Category Archives: nationalism

Democratic Processes Worldwide and Sri Lanka Today

 Ever since he addressed the failed coup of 1962 in a book-length stud,y Donald L. Horowitz has kept an eye on Sri Lankan affairs and has now unveiled a new book tackling central issues in the democratic process on a worldwide scale –with one chapter devoted to the problems TODAY in Sri Lanka ….. Editor, Thuppahi 

Donald L. Horowitz, James B. Duke Professor of Law and Political Science Emeritus, Duke University

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Remembering Anagarika Dharmapala

Item presented in FACEBOOK by Peradeniya University Friends with this title: 160th Birth anniversary of Anagarika Dharmapala**

Anagarika Dharmapala a noble son of Sri Lanka who made immense sacrifices towards Buddhist revival and national upliftment in the 19th century was born at Matara on 17 Sept 1864.

He worked and campaigned with unswerving loyalty to the nationalist cause in an era when Buddhism and the national culture had reached their lowest ebb.

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The Roberts Oral History Project, 1964-1969: Its Conception, Inception & Outcomes

Michael Roberts

In re-establishing communication with two old Mertonians of the early 1960s generation at my College in Oxford, viz, Tony Roberton and Keith Shuttleworth, I have been induced to reflect upon my unusual circumstances as a postgraduate at Merton and Oxford. Apart from being one of the few Sri Lankans in that University,[i] I happened to be (A) engaged in postgraduate work which demanded research at the Public Record Office in Chancery Lane in London, and (B) a colonial visitor with the asset of two sisters domiciled in London.[ii]

 Tony is kneeling on the left upfront; while Keith is on my rght– Merton rugger team c. 1964/65

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The “Deep State”– Threats to Democracy within Today’s Western States’its

Watch Alastair Crooke & Judge Napolitano in Serious Dialogue ….. on World Poltics & the Anti Democratic strands in Present Western States = https://www.youtube.com/live/mnm9Vzrpkrg

Judge Napolitano …. & …. Alastair Crooke

Reflections from “Observer in a Black Sea Port”

Why are democracies suddenly opposed to free speech and against democracy?

Very interesting argument about how Western democracies are attacking democracy,  shutting down free speech, attacking the first amendment of the US Constitution because the deep structures of the deep state are being challenged.

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Age-old Themes Imbricated within the Palestine-Israel Conflict

 Simon Sebag Montefiore, in The TIMES, 6 September 2024, where the title reads: A conflict built on centuries of myth-making” … with highlighting imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi **

‘Forever wars’ do not exist but bringing peace to the Holy Land is complicated by so much of its history being wilfully misunderstood.

There was a moment during the last significant negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, in May 2008, that is relevant today. Saeb Erekat, the Palestinian minister of negotiations, told the Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni: “It’s no secret we’re offering you the biggest Yerushalayim in history. But we must talk about the concept of al-Quds. We’ve taken your interests and concerns into account … ”

 

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Articles by Michael Roberts presented in Edited Books

ITEM presented in reverse chronological order by Sophia Corfield …  a postgrad at Adelaide University when this list was compiled, circa 2012

  1. Sri Lanka: The power of cricket and the power in cricket. In S. Wagg (Ed.), Cricket and National Identity in the Post-Colonial Age: Following On (pp. 132-158). London: Routledge.

  1. Submerging the People? Post-Orientalism and the Construction of Communalism. In G. Berkemer (Ed.), Explorations in South Asian History. Festschrift for Dietmar Rothermund on the Occasion of his 65th Birthday (pp. 311-323). New Delhi: Manohar.

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Totalizing “Control Rooms” in Every Western State …. Skewing ‘Democracy’

Observer in a Black Sea Port

At 6:02 Judge Napolitano asks Crooke “Is a wider war in the Middle East inevitable?”  ….. Crooke answers this question and then explains why.

He articulates the change that has taken place in Western politics, particularly in the democratic area which has become a “control room” that we don’t see, that is behind it. Even the President or the leader of any Western nation is just a figurehead and is not important any longer.  One figurehead can be removed and then another figurehead is elevated by the media and becomes the new figurehead.  But behind it lies “the control room” which is operating this in a new form of politics which Crooke calls “the whole of state politics” which means there has to be ideological alignment, not just across the party, but among NGOs, the financial world, all of the state apparatus,  the media — all of this has to be the same.

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Heightened Action in Ukraine-Russia War

Observer in a Black Sea Port

The techniques and extent of Ukraine’s push into the regions of Kursk, Bryansk and Belgorod, which borders on to Ukraine shows the West is deeply involved in this invasion of Russia. Public statements from EU and US leaders giving their wholehearted support for the invasion indicates the West are behind it. The US has satellite imagery over Russia providing real-time intelligence to Ukrainian forces. Ukraine is getting help.

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A Play That Explores Sinhala-Tamil Relations in 20th Century Ceylon

Jayantha Somasundaram in The Island 9 August 2024, …….. presenting a review COUNTING & CRACKING written for the stage by Sivanathan Shakthidharan and Directed by Eamon Flack …. and has this title “COUNTING & CRACKING: THE SUNTHARALINGAM SAGA”

Already staged in cities in the United Kingdom and Australia, Shakthidharan’s poignant drama directed by Eamon Flack, is a fictionalised version of a Sri Lanka family’s story; but not just any family. It is the Suntharalingam saga. It movingly recounts a biography that spans four generations; and in doing so it captures and critiques not just Sri Lanka’s social and cultural history, but its political tragedy as well.

 

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THE CEYLON JOURNAL is launched: Seeking to Elucidate the Past & the Present

The Ceylon Journal is finally out

On August 2, 2024, the inaugural volume of The Ceylon Journal was launched at the Sri Lanka Medical Association Auditorium. This new publication by Heritage Publications is spearheaded by young historian Avishka Mario Senewiratne, features 15 articles exploring various facets of Sri Lankan history, including politics, architecture, folklore, and more. Inspired by Charles Ambrose Lorenz’s Young Ceylon, the journal aims to deepen understanding of Sri Lanka’s heritage and inspire progress.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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