SinhaRaja Tammita-Delgoda, in Sunday Island, 27 February 2016, where the title reads “Out of Step with Yahapalanaya The Baila is Wearing Thin” …. with the change of title being my editorial imposition on Tammita-Delgoda’s laconic and beautifully crafted essay in order to underline the gravity of the intellectual assault that was committed by the new Head of the Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies, namely, Ranjith Cabral. The unfolding events described in this report are simply out of this world and quite unprecedented. They do not only mark a form of departmental fascism, but also indicate a foolishness and idiocy beyond comprehension. When members of the intelligentsia stomp upon scholarly endeavours in this fashion, we are injecting that which is nearnderthal into our very pores. The use of Mussolini’s name rather than, say, Hitler’s, in my metaphorical comparison is a considered choice. In retrospect, both were deadly while yet comical. Mussolini, however, was more comical and less deadly than Hitler. Michael Roberts …. Details regardingthe present BCIS Board are noted at the end.
Encompassing Empowerment in Ritual, War and Assassination
Michael Roberts, courtesy of Berghahn Press and Social Analysis and Doug Farrer, the Editor of the Special Volume on “War Magic“, Social Analysis, 2014, vol 58/1…….. see http://berghahn.publisher.ingentaconnect.com/content/berghahn/socan/2014/00000058/00000001;jsessionid=brf7pbpqi52o9.Victoria….. Note that the article has a sub-title: “Tantric Principles in Tamil Tiger Instrumentalities.”
Abstract: This study highlights the Tantric threads within the transcendental religions of Asia that reveal the commanding role of encirclement as a mystical force. The cyanide capsule (kuppi) around the neck of every Tamil Tiger fighter was not only a tool of instrumental rational-ity as a binding force, but also a modality similar to a thāli (marriage bond necklace) and to participation in a velvi (religious animal sacrifice). It was thus embedded within Tamil cultural practice. Alongside the LTTE’s politics of homage to its māvīrar (dead heroes), the kuppi sits beside numerous incidents in LTTE acts of mobilization or military actions where key functionaries approached deities in thanks or in preparation for the kill. These practices highlight the inventive potential of liminal moments/spaces. We see this as modernized ‘war magic’—a hybrid re-enchantment energizing a specific religious worldview.
Keywords: cosmic encirclement, enchanted practices, liminality, LTTE, regeneration, sacrifice, suicide attacks, Tantrism
Figure 1 Young Tiger Fighter with Holy Ash on His Forehead Heads for the Battlefield in the Late 1980s —Photograph © Shyam Tekwani
Filed under cultural transmission, Eelam, heritage, historical interpretation, Indian traditions, landscape wondrous, law of armed conflict, life stories, mass conscription, military strategy, nationalism, patriotism, politIcal discourse, power politics, prabhakaran, religiosity, Saivism, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, suicide bombing, Tamil Tiger fighters, the imaginary and the real, unusual people, war reportage, women in ethnic conflcits, world events & processes, zealotry
Combat Training in the Sri Lanka Army
Brig Ralph Nugera,*** WWV RWP RSP in Minute entitled “Evolution of Training” — reproduced in http://www.businesstoday.lk/article.php?article=3487 where one can find two other Minutes from Brigadiers Dhammika Kariyawasam & Tissa Jayasuriya on “Logistical Support” …. and from Maj Gen Sanjeewa Munasinghe, on “Medical Support” … all dated 2011
The tactical level of operations was dominated by small groups. This campaign was successfully waged across all levels of conflict from the tactical areas of responsibility and theatres of combat to the forums of international diplomacy. Prudent analysis of the past dictated the development of innovative concepts, blending conventional and unconventional warfare, concepts and tactics to suit the nature and environment of the conflict. Small groups of light infantrymen with meager equipment sharpened individual and team skills, and this was an innovative approach to counter insurgency and defeat the LTTE.
SL infantry in action–Minsitry of Defence –See Roberts, Tamil Person and State. Pictorial, 2014: Figs. 71a,72a & 72b. Continue reading
The Peter Carter behind the Roger Federer
Carter & young Federer —Pic www.menstennisforums.com
Every year, at the Australian Tennis Open, behind Roger Federer’s coach (earlier Edberg and now Ljubicic), sits an elderly couple. There is a story to this couple, and it shows what a human being Federer is. The couple, as Federer’s die-hard fans would know, are Bob and Diana Carter, the parents of the tennis great’s first international coach, the Australian Peter Carter. Federer was just nine when Carter took him under his wing. In 2002, in a terrible tragedy, Carter died in a car accident in South Africa during a vacation with his wife. Continue reading
Wayside Shelters for Travellers in Sihaladipa in Past Times
Keith Bennett
Several centuries ago, only footpaths connected Sri Lanka’s villages, so there was a need for wayside shelters where wayfarers could rest on long journeys. The solution was a classic example of indigenous architecture: the ambalama.
“The last Rest-house [ambalama] on the way to Adam’s Peak” by Prince Waldemar from Early Prints of Ceylon (De Silva 1985)
In the days when travel by foot was the custom (unless you were privileged enough to be transported in the box-like palanquin), different types of people frequented the paths that traversed the plains, pierced the jungle and climbed into the mountains. There were people going to and from the capital of Kandy; officials on tour accompanied by an entourage; king’s messengers; traders of various descriptions; mendicants; and pilgrims, mainly travelling to Sri Pada (Adam’s Peak). Men and women were able to walk long distances but required a wayside shelter to rest, eat, wash in a local stream, and possibly stay overnight. Thus the mellifluous-sounding ambalama evolved and became a classic of Sri Lanka’s architecture alongside, for example, the pirivena (monastic college) and the padhanaghara (meditation unit).
