‘BE YOUNG AND SHUT UP!’: A COURSE IN CIVIC DISENGAGEMENT
‘ . The idea that this form of indoctrination should be forced upon university students, and its acceptance by many in the country, is a remarkable detraction from what we strive…
Youth
Perspectives and Commentary on the Leadership Training Programme for University Undergraduates
[Author’s note: As you are probably aware the leadership training for undergraduates is now well under way in 28 military installations around the country. Although the government has stated that this will be…
The limits of the Mahinda Chintanaya: FTZ workers and Buddhist monks rise up against government
Photo courtesy Vikalpa Protests in Katunayake Free Trade Zone: No police in sight has audio and video footage of the violent protests over the course of the week in the Katunayake Free…
Floating Spaces: Theatre and censorship in Sri Lanka
Some of the best conversations featured on this site have been with those involved in the arts in Sri Lanka. Noted theatre personalities featured on to date include Tracy Holsinger, Mohamed Adamaly…
Finding the Middle Ground
Just over a week ago, a couple of my colleagues and I appeared on a prominent Canadian talk show discussing our attempts, as both individuals and organizing members of the Young Canadians’ Peace…
Removing the Emperor’s Clothes
Original image from Lanka Polity Universities, academics and university students have been hogging the limelight in the last several weeks in unprecedented ways. The Rajapakse regime’s systematic destruction of the higher education…
Reflecting on the End of the Sri Lankan Civil War: The Need for a New Conversation in the Global Sri Lankan Community
Although military hostilities in Sri Lanka ended two years ago, the dynamics of the conversation in the global Sri Lankan community continues to be influenced by the nations’ past conflicts. Decades of…
Sinhala and Tamil New Year in Jaffna, Sri Lanka: Ground realities
Sinhala & Tamil New Year when I was growing up was always a much-awaited annual event in our neighbourhood. We’d have card tournaments and badminton tournaments leading up to the “Big Day,”…
‘Heal Lanka’ by Ras Ceylon
A retweet this morning from Ras Ceylon alerted us to the fact that he was following our feed. We first read about Ras Ceylon on Sepia Mutiny, interviewed by the inimitable Tanzila…
JVP and the emerging crisis in Sri Lankan universities
[Editors note: See map of campus and university student related violence over 2010 alone here.] The university has been the most dependable and organic reservoir of full time political as well as…
Student Unrest in Universities
Unhappy university students are marching in the Island of Brinka, and I met my good old friend Sivapuranam Thevaram at a pub in the ancient university city of Cowford to discuss this…
A turn for the worse? Undergraduate protests and unrest in Sri Lanka
View Student unrest in Sri Lanka in a larger map. Recent months in Sri Lanka have seen a dramatic increase in the number of protests involving thousands of university students, many of…
The Media and the Future of Sri Lanka: Young Canadians’ Peace Dialogue on Sri Lanka
The co-editor of Nigel Nugawela spoke recently at a progressive forum of young Canadian – Sri Lankans in Toronto on the role of media in post-war Sri Lanka, including the use of…
Submission before Lessons Learnt & Reconciliation Committee (LLRC) by Chandra Jayaratne
[Editors note: Chandra Jayaratne is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka and of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, UK, a former President of the Ceylon Chamber…
USJP Students’ Union: Harassment and Gender Discrimination over clothing
Many believe that women in Sri Lanka are in a better place compared to its counterparts in South Asia. This is true up to a certain extent where women enjoy a high…
