- 26 February 2013
Beneath the Toga of 'Gota’s War' or, where has all the history gone?
At a time where Sri Lankan politicians and bureaucrats churn out biographies and supposed autobiographies at a feverish rate, Gota’s War by CA Chandraprema should not be missed. Not only does this add to a rich corpus.....
- 06 December 2012
Should we boycott Sri Lankan cricket?
For all its international posturing about human rights these days, Australia has a sordid history of being a denier, or passive follower, rather than a leader in protecting the most vulnerable people in our world. There is one exception, which.....
- 14 August 2012
Chencholai in image and words: A personal account
I never thought writing would become a passion before that fateful night. In fact, I was averse to writing like most of my classmates in my undergrad course. Surrealist writers have contested that words contain magical powers, that they can provide....
- 25 July 2012
The 'interest in politics': Option or obligation?
Sometimes, the above statement is intended to signal innocence and harmlessness; occasionally, it’s uttered with an air of distaste; of ethical (if not aesthetic) superiority. Is the latter because politics is seen as being inherently....
- 27 October 2012
Parenting on the frontline: When the war correspondent became a mother
For the first eight months, I hid my pregnancy from my bosses, terrified it would spell the end of my career as a foreign correspondent. I simply didn't know any other women in the field with children. I flew....
- 10 August 2012
Revisiting Foucault: War in peace and the question of 'power'
The word “peace” can connote the presence of a good degree of justice and harmony,or the absence of (overt,armed and violent) conflict. The observation in his treatise 'On War' by Carl von Clausewitz (1780 – 1831) –“war is the continuation of politics...
- 18 July 2012
Globalization and Transnational Tamils: Random thoughts
In March 1961, the forefathers of Tamil nationalism succeeded in effectively challenging the functioning of the Sinhala government led by Sirimavo Bandaranayake, through their popular non-violent 'Satyagraha' struggle. As far as the North-east....
