Uditha Devapriya … in The Island, 28 June 2024, where the title reads: “A Tribute to Kumari Jayawardena” … while the presentation here includes highlights imposed by The Editor
Last month the Collective for Historical Dialogue & Memory (CHDM) organised a screening of Conversations with Kumari, a documentary on Kumari Jayawardena. Last week Jayawardena turned 93. Yesterday I reflected on her and the generation she represented. That generation is leaving us, but it remains as influential as ever.
Filed under anti-racism, art & allure bewitching, British colonialism, caste issues, centre-periphery relations, commoditification, communal relations, democratic measures, discrimination, economic processes, ethnicity, governance, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, Indian traditions, island economy, landscape wondrous, language policies, Left politics, life stories, modernity & modernization, nationalism, parliamentary elections, plural society, political demonstrations, politIcal discourse, racist thinking, religious nationalism, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, social justice, Sri Lankan scoiety, unusual people, welfare & philanthophy, working class conditions, world events & processes
A. K. L. Steinbeck, …. with title and underlining imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi
WATCH = https://x.com/DOmowale/status/1805701195366822364 …& … https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/6/25/kenya-protests-live-deadly-anti-tax-protests-after-finance-bill-approved
Filed under accountability, american imperialism, authoritarian regimes, centre-periphery relations, counter-insurgency, debt restructuring, disparagement, economic processes, governance, historical interpretation, human rights, IMF, IMF as monster, life stories, performance, politIcal discourse, riots and pogroms, self-reflexivity, slanted reportage, social justice, the imaginary and the real, trauma, Uncategorized, world events & processes
Presenting an academic article published in Contributions to Indian Sociology , n.s, Vol 21, 1-25 … also reproduced subsequently in Sri Lanka in 1989 as No, 10 within the SSC Pamphlet Series marshalled by the late Ana Chittambalam, Willa Wickremasinghe , Hari hulugalle and Michael Roberts
Elizabeth Nissan: “The work of Sri Lankan anthropologists: A bibliographic survey”
Introduction: Although many of the studies included in this essay are concerned with Sri Lanka, this is not a bibliographic essay on the anthropology of that country. It is, instead, a survey of the work of Sri Lankan anthropologists, wherever they may have carried out their research.
Filed under Aboriginality, accountability, art & allure bewitching, authoritarian regimes, British colonialism, Buddhism, caste issues, centre-periphery relations, Colombo and Its Spaces, colonisation schemes, commoditification, communal relations, cultural transmission, democratic measures, demography, discrimination, disparagement, Dutch colonialism, economic processes, education, ethnicity, fundamentalism, governance, hatan kavi, heritage, historical interpretation, immigration, Indian Ocean politics, Indian traditions, irrigation, Islamic fundamentalism, island economy, landscape wondrous, language policies, Left politics, life stories, literary achievements, modernity & modernization, nationalism, performance, pilgrimages, plantations, plural society, political demonstrations, politIcal discourse, Portuguese in Indian Ocean, power politics, racism, religiosity, religious nationalism, riots and pogroms, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, social justice, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, terrorism, the imaginary and the real, travelogue, vengeance, violence of language, welfare & philanthophy, working class conditions, world events & processes, zealotry
Thuppahi has consitently supported the charitable outreach that has been pursued by Ranjan Sivagnanasundaram and his VANNI HOPE projects and has no hesitation in backing this line of charitable aid.
“Enhancing Access to Digital Education for Disadvantaged Students/Children in the Rural Area of Sri Lanka”
Introduction: The role of technology in teaching and learning is rapidly becoming a crucial and widely discussed topic in the modern education system. Most education experts agree that, when used effectively, information and communication technology have the potential to enhance teaching and learning while shaping job opportunities. Computer illiteracy is now seen as a new form of illiteracy, sparking a strong desire to provide schools in remote villages with the necessary computer facilities and trained personnel to develop technologically skilled students. It is undeniable that computers can assist in the instructional process and support students’ learning.
Filed under accountability, centre-periphery relations, charitable outreach, cultural transmission, debt restructuring, economic processes, education, ethnicity, governance, island economy, landscape wondrous, language policies, life stories, modernity & modernization, patriotism, reconciliation, rehabilitation, self-reflexivity, social justice, sri lankan society, teaching profession, unusual people, voluntary workers, welfare & philanthophy, working class conditions
Go to …. https://itihas.lk/contact/ … Note that the presentation here is a re-cast selection by The Editor of Thuppahi who has also imposed his colourings on the text
Itihas aims to equip Sri Lankan youth with the ability to think critically about their past, present, and future. It specifically aims to debunk mythological understandings of history that afford to particular ethno-religious groups a sense of superiority or authenticity over others. Rather than acting as a gatekeeper of knowledge, Itihas seeks to empower future generations of students, scholars, practitioners, and policymakers to learn about, research, and make informed decisions on divisive issues such as conflict, discrimination and violence in a manner that advances a more inclusive Sri Lanka.
