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.
Filed under anti-racism, art & allure bewitching, British colonialism, caste issues, centre-periphery relations, commoditification, communal relations, democratic measures, discrimination, economic processes, ethnicity, governance, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, Indian traditions, island economy, landscape wondrous, language policies, Left politics, life stories, modernity & modernization, nationalism, parliamentary elections, plural society, political demonstrations, politIcal discourse, racist thinking, religious nationalism, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, social justice, Sri Lankan scoiety, unusual people, welfare & philanthophy, working class conditions, world events & processes
ONE: Preamble by Michael Roberts
I was in Colombo from mid-April 2009 to early June and observed the local coverage of Eelam War IV at its bitter end. I was invited by Muralidhar Reddy[i] to write articles for Frontline on aspects of the politics surrounding the war. Though Frontline is a magazine produced by The Hindu consortium, I was not a regular follower of that newspaper on web — even though I had once been introduced to its owner and chief executive, N. Ram, way back in time by Chandra Schafter and had also had an extended chat with him in Delhi in 1995.[ii]
Thus, the receipt of a Hindu report on President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s thoughts in mid-2009, expressed in an extended session with him conducted by N. Ram serves up new material from my position. In step with my policy of raising significant episodes in the course of Eelam War IV to public notice,[iii] I hasten to present this exchange in the public domain.
Filed under accountability, authoritarian regimes, centre-periphery relations, communal relations, counter-insurgency, disparagement, Eelam, ethnicity, governance, heritage, historical interpretation, human rights, IDP camps, Indian Ocean politics, insurrections, law of armed conflict, life stories, LTTE, military strategy, nationalism, patriotism, politIcal discourse, power politics, prabhakaran, press freedom & censorship, Rajapaksa regime, rehabilitation, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, tamil refugees, Tamil Tiger fighters, terrorism, truth as casualty of war, unusual people, war reportage, world events & processes
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.
Filed under Aboriginality, accountability, art & allure bewitching, authoritarian regimes, British colonialism, Buddhism, caste issues, centre-periphery relations, Colombo and Its Spaces, colonisation schemes, commoditification, communal relations, cultural transmission, democratic measures, demography, discrimination, disparagement, Dutch colonialism, economic processes, education, ethnicity, fundamentalism, governance, hatan kavi, heritage, historical interpretation, immigration, Indian Ocean politics, Indian traditions, irrigation, Islamic fundamentalism, island economy, landscape wondrous, language policies, Left politics, life stories, literary achievements, modernity & modernization, nationalism, performance, pilgrimages, plantations, plural society, political demonstrations, politIcal discourse, Portuguese in Indian Ocean, power politics, racism, religiosity, religious nationalism, riots and pogroms, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, social justice, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, terrorism, the imaginary and the real, travelogue, vengeance, violence of language, welfare & philanthophy, working class conditions, world events & processes, zealotry
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
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
Filed under accountability, anti-racism, art & allure bewitching, British colonialism, British imperialism, Buddhism, caste issues, centre-periphery relations, Colombo and Its Spaces, communal relations, constitutional amendments, cultural transmission, democratic measures, Dutch colonialism, economic processes, education, education policy, ethnicity, European history, female empowerment, foreign policy, gender norms, governance, heritage, historical interpretation, human rights, Indian Ocean politics, insurrections, Islamic fundamentalism, island economy, land policies, landscape wondrous, language policies, law of armed conflict, Left politics, legal issues, life stories, literary achievements, LTTE, medical marvels, military strategy, modernity & modernization, Muslims in Lanka, nationalism, parliamentary elections, patriotism, photography & its history, pilgrimages, plantations, plural society, political demonstrations, politIcal discourse, population, Portuguese imperialism, power politics, power sharing, prabhakaran, Presidential elections, press freedom & censorship, racist thinking, Rajapaksa regime, refugees, religiosity, riots and pogroms, security, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, social justice, Sri Lankan cricket, sri lankan society, suicide bombing, Tamil civilians, Tamil migration, tamil refugees, teaching profession, transport and communications, truth as casualty of war, vengeance, war crimes, war reportage, working class conditions, world events & processes, World War II and Ceylon, zealotry
Michael Roberts presenting the Synopsis of an Article published after a refereeing process in the journal NATIONALISM and ETHNIC POLITICS Vol 9/3 Summer 2003, pp. 75-102
Filed under authoritarian regimes, British colonialism, centre-periphery relations, communal relations, cultural transmission, demography, Dutch colonialism, economic processes, ethnicity, governance, hatan kavi, heritage, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, island economy, Kandyan kingdom, language policies, law of armed conflict, life stories, literary achievements, nationalism, patriotism, politIcal discourse, population, Portuguese imperialism, power politics, racism, security, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, Sri Lankan scoiety, transport and communications, world events & processes, zealotry
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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SEE You Tube Show: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/centenary/memories/Rajanayagam.shtml
Sumathi Awards (Sinhala: සුමති සම්මාන) is an award bestowed to distinguished individuals involved with Sri Lanka’s television screen, each year by the Sumathi Group of Company, Sri Lanka in recognition of the contributions made by them to the Sri Lankan teledrama industry and television programs. The Sumathi ceremony is one of the most popular television program events in Sri Lanka. The awards were first introduced in 1995.
Michael Roberts
About the time that I retired from my teaching duties at the Anthropology Department at Adelaide University in 2003/04, the topic of “suicide terrorism” was attracting a lot of attention in academic circles through books and articles. As I dwelt on this topic within the alternative title of “Sacrificial Devotion,” I also had, perforce, to dwell on the grievances espoused by the Sri Lanka Tamils.
Through happenchance, today, I came across an old Word File entitled “Be Tamil Bibliography.” Its entries suggest that it was drafted circa 2003/04 – so the temporal sweep is restricted. It lists academic books and articles on the ethnic contretemps in Sri Lanka as well as the Tamil world of Sri Lanka and India. Thus, the authors marked include such personnel as Zvelebil, Schalk, Kenneth David and Hellmann-Rajanayagam as well as the local Tamils Chelliah Manogaran, Valentine Daniel, Sivathamby, Somasundaram and Sivaram …. to name a few.
Tamil demonstrators invade the pitch during a Cricket World Cup, Group B, match between Australia and Sri Lanka at the Oval, London, 11th June 1975. Australian opening batsman Alan Turner (foreground) turns his back on the protest while his teammate Rick McCosker looks on. Australia won the match by 52 runs..…Photo by Dennis Oulds/Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
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SSC PAMPHLET PROJECT
Some of you may remember this project in Sri Lanka in the 1990s directed towards making selected academic articles on the history & politics of Sri Lanka available to the English-reading public at affordable rates. My unreliable memory indicates that the personnel behind this enterprise were myself, Ananda Chittampalam, Willa Wickramasinghe and our engine, so to speak, was the press operated by Haris Hulugalla.
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Fair Dinkum
What is astonishing is that while China and Europe are doing trade to the tune of 783 billion, the US and NATO are waging war to the combined tune of 500 billion. One is about construction, the other destruction. One is about peaceful cooperation, the other is about perpetual war.
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thuppahi
