About thuppahi
Sri Lankan and Australian nationality;
student of Sri Lankan society and politics;
sociology of cricket;
June 28, 2020 · 1:44 pm
Filed under accountability, ancient civilisations, British imperialism, Buddhism, caste issues, commoditification, communal relations, constitutional amendments, cultural transmission, education, evolution of languages(s), heritage, historical interpretation, immigration, Indian Ocean politics, Indian religions, insurrections, island economy, Kandyan kingdom, land policies, language policies, life stories, literary achievements, modernity & modernization, nationalism, power politics, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, the imaginary and the real, unusual people, welfare & philanthophy, world events & processes
June 27, 2020 · 6:16 pm
Borella Junction 24.25 July 1983 —Pix by Chandragupta Amarasinghe –here juxtaposed with the Pix deployed by GV which, in my reading, may not be from the July pogrom but from other moments of violence
COLOMBO, PEACE AND CONFLICT, POLITICS AND GOVERNANCE
The Scene The morning of July the 25th 1983 is etched in my brain. I saw a group of people running or walking very fast away from the environs of Colombo. On…
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Filed under accountability, communal relations, disparagement, economic processes, governance, historical interpretation, human rights, landscape wondrous, Left politics, legal issues, life stories, politIcal discourse, power politics, Rajapaksa regime, riots and pogroms, security, self-reflexivity, social justice, sri lankan society, taking the piss, truth as casualty of war, unusual people, vengeance, welfare & philanthophy, world events & processes
June 26, 2020 · 11:36 am
Elmo Jayawardena, in The Island, 24 June 2020, where the title reads “Did Kobe Bryant die in vain?”
The National Transport Safety Board (NTSB) of the USA has come out with a 1700-page investigation report on the helicopter crash in Los Angeles in which Kobe Bryant and his daughter died. The pilot was also killed along with 6 other passengers in this tragic accident. The report has given no final conclusion as to the cause of the crash. In aviation that is the norm in most such events. Thousands of pages written by the powers that be who are mired in bureaucracy that end their conclusions without a conclusion. Finally, they may come out with the Ace of Trumps as the cause – Pilot Error.
“How some things become legal at times is more a fairy tale than a legality.” …. Quote of the Week
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Filed under accountability, centre-periphery relations, citizen journalism, disparagement, economic processes, landscape wondrous, legal issues, life stories, politIcal discourse, power politics, transport and communications, trauma, unusual people, world events & processes
June 26, 2020 · 4:28 am
In a previous study of the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket entourage at Lahore in 2009 I was guided by several news reports and chats with a few players in marking the resolution and actions of the bus driver Mohammed Khalil, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Chris Broad during the initial ordeal and the resolute work of Lal Thamel in aiding the injured at the stadium and in hospital. Our thanks now to Rex for revealing Mahela’s firm leadership when moves were afoot to keep the two injured players Paranavithana and Samaraweera back in the air force hospital. Those who play together stick together….Michael Roberts
Rex Clementine, in The Island. 27 June 2020, where the title runs thus: “Paranavithana and Warnapura recall Lahore attack”
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Filed under accountability, atrocities, conspiracies, historical interpretation, Islamic fundamentalism, landscape wondrous, life stories, security, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, the imaginary and the real, trauma, unusual people, world events & processes
June 26, 2020 · 3:00 am
Hassina Leelarathna, in Sri Lanka Express, 25 June 2020, where the title is “US Supreme Court rules against SL Tamil in landmark asylum case”
The US Supreme Court in a landmark decision today voted in favor of the administration in its appeal against a lower court ruling that allowed a Sri Lankan the right to have a judge review the government’s handling of his asylum bid.
