Monthly Archives: July 2024

Sri Lanka’s Complex Dance of Sinhala and Tamil Nationalist Politics

With mainstream Sri Lankan parties feeling compelled to pander to Sinhala Buddhist voters, Tamil-led parties have been pushed to take more hardline positions to address Tamil voters’ frustrations – historically and today by Uditha Divapriya, Himal, Colombo, July 30, 2024 At present, the Sri Lankan government is caught in a tricky situation. Elections are slated… Read more »

Tamil Politics in Sri Lanka after R Sampanthan

The elder statesman who never was Sampanthan’s death prompted glowing tributes from Colombo but relative indifference in the Tamil community, which gained nothing from his and the Tamil National Alliance’s compromises with the Sri Lankan state by Mario Arulthas, Madura Rasaratnam, Himal, Colombo, July 10, 2024 “I will make my people ungovernable!” Rajavarothiam Sampanthan exclaimed,… Read more »

HRW: Authorities Target Religious Minorities

Renewed UN Resolution Needed to Counter Government’s Divisive Campaign by Human Rights Watch, New York, July 28, 2024 (New York) – Sri Lankan authorities are conducting a campaign to deny Hindus and other religious minorities access to places of worship and other property and redesignate locations as Buddhist sites, Human Rights Watch said today. Government agencies, including the… Read more »

HRW Briefing Note on Human Rights in Sri Lanka

by Human Rights Watch, New York, June 21, 2024 Introduction Resolution 46/1 was adopted by the Human Rights Council in 2021 and is due for renewal in September 2024. It mandates the OHCHR Sri Lanka Accountability Project, which gathers evidence of international crimes for use in future prosecutions, as well as ongoing reporting by OHCHR. Renewing the… Read more »

Black July 1983: 40 Years On

by Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice, London, July 2023 An overview of the events of the Black July Pogrom of 1983, and its relationship to Sri Lanka’s continued cycles of violence and impunity. SLCPJ 2023-July-Black-July-40-Years-On Introduction Forty years ago today, on 23rd July 1983, a mass anti-Tamil pogrom broke out in Sri Lanka,… Read more »

Harris’s Indian Heritage Is Deeply Felt

If Little Advertised Many Indian Americans see Kamala Harris as another example of the diaspora’s success and influence. by Anupreeta Das, The New York Times, July 24, 2024 Reporting from New Delhi To most who saw the quotation being circulated this week as a meme, it was just something funny that Kamala Harris said in a… Read more »

Who is Kamala Harris?

A look at her Tamil roots by Tamil Guardian, London, July 21, 2024 As US President Joe Biden dramatically dropped out of the upcoming presidential race earlier today, he announced his support for current Vice President Kamala Harris to be the Democratic nominee for the US 2024 presidential election. If nominated, she would be the… Read more »

Sri Lanka’s Pre-Presidential Election Politics

Uncertainty or Turmoil? by Jayadeva Uyangoda, Polity.lk, July 7, 2024 The coming few months have the potential to produce major political changes in Sri Lanka. The presidential election is constitutionally due to be held on a date decided by the Election Commission between 17 September and 16 October. It will certainly mark a crucial moment… Read more »

Population of Sri Lanka by Ethnic Group 1880 to 2020

by Subasium, Colombo, Dec 15, 2019 Source of data: http://www.statistics.gov.lk (Census of Population and Housing of Sri Lanka, 2012) http://www.statistics.gov.lk ( Population by ethnic group and census years) http://sis.statistics.gov.lk (Population by ethnic group)

Building Entrepreneurship: Nation Building

by Nillanthan Maha, June 22, 2024 [Translated from the original Tamil by Google Translate with some corrections by the Editor.] On the 16th in Jaffna, an award ceremony was held at a tourist hotel located at Pungakulam Junction. It was the event for the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards of the Tamil Nadu’s Virudhu Nagar Rotary… Read more »