Category Archives: democratic measures

The International Centre of Ethnic Studies in Sri Lanka: Its Genesis in 1981-83

Kingsley M. De Silva …. a summary memo drafted way back by Professor Kingsley M. De Silva and sent to me in July 2024 by Iranga Silva of the ICES in Kandy[1]

Early in 1981, I had two American visitors, one of whom, Professor Donald Horowitz, I had known since the late 1960s when he visited the island for research on the abortive coup d’état of 1962 in the island. The other was Robert Goldmann, a programme officer of the Ford Foundation in New York. They had come to Kandy to invite me to a Ford Foundation-sponsored conference to be held in August 1981 at the Taita Hills Game Park about 200 km from Nairobi, Kenya, where a group of scholars and administrators—from governments and the private sector—from many parts of the world would discuss the theme of ‘Ethnic Problems in the Developing and Developed Worlds’. A record of the proceedings of this conference—including most of the papers presented—is available in the library of the ICES in Kandy.

Prof. Goldmann

to be presented one of Prof. Horowitz

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Senaka Weeraratna presses His Claims as Inventor of the DRS in Cricket

Michael Roberts

Senaka Weeraratna of Royal College and Sri Lanka has been persistent in his campaign for recognition being accorded to his role in conceiving the revolutonary DECISION REVIEW SYSTEM in cricket matches. On one occasion he even visited me at my sister’s house in Hampden Lane,Wellawatte, Colombo, in order to persuade me about the validity of his cause. I never had any objection to his position; but I have no clout within the ICC and limited capacities in investigating such an issue. All I can say is that SENAKA reminds me of one Anagarika Dharmapala — one of Senaka’s relatives — in the zealousness and persistence devoted to a cause. 

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Appreciating Kumari Jayawardena’s Scholarship

Uditha Devapriya … in The Island, 28 June 2024, where the title reads:  “A Tribute to Kumari Jayawardena” … while the presentation here includes highlights imposed by The Editor

Last month the Collective for Historical Dialogue & Memory (CHDM) organised a screening of Conversations with Kumari, a documentary on Kumari Jayawardena. Last week Jayawardena turned 93. Yesterday I reflected on her and the generation she represented. That generation is leaving us, but it remains as influential as ever.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Britain’s Deep Ethnic Mix marked in Oxford University’s ENCAENIA Degrees

News Item: Six Honorary Degrees at ENCAENIA in Oxford University, JUNE 2024 ….

Six distinguished individuals representing the fields of science, business, academia, music and entertainment received honorary degrees at the University’s annual Encaenia ceremony last week. The honorands were: Warren East, Sir Demis Hassabis, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Sir Michael Palin, Anoushka Shankar and Professor Salim Yusuf.

 

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The Work of Anthropologists from Sri Lanka: Reviewing the World Scenario in 1987

Presenting an academic article published in Contributions to  Indian Sociology , n.s, Vol 21, 1-25 also reproduced subsequently in Sri Lanka in 1989 as No, 10 within the SSC Pamphlet Series marshalled by the late Ana Chittambalam, Willa Wickremasinghe , Hari hulugalle and Michael Roberts

Elizabeth Nissan: “The work of Sri Lankan anthropologists: A bibliographic survey”

 Introduction: Although many of the studies included in this essay are concerned with Sri Lanka, this is not a bibliographic essay on the anthropology of that country. It is, instead, a survey of the work of Sri Lankan anthropologists, wherever they may have carried out their research.

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ITIHAS Launched …. and Spreads Its Wings

Go to …. https://itihas.lk/contact/    … Note that the presentation here is a re-cast selection by The Editor of Thuppahi who has also imposed his colourings on the text

Mission:  What we hope to achieve

Itihas aims to equip Sri Lankan youth with the ability to think critically about their past, present, and future. It specifically aims to debunk mythological understandings of history that afford to particular ethno-religious groups a sense of superiority or authenticity over others. Rather than acting as a gatekeeper of knowledge, Itihas seeks to empower future generations of students, scholars, practitioners, and policymakers to learn about, research, and make informed decisions on divisive issues such as conflict, discrimination and violence in a manner that advances a more inclusive Sri Lanka.