Photo by Tashiya De Mel
Itihas – Advancing history education reform in Sri Lanka
Filed under accountability, anti-racism, art & allure bewitching, British colonialism, British imperialism, Buddhism, caste issues, centre-periphery relations, Colombo and Its Spaces, communal relations, constitutional amendments, cultural transmission, democratic measures, Dutch colonialism, economic processes, education, education policy, ethnicity, European history, female empowerment, foreign policy, gender norms, governance, heritage, historical interpretation, human rights, Indian Ocean politics, insurrections, Islamic fundamentalism, island economy, land policies, landscape wondrous, language policies, law of armed conflict, Left politics, legal issues, life stories, literary achievements, LTTE, medical marvels, military strategy, modernity & modernization, Muslims in Lanka, nationalism, parliamentary elections, patriotism, photography & its history, pilgrimages, plantations, plural society, political demonstrations, politIcal discourse, population, Portuguese imperialism, power politics, power sharing, prabhakaran, Presidential elections, press freedom & censorship, racist thinking, Rajapaksa regime, refugees, religiosity, riots and pogroms, security, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, social justice, Sri Lankan cricket, sri lankan society, suicide bombing, Tamil civilians, Tamil migration, tamil refugees, teaching profession, transport and communications, truth as casualty of war, vengeance, war crimes, war reportage, working class conditions, world events & processes, World War II and Ceylon, zealotry
Thuppahi is delighted to present a new research venture in keeping with its own spirit — with TUDOR SILVA in Lanka and MARK BALMFORTH in Canada in command.
Deadlines for Submissions: ….. Abstract: June 15, 2024 …… Full Paper: September 30, 2024Compared to the expanding body of literature on caste in the Indian subcontinent, caste in Sri Lanka has received only sporadic academic attention and has been largely ignored in policy debates and social development interventions on the island. This can partially be explained by a widespread, public belief in Sri Lanka that despite its past importance, caste is no longer a vital social institution. While open discussion on the topic is largely absent, this does not mean that caste is dead or dying. Rather, caste remains hidden in much of Sri Lankan social life (Jiggins 1979; Silva, Sivapragasam, & Thanges 2009a). Reports from the north and east of the country indicate a certain resurgence of caste issues in post-war society, and new research findings suggest that caste plays a role in social, economic, and political dynamics that affect access to limited resources such as land, drinking water, employment, and political power (Thanges 2015; Hashmi and Kuganathan 2017; Kadirgamar 2019; Silva 2020; Tiruchandran 2021). Caste also continues to play an important role in the social life of south and central Sri Lanka through marriage partner selection, land tenure, temple rituals, politics, economic relations, and the performing arts (Silva, Sivapragasam, & Thanges 2009b; Reed 2010). Recent dissertation work, particularly in overseas universities, suggests that a body of new Sri Lankan caste-related evidence is just on the horizon (Räsänen 2015; Aimee 2017; Thanges 2018; Balmforth 2020; Esler 2020; Pathmanesan 2020).
Filed under accountability, British colonialism, Buddhism, caste issues, centre-periphery relations, chauvinism, commoditification, communal relations, cultural transmission, democratic measures, demography, discrimination, Dutch colonialism, economic processes, education policy, electoral structures, ethnicity, female empowerment, governance, heritage, historical interpretation, Indian traditions, island economy, language policies, Left politics, legal issues, life stories, plantations, plural society, politIcal discourse, power politics, racist thinking, self-reflexivity, social justice, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, tolerance, unusual people, working class conditions, world events & processes
Earlson Forbes, whose title in THE CEYLANKAN, vol 27/2, May 2024 is “Fortress White Australia: What early Ceylonese migrants [1949 t0 1969] were up against” … [now … with most of the author’s documentary illustrations]
The Six Australian Colonies came together on the 1st of January 1901 to form the independent Nation of the Commonwealth of Australia. From 1788 (First Fleet arrival at Sydney Cove) to the time of Federation, Australia was populated by convict and free settlers almost exclusively from Britain. The 1901 census put the population at 3.7 million. Aboriginals were not counted in this census. A small percentage of the population was made up of Pacific Islanders and Chinese. The Chinese entered Australia in the second half of the 19th century at the time of the Gold Rush in Australia (mid-19th century) and in the years following. Between 1851 and 1870 about 50,000 Chinese were estimated to have entered Australia. Pacific Islanders had been brought to Australia in the second half of the 19th century as labourers.
