Category Archives: population

Filed under ancient civilisations, British colonialism, caste issues, centre-periphery relations, commoditification, communal relations, cultural transmission, disparagement, economic processes, ethnicity, heritage, historical interpretation, immigration, Islamic fundamentalism, island economy, land policies, landscape wondrous, life stories, LTTE, Muslims in Lanka, politIcal discourse, population, power politics, religiosity, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, Tamil Tiger fighters, the imaginary and the real, trauma, truth as casualty of war, unusual people, women in ethnic conflcits, working class conditions, world events & processes

September 5, 2020 · 5:27 am

The Insidious and False Dimensions of the “Traditional Homeland” Thesis

Gerald Peiris

The concept of the ‘Traditional Tamil Homeland’ as promulgated by its exponents is based on the notion that, from the distant past, the island of Sri Lanka comprised the territories of two distinct nationalities that were arbitrarily unified in the formation of British Ceylon in the early 19th century. My survey, which draws from several authoritative writings, some of which have been authored by reputed Tamil scholars, shows that such a notion does not conform to known facts and unbiased interpretations of the country’s history.

Filed under accountability, British colonialism, centre-periphery relations, communal relations, conspiracies, cultural transmission, devolution, doctoring evidence, economic processes, Eelam, ethnicity, heritage, historical interpretation, irrigation, island economy, land policies, landscape wondrous, language policies, legal issues, literary achievements, nationalism, politIcal discourse, population, power politics, power sharing, prabhakaran, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, Tamil migration, the imaginary and the real, transport and communications, travelogue, truth as casualty of war, unusual people, world events & processes

August 5, 2020 · 2:10 pm

Galle Fort: Demography, 2018

The Population of Galle Fort in 2018

Muslims 561

Sinhalas 432

Tamils 14

Malays 02

Burghers 02

Foreigners 60 …… Total 1071

Filed under architects & architecture, British colonialism, cultural transmission, education, ethnicity, European history, heritage, historical interpretation, island economy, landscape wondrous, life stories, literary achievements, performance, population, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, teaching profession, tourism, travelogue, unusual people, world events & processes

July 30, 2020 · 7:15 am

Portuguese Colombo in 1662 via the Sketches of Esaias Bourse

Chryshane Mendis, in The HistoryFreek, 4 May 2020, where the title reads “Colombo in Transition 1662: Through the Eyes of Artist Esaias Boursse

This short essay serves as an introduction to a rare collection of sketches of Colombo and its environs in the year 1662.

Sinhalese soldier and labourer

Esaias Boursse was a servant of the VOC who made over hundred sketches of daily life in Colombo, mainly focused on the People and the work they were engaged in. This collection is called the “Tijkenboeck” and is held by the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. This album containing 116 sheets of drawings came into the possession of the Rijksmuseum in 1996. Its value outweighs the poor quality of some of the drawings in that it captures scenes from within a city which was being transformed from its Portuguese outlook to the Dutch; thus some scenes depict street views of Portuguese Colombo- a phenomena never before captured in drawing except for textual descriptions.

2 Comments

Filed under architects & architecture, authoritarian regimes, colonisation schemes, cultural transmission, economic processes, heritage, historical interpretation, Indian traditions, island economy, landscape wondrous, life stories, military strategy, politIcal discourse, population, Portuguese in Indian Ocean, religiosity, sri lankan society, travelogue, unusual people, working class conditions, world events & processes

June 30, 2020 · 5:28 pm

Imbalanced Task Forces in Sri Lanka?

Jehan Perera, in Island, 30 June 2020, with this title “The Need For Better Representation In Divided Societies”

There has been a trend of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa making senior appointments in which those who are outside the established administrative systems are being brought in to provide leadership and ensure effective and non-corrupt practices. As a large number of these appointments have been from the security forces this has given rise to a perception that the country is heading towards eventual military rule. There is a concern that the forthcoming general elections will be followed by constitutional changes that will entrench the military in governance as in some other countries such as Myanmar. This is unlikely to be the case in Sri Lanka as democratic traditions upholding civilian control of government are deeply ingrained in the fabric of political society.

