Ruki Fernando in Groundviews, 11 July 2025, where the title reads “Getting Rid of A Troublesome Priest” ... with the highlighting emphasis being the workd of The Editor, Thuppahi
July 11, 2025 marks 35 years since the disappearance of Fr. Saverimuttu Selvarajah, a Catholic priest from the Diocese of Batticaloa. Known as Fr. Selva, he was 30 years at that time and serving as the parish priest and administrator of Holy Cross Shrine in the remote village of Sorikalmunai in the Ampara district.
Filed under accountability, atrocities, authoritarian regimes, centre-periphery relations, citizen journalism, communal relations, counter-insurgency, disparagement, ethnicity, governance, historical interpretation, insurrections, JVP, law of armed conflict, Left politics, life stories, LTTE, martyrdom, Muslims in Lanka, patriotism, politIcal discourse, power politics, racism, religious nationalism, security, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, terrorism, the imaginary and the real, trauma, travelogue, truth as casualty of war, unusual people, vengeance, war crimes, war reportage, zealotry
A Note by the Late SWR de Samarasinghe penned in 2021 and presented now in his Honour, albeit against his wishes then.
Dear Michael:
I will have a look at the document when you place it on Thuppahi.
BTW, I noticed that you mention the names of KM, Neelan and Radhika as the three people responsible for the establishment of ICES. Factually, Neelan got the initial grant from the Ford Foundation, KM got permission from JR to set it up. JR also instructed the then Finance Minister Ronnie de Mel to facilitate the process. Neelan invited Radhika [Coomaraswamy] to join as Associate Director and KM invited me to join as the Associate Director.
Filed under centre-periphery relations, Colombo and Its Spaces, communal relations, cultural transmission, economic processes, education, ethnicity, governance, historical interpretation, island economy, legal issues, life stories, literary achievements, nationalism, patriotism, performance, politIcal discourse, power politics, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, teaching profession, unusual people, world events & processes
Some real-life experiences: I am looking at the events of the 20th century with 21st century spectacles. Hence there are no hard feelings or anger except a fervent hope the situation has changed for the better.
My first introduction to the Medical Faculty was on registration day. It started with virtual ‘road blocks’ by seniors to round up the freshers. This was the beginning of the rag to usher in the new recruits and introduce them to a new brand of nastiness, a tradition that has prevailed since the very beginning of the institution.
Filed under accountability, authoritarian regimes, Colombo and Its Spaces, cultural transmission, disparagement, education, education policy, heritage, historical interpretation, life stories, performance, power politics, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, teaching profession, trauma, unusual people
Michael Roberts
Sinnappah Arasaratnam was one of my inspirational teachers in History at Peradeniya University in the late 1950s. In chancing upon a printed copy of one of his articles — entitled “Sri Lanka’s Tamils under Colonial Rule,” (date ??), I have been inspired to remind new generations, as well as older ones. of his contributions to scholarship in Lanka, Malaysia/Singapore and Australia.
It was to my benefit that I was able to interact with him on occasions after he moved to Malaysia and Australia. Alas, the details of these exchanges have not taken root in my fading memory.
Filed under accountability, authoritarian regimes, Britain's politics, British colonialism, caste issues, centre-periphery relations, commoditification, communal relations, cultural transmission, demography, Dutch colonialism, economic processes, ethnicity, European history, governance, heritage, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, Indian traditions, island economy, land policies, language policies, Left politics, life stories, modernity & modernization, nationalism, parliamentary elections, patriotism, plural society, political demonstrations, politIcal discourse, Portuguese in Indian Ocean, power politics, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, Sri Lankan scoiety, Tamil civilians, teaching profession, transport and communications, world events & processes
A MEMO From Michael Roberts as Editor, Thuppahi, July 2025
The Word Press system keeps me informed about the HITs on TPS items everyday and also assembles figures for each week. Reviewing these details provides one with a glimpse of internet viewers and their interests. As an exercise with this objective I provide figures of HITS on items carrying biographical tales.
HEREWITh, then, are the figures of such hits — HITS on bio-tales –– during the past week.
