Among the reprisals faced by prominent leaders of the people’s uprising last year were arrests, detentions, travel bans and continuing court cases. Many leaders have multiple court cases pending against them despite…
We have reached January 9th, 2023. We cannot go any farther or longer or deeper. We are at the turning point, on the cusp, early in the New Year, and we…
President Ranil Wickremesinghe has often been accused of neo-liberal tendencies. The term is used as a pejorative; this statement and many before it justify the label and reveals his ideological compass. It…
We all knew 2022 would be a challenging year for Sri Lanka even before its arrival. But no one expected it to be this difficult, hurtful, unpleasant, yet memorable. The country was…
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%…
2022 was one of the most momentous years in Sri Lanka’s recent history. An unprecedented people’s movement drove out an elected president and prime minister and forced the resignation of the entire…
In some ways, in 2022, life for Sri Lankans has followed a similar pattern to previous years. A few have prospered greatly or wielded power ruthlessly, many have faced misery, protests by…
Gnanamuttu Kusumawathi, known as Kusuma akka, passed away five years ago. We remember her rebellious spirit and strength with admiration and gratitude. Kusuma akka was a leader in the Panama Pattuwa (Pattuwa…
On December 17, 2022, fishermen in northern Sri Lanka alerted the navy about a boat in distress adrift in the sea. On December 18, the navy rescued a group of 104 people…
On this Boxing Day, eighteenth anniversary of the Tsunami I write about the year in which the Aragalaya swept up and dispatched the ruler of the ruling family. He fled first to…
Microfinance is an essential aspect of the economy where low income people often lack access to structured, formal financial services. Improved access to financial services among the low income population assists in…
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…
The process of ethnic assimilation, common in the pre-British era, largely ceased under colonial rule when communal identities were fostered and emphasized. It can arguably be said modern Sinhala nationalism emerged in…
Tashiya de Mel On the northern coast of Sri Lanka in the Mannar District is a place of extraordinary importance to conservation and to the economic wellbeing of the human populations who…
Suffering through its worst economic crisis since independence, Sri Lanka’s population has been facing hyperinflation for months, forcing many families to reduce their food and nutrition intake in order to cope. Many…
