Jehan Perera in The Island, 29 July 2025, where the title runs thus: “Engagement is essential for national progress”
Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga
Category Archives: politIcal discourse
Is Sri Lanka permanently Kota Uda?
Filed under accountability, governance, historical interpretation, island economy, legal issues, parliamentary elections, performance, politIcal discourse, power politics, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, social justice, sri lankan society, working class conditions, world events & processes
In Appreciation of James T. Rutnam
Sachi Sri Kantha, whose preferred title is “James T Rutnam (1905-1988): Noted Bibliophile and a Valued Mentor” … with the highlighting in colour being impositions from The Editor Thuppahi
Introduction
My destiny to meet and interact with James T Rutnam came in the aftermath of the August 1977 anti-Tamil riots. Previously, I had written a little about the anti-Tamil riots that engulfed the island then, and my initial attempts to make a grade as a writer in English. [Please check this link. https://sangam.org/s-p-amarasingam-1977-anti-tamil-pogrom/].
I wrote to Mr. S.P. Amarasingam, the editor of the Tribune (Colombo). At that time, I was unaware that James Rutnam was an influential contributor to the Tribune, since its inception in 1954.
Filed under accountability, anti-racism, art & allure bewitching, authoritarian regimes, centre-periphery relations, citizen journalism, communal relations, cultural transmission, economic processes, education, electoral structures, ethnicity, historical interpretation, language policies, Left politics, legal issues, life stories, nationalism, politIcal discourse, power politics, racism, riots and pogroms, security, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, social justice, sri lankan society, tamil refugees, trauma, travelogue, unusual people
FIRE AND STORM analyses Sinhala-Tamil Confrontations Over the Decades
Neil Jayasekera introduces FIRE AND STORM by Michael Roberts … printed by Vijitha Yapa Publications in 2010 …. ISBN 978955-665-14-8 ….presenting 28 articles & an Amalgamated Bibliography …. Posted
Anonymous Reviewer in Sunday Times, 21 July 2013, where the title runs “Important contribution towards a dialogue on Lankan polity. Book facts”
When Michael Roberts left Peradeniya in the late seventies, he was part of an exodus of intellectuals from the University of Ceylon, Peradeniya, arguably one of the best universities at that time. The exodus of academics at that time was compelled by the economic difficulties faced by university dons. It was the second wave of such emigration that diminished the intellectual life of the university and country.
Pirapāharan and leading Tiger Commanders at the Indian sponsored training camp at Sirimalai in 1984
Filed under accountability, atrocities, authoritarian regimes, centre-periphery relations, communal relations, counter-insurgency, disparagement, Eelam, electoral structures, ethnicity, governance, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, insurrections, island economy, language policies, Left politics, legal issues, liberation tigers of tamil eelam, life stories, LTTE, martyrdom, military strategy, modernity & modernization, nationalism, parliamentary elections, patriotism, photography, pilgrimages, politIcal discourse, power politics, prabhakaran, propaganda, racist thinking, Rajapaksa regime, Rajiv Gandhi, religiosity, security, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, slanted reportage, social justice, sri lankan society, suicide bombing, Tamil civilians, Tamil migration, tamil refugees, Tamil Tiger fighters, terrorism, trauma, truth as casualty of war, unusual people, vengeance, violence of language, war crimes, war reportage, women in ethnic conflcits, zealotry
James T. Rutnam (1905-1988): A Radical Activist in Ceylon Politics
Sachi Sri Kantha, ... with highlighting imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi
Introduction: Previously, I had studied the electoral performance of three prominent Sri Lankan Tamil politicians, namely Ganapathipillai Gangesar Ponnambalam (1901-1977), Appapillai Amirthalingam (1927-1989) and Murugesu Sivasithamparam (1024-2002). All three were electorally successful in most of their attempts, though suffering defeats intermittently.
E.W.-Abeyegunasekera-Rutnams-formidable-rival-in-1931-and-1936.jpg
Filed under accountability, British colonialism, communal relations, demography, education, electoral structures, ethnicity, historical interpretation, language policies, Left politics, life stories, patriotism, performance, politIcal discourse, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, Tamil migration, unusual people
Featuring Andrekos Varnava’s Swathe of Political Studies
Andrekos Varnava is a Greek Cypriot and it has been the privilege of Flinders University in Adelaide and Australia-at-large to have him researching and teaching in their various reaches. CYPRUS is in a strategic location in the Eastern Meditteranian and has beenat the centre of many invasions and tussles.
Books by Andrekos Varnava
Exiting War: The British Empire and the 1918-20 moment, 2022
Exiting war explores a particular 1918-20 ‘moment’ in the British Empire’s history, between the F… more
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Filed under accountability, ancient civilisations, art & allure bewitching, australian media, British colonialism, centre-periphery relations, communal relations, democratic measures, demography, economic processes, ethnicity, European history, foreign policy, governance, heritage, historical interpretation, life stories, Middle Eastern Politics, modernity & modernization, patriotism, politIcal discourse, power sharing, religiosity, travelogue, unusual people, war reportage, world events & processes
Facing the Algal Threat in Adelaide: Miller-Frost
Louise Miller-Frost’s Circular, July 2025
The coastline and waters are a great asset to Boothby residents, and many of us very much value the time we spend there walking on the beach, swimming in the ocean, fishing off the jetties or small boats, or just sitting contemplating the spectacular views.
