Category Archives: nationalism

March 29, 2025 · 12:07 am

Nationalisms in Sri Lanka: A Bibliography Cast in 2014..

bull-mascot-team-logo-design-longhorn-133746227 Presented here at ……………………………………………………….. https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/nationalism-the-past-and-the-present-the-case-of-sri-lanka/…. & thus in need of updating.; while being dedicated to a Peradeniya University buddy -alas deceased– with whom I shared notes and thoughts during undergraduate days and thereafter in the 1970s & 1980s in Chicago: namely, Ananda Wickremeratne …

Amunugama, Sarath 1979 ‘Ideology and class interest in one of Piyadasa Siris­ena’s novels: the new image of the “Sinhala Buddhist” nationalist’ in M Roberts (ed.) Collective identities, nationalisms and protest in modern Sri Lanka, Colombo:: Marga Institute, pp 314-36

Anderson, Benedict 1983 Imagined communities. Reflections on the origin and spread of Nationalism.  London: Verso

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March 26, 2025 · 10:05 pm

An Epitaph for Gananath Obeyesekere

Chandra R. De Silva, … with highlighting emphasis added by The Editor, Thuppahi

I write to add a few words to the outpouring of appreciations of Gananath Obeyesekere, a scholar whose research in anthropology, religion, myth, and cultural practices  has won him accolades across the world. I will not comment on the advances in knowledge and the discussions he provoked by his many scholarly works of which among the best known are Land Tenure in Village Ceylon, The Cult of the Goddess Pattini, Buddhism Transformed (co-author), The Work of Culture, The Apotheosis of Captain Cook: European Mythmaking in the Pacific, and The Doomed King. There has been much written on this world renowned scholar, and there will undoubtedly be more comments by experts in the years to come.

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March 26, 2025 · 1:34 pm

Deeply Lankika: John De Silva

Responding to a Request from An Aloysian Schoolmate and Friend named Roberts, John de Silva, aka “Johnny,” provided these fascinating genealogical details…… Michael Roberts

 UNIQUE FAMILY CONNECTIONS

I am not too sure if I had sent you details of where I came from! In other words, who were my parents and who were their parents. This is often a mundane Family Tree exercise and bears not much significance in the scheme of things. However, I feel that my family connections are unique when it comes to the Island of Sri Lanka.

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March 23, 2025 · 4:14 pm

Revisiting ‘Noble Death’ via the Tamil Tigers

Michael Roberts 

An ‘outfit’ named ACADEMIA.COM has sent me digital links to old articles from my ‘pen’ on web that have attracted HITS. This is a flattering nudge to my weakening memory bank. As new generations of ‘students’ of the Sri Lankan scene may be interested in these old engagements, I place the A1 generated summaries here.

ONE …. “Empowering the Body and Noble Death,” By Michael W Roberts  in Social Analysis, 2006

AI-generated Abstract: The paper “Empowering the Body and ‘Noble Death'” explores how specific cultural practices in Asia, particularly those associated with martial arts, facilitate a sense of empowerment in the face of death. It discusses the interplay of mind and body in rituals and practices that foster a unity with cosmic forces, enabling practitioners to confront death fearlessly. Through a comparative analysis of various contributions in this domain, the authors reflect on the complexity of participant observation in ethnographic studies and the challenges faced by researchers in fully engaging with the cultural contexts they study.

TPS Pictorial — Thuppahi

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March 21, 2025 · 8:25 pm

Palestine Tomorrow: A Bold Forecast from A Lankan Seer

A Sri Lankan Seer ……. “Compatible neighbors”

Arabs and Jews lived in relative peace in Palestine before 1948.

The Zionist movement was established by European Jews and Israel (which became a state in 1948) was a settler colonization project that served as a garrison state in the oil rich middle east for protecting the interests of the Western imperial power Britain and later USA.

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March 20, 2025 · 6:17 pm

Lesser Known ‘Armwrestles’: The Baluchistan Liberation Army Within Pakistan

An Item in FRONTLINE …. Produced in India & One of the World’s Leading Journals

In yet another blow to Pakistan’s internal security, militants seized control of a train in the Bolan area of Balochistan on March 11. The Jaffar Express, with around 500 passengers in nine coaches, was travelling from Quetta to Peshawar. An army spokesperson said that the attack was quelled the next day after all 33 militants were killed. He added that 21 passengers and four soldiers were slain by the militants. The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) later claimed responsibility for the attack.

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March 10, 2025 · 7:09 pm

“Europe in Danger” — Trump Eviscerated by French Senator

Verbatim Record of Claude Malhuret’s Speech in French Senate, March 2025 **

“President, Mr. Prime Minister, Ladies and Gentlemen Ministers, My dear colleagues,
Europe is at a critical turning point in its history. The American shield is crumbling, Ukraine risks being abandoned, Russia strengthened. Washington has become the court of Nero, a fiery emperor, submissive courtiers and a ketamine-fueled jester in charge of purging the civil service.

