Author Archives: thuppahi

About thuppahi

Sri Lankan and Australian nationality; student of Sri Lankan society and politics; sociology of cricket;

The Insidious and False Dimensions of the “Traditional Homeland” Thesis

Gerald Peiris 

The concept of the ‘Traditional Tamil Homeland’ as promulgated by its exponents is based on the notion that, from the distant past, the island of Sri Lanka comprised the territories of two distinct nationalities that were arbitrarily unified in the formation of British Ceylon in the early 19th century.  My survey, which draws from several authoritative writings, some of which have been authored by reputed Tamil scholars, shows that such a notion does not conform to known facts and unbiased interpretations of the country’s history.

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Filed under accountability, British colonialism, centre-periphery relations, communal relations, conspiracies, cultural transmission, devolution, doctoring evidence, economic processes, Eelam, ethnicity, heritage, historical interpretation, irrigation, island economy, land policies, landscape wondrous, language policies, legal issues, literary achievements, nationalism, politIcal discourse, population, power politics, power sharing, prabhakaran, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, Tamil migration, the imaginary and the real, transport and communications, travelogue, truth as casualty of war, unusual people, world events & processes

Hong Kong Activists’ Boat Flight Foiled by China

Glen Owen, in Mail Online, 29 August 2020, with a different title

A British democracy activist has been captured by the Chinese after trying to make a dramatic seaborne escape from Hong Kong to Taiwan. Andy Li, 30, who has worked with former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith and other politicians on pro-democracy campaigns, was intercepted in international waters, along with 11 other activists, as they tried to navigate the perilous South China Sea in a small boat.

British democracy activist Andy Li (pictured) has been captured by the Chinese after trying to make a dramatic seaborne escape from Hong Kong to Taiwan

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Filed under accountability, authoritarian regimes, China and Chinese influences, governance, human rights, legal issues, life stories, politIcal discourse, power politics, security, self-reflexivity, unusual people, world events & processes

A Personal Message from South Australia

Dear Michael,

Thanks to the ongoing cooperation of South Australians, we are in a position to announce further relaxing of restrictions today.

As of midnight tonight, weddings and funerals can have up to 150 people.

Eating and drinking while seated at a bar will be allowed, provided no food preparation or production occurs at or near the bar (i.e the bar is not a kitchen bar).

AFL crowds can now be up to 15,000, with gradual increases to crowds (up to 25,000), phased in over the coming weeks.

We know many workplaces have worked hard over the past months to put the right measures in place to keep their workforce safe and, as such, we have formally removed our advice that people should work from home where possible.

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I want to genuinely thank every single person in South Australia for the contribution they have made to keeping themselves, their families and community safe by abiding by the restrictions that have been put in place.

We can’t be complacent but we should take this moment to pause and reflect on how lucky we are to be in South Australia at this time.

Regards,

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STEVEN MARSHALL
Premier of South Australia 

 

**** ****

“Bl…. Hell STEVE!….. How can I benefit when you do not permit Sri Lanka Air or any other airline to fly to Adelaide !! Do not expect my vote at the next election.”

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Filed under accountability, asylum-seekers, atrocities, australian media, taking the piss, truth as casualty of war, vengeance, welfare & philanthophy, world events & processes

Fallacious Historical Claims pressed by Wigneswaran

Rienzie Wijetilleke and Kusum Wijetilleke, in Island, 4 September 2020,with this title  “False perspectives of Wigneswaran”

Archbishop Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith’s recent comments regarding racial and religious politics were most timely. In a climate where religious leaders seek to become political leaders, to hear the Archbishop state so unequivocally that religion and language should not be the basis for a political party is at least mildly reassuring. It seems that the Archbishop was irked by recent comments made in Parliament by MP C. V. Wigneswaran regarding the primary language of Sri Lanka’s indigenous peoples. Cardinal Malcom is certainly not alone, although when he states that this division began in the 1950s, he is only half right. Certainly, the introduction of the singular language policy of 1956 created a significant fissure in the country, yet the beginnings of the debate around language and ethnicity and its political divisions had taken root long before this.

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Isa Guha as the Leading ‘Face’ of BBC Sports ….Hallelujah!

Alan Gardner interviews Isa Guha, 29 August 2020 …………. ………. https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/29764563/isa-guha-there-young-girl-boy-there-see-tv-feel-do-similar

Having taken on the role of lead presenter for the BBC’s return to televised cricket coverage this summer, Isa Guha has spent the majority of the last two months in bio-secure environments, helping to bring England’s behind-closed-doors internationals to those following at home on TV and radio. Ahead of Sunday’s second men’s T20I between England and Pakistan, the first live game free-to-air on the BBC for 21 years, Guha discusses life in the bubble, her status as a role model and hopes for the women’s game in the UK.

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Filed under accountability, coronavirus, female empowerment, landscape wondrous, life stories, security, self-reflexivity, the imaginary and the real, travelogue, unusual people, world events & processes

Dunkirk Different! Migrants penetrate England by Small Boat

Sophia Sleigh & April Roach in Evening Standrard 10 August 2020, where the title is RAF plane patrols English Channel after nearly 700 migrants cross”

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Ethnic Knots Today: The How

Javid Yusuf, in Island, August 2020, and also PRESSREADER where the title is “Resolving the Ethnic Conflict-  making a difficult task that much more difficult”

One of the most complex problems faced by the country after independence has been the “ethnic conflict” that resulted in a civil war that consumed the country for over three decades.  Although the conflict was not between two ethnicities (the Sinhalese and Tamils) but in reality between the State and the Tamil community, the label “ethnic conflict” has become the common parlance used to describe the events around this long drawn out conflict. Basically it has been an attempt by the Tamil politicians to persuade successive Governments to restructure the State so as to address Tamil concerns.

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Modernist Fundamentalism: Missing the Force of Walk, Talk and Majesty in Sinhaladom

Michael Roberts

Asanga Welikala edited an important book entitled The Republic at Forty in 2012 in which I participated (CPA, 2012). Both Welikala and Roshan de Silva-Wijeyeratne have formidable curriculum-vitae behind them. Their recent intervention in criticism of the Rajapaksa state today[1] also happens to rely heavily on SJ Tambiah’s work on the mandala state,[2] a topic which also informed my concept of the “Asokan Persona,” which is developed within four chapters in my book Exploring Confrontation (1994).

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Jitto Arulampalam ‘s TBG Diagnostics at the Frontline inCovid TestKits

News Item in Ozlanka = http://www.ozlanka.com/2020/05/26/australias-tbg-diagnostics-headed-by-sl-entrepreneur-receives-ce-mark-for-covid-19-test-kits-looking-for-manufacturing-facility-in-sl/

TBG Diagnostics Limited (TDL), a global molecular diagnostics company, headed by Sri Lankan entrepreneur Jitto Arulampalam, announced that its subsidiary, TBG Biotechnology Corp, has received CE Mark approval for its COVID-19 Nucleic Acid and Antibody Rapid test kits.

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Filed under accountability, Australian culture, biotechnology, charitable outreach, commoditification, coronavirus, economic processes, education, landscape wondrous, life stories, modernity & modernization, self-reflexivity, Tamil migration, unusual people, world events & processes

Confronting Welikala and De Silva-Wijeyeratne: One

I sent the Article by Asanga Welikala and de Silva-Wijeyeratne to 24 personnel** in various parts of the world on the 29/30th August inviting Comments ….. and these THREE comments from Hugh Karunanayake, Gerald Peiris and CR de Silva are the first ‘burst’ ….. Michael Roberts 

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