Pyromaniacs on the March
“Patriotism,” wrote Ambrose Bierce in is “The combustible rubbish ready to the torch of anyone ambitious to illuminate his name.” Patriotism is not the last refuge of the scoundrel, as Samuel Johnson…
“Patriotism,” wrote Ambrose Bierce in is “The combustible rubbish ready to the torch of anyone ambitious to illuminate his name.” Patriotism is not the last refuge of the scoundrel, as Samuel Johnson…
Two hundred years ago, the first groups of women and men were brought from southern India by the British colonial rulers to Sri Lanka to work in the hill country plantations. They…
The last few weeks have seen increased media coverage in a relation to a government proposal to establish a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) for Sri Lanka. At face value, this seems…
She stands tall at the heart of the British Museum’s South Asian exhibit. In all her gilded bronze glory, her eyes search passing spectators, although the jewels which once adorned them have…
In 2021, the Wildlife & Nature Protection Society (WNPS), Sri Lanka’s oldest such organisation (the third in the world), with the aid of the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC), persuaded the government…
In 1983, a series of bloody riots swept Sri Lanka, marking the start of the country’s 26 year brutal civil war. Intermittent unrest had been occurring since the late 1950s and state…
The family of Amal Sanderatne shared a public message, which was courageous and honest in the context of the stigma that has cloaked the issue of mental health and suicidal ideation in…
The horrific events of July 1983, when a wave of state organised arson and murder against Tamils left many dead, displaced or traumatised, shocked people in Sri Lanka and internationally. Many people…
Half a century ago, it was higher education, saving universities from Tamil encroachment. Today it is Buddhist heritage, saving archaeological sites in the North and the East from Tamil encroachment. Tomorrow another…
Editor’s note: July 23, 2023 marks the 40th anniversary of the July 83 anti-Tamil pogrom, which has left an indelible mark on Sri Lanka’s history. This dark chapter overshadowed the nation’s post-independence…
Numerous ways in which human rights failings harming Sri Lankans should be set right were flagged up on July 10 by the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC). This was part of…
Unequal types and processes for divorce constitute one of the most problematic aspects of the current Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act (MMDA) 1951 of Sri Lanka. In June 2021, a government appointed…
When the Easter Sunday bomb attacks brought tears to the world I, too, cried in Toronto for myself saying, “I am not safe here”. The images of Easter bombings brought memories of…
The irony is not lost on the Malaiyaga Thamilar community. A stamp was issued in commemoration of former minister and leader of the Ceylon Workers Congress, the late Arumugan Thondaman, but most…
In my extensive work with torture victims, particularly within the Tamil community, I have witnessed first hand the unspeakable suffering endured by these individuals and the urgent need for comprehensive support and…