Home » 75th Independence
Diplomacy challenges: Taxing but doable
By H.M.G.S. Palihakkara Sri Lanka at 75 is hopefully on course to a stable transition to recovery from a crippling crisis, and then to a sustainable growth path. Whether this is a mere hope or a realistic expectation is still too early to tell. What is real, however, is that Sri Lanka’s diplomacy has got [...]
Freedom shrine rises from airfield in middle of Colombo
By Kumudini Hettiarachchi The trail leads from the Racecourse grounds to the Independence Commemoration Hall, both located very close to each other at Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo 7. The stone edifice of the hall with its imposing lion sculptures and statue of ‘Father of the Nation’ D.S. Senanayake who took over the leadership of independent Sri [...]
Independence Memorial Museum: Lanka’s freedom hall of fame
A walk back into our chequered past to get a glimpse of the history of Ceylon now Sri Lanka… this is what the Independence Memorial Museum offers. Sited in the belly of the Independence Memorial Hall in Colombo 7, the compact and state-of-the-art museum takes one into the dim and distant past and then onto [...]
Lured by greener pastures, and then exploited
By Jaya Peri Sundaram Around the latter half of the 19th Century, Ceylon under British rule saw coffee, its then major export, affected by a deadly disease that destroyed the entire crop. The British swiftly replaced it with tea. Tea being more labour intensive, they had to find the workforce to tend the new crop [...]
A tragedy beyond belief
The face of tsunami heartbreak It was the worst natural disaster this country has faced. On Boxing Day, December 26, 2004, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake off the coast of Sumatra, triggered a tsunami that devastated Sri Lanka. The killer waves that swept through the country’s coastline on the East, North and South took the lives [...]
Taking care of the visitors amidst the chaos
By Feizal Samath When the tsunami on December 26, 2004 devastated a large portion of Sri Lanka’s eastern, southern and south-western beaches and hotels that stood in the way and stranded many tourists, the country’s tourism industry had to rally together to miminise inconvenience to travellers. “We brought the industry under one unit and worked [...]
It is our Independence Day. What?
By Jayadeva Uyangoda At the time when Sri Lanka’s 75 years of independence is being celebrated, the Sri Lankan economy is struggling to recover from a devastating crisis. Directly hit by consequences of the crisis and forced to bear the burden of IMF-inspired policies of economic recovery, most citizens find themselves helpless, hopeless and angry. [...]
Evolution of the healthcare system
Sri Lanka has a proud health history, in recent times considered the best with regard to certain indices such as maternal mortality rate (MMR) and infant mortality rate (IMR) in the Southeast Asian Region, even comparable to developed countries. Piecing together the twists and turns health has taken within Sri Lanka, the Sri Lanka Medical [...]
Still seeking ‘parity of status’ for the Tamils
Senior politician and Leader of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), Veerasingham Anandasangaree speaks to Feizal Samath on the politics of the North of Sri Lanka, which led to a protracted separatist armed insurgency, which he opposed as a pacifist. Mr. Anandasangaree advocates devolution of a Federal nature. When Tamils organised a satyagraha (protest) against [...]
Pages from 1948
Frayed at the edges, faded from its original red and brown, the book cover shows signs of wear but within, the contents are beautifully preserved – a marvellous insight of where the country stood as it gained independence from Colonial rule. The book we are talking of is a souvenir, running to just over one [...]
Shades of 1971 JVP uprising in current crisis
By Dr Lionel Bopage As the 75th anniversary of independence gathers steam, it will be important to reflect on the gradual erosion of checks and balances and the rule of law. No crisis, be it in 1953, 1971, 1983, the long civil war, or the current crisis, has seen a desire for accountability, good governance, [...]
Education: A look back at the past
By Tissa Jayatilaka On February 4, Sri Lanka reached 75 years since the end of the British colonial rule (1815-1948). It is as good a time as any to revisit some key issues that our country dealt with in the run-up to independence which have had a significant impact – for better or for worse [...]
In commemoration of special events
By Kavan Ratnatunga Commemorative stamps, coins and banknotes are issued for important national events as lasting collectibles. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) this week issued a non circulating Legal Tender Rs.1000 copper nickel coin minted at the Royal Dutch Mint in the Netherlands to mark the 75th anniversary of independence on February 4, [...]
The ups and downs of Lanka’s separatist war
By Iqbal Athas Over a third of Sri Lanka’s 75 years of independence has seen a separatist war, one that grew exponentially in four different phases, heaping a colossal financial burden on the people, leaving thousands dead and yet others wounded. Until then, the military was essentially a parade ground outfit. They showed their impressive [...]
75 years after: A Sri Lankan Midnight Child’s story
By Sarath Amunugama I was eight years old when my father took me to Queens Hotel in Kandy to see our first Prime Minister D.S. Senanayake unfurl the national flag from the Pattirippuwa after Independence day in 1948.It was midnight and I was sleepy but I still recall the cheering and the fireworks that were [...]
Where truth lingers: 75 years of figurative language
By Dr Madhubhashini Disanayaka Ratnayake What talk of art and literature in the 75 years of Independence, one might ask, when our focus is now more on survival than aesthetics. Yet it is relevant, always relevant, I feel, for in words lie the heart of a nation that is quiet, unlike mass media; is subtle, unlike [...]
The gentlemen’s clubs
By Yomal Senerath-Yapa We tend to think of “the gentlemen’s club” as a Jeeves-like oddity where the Englishmen retreat to get away from the womenfolk, and attend to more masculine matters in a congenial setting. But in colonial Ceylon, gentlemen’s clubs served a different purpose. While there were clubs in the capital city, the planters’ [...]
Memorable moments in the public service
Feizal Samath speaks to Bradman Weerakoon Recalling major events in the public service in the post-independence era, veteran administrator Bradman Weerakoon corrected a widely held belief that one-time Prime Minister W. Dahanayake had, after losing the election, departed from Temple Trees in a bus with a bag, to his hometown of Galle. “In fact he [...]
Time to look beyond the colonized mind
Can we celebrate an architecture of independence, asks Dr Shanti Jayewardene Early in the 20th century, J.P. Lewis, the Irish civil servant and colonial intellectual, remarked on the lamentable impact the government’s policy was having on native architecture whereby, ‘old and artistic Kandyan work is being removed and replaced by nondescript and hideous, modern work [...]
Plantations: A key colonial inheritance
By Malinga Gunaratne The Plantation Raj! As the name suggests it was a kingdom of its own with its own very unique atmosphere created by the British whose enduring legacy the plantations were. During the colonial era and even much later, the plantations were well structured for effective management. The owners, mainly in the UK, [...]
The other Indians
By Kumar Nadesan When we go back in time and review the history of land, people and ethnicity, we need to understand that Sri Lanka and India were one land. When the tectonic plates broke, islands in the Indian Ocean Rim sank, and many new islands arose as did the island we live in. When [...]