
Free Expression, Hunger and Racism in context of COVID19
Image by Nicolas Ortega via On 9th April, hundreds of people in Doluwa, in the Kandy district, came to the road demanding food and relief in the context of the three-week-long indefinite…
Image by Nicolas Ortega via On 9th April, hundreds of people in Doluwa, in the Kandy district, came to the road demanding food and relief in the context of the three-week-long indefinite…
Shahidul Alam is no stranger to Sri Lanka. In January 2005, the renowned photojournalist and activist documented damage wrought by the tsunami. His blog titled ‘Boxing Day blues’ shows a letter sent…
Sri Lanka ranks 131 on the Reporters Without Borders 2018 World Press Freedom Index, an improvement of 10 points in the space of a year. The reason for this may be the…
In early January, as part of his much hyped ‘Make in India’ agenda, Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the ‘Start-Up India’ initiative. This ode to venture capitalism is but a complement to…
Introduction There is a need to question the adequacy and suitability of current conceptions of both ‘human rights’ and ‘secularism’ to meet the challenges of unbridled majoritarianism, which seems perfectly at home…
Anagarika Dharmapala, A.E. Goonesinha and C.W.W. Kannangara, three of the radical champions of the early 20th century who were ‘managed’ by the conservative leaders who eventually negotiated ‘freedom’ from the British. With…
The war in Sri Lanka ended on 18th May 2009. During three decades of war, civil liberties were severely curtailed, often in an arbitrary manner, without possibilities of challenging them or seeking…
Cartoon by Carlos Latuff “The freedom to speak and the freedom to write are essential preconditions for the transition towards democracy and good governance” – We are living in the world, in which committed journalists writes…
“Those who would sacrifice liberty for security deserve neither.” Benjamin Franklin. “Necessity is blind until it becomes conscious. Freedom is the consciousness of necessity.” Marx As Sri Lanka transforms from a welfare…
NB: The following is a brief (and therefore rather incomplete) note on the censorship and state-control imposed on present-day Sri Lankan cinema, where filmmakers are forced to be conscious of the prevalent…
“Governments usually don’t take notice of silent majorities” says well known investigative and environmental journalism Dilrukshi Handunnetti in this video interview with . To commemorate Human Rights Day 2009 (falling on 10…
When I first heard of indispensable machine, I left the island on voluntary exile. Some seven years later, the information technology landscape of Sri Lanka has seen dramatic transformations, in keeping with…
[Editors note: An edited copy of this article appears in the of 27th September 2009. This is the full version.] It was a relief to hear that the government was at last…
The Media at a time of war During the Second World War the German people tuned into the BBC for war news rather than their own radio managed by Goebbels who broadcast…
Nalaka Gunawardene is a science writer and media watcher. He writes a blog on media and society. This article is adapted and expanded from the author’s panel remarks made during the OUR…