Sunday, 10 Sep 2023
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By H.L.D. Mahindapala
Opinion:
Vellalarism has been a unique force in Sri Lankan history. It has been the longest running political force in Sri Lankan history. It has run through three colonial empires – Portuguese, Dutch and British – without losing its grip on power. Even when slavery was abolished in 1844, Vellalarism managed to defy the law. Its capacity to adapt itself to changing circumstances...
Opinion:
In their heart of hearts, the Vellalars who dominated the history of Jaffna through feudal, colonial and modern times are ashamed of their past not because they failed to produce a great culture, great heroes, great iconic monuments, great civilisation, a great language, -- or anything else outstanding or memorable, for that matter -- but because they reigned over a...
Opinion: A reply to CV Wigneswaran’s attack on G. L. Peiris - Part 1
C.V. Wigneswaran, the former Supreme Court judge, is the odd man out in Tamil politics. The main characteristic that separates him from his rival Tamil politicians is his chronic tendency to belittle and/or demonise the Sinhala-Buddhists consistently in a desperate bid to elevate Tamil culture and history to a superior status – a corrosive and deceitful tactic which is...
Opinion
“We were devoid of fundamental understanding of Afghanistan. We did not know what we were doing.” – Douglas Lute, war czar under George W. Bush and Obama.
‘I have no visibility into who the bad guys are.” – Donald Rumsfeld, US Defence Secretary 2001- 2006.
The fall of Kabul has shattered the super power image of America. It is now argued that it marks the beginning of the...
Opinion:
After missing the Rajapaksa bus of which he was once the conductor selling tickets to potential passengers, Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka (DJ) – the political analyst who never fails to advertise himself as a “political scientist” – is now riding on the footboard of Sajith Premadasa’s bus hoping that the son is on his father’s route to succeed Gotabaya Rajapaksa, according to his...
By H.L.D. Mahindapala
Imagine for a moment Gunadasa Ameresekera, last of our novelists in the great tradition, writing a tirade against the Muslims:...
Despite all the convoluted threads of history and politics running through the Vadukoddai Resolution there is only one simple...