Reflections On Aversion: A Story of Contemporary Sri Lanka
I have titled my first novel Aversion. The definition of this word is “a strong dislike or disinclination” and “an opposition” or “a repulsion” towards a thing, a place or a person….
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A Sustained Path Toward Equitable Higher Education
The time has come to move beyond political promises and take concrete action not only by increasing investment in education but by ensuring that this investment is sustainable, equitable and benefits generations…
Rising Violence Ahead of Local Government Elections
In the first electoral test for President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and his National People’s Power party since they won the presidential and parliamentary elections in 2024, more than 17 million people will…
ETCA: A Strategic Initiative to Navigate National Calamity
Sri Lanka’s economy is at a critical tipping point, grappling with escalating geopolitical challenges and economic strain. The World Bank has highlighted growing concerns, cautioning that the country is still not entirely out…
The Significance of the Local Government Elections
The upcoming local government elections scheduled for May 6 represent more than just another trip to the polling booth. They mark a critical juncture in the country’s democratic journey, emerging from the…
Protecting the Poor is an Urgent Necessity
Sri Lanka’s poverty rate has more than doubled over the past four years from 11 percent in 2019 to almost 26 percent in 2023. This means that more than a quarter of…
Stickergate: A Bell that Tolls for All
Zoë Rogers is 21, English, a dog-lover. In August 2024, she, together with five others, crashed a modified prison van into Elbit Systems, an Israeli weapons manufacturing facility in Bristol. The six…
Batalanda and Beyond: Time to Break the Cycle of Impunity
For 25 long years the Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Establishment and Maintenance of Places of Unlawful Detention and Torture Chambers at the Batalanda Housing Scheme, better known as…
Sri Lanka’s Silent Cultivation of Incel Culture Through the Matriarchal Nuclear Family
Incel is a term that started to come into popular use a few years ago, fuelled by the digital era, and escalating during the enforced lockdowns during the pandemic, which disrupted our…
The Fight for Abortion Rights in Sri Lanka
In a country where abortion remains criminalised under colonial-era laws dating back to 1883, Sri Lanka has long denied women the fundamental right to make decisions about their own bodies. The recent…
A Daunting List of Human Rights Problems to Address
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and his NPP government have inherited a daunting list of human rights problems to address. In his election manifesto, President Dissanayake pledged to repeal the Prevention of Terrorism…
Reforming Welfare from Dependency to Reciprocal Dignity
Sri Lanka stands at a pivotal moment in its social development. After weathering a profound economic crisis and decades of welfare policies that have created complex patterns of dependency, the nation must…
Breaking the Silence on Batalanda: A Call to Action
For more than two decades, the Batalanda Commission report has languished in the archives of our nation’s history, ignored and forgotten by those who should have cared most [1]. But recent events,…
Dealing with Sri Lanka’s Two Systems
James Edition Since colonisation of Ceylon by the British, we had two systems: the native social system with strong cultural and religious orientation and the colonial system with British cultural (including educational),…
Trump Tariffs Expose Sri Lanka’s Uncompetitive Trade Policy
The recent imposition of tariffs on trade by the US on Sri Lankan exports is a wake up call. While concerns about the bilateral US-Sri Lanka trade imbalance have been noted, a…