And so the Algal Bloom currently affecting much of the SA coastline is of great concern.
Cold War Proxies in Conflict: Ceylon & Palestine
Darini Rajasingham Senanayake,** at IDN-InDepthNews,… 24 July 2025, …. being Part II of an extended article with this title “From Ceylon to Palestine: Ethnic Conflict and Its Role in Cold War Proxy Dynamics” …. This is the second of a two-part series. Click here to read part one .. .. with highlighting imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi
There are remarkable patterns of history, organised violence, and disinformation between events leading to the pogrom and forced population displacements in Sri Lanka in 1983, and British occupied Palestine 35 years earlier as the Nakba unfolded amid Cold War escalating in Europe between the Allies and Soviet Union or Axis Powers.
Map indicating locations of Palestine and Sri Lanka. CC BY-SA 4.0 – Photo: 2025
Filed under accountability, Americna imperialism, atrocities, authoritarian regimes, British imperialism, centre-periphery relations, communal relations, discrimination, disparagement, ethnicity, Fascism, fundamentalism, governance, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, Jews in Asia, JVP, law of armed conflict, life stories, LTTE, Middle Eastern Politics, Muslims in Lanka, politIcal discourse, power politics, racism, security, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, slanted reportage, terrorism, travelogue, truth as casualty of war, war reportage, world events & processes
A Pathway to History: Biographical ‘Hits’ in Thuppahi, 22 July 2025
Michael Roberts
Biographical tales and investigations serve as one pathway to historical enquiry. Because they resonate with readers interest in their own personal journeys this fascination seems to evoke continuous appeal. The WORD PRESS record of readers hits on items in THUPPAHI confirm this fact. Let me, therefore, provide TPS readers with a list of some of the items that drew at least one reader …. that is one HIT …. today/yesterday.
Filed under accountability, art & allure bewitching, British colonialism, charitable outreach, communal relations, cricket selections, cultural transmission, discrimination, disparagement, economic processes, education, ethnicity, female empowerment, foreign policy, fundamentalism, governance, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, island economy, landscape wondrous, Left politics, life stories, literary achievements, LTTE, military strategy, modernity & modernization, patriotism, performance, photography, plural society, political demonstrations, politIcal discourse, population, power politics, prabhakaran, press freedom, religiosity, Royal College, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, slanted reportage, social justice, Sri Lankan cricket, sri lankan society, Tamil migration, Tamil Tiger fighters, teaching profession, terrorism, transport and communications, truth as casualty of war, unusual people
Political Complexities in Jaffna & the Killing of Rajani Thiranagama
BEING Chapter 3 of Palmyra Fallen, from Rajani to War’s End, by Rajan Hoole ….. Published 2015 …. a book printed and bound by Global Printing Works, 5 Stork Place, Colombo 10 …. a chapter entitled “Some Crucial Pieces of the Jigsaw” … [with the highlights here –– except for those in black — being impositions by The Editor, Thuppahi]
“To everything there is a season…A time to be born and a time to die…A time to weep and a time to laugh: a time to mourn and a time to dance…I know that whatsoever God doeth it shall be forever: nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from it”- The Book of Ecclesiastes
Dayapala & Rajani Thiranagama in 1984 .. . well before her assassination in late 1989
Dayapala in later years
3.1 The Sands Run Out
More recently, we have been able to put together more detailed information about Rajani’s killing. Given that much water has since flowed under the bridge, we felt that while placing the truth about her murder on a record that adequately traces its manner, purpose and the parties involved, it would also be appropriate to bring out a publication that allows today’s reader to see her relevance to the present. As is evident from our account, Rajani’s killing was well planned, mobilising a network of LTTE contacts and agents. Here in Chapter 3, we detail the cold-blooded murder and cover-up by the LTTE and the names of those who were involved at the time. In Chapter 4, we discuss who within the LTTE was involved.
Filed under accountability, asylum-seekers, atrocities, authoritarian regimes, caste issues, centre-periphery relations, citizen journalism, communal relations, disparagement, education, Eelam, ethnicity, governance, historical interpretation, human rights, insurrections, language policies, life stories, LTTE, nationalism, patriotism, political demonstrations, politIcal discourse, power politics, prabhakaran, racism, security, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, social justice, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, Tamil migration, tamil refugees, Tamil Tiger fighters, teaching profession, terrorism, trauma, world events & processes, zealotry
Wind Power in Lanka: India’s Imperial Grab
Chris Dharmakirti n Facebook, July 2025
India has overstepped its ambition by grabbing Sri Lanka’s 50 giga watt wind power asset valued at over 40 billion dollars and then for having obstructed Sri Lanka’s Bay of Bengal extended continental shelf claim that is estimated to possess 200 billion dollars of resources. India has weaponized her 4 billion debt assistance in 2022 to ride rough shod over a weak Sri Lankan political and civil service administration that bent over backwards to appease Modi.
Filed under accountability, centre-periphery relations, disparagement, economic processes, foreign policy, governance, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, island economy, legal issues, modernity & modernization, politIcal discourse, power politics, security, self-reflexivity, travelogue, world events & processes
