Category Archives: population

April 16, 2021 · 3:29 pm

Sri Lanka’s Ecological Crisis in Overview in the Context of the HR Accusations

Asoka Bandarage, in Asia Times, 3 April 2021, where the title runs thus:  ‘Human rights’ and Sri Lanka’s ecological crisis “

A UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolution of March 16 brought extensive charges against Sri Lanka over alleged human-rights violations, but is arguably seriously flawed. Opportunistic and strategic use of human rights by the Western powers to maintain hegemony continually ignores violations of the rights of nature and humanity rooted in the destructive model of economic development the same powers introduced to the world.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, ancient civilisations, British colonialism, centre-periphery relations, economic processes, environmental degradation, governance, historical interpretation, island economy, landscape wondrous, life stories, population, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, taking the piss, the imaginary and the real, transport and communications, truth as casualty of war, welfare & philanthophy, world events & processes

April 1, 2021 · 1:23 pm

Demographic Graph of Principal Ethnic Groups within Lanka, 1940-2020

Chandre Dharmawardena, in response to THE COMMENTS drawn by the article https://thuppahis.com/2021/04/01/tamara-kunanayakam-in-dialogue-with-faraz-on-the-unhrc-vote-at-geneva-m-arch-2021/

Continue reading →

2 Comments

Filed under economic processes, historical interpretation, island economy, landscape wondrous, life stories, politIcal discourse, population, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, the imaginary and the real, truth as casualty of war, world events & processes

March 23, 2021 · 11:27 pm

Landscapes: From Arippu to Jaffna

Sent by Lalin Fernando in Colombo who received the ‘lot’ from A Friend in London; while another Friend in Colombo added this NOTE:

“As usual, the places of interest along the north west coastline, Jaffna (and surrounds) are so varied, the social ‘weave’ so interesting. Each unique element holds their own depth of history. It is impossible to encapsulate even a quarter of that depth and complexity in a short series of images.

I was compelled to attach a page on the bird life – to omit that would have been to leave out some wonderful sights at a beautiful time of the year.

I trust your contacts will enjoy the images and bring back some pleasant memories.”

Pix by Ian Lockwood

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under cultural transmission, heritage, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, life stories, population, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, the imaginary and the real, tourism, transport and communications, travelogue, wild life

March 12, 2021 · 2:42 pm

African Diaspora across the Indian Ocean: The SIDI Project:

VISIT https://thesidiproject.com/

At Sidi men play drums at t heir communities’annual Urs celebration – Photo copyright by Luke Duggleby for Sidi Project

Few need introductions to the Western movement of slaves from Africa across the Atlantic Ocean. Much has been documented and studied about this horrific part of history. But this wasn’t the only slave route that existed; a far older eastern movement of slaves was forcibly taking people to the opposite side of the world. Between the first and 20th century, beginning with Arabs and the Ottomans, and later continued by the Portuguese, the Dutch, French and the British, an estimated 4 million Africans were taken from their homes, mostly in East Africa, and across the Indian Ocean.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under ancient civilisations, art & allure bewitching, cultural transmission, economic processes, heritage, historical interpretation, Indian religions, Indian traditions, landscape wondrous, life stories, population, religiosity, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, transport and communications, travelogue, world events & processes

March 11, 2021 · 8:01 am

Remembering Indian Ocean Slavery through Film: Afro-Sri Lankan Memories

Shihan de Silva Jayasuriya

Whilst the transatlantic slave trade has overwhelmed the historiography of Africa, the forced easterly movement of Africans is only receiving scholarly attention in the twenty first century.  Movement of Africans from the Continent is not characterised by the slave trade alone.  Not surprisingly, free Africans moved eastwards as missionaries, soldiers, sailors and traders.  Forced migration was concurrent with free migration.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, Afro-Asians, art & allure bewitching, centre-periphery relations, communal relations, cultural transmission, economic processes, female empowerment, heritage, historical interpretation, immigration, Indian traditions, landscape wondrous, life stories, performance, photography, population, religiosity, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, the imaginary and the real, transport and communications, travelogue, unusual people, world events & processes

February 17, 2021 · 2:37 pm

Port Cities of Asia surveyed by Frank Broeeze et al in 1989

Frank Broeze from the University of Western Australia organised a wide-ranging study of port cities in Asia which should not be neglected in exploring the background bearing upon the ongoing politico-economic manoeuvres in the Indian Ocean and the Pacific today.

