by Michael Roberts is now in print
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Table of Contents
I Political Excursions on Historical Reinterpretation
1. Lanka without Vijaya …. Beyond the new millennium 1
2. History as dynamite. Let us circumscribe history-talk 5
3. Addressing Vijaya & Dutugämunu 13
4. Dakunin sadi kotiyo, uturen golu muhudai 19
5. History-making in Lanka in 2008: problems 25
II Political Excursions on Identity
6. The Sri Lankan identity and our vocabulary 37
7. Sri Lankan-ness … and being mongrel 43
8. Sri Lankan-ness: hegemonic umbrella, hyphenated response 49
9. How does one become Sinhalese or Tamil in sentiment? 57
III Political Excursions on the polity
10. The meaning of Eelam 67
11. Sri Lankans and Eelam Tamils 75
12. Self-determination(s) and the Sri Lanka Tamils 81
13. LTTE pragmatism: at two moments 87
14. The Achilles heel in democracy 95
15. Split asunder: four nations in Sri Lanka 99
16. Addressing the nations of Sri Lanka 109
17. Issues for Tamil nationalism: revisiting Publius 115
IV Political Excursions of Comparative Scope
18. Self-immolation 123
19. Sacrificial devotion in comparative scope: kamikaze, mujahid, Tiger 131
20. The concept “secular” and state dispensations today: fragmentary thoughts 139
21. Self-annihilation – Tamil Tigers and beyond:
cultural premises inspiring sacrificial suicidal acts 163
V Tamil Tigers: Emergence, Actions, Rituals
22. The Tamil movement for Eelam 205
23. Suicide for political cause 221
24. LTTE and Tamil people 241
VI Hothouse War Situation: Early 2009
25. Dilemmas at war’s end: thoughts on hard realities 267
26. Dilemmas at war’s end: clarification and counter-offensive 277
27. Simpletons at the world’s peak: Sri Lankan situation stumps the world 291
28. Some pillars for Lanka’s future 305
Bibliography for Figures 314
Amalgamated Bibliography
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LIST OF PHOTOGRAPHS
INTERWOVEN page
1. Bandaranaike woos a crowd of Sinhala language enthusiasts 18
2a. Chelvanāyakam and others at satyagrāha 24
2b. Forcible removal of Tamil satygrāhis from Galle Face Green 24
3. FR Jayasuriya fasts unto death in support of the Sinhala Only bill, 24 May 1956 42
4. Ponnudurai Sivakumāran presents new horizons 56
5a. Tigers on alert on the road as Tamil people move house 80
4b. Pirapāharan in contemplation 80
4c. The Bālasinghams and Pirapāharan in relaxed discussion 80
- Four Tamil Eelam leaders 86
- Indo-Lanka Accord press meeting 94
8. Street protests against Indo Accord 130
CLUSTERED facing page 160
9. Assault on Rajiv Gandhi
10a. Pirapāharan as Ché Guevera
10b. Tiger commanders at Indian training camp
11a. Induction of a Tiger recruit
11b. Black Tigers marching
12. Annai Pupati billboard shrine
13. Central Bank bomb blasts and effects
14. Pirapāharan and Bālasingham hold court in Kilinochchi, April 2002
15. The LTTE directorate
16. Tamil parliamentarians’ Nazi-style salute at Pongu Thāmil gathering
17. Mass mobilisation of Tamil civilians
18. Battle terrain
19a,b. Tiger dead on lagoon banks and PTK area
20. Tamil dead after shellfire at Mullivāikkāl
21. Nanthikadal: a scene from the last redoubt before it became a crucible of death
22. Migrant Tamils mass to demonstrate
23. Tamil refugees and their reception at battlefront
24. Pirapāharan’s corpse draws military eyes
INTERWOVEN
25. Pirapāharan’s parental home in Velvittathurai, November 2004 204
26a,b. Pirapāharan’s last homeland 263
27a,b. Pirapāharan identified by Karunā 290