One Island, Two Nations

by Kumarathasan Rasingam, July 9, 2021 Sri Lanka formerly known as CEYLON is an island country in South Asia.  Sri Lanka was historically comprised of two distinctive nations; the country’s history has been written or represented as if it were one nation. However, the two nations, namely Sinhalese and Tamils, have existed in Sri Lanka… Read more »

Review of ‘Methagu’ Film

by Arul MurugesaPandian, July 5, 2021 The most important factor about this movie is its timing. While a concerted effort is being made by nefarious forces to discredit the genuine liberation struggle of Eelam Tamils, this sincere effort to document the root causes of the armed struggle is a fitting reply.   The Family Man –… Read more »

Four International Tamil Actresses Shattering the Glass Ceiling

by Thamarai, July 1, 2021 Streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime have helped us discover emerging Tamil talent from across the globe. Here are four amazing international Tamil actresses to watch as they shatter the glass ceiling.   Geraldine Viswanathan Standup comedian, sketch writer and now actress, Australian newcomer Geraldine Viswanathan is no stranger… Read more »

MGR Remembered – Part 61

Political Activities, Travels to USSR and USA by Sachi Sri Kantha, July 2, 2021 Fellow MGR biographer R. Kannan’s expert comments on the previous chapter Part 60, received by email of Mar 29, 2021, are as follows: “ I read your well-researched article with interest. MGR had much respect for Kamaraj and Kamaraj had defended MGR’s… Read more »

The Pirabaharan Phenomenon, Part 45

The Scenario of the Eastern Front by Sachi Sri Kantha, October 18, 2002 D.S. Senanayake’s notorious Lebensraum (Living Space) strategy: a synopsis To analyze the dilemma faced by Pirabhakaran at the Eastern Front of Eelam in mid-1980s, I need to review the sinister significance of the Sinhala-Buddhist Lebensraum strategy which occurred in the first half… Read more »

‘Stateless’: Detention Camp Drama Floats Adrift

Despite agile performances, the Australian drama focuses on the wrong characters, giving its refugee stories short shrift Eelam Tamils have a small subplot in this series. Showing on Netflix — Editor by Maria Fontuora, Rolling Stone, USA, July 13, 2020 In 2004, an Australian citizen named Cornelia Rau was wrongly imprisoned in an immigrant detention… Read more »

Report of the Consultation Task Force, Nov. 2016

by Consultation Task Force, Sri Lanka, November 17, 2016 CTF-Final-Report-Volume-I-Nov-16 As the Secretariat for Coordinating Reconciliation Mechanisms no longer has a website and our link to this report of the Consultation Task Force at Consultation Task Force Final Report – Ilankai Tamil Sangam no longer works, we are posting the PDF here. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A…. Read more »

‘Methagu’ Film

#மேதகு Tamil period action drama movie written and directed by Kittu.  The movie stars Kutti Mani, Eashwar Basha, Vijay, and Anandan in lead roles. The music was composed by Praveen Kumar.  The movie Methagu is about Velupillai Prabhakaran, a warrior, and the founder and leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Release  Methagu was… Read more »

Performance Practices of Diasporic Sri Lankan Tamil Communities in London

Embodied Migration by Ann R. David, Journal of Intercultural Studies, August 2012, 33:4, 375-394 Embodied_Migration_Performance_Practices This paper examines issues of embodied performativity and transmission of dance  practices amongst Sri Lankan Tamil Hindus in the suburbs of London, focusing on how the experience of migration has shaped the making of cultural and ethnic identities.Using data gathered from recent ethnographic work in British Tamil temples and in the Tamil community, it addresses the complex discourse between the religious and political sense of selfhood articulated… Read more »

US Congress Resolution 413

Option for Sri Lanka to choose confrontation or conciliation by Thambu Kanagasabai,  LLM [London], Former Lecturer in Law, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, June 23, 2021 The recently tabled US House Resolution 413 in the US Congress led by Rep. Deborah Ross breathes fresh air, confidence and hopes for the Tamils, particularly the victimized Tamils… Read more »

Performing Politics

State Power, Ethnicity and Gender in Sri Lanka by Janet O’Shea, Dance Chronicle, 34:146–151, 2011 Review of Susan A. Reed’s 2009 book “Dance and the Nation: Performance, Ritual, and Politics in Sri Lanka” 288 pp. with DVD. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 2009. $29.95 paper. ISBN – 13: 978-0-29923-164-4 Performing Politics O’Shea review 2011 Reed’s… Read more »

Bharatanatyam in Sri Lankan Sinhalese Films & in Sri Lanka

by Cinema Nrityagharana blog, June 24, 2014 While on a zealous search to see what kinds of dance could be found in the cinema of Sri Lanka, India’s island neighbor to the south, I was completely perplexed when I stumbled onto this Bharatanatyam-based dance in the 1965 Sinhala film Hathara Maha Nidhanaya: Starts :1:07 https://youtu.be/6RcYIYKk1AE My… Read more »

UN Human Rights Council 47

Core Group statement on Sri Lanka by UK Mission to UN, Geneva, Switzerland, June 22, 2021 The Human Rights Council takes place in Geneva. This statement is on behalf of Canada, Germany, North Macedonia, Malawi, Montenegro and the UK, the Core Group on Sri Lanka. Council resolution 46/1 called upon the Sri Lankan Government to… Read more »

Lessons from the Murugappan Family

Does community support matter?  by Niru Perera & Charishma Ratnam, Overland, Australia, June 21, 2021 Why is it that most politicians don’t say their names? They are referred to as ‘The Sri Lankan family’ or the ‘Tamil asylum seekers’. They are the Murugappans. The parents, Priya and Nades, are both asylum-seekers from Sri Lanka and… Read more »

‘Jagame Thandhiram’ Movie Review #2

by Natalia Winkleman, The New York Times, June 21, 2021 ‘Jagame Thandhiram’ Review: Scheme, Slaughter, Repeat An intrepid gangster maneuvers between rival crime lords in the glossy drama “Jagame Thandhiram.” The movie (on Netflix) follows Suruli (Dhanush), whose merciless killing sprees earn him an invitation to serve under a wealthy British megalomaniac. Seduced by a… Read more »

‘Jagame Thandhiram’ Movie Review

Guns, warfare, a pressing issue and a ricochet bullet by Srivatsan S, The Hindu, Chennai, India, June 18, 2021 Karthik Subbaraj’s latest wants to have a bit of everything: a drama with an ultra-cool gangster (Dhanush) at the centre, a serious political film dealing with a global issue, and a stylishly-shot bubblegum film with a… Read more »

Power, Performance, and Ethnicity in Sri Lanka

When Time Won’t Tell by Ahalya Satkunaratnam and Venuri Perera, Dance Studies Association, Wisconsin, USA, 2019 | Volume XXXIX On October 26, 2018, there was a constitutional coup in Sri Lanka whent he Executive President, Maithripala Sirisena, attempted to appoint the former President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, as his Prime Minister,thus ousting the current Prime Minister, Ranil… Read more »

Book Review: Karunanidhi – A Life, by A.S. Panneerselvan

by Sachi Sri Kantha, June 11, 2021 Penguin Random House India Pvt. Ltd, Gurgaon, Haryana, 2021, 450 pp. Prelude to the Review The dictionary defines realpolitik as ‘n. politics based on realities and material needs, rather than on morals or ideals’. Tiruvaroor Muthuvel Karunanidhi (1924-2018) was an unparalleled Indian master of realpolitik and pungent repartee… Read more »