Monthly Archives: November 2023

Sabapathy Thillairajah (1928-2023)

Born in Jaffna, Irupalai Koppai on 23-02-1928 and resided in Thoppu, Achuveli and Maryland, USA. Sabapathy Thillairajah passed away on Wednesday 22-11-2023 in America. Beloved son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Sabapathy. Beloved son-in-law of the late Mr. and Mrs. Vallipuram of Thoppu Achuveli,  Tamil Eelam. Beloved husband of the late Rasamma. He is… Read more »

In Memoriams: Randor Guy and Prof. Robert L. Hardgrave Jr.

by Sachi Sri Kantha, November 19, 2023 Madabhushi Rangadorai, aka Randor Guy: DOB – 1937 Nov 8 and DOD – 2023 Apr 23 Prof. Robert L. Hardgrave Jr: DOB – 1939 Feb 6 and DOD – 2023 May 21.  As one of the biographers of M.G. Ramachandran (MGR), an Indian movie star turned a successful… Read more »

Book Review: ‘Politics of Hate’

Religious Majoritarianism in South Asia by Knox Thames, Global Policy, Durham University, UK, May 18, 2023 Politics of Hate: Religious Majoritarianism in South Asia edited by Farahnaz Ispahani. HarperCollins India 2023. 336 pp., £17.99 paperback 9789356293557, $14.99 e-book 9789356290013 The history of the Indian subcontinent is as vast as the region’s size and population. Consequently, foreign… Read more »

Alapara Club: Is the Taste of Jaffna Changing?

by Nillanthan Maha, November 11, 2023 On the 4th, a party was held at Dilco Hotel, Jaffna. The Jaffna Municipal Council administration and the concert have contacted the hotel management and inquired about the event. The hotel management has given the contact information of the Colombo-based company called “Shuttle Vibe” which organizes the event. Some… Read more »

TGTE to Launch a Movement for New Norms for Peace & Justice

by EIN Presswire, October 26, 2023 Such a global campaign for peace and justice has become more urgent today due to the threat of the Israel-Palestine conflict spreading throughout Middle-East We need to keep evolving and creating other systems to create solutions to conflict.” — former ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo NEW YORK, UNITED STATES,… Read more »

MGR Remembered – Part 73

Notes on the released Final Two Movies by Sachi Sri Kantha, November 9, 2023 About the contents in Part 72 of this series, pal and fellow MGR biographer R. Kannan on Sept 3rd sent me the following comments. “Thank you for part 72. You have pulled together the strands of that momentous period. Even AIADMK men… Read more »

2024 Budget

Prime focus on SOE reform and corruption [discusses budget going to the military – Ed/] by Daily FT, Colombo, November 14, 2023 President Ranil Wickremesinghe, as Finance Minister, yesterday presented the Budget for 2024, a year which will start the election cycle. The welfare allocation for 2024 is close to Rs.  200 billion compared to… Read more »

Dr. Rajan Sriskandarajah (1943-2023)

    Dr. Sriskandarajah graduated from the University of Ceylon, Colombo with a degree in Medicine and Surgery in 1969.  After practicing in Sri Lanka he undertook post-graduate training in England, where he obtained his Fellowship of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, England in 1977.  Upon moving to the United States Dr. Sriskandarajah… Read more »

Book Review: Prisoner #1056 – How I Survived War and Found Peace

by Roy Ratnavel, Viking/Penguin Random House, Canada, 2023, 260 pp, US$27.00 by Sachi Sri Kantha, October 28, 2023 This book of memoir by Roy Ratnavel (born 1969), a naturalized Canadian of Sri Lankan Tamil descent, has achieved bestseller status in Canada this year. The memoir has 12 chapters altogether, among which the first three (in… Read more »