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Filed under accountability, conspiracies, economic processes, governance, legal issues, life stories, meditations, politIcal discourse, self-reflexivity, the imaginary and the real, unusual people, world events & processes
June 25, 2020 · 5:50 pm
Prabhath de Silva, in The Island, 25 June 2020, where the title reads “Lessons from Ranil Jayawardene and Herbert Freeman”
Mr. Ranil Jayawardene is Britain’s new Trade Minister. He is only 35 years old. His father is a Sinhalese who had migrated to the UK, and his mother an Indian. He was born and bred in England. He graduated from the London School of Economics in 2008. Seven years later, in 2015, he was elected to the House of Commons as Member of Parliament (MP) for North East Hampshire in May 2015 from a predominantly white electorate [80.5%] in which the non-white population is at 19.5%. The whites of North East Hampshire could rise above their ethnicity and colour to vote for a son of South Asian parents and give recognition to the policies he represented and his talents and skills. Hats off to the progressive British people! Congratulations to Mr. Ranil Jayawardene!
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Filed under British colonialism, centre-periphery relations, charitable outreach, communal relations, cultural transmission, democratic measures, education, electoral structures, governance, heritage, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, life stories, performance, politIcal discourse, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, unusual people, world events & processes
June 23, 2020 · 2:03 pm
Kamanthi Wickremasinghe, in Daily Mirror, 23 June 2020, where the title reads “Sri Lanka’s vanishing Elephant Corridors”
- As many as 16 areas that have been identified as elephant passes are yet to be declared and included in a gazette
- Area residents told the Daily Mirror that more land had been cleared during the curfew period
- According to research conducted by CCRSL elephants have well delineated to comparatively small home ranges of 50-150 sq. kilometres
- In Galgamuwa 60 acres of land belonging to the Thorawa Mailawa Temple were leased out to a private company
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Filed under accountability, centre-periphery relations, colonisation schemes, economic processes, elephant tales, heritage, historical interpretation, island economy, land policies, landscape wondrous, legal issues, life stories, security, self-reflexivity, travelogue, unusual people, working class conditions, world events & processes
June 23, 2020 · 7:10 am
Nigel Hatch, on 12 June 2020, deploying this title in his news feature “The Fundamental Rights Petitions Relating to The General Elections”
The five Judge Bench of the Supreme Court by its decision on June 2, 2020 speaking through its majority rejected the preliminary objections raised by the Respondents to the maintainability of the several Fundamental Rights (FR) petitions challenging the legality of the presidential proclamation of March 2 dissolving Parliament. A Petition impugning the date of elections fixed by the Elections Commission for June 20 was withdrawn midstream. However the Court unanimously refused the Petitioners leave to proceed with their FR applications.
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Filed under accountability, coronavirus, democratic measures, governance, heritage, landscape wondrous, life stories, parliamentary elections, politIcal discourse, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, unusual people, world events & processes
June 23, 2020 · 6:16 am
Thiru Arumugam, reproduced courtesy of THE CEYLANKAN August 2019 issue.
The Ceylon University College (CUC) was founded in Colombo in 1921 and prepared students for the external degree examinations of the University of London. It ceased to exist in 1942 when it was transformed into the University of Ceylon. This article traces the progress of the College during the first fifteen years of its existence and concludes with biographical notes about twenty distinguished alumni of the College who studied there during the first fifteen years.
College House, former “Regina Walauwa” beloging to the Warusahannadige De Soysas 
Fig 3. Former Royal College building transferred to University College, 1923
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Filed under accountability, British colonialism, cultural transmission, education, education policy, heritage, historical interpretation, island economy, landscape wondrous, life stories, literary achievements, performance, Royal College, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, teaching profession, unusual people, world events & processes
June 21, 2020 · 7:10 pm
The SL Army’s Land Warfare Campaign in 2006-09: Debating the Lines of Strategic Emphasis FOUR: Retd Brig. Hiran Halangode’s Clarification
HALANGODE I
This is the definition of Counter Insurgency Strategy. A successful Counter Insurgency strategy encompasses the full range of measures taken by the state / government authority to safeguard the political life, economic growth, and to protect itself and its people from subversion and lawlessness.
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Filed under accountability, authoritarian regimes, centre-periphery relations, communal relations, governance, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, life stories, LTTE, military strategy, performance, politIcal discourse, power politics, prabhakaran, Rajapaksa regime, security, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, suicide bombing, terrorism, the imaginary and the real, unusual people, world events & processes
