Category Archives: working class conditions

Innovation: Draining Beruwela Canal to Protect Ocean & Marine Life

A Cinnamon Bey & John Keells Initiative reported in The Island, 15 June 2020, with this titlë  “Cinnamon Bey Beruwala pioneers installation of first-ever Ocean Strainer in Kalutara District

 Beruwala Canal Ocean Strainer

Cinnamon Bey Beruwala proudly announces the launch of a significant environmental initiative as part of the Clean Water Project by John Keells Holdings (JKH). Coinciding with the World Environment Day and World Ocean Day celebrations, the first ever ocean strainer was installed in the Beruwala canal, marking a pivotal step towards improving water quality and marine conservation in the Kalutara district.

Continue reading

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, charitable outreach, communal relations, cultural transmission, economic processes, education, environmental degradation, governance, heritage, island economy, landscape wondrous, life stories, modernity & modernization, patriotism, performance, politIcal discourse, rehabilitation, self-reflexivity, sri lankan society, taking the piss, transport and communications, trauma, unusual people, welfare & philanthophy, working class conditions

Deciphering the Work of Caste in Sri Lanka’s Lifeworld

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.

CASTE: A Global Journal on Social Exclusion …..  Call for Submissions ….. with a Focus on Sri Lanka

Deadlines for Submissions: ….. Abstract: June 15, 2024 …… Full Paper: September 30, 2024

Compared 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).

Continue reading

Leave a comment

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

Caste Issues in Sri Lanka: A Partial Bibliography

Michael Roberts

I came across this undated list in my computer files — one drawn up quite sometime back, maybe 20 years back. Though I would seem to have been part of the enterprise, some spellings suggest the involvement of others; while Iranga Silva of the ICES Kandy also seems to have been one of the compilers. It will, nevertheless, interest some readers & scholars and could assisit budding researchers. The items or authors presented in black were part of the File I found. I have taken the liberty of deploying a colour scheme, with red indicating rare items that I have not seen/studied; blue some highly important studies; ….

Continue reading

2 Comments

Filed under British colonialism, caste issues, centre-periphery relations, communal relations, cultural transmission, demography, discrimination, economic processes, ethnicity, governance, heritage, historical interpretation, island economy, landscape wondrous, life stories, politIcal discourse, revenue registers, sri lankan society, working class conditions

Ranasinghe Premadasa: As Pragmatic as Visionary in Political Method

Dr. Mahim Mendis, in Daily FT, 26 April 2024 …. where the title runs thus: “Revivial of Premadasism the Way Forward for Sri Lanka,”

…in DailyFT, 26 April Truly cultured men and women have the capacity to be thankful for the progressive measures taken by Ranasinghe Premadasa. He was a true embodiment of Social Democracy, governing the entire social, political, cultural, and moral order. He was not a mere propagator of a Social Market Economy, when he took over leadership from a right wing, J.R. Jayewardene led UNP that tried to dislodge Deputy Leader Premadasa from his well-earned Presidential candidature in 1989. The same right-wing forces in the UNP, tried to impeach him together with Feudalist sympathisers, who lost all their social status due to Premadasaism

Continue reading

2 Comments

Filed under accountability, centre-periphery relations, democratic measures, economic processes, education, governance, historical interpretation, language policies, life stories, parliamentary elections, patriotism, performance, politIcal discourse, power politics, reconciliation, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, slanted reportage, sri lankan society, unusual people, welfare & philanthophy, working class conditions

“Colonization and Ethnic Conflict in the Dry Zone of Sri Lanka” – Article in 1990

Patrick Peebles in a refereed article in The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 49, No. 1 (Feb., 1990), pp. 30-55 …. which John De Silva in Melbourne, my Aloysian sporting mate, has worked on to make it feasible for me to present it in the Thuppahi format-style. The supporting Maps & Diagrams are presented via web-references, while the web-reference to the article as a whole is placed herein in pdf format.

Sri LANKA’S INABILITY to contain ethnic violence as it escalated from sporadic terrorism to mob violence to civil war in recent years has disheartened observers who had looked to the nation as a success story of social and political development. In retrospect, Sri Lanka lacked effective local institutions to integrate the society, and the Sinhalese elite relied on welfare and preferential policies for the Sinhalese majority to maintain power. These alienated the minorities and resulted in Tamil demands for a separate state. 1

Continue reading

1 Comment

Filed under authoritarian regimes, British colonialism, centre-periphery relations, chauvinism, colonisation schemes, cultural transmission, demography, economic processes, ethnicity, governance, heritage, island economy, land policies, landscape wondrous, language policies, Left politics, life stories, plural society, politIcal discourse, power politics, racism, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, transport and communications, working class conditions, world events & processes

Introducing Tambiah’s 1992 Book: “Buddhism Betrayed?”

