Posts Categorized: Sri Kantha

by Sachi Sri Kantha, September 15, 2025 Introduction Sept 21st marks the 36th death anniversary of human rights activist Dr. Rajani Thiranagama (1954-1989). At the time of her death, she was affiliated to the University of Jaffna. Last July 26th, Prof. Michael Roberts re-posted chapter 3 of Dr. Rajan Hoole’s 2015 book ‘Palmyra Fallen, from… Read more »

Besting the Karunanidhi-Indira Alliance by Sachi Sri Kantha, September 10, 2025  Exchanged comments with R. Kannan Comments received from Kannan, for Part 82, by mail of June 25th were as follows’ “You have skillfully employed the Kalki cartoons and write-ups from Kalki, Economic and Political Weekly, and India Today. Muhammad Ali’s visit and the AIADMK deserters… Read more »

by Sachi Sri Kantha, August 27, 2025 LTTE leader Prabhakaran’s father Velupillai departed this world 15 years ago on Jan. 6, 2010, at the age of 86. To honor his memory, after 8 years, I pick up the thread on my Onomastics of Tamil Personal Names. In this Part 4, I focus on a specific… Read more »

When the LTTE strangled the Sri Lankan Army’s neck in 2000 by Sachi Sri Kantha, August 18, 2025 Front Note What happened 25 years ago in Elephant Pass, will NOT be recorded in the history columns of the website of the Government of Sri Lanka’s army. [https://www.army.lk/]. For the benefit of new recruits and the… Read more »

Thanking Two Teachers for My Scientific Writing by Sachi Sri Kantha, August 3, 2025 When we complete our ‘formal studies’ at one or more tertiary institutions of learning with an undergraduate degree or a postgraduate degree, nominally we would have listened to lectures, trained in practicals and demonstrations, received guidance/ mentoring and other modes of… Read more »

by Sachi Sri Kantha, July 19, 2025 Front Note Chelliah Rajadurai (born July 27, 1927) has been a household name since 1956, as a Federal Party MP for Batticaloa, from 1956 to 1979, and subsequently as the Minister of Regional Affairs during President J.R. Jayewardene’s tenure from 1979 till 1988. If I’m not mistaken, Mr… Read more »

by Sachi Sri Kantha, July 9, 2025 Prologue While in his thirties, Alfred Duraiappah (1926-1975) served as an Independent elected MP for Jaffna, from March 1960 to December 1964. A Christian Tamil by birth, in a majority Hindu constituency, Duraiappah was able to squeak through with victory margins of less than 900 votes, in multi-pronged… Read more »

Tripartite charisma rivalry among MGR, Karunanidhi and Indira by Sachi Sri Kantha, June 19, 2025 Regarding the contents in Part 81, I received the thoughts R. Kannan on May 12th. These were as follows: “Thank you for Part 81—a meticulous compilation of the events of the 1980 general elections in Tamil Nadu, including the alliances… Read more »

Noted Bibliophile and a Valued Mentor by Sachi Sri Kantha, June 7, 2025 Part 1 Introduction My destiny to meet and interact with James T Rutnam came in the aftermath of the August 1977 anti-Tamil riots. Previously, I had written a little about the anti-Tamil riots that engulfed the island then, and my initial attempts… Read more »

A Radical Activist in Ceylon Politics by Sachi Sri Kantha, May 25, 2025 Introduction Previously, I had studied the electoral performance of three prominent Sri Lankan Tamil politicians, namely Ganapathipillai Gangesar Ponnambalam (1901-1977), Appapillai Amirthalingam (1927-1989) and Murugesu Sivasithamparam (1024-2002). All three were electorally successful in most of their attempts, though suffering defeats intermittently. But,… Read more »

Preparing my Tombstone and Epitaph in 1983 by Sachi Sri Kantha, May 12, 2025 2025 – This is the year, in which I had predicted my death in 1983! Please check my design of tombstone and epitaph presented nearby. I was 30 then. Now I look back about that episode here. A Death Education course… Read more »

A Major Stumble in the Jan 1980 Lok Sabha Election by Sachi Sri Kantha, May 1, 2025 Regarding the contents in Part 80, I received the thoughts R. Kannan on March 4th. These were as follows: “As usual, this a brilliant compendium of events from primary and secondary sources, showing your vast grasp of reading… Read more »

An Appreciation by Sachi Sri Kantha, April 15, 2025 The death of Prof. Gananath Obeyesekere on March 25th, at the age of 95 in Colombo saddened me. Though his physical frame has departed, what he has left behind in his published books and research papers in journals do remain, to offer guidance to various research… Read more »

A Requiem to an anti-Tamil Polemicist by Sachi Sri Kantha, March 26, 2025 H.L.D. Mahindapala was summoned to meet his Maker on January 30, 2024. He was 93, when he died. After his passing in Colombo, I had read quite a few of his obituary elegies in the digital media. All of these had either… Read more »

My Magnum Opus – An Einstein Dictionary (1996) by Sachi Sri Kantha Between 1977 and 2015, I had authored/translated a total of nine books in Tamil (2 books) and English (7 books). In preparation of each book with diligence, I experienced delightful as well as nerve-wracking moments towards its completion. Here I describe the efforts… Read more »

by Sachi Sri Kantha, March 1, 2025 Introduction Many may be unaware that the etymological origin of the English word ‘Anaconda’ is rooted in two Tamil words, used in Ceylon in the 17th century, for a python snake. The stimulus for my investigation was a mischievous entry in the ‘Facts on File Encyclopedia of WORD… Read more »

Charan Singh Interlude by Sachi Sri Kantha, February 18, 2025 As this series had reached Part 80, it’s my onus to express my gratitude and thanks to Arul M. Pandian (originally from Madurai, now in USA), a pal of more than 20 years, for his continuous encouragement of this series by posting his reflections in… Read more »

A commentary by Sachi Sri Kantha The Sinhalese word ‘Deshamanya’ literally means ‘Pride of the Nation’, awarded since 1986 for ‘highly meritorious service’. According to the Wikipedia listing, between 1986 and 2025, a total of 119 individuals have been decorated with this tag. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deshamanya, accessed Feb 6, 2025] Among these 119, only 18 have been… Read more »

Re-visiting my Ethnophaulism Study of 1979 by Sachi Sri Kantha, January 19, 2025 Abstract pf Sachi’s Ethnophaulism study (1979)  Introduction Ten years ago, Prof. Mimi Reisel Gladstein, an English language scholar affiliated to the University of Texas El Paso, published a study with the caption, ‘Immigration Issues: Steinbeck’s Continuing Relevance’ in the Steinbeck Review [2015;… Read more »

Acts of Compromise in Principles by Sachi Sri Kantha, January 14, 2025 Fellow MGR biographer R. Kannan’s thoughts about the contents in Part 78 of this series (received on Nov 10), were as follows: “ Part 78 of the MGR series Sachi, which I read with interest. I want to respond to the questions you pose in… Read more »