The Politics of Economic Reform
The recent tax proposals have created quite a ruckus in all quarters of Sri Lanka. While the popular opinion was that economic reforms would be opposed by the poor and the trade…
Politics and Governance
Geneva Resolutions on Sri Lanka – Past and Future
“How many more years should we come to Geneva?” Sandya Ekneligoda, wife of disappeared journalist, at “informal” consultation on UNHRC resolution on Sri Lanka, in Geneva, 16th Sept. 2022 Among the many international…
The State Versus The People
The State, knocked down in the early rounds of Aragalaya, is back, sparring and dodging and delivering upper cuts again as if nothing has happened, as if the struggle is a…
July 1983 Pogrom: the Black Week that Impacted Sri Lanka Forever
The political leadership of Sri Lanka has yet again demonstrated that even in the midst of the worst socio economic and political crisis the country has faced since independence, they do not…
A Janus Moment
“A wandering fire at a terrible height – can it be a star shining like that? Osip Mandelstam (Poem 101) A walking path bordered by the sea and a bit of lawn…
Accidental President Ranil Wickremesinghe Can Deliver A Golden Legacy
Is Ranil Wickremesinghe an Accidental President? His many detractors will believe this is the case. They can point to a politician who was ignored by the electorate; to a party leader whose…
Abolishing the Tainted Monarchy: Make Elizabeth the Last?
It was the queen’s diamond jubilee in 2012 and I shuffled past the crowds lining Fore Street in Exeter securing a front row vantage point to watch the burgundy Rolls Royce Phantom…
Supporting Urban Poor Families in Colombo
Low income settlements in Colombo experienced greater food insecurity even before the pandemic with 72% of households being food insecure[1]. Women in low income households in Colombo were more likely to be…
Swan Song of the Fourth Estate?
The ballads and chants still peal across the windswept Galle Face Green as the protests continue and Gota Go Gama (GGG) flamboyantly, angrily, uproariously flourishes on what was once the marine esplanade…
Resurrecting the People, Challenging Ethnos and De-Ethicizing Buddhism
The people as demos contra ethnos (that is devoid of sectarian ethno-religious identity) have spoken and continue to speak against the depredations visited upon them by this insidious regime of kleptocrats and…
Time for Public Institutions to Heed the People’s Call
The 1978 constitution’s executive presidency that was meant to bring about economic development has dragged the country down to the worst economic crisis we have faced since independence. The weakening of the…
How an Incompetent Cabal of Voodoo Economics Practitioners Ruined Sri Lanka’s Economy
Sri Lanka is set to commence its discussions with the IMF on Monday. The country has jumped off the plane of economic stability without a parachute and now we must hope that…
March 31 Protests and Aftermath: Updates
The Protest Events of March 31 leading into the early hours of April 1, 2022 On March 31, a silent citizens protest that began at Jubilee Junction in Nugegoda burgeoned into a massive show…
The Next Three Years
In Terry Pratchett’s Small Gods, a god gets turned into a tortoise. Omnia is great god Om’s fief. Everyone worships him there, out of habit or in fear of his human…
A Gendered Analysis of Budget 2022
Every year in November the mainstream media is dedicated to economists for the analysis of the budget for the year. Because many of these analyses, which use a variety of technical terms,…
