fly from Heathrow to Colombo; uneventful journey; drink gin and tonic, take long sleep. Hear that an aunt passed away just before departure. Sunday: Catch up on sleep and go to…
Engage the Diaspora
As all issues pertaining to ethnicity in Sri Lanka the role of the Diaspora Tamils has become a point of contention in Sri Lanka. As usual this group is defined in monolithic…
The Relevance of Human Rights – A Lankan Perspective
[Editors Note: Prof. Rajan Hoole, co-founder of UTHR (J) and co-author of the Broken Palmyra, presents this piece exclusively to Groundviews for Human Rights Day 2009]. One important indicator of Human Rights…
