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Minorities In Opposition To “The Regime”
One cannot but be fascinated by the goings on in Sri Lanka where there are two diametrically opposed views expressed, often by the same people. To be specific, one talks about the level of support for...
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My Adventures In The English Media
Being afforded the luxury of indulging an ambition dating back to my teen years to enter journalism, I began to write for publications in a variety of Sri Lankan journals a couple of years after my...
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Chickens Coming Home To Roost
The Payback For Decades Of Mismanagement Of The Land I sit at my computer keyboard on a Friday afternoon to the accompaniment of the mini explosions of burning dry Guinea grass and the sight of huge...
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The Need For A Bigger Cabinet Of Ministers
A senior member of the current government, Nimal Siripala de Silva I believe, has recently and on more than one occasion stated without tongue in cheek, that, given the enormous work load of those...
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History Repeats Itself…
When I decided to use an old quote about history repeating itself I was torn between George Santayana’s that went, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” and what Karl Marx had...
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Draining The Marshes While “Disappearing” Democracy
The title of this column might seem like a strange juxtaposition of terminology but I hope the rationale for it will become apparent as the reader goes through the body of this short submission. I have...
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What To Do With The Flotsam And Jetsam Of The Current Regime
Having just completed reviewing a children’s fairy tale containing equal parts of whimsy, kindness and the acceptance of “difference,” all underpinned by those traits that make humans that much better...
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Suppression Of Discussion And Dissent
And their replacement by the Urban (and Rural) Legend There has been in the so-called ‘First World,’ for a not inconsiderable time the concept of the urban legend which Wikipedia defines as “a form of...
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Whither Freedom Of Movement
An Appeal To Members Of Legislative Bodies Who Seek To Control Our Lives Dear Honourable Members: I have on several previous occasions, in the newspaper columns which I contribute to The Sunday...
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One More Time: “Tell Me Who Your (New) Friends Are…”
I must confess to having used the title of this week’s column previously when I invoked the memory of a father who was very fond of aphorisms of many kinds. Even though my friends and I, in our callow...
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Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodies?
Who shall keep watch over the guardians? Over the years during which I’ve contributed to the pages of this and other newspapers in Sri Lanka, I’ve returned to the matter of accountability of those who...
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Time To Join The Dots!
I have, during the time I have written for this and other publications sought to differentiate between problems and symptoms, the deliberate refusal to make this differentiation being one of those...
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What Do You Do?
There is a groundswell of opinion developing in this country for regime change. The ‘ground realities,’ as our pseudo-intellectuals call them, are several in number and, in order to provide some focus...
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It’s The Time Of Year For “Stock-Taking, but …”
Rather than indulge in the tried (tired?) and true practice of trying to sum up the events of the year past, let me deal with something that has bedevilled me but of which I have not spoken at any...
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A Matter Of Conscience
Associating with those connected to the Rajapaksa Regime: Something I’ve wrestled with since my return to Sri Lanka is the matter of whether one should, in any way, associate with those who have...
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How Does One Lead A Law-abiding Existence In The Absence Of The Rule Of Law?
While the very title of this column speaks to the ultimate dichotomy of Sri Lankan life, for those of us who believe in democracy, law and order and the exercise of elementary decency in everyday life,...
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Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here!
Despite my family tradition as free thinkers making it difficult for me to quote from the scriptures or formal religious references, I really couldn’t find a more apt title for this column, given the...
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Presidential Inaugurations, Buth Packets And Our Keystone Kops
Today’s column consists of two unconnected halves. The Obama inauguration Watching the huge crowds in Washington on the occasion of Barack Hussein Obama’s inauguration couldn’t but push one’s...
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Revolution Or Regime Change By Peaceful Means
One of the interesting things about contributing to the print media these days is the prospect of fielding responses to one’s contentions on web editions of the newspapers in which those contributions...
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The More You Do What You’ve Always Done…
Let me first complete the title of this column with “…the more you’ll get what you’ve always got”. The highest in the land are once more wallowing in the trough of pander to the racist elements of...
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