Photo by Tashiya De Mel

Itihas – Advancing history education reform in Sri Lanka

 

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Deciphering the Work of Caste in Sri Lanka’s Lifeworld

Thuppahi is delighted to present a new research venture in keeping with its own spirit — with TUDOR SILVA in Lanka and MARK BALMFORTH in Canada in command.

CASTE: A Global Journal on Social Exclusion …..  Call for Submissions ….. with a Focus on Sri Lanka

Deadlines for Submissions: ….. Abstract: June 15, 2024 …… Full Paper: September 30, 2024

Compared to the expanding body of literature on caste in the Indian subcontinent, caste in Sri Lanka has received only sporadic academic attention and has been largely ignored in policy debates and social development interventions on the island. This can partially be explained by a widespread, public belief in Sri Lanka that despite its past importance, caste is no longer a vital social institution. While open discussion on the topic is largely absent, this does not mean that caste is dead or dying. Rather, caste remains hidden in much of Sri Lankan social life (Jiggins 1979; Silva, Sivapragasam, & Thanges 2009a). Reports from the north and east of the country indicate a certain resurgence of caste issues in post-war society, and new research findings suggest that caste plays a role in social, economic, and political dynamics that affect access to limited resources such as land, drinking water, employment, and political power (Thanges 2015; Hashmi and Kuganathan 2017; Kadirgamar 2019; Silva 2020; Tiruchandran 2021). Caste also continues to play an important role in the social life of south and central Sri Lanka through marriage partner selection, land tenure, temple rituals, politics, economic relations, and the performing arts (Silva, Sivapragasam, & Thanges 2009b; Reed 2010). Recent dissertation work, particularly in overseas universities, suggests that a body of new Sri Lankan caste-related evidence is just on the horizon (Räsänen 2015; Aimee 2017; Thanges 2018; Balmforth 2020; Esler 2020; Pathmanesan 2020).

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Ranil Wickremasinghe’s Dilemma

Jehan Perera in Colombo Telegraph, May 2024 where the title reads “President’s Commitment for Economic Reform is Model for Reconciliation” … & is reproduced here with underlining imposed by the Editor, Thuppahi

On numerous occasions President Ranil Wickremesinghe has said he was elected president to get Sri Lanka out of its economic morass and will do his utmost to fulfill that obligation. This has led to much speculation regarding the president’s intentions with regard to conducting presidential elections prior to achieving economic success. The truth of the president’s utterances with regard to his commitment to resolving the economic crisis is to be plainly seen in his determination to push ahead with unpopular economic policies. He has been unrelenting in sticking to higher tax rates than the masses of people can afford and to the privatization of state-owned enterprises. Both of these policies are unpopular to the point of jeopardising his bid to be re-elected at the forthcoming presidential election, but the president has stuck by his convictions.

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“Walk Like An Elephant” …. Being Laleen Jayamanne’s Engagement with the “Aragalaya”

Walk Like an Elephant: The Island Essays 2022-2023′
These are 22 essays written by Laleen Jayamanne during the time of the Aragalaya/Struggle/Paroattam in 2022 and in the aftermath. These writings  work at the intersection of art and politics within the context of Sinhala Buddhist Ethno-Nationalism as it affected the Arts and Fine Arts Education policy since 1958. I use theoretical and philosophical ideas from Critical Theory familiar to left intellectuals at least since May ’68 in Paris. It is written for a Lankan Left intelligentsia; but as its for a daily paper I have crafted an accessible prose.

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US Republican Senators Threaten the ICC … [and we are not talking cricket!]

Hot Press: Senators Tom Cotton, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz are among a dozen Republicans that signed a letter that threatened the International Criminal Court (ICC) if they arrest Israeli leaders for war crimes.

Cenk Uygur and Ana Kasparian discuss on The Young Turks. Your Support is Crucial to the Show: https://tyt.com/team Get the Progressive battle plan: https://go.tyt.com/book-description Watch TYT LIVE on weekdays 6-8 pm ET. http://youtube.com/theyoungturks/live Read more HERE: https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/4… “A dozen GOP senators threatened the International Criminal Court (ICC) with sanctions if the body moves forward with an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or other Israeli leaders. The ICC has reportedly considered a warrant for Netanyahu’s arrest for weeks as accusations rise of war crimes in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. “

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