From Vespa to Lamborghini: Undergrad protests since old days Campus rumpus 50 years Ago: No traffic

A professor’s thought-provoking idea conveyed in an article a couple of weeks ago under the caption, Towards a ranking of Sri Lankan Universities reminded me of the famous SIT DOWN protest by students of the Colombo University, five decades ago.  

Epidemic of overeating

The dietitians are surely having a field day. Sri Lankans in their tens of thousands are rushing to them to shed weight -- a trend that was only seen in Europe and the United States until a few years back.

This Govt. is bad but the ALTERNATIVE IS TERRIBLE

On January 8, 2015, the people of this country unreservedly placed their hopes and aspirations on line. Their expression in the exercise of their fundamental right to vote couldn’t have been clearer. They elected a new government. They rejected the Rajapaksa-led coalition that, in their 

Fact-check to avoid disconnect between the real and the online

Social media is no longer an afterthought. It now forms an integral part of any company, any public personality and any public movement -- anything anyone wants to be known by someone else is more often in social media than not.   

POWER STRUGGLE

If there is one exercise our Sri Lankan Politicians are brilliant at it is ‘Power Struggle’ and the struggle is already on!!! All the Rajapaksa brothers are in the forefront, PENDING COURT CASES AND ‘DUAL CITIZENSHIP’ NOTWITHSTANDING!!! How can we forget our erstwhile President 

There are tears in your cuppa

The agreement between the estate workers’ trade unions and the regional plantation companies to increase the daily wage of estate workers from Rs.500 to Rs.700 does not seem to end the struggle for higher wages by the said workers. The issue has to be resolved soon, not only because of the workers’ struggle for a Rs. 1,000 daily pay might severely affect the plantation industry, but also they deserve a higher salary.    Alth

Can Gotabaya deliver ?

Kumar Welgama, Member of Parliament from Kalutara is a colouful personality. Recently, he is in the limelight due to a revelation by the Committee on Public Enterprises (COP

Making gender equality an achievable goal

This year, I had the honour and privilege to visit several cities in Sri Lanka. I have met many people who strive with all their might to build a better society for themselves, and for the Tamil, Sinhalese and Muslim societies. I would like to share with you some of my experiences and offer some reflections now that I am back home in Oslo, Norway.   

A glimpse into the judicial history through the pages of “Ratnapura Law Journal”

One hundred and fifty years is a long trek in any profession. Ratnapura therefore, has every reason to celebrate its judicial history which commenced in 1868 by the British Raj – indeed a landmark which paved the way to bring out its first ever publication written on the Ratnapura Judiciary to coincide with the historic event.   The “Ratnapura Law Journal,”

A deal akin to drinking cold tea

The agitations and strikes by tea estate workers highlight another aspect of the plight of Sri Lankan Tamils.  Tamil tea estate workers, here the Sinhalese labourers form the minority, claim that they have been exploited for generations in the tea industry which is over 150 years old. 

Issues in the bid for peace in Afghanistan

After more than seventeen years of fighting in Afghanistan, the US and the Taliban insurgents appear to be closing in on a peace deal, as per reports in the Western media. 

Good governance should have played a better role in transition process

However, the chaos and destruction that followed the defeat and removal of the regime has generally been interpreted as revealing an important technical ‘lesson to be learnt’ by the state building, this issue is not as a political problem of any cohering political force which could tie Sri Lankan society together and give its citizens a stake

A need to look before leap, think before speak

President Sirisena has over the past few months shown a penchant for pulling surprises on our people during weekends. The first major surprise occurred on Friday, October 26, 2018, when he appointed former President and incumbent MP for Kurunegala District Mahinda Rajapaksa as Prime Minister even before he dismissed the then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.   

