by K.M. de Silva, Sunday Times, Colombo, October 5, 2008 The death occurred on August 30 this year of W. Howard Wriggins, US Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives from 1977 to 1979 and well-known scholar who specialised on Sri Lanka and the region during his years at Columbia University whose South Asian Institute… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Biography
Viraj in Tamil Radical Politics
by Dr. N. Malathy, TamilNet, August 18, 2024 The “radicalness” observable in Eelam Tamil Nationalist struggle ranges from centre-right all the way to radical left. It was only the launch of armed struggle that saw radical-left politics entering the Tamil Nationalist struggle. Prior to that Tamil radical politics was led by the Communist party centred… 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 »
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 »
M.K. Eelavethan Dies In Canada Aged 90
by DBS Jeyaraj, Nakkeran, Canada, May 4, 2024 Colombo, May 3: The protracted struggle by Sri Lankan Tamils to achieve justice and equality in the Island has brought into prominence several colourful and controversial personalities. Among such persons was a Tamil Nationalist political activist who adopted the nom de plume“Eelaventhan”meaning King of Eelam. Eelaventhan whose… Read more »
M.K. Eelaventhan (1932-2024) – An Appreciation
Part 1 by Sachi Sri Kantha, June 14, 2024 I was saddened to hear the death of M.K. Eelaventhan, at the age of 91 on April 28, 2024 in Canada. Born on Sept 14, 1932, he was 20 years older than me. I became acquainted with him in 1976 (see below, my diary entries, from… Read more »
Axiom Business Book Award for ‘Prisoner 1056’
by Axiom Awards, Michigan, USA, May 2024 Other winners in ‘Memoir / Biography’: GOLD Happy At Any Cost: The Revolutionary Vision and Fatal Quest of Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh by Kristen Grind and Katherine Sayre (Simon & Schuster) SILVER (tie) Bully Market: My Story of Money and Misogyny at Goldman Sachs by Jamie Fiore Higgins… Read more »
Renowned Athlete and Activist Nagalingam Ethirveerasingam Passes Away
by Tamil Guardian, London, April 23, 2024 Nagalingam Ethirveerasingam, the Jaffna-born activist and athlete, who competed in the 1952 Olympics and won the first Gold Medal in any sport for Ceylon passed away on Thursday, 18 April 2024, aged 89 years old. Born in Periyavillan in 1934, Ethirveerasingam broke high jump records at every age… Read more »
Dr. Nagalingam Ethirveerasingam
by Arjunan Ethirveerasingam, April 18, 2024 On Thursday, 18 April 2024 at 11:55 am Dr. Nagalingam Ethirveerasingam (PhD) passed away peacefully at his home in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was surrounded by his family. He was 89 years old. Nagalingam Ethirveerasingam (Ethir) was born in 1934 in a one-room hut with a palmyrah palm… Read more »
Uduvil Remembers Its Founder Principal
In its bicentennial year by Shiranee Mills, Sunday Times, Colombo, April 7, 2024 In the bicentennial year of Uduvil Girls’ College, especially during the month of April, our thoughts dwell closely on the founder principal of the school, Harriet Wadsworth Winslow (née Lathrop), whose birthday falls on April 9. Born in 1796, in Norwich, Connecticut, in… Read more »
From Sachi’s Files – Chapter 23
Remembering my Father on his Birth Centenary Year by Sachi Sri Kantha, December 12, 2023 My father (Sivapragasam Sachithanantham, 1923-2003), whom my sister and I called Aiyah was born in Puloly West, Point Pedro, Ceylon, to Vinasithamby Sivapragasam (1882-1936) and Packiyam (1889-1945), as the sixth and youngest child. Ten years ago, I posted Aiyah’s autobiographical… Read more »
“As a Human Rights Defender, You’re Almost Expected to be Superhuman”
In the words of Anushani Alagarajah by UN Women, Asia Pacific, November 28, 2023 Anushani Alagarajah is a human rights defender who has worked closely with conflict-affected communities in the North and East of Sri Lanka. She is the Executive Director at the Adayaalam Centre for Policy Research, a non-profit research think-tank that works on… Read more »
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 »
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 »
Partheeban alias Thileepan’s Death-Fast Weaponised Non-violence
by DBS Jeyaraj, Financial Times, Colombo, September 27, 2023 Rasiah Partheeban alias Thileepan engaged in a fast unto death protest on 15 September 1987. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) stalwart died after 12 days of fasting on 26 September without even drinking water. Thileepan’s 36th death anniversary was on 26 September 2023. This… Read more »
Author A. Muttulingam
by Tamil Wiki, accessed March 7, 2023 A. Muttulingam (January 19, 1937) is one of the pre-eminent writers in modern Tamil literature. His contributions, which include short stories, essays, interviews and novels, are characterized by humour, aesthetic appeal and perfection in form. Born in Sri Lanka, he is a storyteller who travelled the world on… Read more »
M K Eelaventhan, the Lifelong Activist for Eelam
Strong and Steadfast at 90 by Usha S Sri Skanda Rajah, October 2, 2022 He lives and breathes Eelam. If everyone were like him there’s every hope an independent and sovereign Thamil Eelam will surely be realized in the not so distant future. On his 90th birthday, Mr. Eelaventhan has neither deviated, even an iota… Read more »
Footprints on the Sands of Time
FOOTPRINTS ON THE SANDS OF TIME The visionary life and legacy of Dr. Samuel Fisk Green by Dr. Thayalan Ambalavanar, October 15, 2022 Dear friends and colleagues, October 10th 2022 marked the 200th birth anniversary of Dr.Samuel Fisk Green, the American missionary who founded the first medical school in Ceylon in 1848. A successful commemoration… Read more »
Remembering 2nd Lt. Maalathy
by Tamil Guardian, London, October 10, 2022 Today marks thirty-five years since the death of 2nd Lt. Maalathy, the first female fighter of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to lose her life in the Tamil armed struggle. Across the world, the day is being commemorated as Tamil Women’s Day, an opportunity to honour women’s involvement in the… Read more »