.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under centre-periphery relations, commoditification, economic processes, export issues, foreign policy, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, landscape wondrous, life stories, modernity & modernization, politIcal discourse, population, power politics, transport and communications, travelogue, world events & processes

January 28, 2021 · 10:03 am

Covid ‘Scores’: Comparative Statistics Worldwide

Stephen Dziedzic ….  the foreign affairs reporter ABC  with this title “New Zealand tops Lowy Institute list as country with best response to coronavirus, Australia sits eighth”

New analysis has found that New Zealand has handled the coronavirus pandemic more effectively than any other country in the world.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, coronavirus, governance, life stories, performance, population, self-reflexivity, the imaginary and the real, tolerance, world events & processes

January 28, 2021 · 3:35 am

Landscapes around Diyatalawa

Krishani Peiris, with photo-work by Menaka Aravinda, …. a repeat from a presentation in 2013 with a different title

Located approximately 1,331 metres above sea level, Diyatalawa in the Haputale District is well known as a Garrison Town. Though it is not clear as to when the place became a prominent threshold for armed forces, historical records show that in 1885, the British had stationed a garrison in the area. And from that point onwards, Diyatalawa has being able to carve its own niche in the history of Sri Lanka.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under architects & architecture, art & allure bewitching, British colonialism, cultural transmission, heritage, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, life stories, military expenditure, photography, population, sri lankan society, transport and communications, travelogue, world events & processes

January 13, 2021 · 1:51 pm

Galle Fort built on the Backs of African Slave Labour

Jeevan Thiagarajah in Daily News, 25 March 2019,  with this title“Slaves built Galle Fort” … …. with highlighting emphasis imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi

The topic of the piece today was triggered by a conversation with the current High Commissioner in Colombo from South Africa, Ruby Marks, who has also posted on her Facebook page this passage, “Calvin Gilfillan, Head of Die Kasteel, affirmed what we suspected-the Dutch conceptualized and supervised, but it was the labour of an estimated 15,000 Africans brought from Portuguese and Dutch colonies, that did the back breaking work of actually building the Fort and the other ones scattered across Sri Lanka. I was shocked by how little was known in Sri Lanka about this. I visited the cramped quarters where the slaves were kept, the dungeons where they were imprisoned, and the cemetery-now a car park where they were buried. And my heart wept.

Continue reading →

4 Comments

Filed under accountability, architects & architecture, authoritarian regimes, British imperialism, caste issues, centre-periphery relations, commoditification, discrimination, economic processes, governance, heritage, historical interpretation, human rights, Indian Ocean politics, island economy, landscape wondrous, legal issues, life stories, military strategy, politIcal discourse, population, Portuguese in Indian Ocean, power politics, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, transport and communications, trauma, travelogue, unusual people, working class conditions, world events & processes

December 31, 2020 · 12:56 am

Under Scrutiny: Edmund Leach’s PUL ELIYA

Michael Roberts

In late 1965 I set out on an oral history exercise interviewing retired British public servants[1] about their experiences in Ceylon. This work has been clarified earlier in two Thuppahi Items.[2] Because of my strong interest in colonial agrarian policies, I was familiar with the books produced by two outstanding Cambridge University scholars: BH Farmer and Edmund Leach. Farmer’s book on Pioneer Peasant Colonization in Ceylon (1957) reviewed British efforts to develop the dry zone of Sri Lanka via irrigation projects emulating the captivating efforts in ancient times. As such, it focused on DS Senanayake’s inspirational role in this set of enterprises. Leach’s detailed ethnographic experiences in a village arena in Anuradhapura District provided detailed ground-level data and interpretations in this field.

Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Filed under ancient civilisations, British colonialism, centre-periphery relations, colonisation schemes, cultural transmission, economic processes, heritage, historical interpretation, irrigation, island economy, land policies, landscape wondrous, life stories, modernity & modernization, politIcal discourse, population, sri lankan society, transport and communications, unusual people, welfare & philanthophy, working class conditions, world events & processes