After 700 days of protest: Keppapulavu Land struggle reaches boiling point

700 days is a long time for a day and night protest outside an Army camp. Since March 1, 2017, the people of Keppapulavu, located in the Mullaitheevu district in Northern Sri Lanka, have been doing just that. They have had to brave the alleged intimidation and harassment from the Army, Police and intelligence agencies, and also 

Comedy of Errors and Sri Lankan Politics

Although it is high time to put the recent unprecedented constitutional crisis behind us without brooding over it too much, yet it would be useful to probe into the lessons we can learn as a country from that sad episode. Was it a result of defective legal advice? Did it precipitate due to sheer force of circumstances beyond one’s 

Better be prepared and proactive to pre-empt calamities

In recent months, several parts of Sri Lanka had been battered and bruised by a series of catastrophic droughts, torrential rains, floods and landslides, which left tens of thousands of people homeless, their houses damaged or destroyed and housed in temporary shelters for weeks if not months. In the wake of so much pain and misery now comes the horrific news of a marauding caterpillar identified as ‘Sena’ destroying our farmlands, le

The darkness of the Congo

The Algerian philosopher and revolutionary writer, Frantz Fanon wrote, “Africa is shaped like a gun, and Congo is its trigger. If that explosive trigger bursts, the whole of Africa will explode”.    

WHO NEXT?

The reason for the early hype among the political parties and the media on the Presidential election which is not at hand is very clear.

Making of strange political twins

Provincial Council (PC) elections withheld for far too long by both the Government and the Elections Commission (EC) not wanting to take responsibility is leading to a major political conflict yet to break into an open debate and public protests.

Fall army Worm and the food that we eat - EDITORIAL

Sri Lanka’s agriculture and dairy industries are experiencing plagues and the entire country went into alert mode by early Thursday. 

Why Lanka needs a NewsGuard like body to rate media

The double whammy that jolted journalism this week exposed the wide gap between what journalism is and what it should be. In an ideal sense, journalism is a noble vocation, the voice of the voiceless and the watchdog or the fourth estate.

Make us say ‘thank you for small mercies’

Major (Rtd) Ajith Niranjan Perera has seen war. He was in the first batch of the Special Forces, set up in 1985 led by Major General (Rtd) G Hettiarachchi, numbering 38 men and two officers. He has fought to ensure the security of the citizenry,

The Accidental Prime Minister: A vicious attack on a good PM

The much hyped Indian movie, ‘The Accidental Prime Minister’ which hit the theatres two weeks ago has ended up as a dud both in content and at the box office. This all apparent attack on India’s first Sikh Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Gandhi family in a crucial Lok Sabha polls year has come under scathing attack from the media.   

Taking the mindset beyond drugs

Sri Lanka’s efforts to curb drug use in the country could turn out to be harder than instilling some discipline in its lawmakers.  Just days ago President Sirisena was full of confidence when stating that he would bring the drug trade that’s causing damage to the society under control

Presidential Commission ruffles UNP’s feathers

It’s the time limit encompassing the prime period of the National Unity Government between the United National Party (UNP) and the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA).  After   he fell out with the UNP leadership and his UPFA closed ranks with the government, President Sirisena 

Words get things done!

Of course! Words do get things done! Change the words, alter the discourse – presto – world around you start to change.Yes, discourse is strategy, and communication specialists call it STRATEGIC DISCOURSE.

The muddle that is Sri Lankan Education

The recent fracas over a Lyceum International School student gaining first place at a local exam makes me realize how confused the public is by the International School system.

Bribery, an immortal felony: Condoned or Sponsored by State?

The service station of the car company was flooded with brand new luxury Jeeps and SUVs of a particular model and brand. A year ago, speaking to an official of the company, I learnt that they have sold over 150.....

PROCRASTINATION

PROCRASTINATION is the name of the game, a game that is well played in our island country home!!! Whether it be Politics, Elections, Bringing Criminals to Justice, Building Bridges, or Planning...

A call to ban killer robots

The latest challenge to man’s existence comes in the form of Lethal Autonomous Weapons (LAWS) also referred to as killer robots,  which attack the target without human assistance.