From its inception the Nation of Australia embarked on a highly protective policy regarding entry into the country. Within one year of formation of the Nation, the Australian Parliament passed two Acts limiting immigration. These two Acts were The Immigration Restriction Act 1901, and the Pacific Islander Labourers Act 1901. The Pacific Islander Labourers Act aimed specifically at putting a stop to admission of persons from this region. The Act stated, ‘No Pacific Island Labourer shall enter Australia on or after the thirty first day of March one thousand nine hundred and four’.
Filed under accountability, Australian culture, australian media, centre-periphery relations, charitable outreach, communal relations, cultural transmission, demography, discrimination, disparagement, economic processes, education, ethnicity, governance, heritage, historical interpretation, immigration, island economy, landscape wondrous, language policies, legal issues, life stories, patriotism, plural society, politIcal discourse, racist thinking, self-reflexivity, social justice, sri lankan society, taking the piss, transport and communications, travelogue, unusual people, world events & processes
Jehan Perera in Colombo Telegraph, May 2024 where the title reads “President’s Commitment for Economic Reform is Model for Reconciliation” … & is reproduced here with underlining imposed by the Editor, Thuppahi
On numerous occasions President Ranil Wickremesinghe has said he was elected president to get Sri Lanka out of its economic morass and will do his utmost to fulfill that obligation. This has led to much speculation regarding the president’s intentions with regard to conducting presidential elections prior to achieving economic success. The truth of the president’s utterances with regard to his commitment to resolving the economic crisis is to be plainly seen in his determination to push ahead with unpopular economic policies. He has been unrelenting in sticking to higher tax rates than the masses of people can afford and to the privatization of state-owned enterprises. Both of these policies are unpopular to the point of jeopardising his bid to be re-elected at the forthcoming presidential election, but the president has stuck by his convictions.
Filed under accountability, anti-racism, centre-periphery relations, charitable outreach, communal relations, democratic measures, doctoring evidence, ethnicity, governance, historical interpretation, Indian Ocean politics, law of armed conflict, legal issues, life stories, news fabrication, NGOs, parliamentary elections, plural society, political demonstrations, politIcal discourse, power politics, propaganda, reconciliation, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, slanted reportage, social justice, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, tamil refugees, truth as casualty of war, war crimes, war reportage, world events & processes
Filed under accountability, authoritarian regimes, centre-periphery relations, citizen journalism, Colombo and Its Spaces, cultural transmission, democratic measures, demography, disparagement, economic processes, electoral structures, governance, historical interpretation, landscape wondrous, Left politics, legal issues, life stories, patriotism, performance, politIcal discourse, power politics, Rajapaksa regime, self-reflexivity, social justice, sri lankan society, the imaginary and the real, unusual people, vengeance, world events & processes
Jehan Perera, in The Island, 18 April 2024 ….. https://island.lk/dr-a-t-ariyaratne-the-most-important-person-for-all-time/ … with emphasis inserted by The Editor, Thuppahi
The government’s decision to conduct the funeral of Dr A T Ariyaratne with state honours is a recognition of the contribution that the founder of the Sarvodaya Movement made to the country over the past 65 years when he set up the organization. Today, the concepts he pioneered, such as Shramadana (donation-of-labour), Gramodaya (village-awakening) and Sarvodaya (the wellbeing of all) are now part and parcel of the mainstream of Sri Lanka’s civil and political life. His creative use of traditional practices and belief systems enabled the Sarvodaya Movement to become an organic part of the country’s development process. The great contribution that Dr Ariyaratne made was to mainstream not only traditional community-oriented practices like Shramadana, but also to infuse liberal values such as pluralism and equality into civil society that enabled its spread to the four corners of the country.
Filed under accountability, architects & architecture, art & allure bewitching, Buddhism, charitable outreach, cultural transmission, education, governance, heritage, life stories, patriotism, performance, politIcal discourse, rehabilitation, religiosity, self-reflexivity, social justice, sri lankan society, teaching profession, tolerance, unusual people
thuppahi
