from Sunday Times
Imperialism: Another Michael Roberts in Debate with one John Smith
“Getting off the fence on modern imperialism” .… at MICHAEL ROBERTS’ BLOG = https://thenextrecession.wordpress.com/2016/07/19/getting-off-the-fence-on-modern-imperialism/
Those of you who have been following the discussion on modern imperialism on my blog will know it was kicked off by two books: one by John Smith called Imperialism in the 21st century and one by TonY Corfield cyalled The City – London and the power of finance. The discussion on my blog was expanded at the recent workshop on Imperialism in London, where the analysis was developed among upwards of 100 participants.
Since then, John Smith has sent in a long comment on my last post on that workshop which merits some decent space and a reply.
Secularism on the Wane in South Asia
P K Balachandran, in Financial Times, 27 October 2018 -where the title reads “Decline of Secularism in South Asia”
South Asia’s multi-religious countries, namely India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, started off with a noble wish to be ‘secular’ and keep religion out of the business of the State. Hindu-majority India, under the leadership of the avowedly secular Jawaharlal Nehru, explicitly stated that it would be secular.
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Abi-Habib and Bastians on the Political Struggle in Sri Lanka
Maria Abi-Habib and Dharisha Bastians, in New York Times, 26 October 2018, where the title reads “Sri Lanka Faces Constitutional Crisis”
Sri Lanka plunged into a constitutional crisis Friday after the president ousted the prime minister, a move that took the nation by surprise and was denounced as illegal by some government ministers. Sri Lankans were glued to their television sets Friday after President Maithripala Sirisena dismissed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and replaced him with Mahinda Rajapaksa, a popular former leader who was accused of human rights abuses, brazen nepotism and excessively close ties to China when he had governed the country.
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Land Acquisition Processes in Sri Lanka, 1948-2018
Gerald H. Peiris, being an article serialized recently in The Island, under the following heading “Alleged ‘Land Grabbing’ by the Security Forces in Sri Lanka” … with highlighting emphasis being impositions by The Editor, Thuppahi
In view of the significance accorded in recent public debate and discussion on the subject of ‘land grabbing’ in several conflict-ridden countries of the Third World it is necessary to devote attention to a series of facts that are of crucial relevance to a balanced understanding of the related situation in Sri Lanka.
Figure 1 – post-conflict releases of land from the Palali HSZ
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