Phenomenal influence of cinema on politics in India’s Tamil Nadu state

The  South Indian state of Tamil Nadu has been ruled alternately by two “Dravidian” political parties since 1967.

Blame the British for Hong Kong’s democratic deficit

When 17 years ago the British lowered the Union Jack on their last remaining important colony, Hong Kong, Chris Patten,...

EDITORIAL-Mental Illness: Let’s all be mindful of our attitudes

With the Health Ministry’s latest surveys showing that as many as 2.3 million Sri Lankans are suffering from mental disorders,...

Phenomenal influence of cinema on politics in India’s Tamil Nadu state

The  South Indian state of Tamil Nadu has been ruled alternately by two “Dravidian” political parties since 1967.

Robust and Independent Judiciary behind Jayalalithaa conviction…

Extremists of both corners of the political spectrum, in India as well as in Sri Lanka, must...

Kashmir exploding again: Modi must act like statesman

It was only weeks ago that the Kashmiris on both sides of the divide came under the onslaught...

EDITORIAL - Cataract Mafia and right to sight

Yesterday was World Sight Day and our cartoonist Awantha Artigala showed that a picture or a cartoon...

Papal visit SLFP in a dilemma over setting date for election

The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), the largest and key ally of the government, is now caught in a dilemma in selecting a date for the snap Presidential Election in January.

Che the uncompromising and unrepentant revolutionary

Ernesto Che Guevara was assassinated on October 9, 1967.  He was captured in a military ambush in the small village of La Higuera in Bolivia.

eDITORIAL-Tiger claws: The breast is bad for business

With Sri Lanka still embroiled in a crisis over the large-scale import of powdered milk valued at a staggering Rs.140 million a day,...

Spearheading Buddhist knowledge and education in Sri Lanka

Buddhism is one of the oldest and most valuable heritages of Sri Lanka. Today, at a time when there is much hullabaloo about Buddhism being destroyed, it is important to protect the true teachings of the Buddhist.........

Should Buddhists continue to eat meat?

The Katina or Cheevara month is approaching. The most meritorious act (kusalakamma), Buddhists believe is the offering of Katina cheevara (robe) to  monks who practise this age....

How the Education System Marginalises Society

The Kannangara reforms of the 1940s, and later initiatives that sought to improve access to education to marginalised groups, addressed issues of democracy through education. Yet, even with these.....

EDITORIAL - Nexus between corruption and politics

Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa Jeyaram’s bail application, which she had submitted last week after she was given a four-year prison sentence in the disproportionate assets case, was taken up at the Karnataka....

Meaningful Constitutional Reforms

Hardly a day passes without something being said in the media about the need to abolish the Executive Presidency. I am of the view that anyone is entitled to his or her own opinion on this matter. Whatever the form of government.......

Brutal police attack on Ratnapura girl and bitter reality

By her own admission, the ‘nameless’ young woman, who was brutally beaten in public by a police sergeant at Ratnapura, is a sex worker. The assault was luckily filmed by a bystander with a camera phone. As a result, the police......

Open letter to the President and the CGI : save our elephants

The Federation of Environmental Organisations in Sri Lanka,  an umbrella organisation for the conservation community, in an open letter to President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the Clinton Global Initiative, New York......

EDITORIAL - We only have one planet – let’s save it

In the afterglow or should we say the  aftermath of World Animal Day last Saturday, we need to ponder deeply on the latest World Wildlife Fund (WWF) report which warns  that the overall number of mammals......

Why SWRD is not the villain some blame him to be

A bitter irony in our independent history is that many well- intentioned policies went awry. S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike whose 55th death anniversary fell on September...

Today is World Habitat Day ‘Many social issues stem from lack of adequate housing ’

The World Habitat Day is celebrated globally on the first Monday of October every year and this year it falls today (October 6).

Neo-liberalism and the Fate of Modernity

Karl Marx did not foresee an end to the contradictions inherent in Western industrial capitalism until the ruling capitalist class was overthrown by the politically...

EDITORIAL-Pensioners are struggling: who is responsible?

World Children’s and Elder’s Day was celebrated on October 1 the world over. Sri Lanka also celebrated the day with events organized with State patronage.

National Heritage protected at minimal costs

National Heritage Minister Jagath Balasuriya in an interview with the Daily mirror revealed the plight of the ministry  when protecting and conserving national heritage...

Are We as a Nation Heading in the Right Direction?

Denizens of Paradise Isle are facing a multitude of issues concerning many facets of life today.

EDITORIAL-Enact the Animal Welfare Bill of the Law Commission

Today is World Animal Day.  It commenced on October 4, 1931 in Florence, Italy at a convention of ecologists.

PREFERENTIAL VOTING SYSTEM SHOULD BE ABOLISHED

Recently, it was highlighted in the National Press that polls laws were to be amended with the limited objective of relaxing provisions related to campaigning.

US policy Promoting or perverting democracy?

US President Barack Obama in a recent speech and in a presidential memorandum has vowed to launch...

Controlling ISIS without bombing

A Western viewpoint (courtesy of Aubrey Bailey): “Some of our friends support our enemies, and some...

EDITORIAL : The cancer of corruption

At a time when the cancer of bribery and corruption has reached the worst proportions, the JVP...

International spotlight on Sri Lanka dimmed

President Mahinda Rajapaksa, a day after his return from New York, had an eventful day on Tuesday.