DBS Jeyaraj’s Reflections on Sri Lanka’s Political History
DBS Jeyaraj, courtesy of his Facebook posting, 4 February 2016, where the title is “68 Years of Independence, Nation Building and the Future of Tamils in Sri Lanka”
Sri Lanka will celebrate its Sixty-eighth Anniversary of Independence from the United Kingdom this Thursday. The country then known as Ceylon obtained full freedom from the British on February 4th 1948.Independent Ceylon/Sri Lanka / has faced many challenges and problems in the past 68 years. We have had military coup attempts, communal riots, pogroms, armed revolts, external military intervention, assassinations of heads of state, terrorist violence and above all a long secessionist war that threatened to tear apart the country. What Sri Lanka can be proud of as Asia’s oldest democracy is the fact that despite many formidable challenges and crises the country continues to be democratic. Flawed but Democratic! On January 8th last year the Sri Lankan people did the nation proud by voting out the incumbent executive president and bringing about effective regime change through the ballot amidst extremely difficult circumstances Continue reading
Soulbury to Suntha on Sinhala Stupidity in April 1964
With thanks to COLOMBO TELEGRAPH, May 2013 … yes 2013, https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/sinhala-stupidity-i-feel-sorry-for-the-tamil-community/ … note lively body of blog comments in that site
Lord Soulbury 
Bandaranaike, Soulbury & Dudley Senanayake in earnest conversation —Pic from www.flickr.com
Dear Mr. Suntharalingham,
I have read the dozen documents in the folder which I now return to you – with much interest and also much sorrow. During my tenure of the office as Governor-General of Ceylon I never expected that there would be such a bitter cleavage between the Sinhalese and Tamil communities – and you are quite right when you say that the cause must be laid at the door of Sir John Kotalawala and his government. But if he chastised the Tamils with the whips, the late Mr. Bandaranaike chastised them with scorpions. The Sinhalese behaviour to the Tamils has been excessively short-sighted and foolish. When as Chairman of the Commission on the reform of the Constitution of Ceylon in 1945 I studied the relations of the two communities. I was much impressed by the important contribution that the Tamils had made and were making to the economy of Ceylon – and I was aware that the Ceylon Tamils were better educated and more industrious than the Sinhalese – in many ways they were playing the part of the Scots had played and still play in the economy of England. In fact during 18th and part of 19th century – the English were rather jealous of the Scots – who were getting a greater share of the jobs going in England than their population warranted. The reason, I Think, was that the Scots were better educated and more industrious – Northern folk often work harder than Southerners; the climate and soil compel them to do so. But the English were never so stupid as to antagonise the Scots. Had they behaved like Sinhalese to the Tamils, Britain would never have achieved a tittle of her prosperity at home or overseas in the Empire.
Filed under British colonialism, communal relations, constitutional amendments, democratic measures, devolution, historical interpretation, language policies, Left politics, life stories, parliamentary elections, political demonstrations, politIcal discourse, power politics, reconciliation, Sinhala-Tamil Relations, sri lankan society, unusual people, world events & processes
Ven. Madulwawe Sobitha honoured by Pinkama at Berlin Vihara
A News Item 20 February 2016
A Pinkama was held at the Berlin Buddhist Vihara (Das Buddhistische Haus) on Sunday February 14, to bestow merit and gratefully remember the altruistic and undying services rendered to the Buddha Sasana by Ven. Madulwawe Sobitha Thera, Dr. Paul Dahlke (founder of Das Buddhistische Haus), Asoka Weeraratna (later Ven. Mitirigala Dhammanisanthi Thera), founder of the German Dharmaduta Society, Berlin Vihara and Mitirigala Nissarana and all other former resident monks at the Berlin Vihara who are no longer among the living. Continue reading
The Diamond Triangle of Ancient Buddhist Sites in Odisha, India
Tina Edward Gunawardhana … courtesy of http://www.life.lk/article/14905/The-Diamond-TriangleWhile several Buddhists know about Nalanda as an ancient seat of higher learning and Bodhgaya as a Buddhist site where Lord Buddha is said to have to have attained enlightenment, very few know about the Buddhist sites of Ratnagiri, Lalitgiri and Udayagiri in the Jajpur district of Odisha. The East Indian state of Odisha formerly known as Orissa plays host to a high concentration of Buddhist sites. Excavations which began relatively recently have unearthed more than 200 Buddhist sites scattered across the state. Odisha’s “Diamond Triangle” containing the Buddhist sites of Ratnagiri, Udayagiri and Lalitagiri show the prominence of Buddhism in Odisha from the 6th century BC to at least the 15th-16th century AD. It is believed that Buddhist teachings from Hanayana, Mahayana and Tantayana sects and its offshoots such as Vajrayana, Kalacakrayana and Sahajayana were conducted in Odisha making it a state rich in Buddhist heritage. Continue reading
A Marvellous Medical Breakthrough: A 3D Printed Vertebrae inserted in Australia
Conor Duffy, courtesy of ABC News, 22 February 2016, with title “Australian surgeon inserts 3D-printed vertebrae in world-first”
An Australian neurosurgeon has completed a world-first marathon surgery removing cancer-riddled vertebrae and successfully replacing them with a 3D-printed body part. Ralph Mobbs conducted the mammoth 15-hour operation in December and 7.30 has been tracking his patient Drage Josevski’s progress since then. At the time of the operation it was not known if Mr Josevski would survive the procedure.
