Filed under art & allure bewitching, centre-periphery relations, China and Chinese influences, commoditification, cultural transmission, economic processes, growth pole, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, island economy, landscape wondrous, life stories, migrant experiences, modernity & modernization, Muslims in Lanka, pilgrimages, politIcal discourse, Portuguese in Indian Ocean, power politics, security, sri lankan society, transport and communications, travelogue, unusual people, world events & processes
Michael Roberts
SEE David Jeyaraj’s Vale ….. https://thuppahis.com/2025/08/10/in-memoriam-vijaya-kumaratunga/ … FOR the original Thuppahi version, which does not have the highlighting emphases from my hand that can be seen NOW.
A NOTE: David Jeyaraj provides readers with a wide-ranging and incisive account – one which I recommend strongly. Sri Lanka’s political circles lost a visionary political figure when the JVP assassinated Vijaya Kumaratunga on the 16th February 1988. For Chandrika, Yasodhara and Vimukthi, of course, it was a tragedy.
Filed under accountability, art & allure bewitching, atrocities, communal relations, ethnicity, heritage, historical interpretation, life stories, martyrdom, patriotism, performance, politIcal discourse, power politics, security, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, social justice, sri lankan society, trauma, unusual people, vengeance
Ifham Nizam ✍️in The Island, August 2025… with this title “From Skies to Scripts: A young editor taking Sri Lanka’s stories to the world,” Published
At just 26, Avishka Mario Senewiratne has already done what many spend a lifetime trying to achieve. A trained pilot, published author, historian, and now Editor-in-Chief of The Ceylon Journal, Senewiratne is fast emerging as a defining voice in Sri Lanka’s literary and historical landscape. But behind the titles lies a story of deep passion, quiet perseverance, and an unwavering love for history – and the written word.
Filed under accountability, art & allure bewitching, Colombo and Its Spaces, cultural transmission, education, ethnicity, heritage, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, island economy, lettering--history, life stories, literary achievements, modernity & modernization, Muslims in Lanka, outmigration, patriotism, photography & its history, plantations, politIcal discourse, power politics, religiosity, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, teaching profession, travelogue, unusual people, world events & processes
Richard Koenigsberg, whose chosen title is “LOVING WHAT KILLS US: The History of the Twentieth Century”
Loving what kills us: what Nazism was.
Loving what kills us: what the Second World War was for the Japanese.
Loving and Dying for Stalin: what Russian Communism was.
Loving and Dying for Mao: what Chinese Communism was. Continue reading
Filed under accountability, anti-racism, atrocities, authoritarian regimes, centre-periphery relations, chauvinism, China and Chinese influences, communal relations, disparagement, ethnicity, European history, Fascism, fundamentalism, governance, historical interpretation, insurrections, Islamic fundamentalism, law of armed conflict, life stories, Middle Eastern Politics, military strategy, nationalism, Pacific Ocean issues, Palestine, politIcal discourse, power politics, racist thinking, religious nationalism, riots and pogroms, Russian history, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, Tamil Tiger fighters, terrorism, the imaginary and the real, trauma, truth as casualty of war, Ukraine & Its Ramifications, vengeance, war crimes, war reportage, world events & processes, World War II
Dhanuka Bandara, in The Daily Mirror, 15 August 2025 … where the title reads “The Ceylon Journal III: A Review,” while the title here and the highlighting are the imprint of The Editor, Thuppahi
The third installation of the bi-annual periodical The Ceylon Journal certainly continues the success of the two previous issues. Edited by Avishka Mario Senewiratne, The Ceylon Journal was first launched in July 2024. This unique journal, which in turn draws inspiration from Young Ceylon, a 19th-century Sri Lankan journal published by Charles Lorenz Ambrose and his friends, continues to publish immensely readable, yet well-researched and informative articles on a wide range of topics.
Filed under ancient civilisations, art & allure bewitching, British colonialism, Buddhism, centre-periphery relations, commoditification, cultural transmission, Dutch colonialism, economic processes, ethnicity, governance, heritage, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, island economy, Kandyan kingdom, landscape wondrous, law of armed conflict, life stories, literary achievements, modernity & modernization, nationalism, patriotism, photography, politIcal discourse, population, power politics, religiosity, security, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, transport and communications, unusual people, world events & processes
Tamil and Sinhala versions attached
Sri Lanka has opportunity to break from past – Türk
GENEVA (13 August 2025) – A report published today by the UN Human Rights Office calls on Sri Lanka’s Government to seize the historic opportunity to break with entrenched impunity, implement transformative reforms, and deliver long-overdue justice and accountability for serious violations and abuses committed in the past, including international crimes.