Filed under accountability, ancient civilisations, Buddhism, chauvinism, communal relations, democratic measures, discrimination, economic processes, ethnicity, fundamentalism, governance, heritage, historical interpretation, Islamic fundamentalism, language policies, legal issues, life stories, Muslims in Lanka, politIcal discourse, population, power politics, Rajapaksa regime, reconciliation, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, social justice, tolerance, welfare & philanthophy, working class conditions

May 22, 2020 · 7:17 am

The Black-White Divide in USA: Covid’s Exposure/Disclosure

Daya Gamage

The lack of healthcare facilities, less economic opportunities, sub-standard educational facilities, extremely low-paying jobs, inadequate housing availability, widespread racism and discrimination, long-standing economic and health disparities between white people and the minority blacks have directly contributed to 35 percent of the Black community being affected by the Covid-19 despite the Blacks in the U.S. make-up just 13 percent of the overall population, the Asian Tribune survey found.Even though African Americans make up 13 percent of the US population, they account for 30 percent of the country’s COVID-19 patients

Filed under accountability, communal relations, coronavirus, cultural transmission, discrimination, economic processes, heritage, historical interpretation, life stories, population, welfare & philanthophy, working class conditions, world events & processes

May 6, 2020 · 2:08 pm

A Pooja for Kandy

Gerald H. Peiris **

Almost exactly eighty years ago a young woman, then in her first appointment as a teacher serving a village school off the township of Mawanella, and her husband, evangelist of the Methodist Church in the same village, rushed their infant son to the General Hospital in Kandy in the desperate hope that he would somehow survive through the bout of high fever and infection diagnosed as diphtheria – a disease with which an infant mortality rate quite close to 100% was associated at that time in ‘Ceylon’. They both maintained vigil at the hospital cot, day and night, throughout the fortnight or so of treatment and their child’s erratic recovery.

Filed under accountability, centre-periphery relations, cultural transmission, economic processes, education, heritage, historical interpretation, island economy, Kandyan kingdom, landscape wondrous, life stories, meditations, patriotism, politIcal discourse, population, religiosity, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, tourism, transport and communications, travelogue, unusual people, world events & processes

May 5, 2020 · 2:52 pm

On Kandy. For Kandy.

Gerald H Peiris’s New Book: PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE OF KANDY …. a monograph

2. Cover image …..

Kandy 1

Kandy is considered the epitome of Sri Lanka’s civilisational heritage, both as a supremely venerated sanctum in the world of Thēravāda Buddhism as well as from perspectives of harmonious multiculturalism evident in its demographic, structural and functional characteristics…..

Filed under accountability, architects & architecture, Buddhism, commoditification, cultural transmission, economic processes, education, heritage, historical interpretation, island economy, Kandyan kingdom, landscape wondrous, legal issues, life stories, plural society, politIcal discourse, population, religiosity, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, tourism, transport and communications, welfare & philanthophy, working class conditions

May 4, 2020 · 7:47 am

‘Covidiot Specialists’ as Another Menace

Dr Upul Wijayawardhana, in Island, 4 May 2020, where the title is “Which is more dangerous, Covid or Covidiot?”

“Where knowledge is sparse, experts proliferate” is, perhaps, the most important lesson I have learned during this troubled time we all are going through. At times, I wished Sir Tim Berners-Lee patented his invention – the World Wide Web – rather than gifting it to humanity. That would have prevented so many of my friends, and relatives, from forwarding many frivolous items, by e-mail and WhatsApp, as I am a Facebook shunner. Had they been obliged to pay, even the tiniest amount, they would have thought twice before forwarding most of these which, at best, are silly and, at worst, laden with darned lies. Had Sir Tim been selfish, he would have been a multi-billionaire, the richest man in the world, perhaps, and could then be a ‘philanthropist’, like some Americans, doling out millions to help the fight against the unseen-enemy. But that is another story.

Filed under accountability, coronavirus, discrimination, disparagement, economic processes, education, landscape wondrous, life stories, medical marvels, meditations, population, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, trauma, truth as casualty of war, unusual people, welfare & philanthophy, working class conditions, world events & processes

April 25, 2020 · 11:50 am

The Problem with Spatial Diffusion Models

Gerald H. Peiris

Models of Spatial Diffusion have been developed and used in Geography at least from the time of the Swedish geographer Hiegastrand (I hope I have got his name correct), and the kindly old professor of Geography at Trondheim, Prof. Karlsen Asbjorn (now retired) who hosted me for several meals at his home when I was on sabbatical in Norway way back in the last century. Asbjourn was considered an expert in the field of applying those models to the diffusion of infections. There are several such models.