A box of Impeachmints,  …  related to his dealings with Ukraine.
On Thursday, 19 December 2019, in Dublin, Ireland. (Photo by Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Donald Trump caricature is seen on a trailer in Krakow, Poland on July 25, 2024. The figure, which was previously a theater prop, has been bought by local politician Lukasz Wantuch. Now he is planning to present it at Donald Trump’s campaign rallies…. Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images.

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March 4, 2025 · 12:52 am

A Searching Dissection of Ranil Wickremasinghe’s Political Career & Its Times

Avishka Mario Senewiratne, reviewing the book by Rajiva Wijesinghe that assesses Ranil Wickremasinghe’s recent political career

Last December, Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha released a new book titled Ranil Wickremesinghe and the Emasculation of the United National Party. As the title suggests, the book tackles a contentious and provocative topic and may not be an easy read for everyone. Nevertheless, it presents a highly engaging and insightful narrative that warrants close attention.

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Filed under accountability, centre-periphery relations, economic processes, electoral structures, governance, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, island economy, language policies, Left politics, legal issues, life stories, modernity & modernization, nationalism, performance, politIcal discourse, power politics, Presidential elections, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, taking the piss, war reportage, welfare & philanthophy, working class conditions

March 3, 2025 · 2:25 pm

ACADEMIA’s Wide Outreach in Presentation of Academic Research

Academia.edu – Find Research Papers, Topics, Researchers …. https://www.academia.edu

Academia.edu is the platform to share, find, and explore 50 Million research papers. Join us to accelerate your research needs & academic interests.
David G Lewis, University of Exeter
My new book Occupation: Russian Rule in South-eastern Ukraine provides a comprehensive examination of Russia’s strategies to dominate occupied Ukrainian territories through violence, political manipulation, and economic pressure. It explores the harsh realities faced by those living under occupation and reflects on the broader implications for the ongoing conflict and European geopolitics.
see more

Occupation: Russian Rule in South-eastern Ukraine

by David G Lewis, 2025

 

Firoz Ahmed

Improving Forest-Based Livelihoods through Integrated Climate Change Adaptation Planning

by Pratima Shrestha

2014 • Crossing the Border: International Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies

John Braithwaite, The Australian National University

The Pluralism of Restorative Justice in Greater China: an Introduction

by John Braithwaite,  Asian Journal of Criminology

Veena Das
Johns Hopkins University

“The Serendipity of Anthropological Practice,” by Francisco Martínez

   *********
Valentine Daniel Colombia University

Peirce, Pragmatism, and the Logic of Scripture,” by Peter W . Ochs, 1998

Ethnicity and Violence in Sri Lanka: An Ethnohistorical Narrative

By Premakumara de Silva, 2019, The Palgrave Handbook of Ethnicity

Abstract: The ethnicity and violence in Sri Lanka have many root causes and consequences that are closely interconnected. Given the nature and the complexity of root causes and consequences of these highly contested concepts, it should not be treated as a part of linear historical processes where one event led to another. Sri Lanka presents case of how intersecting not only ethnicity and violence but also religion, caste, class, linguistic, and cultural mosaics have been and might be billeted within the borders of a nation-state. However, state building in Sri Lanka has been riddled with paradoxes. The curious notion of numerically dominant ethnic group, Sinhala manifesting a “minority complex” or anxieties about minority groups, Tamil and Muslims, is evident in the rise of Sinhala Buddhist nationalism during the nineteenth and the twentieth century of the country. Since state building has often meant ……….

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February 25, 2025 · 5:38 pm

Rambanctious Middle-Class Ceylonese of Yesteryear

A NOTE from the THUPPAHIYAA, 25 February 2025

This email memo from a ‘middle class’ Sri Lankan born before World War Two and nurtured in an elite college whci addresses mates nourished in the same schools and planter/military circles is of considerable socio-political significance. Its implications are all the stronger because the “Letter” is An Epitaph for Richard Hermon, an Extraordinary and Rambanctious Sri Lankan of the Old School. 

 AN EMAIL MEMO from Retd Major Lalin Fernando to a  Circle of Ceylonese Pals, 23 February 2025

Dickie was in Alison, a bit junior to me. His cousins Duncan and Tyrone were there too Dickie played Rugby with me in the 2nd XV v SPC (1955) on their grounds when he was 14 or less. There were no age groups then. The Peterites average age would have been around 19. It included their Cricket captain Ken (20 yrs old) but not Russel Duckworth. Dont know if Lakshman Serasinghe too played. Our oldest would have been 16 or so. The first XV match was played before our match as the seniors wanted to watch the CR v CH match. It left us brats to the after the match mercies of the Bamba crowd!

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