Filed under accountability, atrocities, authoritarian regimes, centre-periphery relations, communal relations, demography, Eelam, ethnicity, governance, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, life stories, LTTE, migrant experiences, military expenditure, military strategy, parliamentary elections, patriotism, photography, political demonstrations, politIcal discourse, population, power politics, racism, Rajapaksa regime, security, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, social justice, sri lankan society, suicide bombing, Tamil civilians, Tamil migration, tamil refugees, Tamil Tiger fighters, the imaginary and the real, trauma, truth as casualty of war, vengeance, violence of language, war crimes, world events & processes, zealotry
GV NOTE INTRODUCING THE AUTHOR : In 2001 Duleep De Chickera was ordained the 14th Anglican Bishop of Colombo. Educated at Royal College, Colombo and representing the college at 1st XV Rugby, he gained his training for the ministry at the Theological College of Lanka in Pilimathalawa, earning a B.Th thereafter earning a M.Sc. from Keble College, Oxford. He has served as chaplain and then as the sub-warden of S. Thomas’ College, Mt Lavinia. And in 2008 was accorded the honour of preaching a key sermon at the Lambeth Conference in the presence of 650 Bishops from around the world.
When US President Donald Trump arrogantly suggested that the neighbouring Arab States should absorb the Gaza population as a solution to Israel’s decimation of Gaza, he announced what discerning persons the world over had already perceived – the earliest Zionist Israeli arrivals, courtesy Lord Balfour, had come to take it all.
Filed under accountability, american imperialism, arab regimes, atrocities, authoritarian regimes, centre-periphery relations, discrimination, disparagement, ethnicity, Fascism, historical interpretation, Jews in Asia, legal issues, life stories, Middle Eastern Politics, military strategy, Palestine, politIcal discourse, power politics, racism, trauma, truth as casualty of war, war crimes, war reportage, world events & processes, zealotry
Kagusthan Ariaratnam in Groundviews, 8 August 2025, where the title reads “Neelan Unsilenced …” while highlights here have been added by The Editor, Thuppahi
Photo courtesy of Pitasanna Shanmugathas
NEELAN: UNSILENCED is a compelling and vital documentary that successfully situates the life of Dr. Neelan Tiruchelvam within the turbulent history of the Sri Lankan conflict. Its greatest achievement is providing a nuanced entry point into the war by focusing on the non-violent, intellectual and pluralistic dimensions of Tamil resistance – a perspective often eclipsed by the narrative of armed struggle. By foregrounding Neelan’s journey, the film illuminates a leader who dedicated his life to constitutional reform and reconciliation.
Photo courtesy of Pitasanna Shanmugathas
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Shenali D. Waduge, whose slashing sarcastic essay is entitled “Let’s Celebrate Prabakaran & the LTTE’s Glorious Achievements!” ... with the highlighting being that in the original item
A tribute to the world’s most misunderstood mass murderer and his liberation-through-terror campaign.
They say greatness demands sacrifice—and Velupillai Prabakaran understood this better than most. He wasn’t content with speeches; he offered the world a blueprint: to build a homeland, first destroy the present; to claim justice, first silence every voice—especially your own people’s; to prove your worth, leave no witness behind. For over three decades, he led with unmatched precision: dismantling democracy, eliminating dissent, recruiting children, and bleeding civilians dry—all while demanding the world call it liberation. Some build nations through unity; he built his with bunkers, landmines, cyanide, and the bones of the innocent. And still, they light candles for him. They hold commemorations in universities. UN officials attend. Foreign parliamentarians give speeches. So, in the spirit of glorifying terror, let’s not just mourn Velupillai Prabakaran—let’s celebrate the man who redefined cruelty and called it Eelam, by honoring every child stolen, every right violated, and every drop of blood shed in his name.
Filed under accountability, atrocities, authoritarian regimes, centre-periphery relations, chauvinism, Eelam, ethnicity, female empowerment, governance, historical interpretation, human rights, Indian Ocean politics, insurrections, law of armed conflict, life stories, LTTE, martyrdom, military strategy, nationalism, patriotism, politIcal discourse, power politics, prabhakaran, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, slanted reportage, sri lankan society, suicide bombing, Tamil civilians, Tamil migration, tamil refugees, Tamil Tiger fighters, terrorism, the imaginary and the real, truth as casualty of war, unusual people, vengeance, war crimes, war reportage, world events & processes
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