Michael Roberts
After several years work in asociation with Ismeth Raheem and Percy Colin-Thome the book People Inbetween: The Burghers an the Middle Class in the Transformations within Sri Lanka, 1780s-1960s was brought out under the imprint of Savodaya Publishing Services in 1989.** Its first chapter on “Pejorative Phrases ..” was a central and critical segment of the whole work and included an illustrative çartoon that had been presented in The Island newspaper on the 27th January 1985.
As authors we added the cautionary and clarificatory note that readers can see below the sketch. We also placed the elaboration of the joke, that placed in The Island as Appendix I in People Inbetween on page 208; and then added a page that émbraced’ two outcomes arising from the Lansi Eelam ‘play’. These are B and C below.
B: A Sharp Protest from a Cluster of Nine Intellectuals taking up the Role of Politically-Correct Police Persons, Letter dated 20 Janaury 2985
C: The Editoriäl Response to this intervention under the title “No Sense of Humour“ from The Island, 1 February 1985
Supported by the technical aid provided by David Sansoni of S. Thomas’ College and Sydney, we have been able to present the cartoon above, its Suzie Cookaratchie Letter and the two responses.
ENJOY. RUMINATE. …. smile … or fulminate.
Letter to Editor-PplInbetween209(a)
