Category Archives: World War II and Ceylon

The Western Newspapers Vicious ‘Images’ of India’s Foreign Policy

“Archie  S‘… responding to  Items in THE AUSTRALIAN newspaper on the 17th Sepember 2025 entitled “Dangerous Optics for the Quad” and “India crosses the Red Line” with  the highlighting below [other than the blackened words] being impositions by The Editor, Thuppahi

The AUSTRALIAN newspaper is desperate to try and bring India under Western control. They hate the idea of neutrality. They hate countries being non-aligned. The assumption of this editorial, as with all articles published in the Australian, is that these conservatives possess a total intolerance of all other political and social systems outside of the West, and they believe that all countries can only exist and must exist in the image of the West, conform to its political systems and doctrines or be deemed a threat. The assumption here is that the West is superior to all other civilizations – the same idea that has existed for 500 years. It is this attitude that turns many leaders in the global south away from the West to organisations such as the SCO and BRICS, not to be anti-Western, but to pursue alternative pathways that offer fairer and better outcomes for their peoples, without threats of sanctions and tariffs.

PRESENTING HERE the original TIMES article ….

 

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ITIHAS Launched …. and Spreads Its Wings

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

Mission:  What we hope to achieve

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

 

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From Karaithivu, Jaffna to Buckingham Palace

Premila Thurairatnam

Mr. Sabapathipillai Rajanayagam O.B.E was a wise man who lived till he was 104 years old (1908–2012). He was alert to the end when most of his contemporaries had passed on.

His achievements are exemplary: coming from humble beginnings – his London diaries (attached) state how he grew up in a mud hut in a remote island called Karaithivu1 off Jaffna, Ceylon. From there his career culminated in being invited to Buckingham Palace! He studied hard and was awarded the University Telegraph Engineering scholarship to Imperial College, London in 1930. His article written for the Imperial College centenary when he too hit a century, can be found here: ………………………………………………………………… https://www.imperial.ac.uk/centenary/memories/Rajanayagam.shtml

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Islamic Hands? Controversy over Moscow Bomb Attack

Michael Roberts

The information and interpretations present in this Thuppahi website by “A Observer in a Black Sea Resort” (see refs at end) have been challenged by several Academic friends of mine located in the West (A and B quoted below within this text).  However, another friend located in USA …. a Sri Lankan as it happens …. has chipped in with a counterpunch (see C below); while another Sri Lankan has also added a note of significance.

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The Roberts Mss at Adelaide University Library

Michael Roberts

Recent Email Exchanges with Jane Russell of UK, who has one foot in England and two feet in island Sri Lanka, and a revived focus on  George E De Silva (1870-1950) reminded me of the George E. Mss Memoirs in typescript which Jane had given me long ago. This led me to a long list which amounts to a treasure trove for those addressing a variety of topics in the history of Sri Lanka. I present the details before. Those wishing to pursue specifics must write to the Head of the Special Collections at the Barr Smith Library Adelaide University, not to me: samantha.farnsworth@adelaide.edu.au

It is my conjecture that the same corpus of material (or parts thereof) will also be part of the Roberts Collection at the National Library Services Board along Torrington Rd (beside the National Archives) in Colombo. They could initially seek specifics from Mr Welimuni Sunil who heads the institution: viz …

Welimuni Sunil … sunilnldsb@gmail.com

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Michael Roberts Papers at Adelaide University Library

Michael Roberts Papers, mainly on Sri Lanka ……MSS 0031 …. AT = University of Adelaide Library………………………………………………. https://www.adelaide.edu.au/library/special/mss/roberts/transcripts%20list

Philip Gunawardena

Edmund R Leach

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Fighting & Dying FOR Britain during the Two World Wars

A New Book on  The Ceylonese Volunteers in World War I and World War II

 

 

 

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HMS “Ceylon”: In Service from 1942-1985

Group Captain Kumar Kirinde, Retd. SLAF whose preferred title is indicated at the end together with detials from one inspiration, that from Richard Boyle.

 

 

Introduction:  HMS Ceylon was a Fiji-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was of the Ceylon sub class, named after the island and British colony of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). The cruiser saw service in the Atlantic and Pacific theatres during the Second World War. In the postwar era, she participated in actions in Egypt and the Korean War. In 1960 she transferred to the navy of Peru and was renamed Coronel Bolognesi. The cruiser was scrapped in 1985.

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The British planted the Seeds of Lanka’s Bankruptcy in 1942

David Graham

I keep watching Karan Thapar’s interview with Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy: viz. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLLMdx74-aw. It’s fascinating. Karan Thapar is a skilled, hard-nosed interviewer and Indrajit Coomaraswamy is a knowledgeable and articulate interviewee. So what you get is two clear thinkers who cut to the nub of the issue. It’s a trenchant analysis of how Sri Lanka got into this hole and how it can get out of it.

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Michael Roberts: A Partial Bibliography, 1965-1999

Michael Roberts

Pressed by a friend in Australia, I revisited my academic journey as recorded in my old CV listings and feel that it may possibly be beneficial to the numerous personnel venturing into Sri Lankan history and politics via the stimulation of social media to have these items marked as targts for criticism and, even possibly, inspiration. I commence by listing Articles — but not books – presented in the period 1965 to 1999.

 

a

 

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