Filed under accountability, art & allure bewitching, authoritarian regimes, British colonialism, Buddhism, centre-periphery relations, charitable outreach, communal relations, cricket selections, cultural transmission, disparagement, economic processes, Eelam, ethnicity, European history, governance, heritage, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, insurrections, island economy, landscape wondrous, language policies, Left politics, legal issues, life stories, literary achievements, modernity & modernization, nationalism, performance, politIcal discourse, population, power politics, S. Thomas College, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, slanted reportage, Sri Lankan cricket, sri lankan society, Tamil Tiger fighters, teaching profession, theatre world, unusual people, world affairs, world events & processes
Michael Roberts
SOUTH ASIA has been a form of Australian exploration — in the plural form of manifold journeys and investigations — in South Asia for several decades. I was a small cog in this cluster of activities some 20 years back; but, alas, fell away. Some old partners in arms are still part of the Editorial Advisory Board; but its a fresh and bright team that is bringing the Indian subcontinent into the Aussie arena. Sri Lankan scholars and readers need to take note of this work and chip in with their own ‘commentary’ — whether in article form or as avid readers.
Check https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/csas20 …. AND/OR write to shameem.black@anu.edu.au ……….. OR ……………………….. priya.chacko@adelaide.edu.au
Filed under ancient civilisations, australian media, British imperialism, Buddhism, centre-periphery relations, communal relations, cultural transmission, economic processes, electoral structures, ethnicity, European history, governance, heritage, Hinduism, historical interpretation, Indian General Elections, Indian Ocean politics, Indian religions, Indian traditions, land policies, landscape wondrous, life stories, literary achievements, migrant experiences, modernity & modernization, parliamentary elections, patriotism, pilgrimages, plural society, politIcal discourse, Portuguese imperialism, Portuguese in Indian Ocean, power politics, Presidential elections, press freedom & censorship, racism, Rajiv Gandhi, religiosity, riots and pogroms, security, self-reflexivity, terrorism, transport and communications, working class conditions, world events & processes, zealotry
Professor M.W. Amarasiri de Silva, about 3/4 years back in … … where the full title of the essay reads thus: “Sinhalese Society Through The Prism Of Religion: An Appreciation Of Gananath Obeyesekere’s Work On Sinhalese Buddhism”
This article celebrates the remarkable scholarly contributions of Gananath Obeyesekere, specifically in the field of popular Buddhism in Sri Lanka. Obeyesekere, now aged 93, embarked on his anthropological career at the University of Ceylon (now University of Peradeniya), where he earned his undergraduate degree in English. Subsequently, he served as a lecturer and professor in the Department of Sociology from the 1960s to 1972, before moving on to the United States. He was Professor of Anthropology at Princeton University from 1980 to 2000.
Filed under accountability, ancient civilisations, art & allure bewitching, British colonialism, caste issues, centre-periphery relations, commoditification, communal relations, cultural transmission, economic processes, ethnicity, fundamentalism, governance, heritage, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, language policies, Left politics, life stories, literary achievements, modernity & modernization, nationalism, patriotism, performance, pilgrimages, politIcal discourse, power politics, racist thinking, religiosity, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, social justice, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, teaching profession, transport and communications, unusual people, vengeance, working class conditions, world events & processes, zealotry
bull-mascot-team-logo-design-longhorn-133746227 Presented here at ……………………………………………………….. https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/nationalism-the-past-and-the-present-the-case-of-sri-lanka/…. & thus in need of updating.; while being dedicated to a Peradeniya University buddy -alas deceased– with whom I shared notes and thoughts during undergraduate days and thereafter in the 1970s & 1980s in Chicago: namely, Ananda Wickremeratne …
Amunugama, Sarath 1979 ‘Ideology and class interest in one of Piyadasa Sirisena’s novels: the new image of the “Sinhala Buddhist” nationalist’ in M Roberts (ed.) Collective identities, nationalisms and protest in modern Sri Lanka, Colombo:: Marga Institute, pp 314-36
Anderson, Benedict 1983 Imagined communities. Reflections on the origin and spread of Nationalism. London: Verso
Filed under accountability, authoritarian regimes, British colonialism, Buddhism, centre-periphery relations, communal relations, constitutional amendments, cultural transmission, demography, devolution, discrimination, Dutch colonialism, economic processes, education policy, Eelam, ethnicity, governance, hatan kavi, heritage, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, insurrections, island economy, Kandyan kingdom, language policies, Left politics, legal issues, life stories, LTTE, martyrdom, modernity & modernization, Muslims in Lanka, nationalism, patriotism, power politics, racism, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, Tamil migration, tamil refugees, Tamil Tiger fighters, transport and communications, vengeance, war reportage, world events & processes, zealotry
thuppahi