Item in Tamil Nation ……………………………………… https://tamilnation.org/books/eelam/buddhismbetrayed

Given Buddhism’s presumed non-violent philosophy, how can committed Buddhist monks and laypersons in Sri Lanka today actively take part in the fierce political violence of the Sinhalese against the Tamils?

Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah’s Buddhism Betrayed? seeks to answer this question by looking closely at the past century of Sri Lankan history and tracing the development of Buddhism’s participation in such ethnic conflict and collective violence. Tambiah analyses the ways in which this participation has, over time come to alter the very meaning of Buddhism itself as a lived reality.

Continue reading

Leave a comment

Filed under anti-racism, British colonialism, centre-periphery relations, communal relations, cultural transmission, demography, discrimination, disparagement, economic processes, education policy, electoral structures, ethnicity, fundamentalism, governance, heritage, historical interpretation, language policies, legal issues, life stories, nationalism, parliamentary elections, political demonstrations, politIcal discourse, power politics, racist thinking, riots and pogroms, self-reflexivity, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, trauma, truth as casualty of war, vengeance, working class conditions, world events & processes, zealotry

Demographic Trends in the World: A Muslim Predominance

Web-Reference sent to me by Richard Hermon

A Thuppahi thought arising from the graphic illustrations in this Video TALE: Where affluence and the search for security has led most of the non-Muslim world to deviate from the practices of their forefathers so that the capacity of Islamic families TODAY to bear and sustain large families [in the manners past] has worldwide ramifications.

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, centre-periphery relations, cultural transmission, demography, life stories, performance, politIcal discourse, religiosity, self-reflexivity, working class conditions, world events & processes

Vanni Hope ‘Smiles Upon’ Its Charity Work Over the Past Year

A Circular of Thanks from Ranjan Sivagnanasundaram

Dear Friends, Family, & Well-Wishers,

As we turn the page on another remarkable year at Vanni Hope, we are delighted to share with you the highlights of our journey through 2023. Last year was a testament to the power of community, collaboration, and compassion as we’ve continued to make strides or progress across Sri Lanka.

Enclosed within this email, and also accessible via our website, is our 2023 Annual Newsletter. This document provides a comprehensive overview of the projects, achievements, and financial milestones we’ve reached together. From the inauguration of Smart Classrooms that bridge the digital divide, to initiatives that provide clean water and safe housing, our efforts have been geared towards creating a sustainable and inclusive future for all in Sri Lanka.

The one & only Ranjan

 

Continue reading

2 Comments

Filed under accountability, charitable outreach, communal relations, economic processes, education, governance, life stories, patriotism, rehabilitation, social justice, sri lankan society, Tamil civilians, working class conditions

Campaign to Promote “Malaiyaha Thamilar” Identity

Diana Joseph in Groundviews, 25 March 2024 ….where the title runs thus :  “Identity Crisis of the Malaiyaha Thamilar Communityreproduced here with highlighting imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi

People of Tamil descent raised on plantations have endured a long history of discrimination, exploitation and violence tracing back to the era of colonization. The younger generation, both men and women, expresses a preference for employment opportunities in urban areas or Middle Eastern countries as labourers rather than on plantations. Unfortunately, this pursuit often results in their exploitation and entrapment in modern day slavery, a cyclical pattern that has persisted for over two centuries.

Continue reading

Leave a comment

Filed under accountability, anti-racism, British colonialism, centre-periphery relations, communal relations, cultural transmission, democratic measures, discrimination, economic processes, ethnicity, heritage, historical interpretation, island economy, legal issues, life stories, politIcal discourse, sri lankan society, Tamil migration, unusual people, welfare & philanthophy, working class conditions, world events & processes

For Ceylon. Roman Szechowycz in Gal Oya, 1950-61

Andreas Szechowycz … detailing his father’s dedicated work in the Gal Oya Project in the 1950s and in communication with  Michael Roberts in ways that mark his deep attachment to the island

Group Photo – Dr. Roman Szechowycz in middle.

L-R: Mr. (not legible), Mr. P. W. Richards, Mr. Coel Menai North Wales UK, Dr. Roman Szechowycz, Dr. A. J. Kostreamaks Bongor, Mr.. Anwari Dilmy Indonesia, Mr. B. A. Abeyvickram Colombo, Mr. R. A. DeRosaryro Colombo

Continue reading

4 Comments

Filed under architects & architecture, centre-periphery relations, colonisation schemes, cultural transmission, demography, economic processes, ethnicity, governance, heritage, historical interpretation, island economy, land policies, landscape wondrous, life stories, modernity & modernization, patriotism, performance, photography, politIcal discourse, population, rehabilitation, sri lankan society, transport and communications, unusual people, welfare & philanthophy, working class conditions, world events & processes