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Independence-76
Regaining our lost treasures
As Sri Lanka marks 76 years of Independence, Kumudini Hettiarachchi looks at the meticulous work done by an unsung hero Dr. P.H.D.H. de Silva, Director of National Museums in the 1970s in tracing thousands of artifacts scattered around the globe. Six invaluable cultural objects including the intricately-carved and bejewelled Levuke cannon have come home amidst [...]
When a free nation was born
As church and temple bells pealed, guns boomed and ship sirens shrieked, 7.30 a.m. on the dot, a formally-dressed gentleman entered the august Audience Hall of Queen’s House in the Fort as Governor and exited a few minutes later as Governor-General (GG). This seven-minute ceremony — an oath taken before Chief Justice Sir John Howard [...]
When a disgruntled Kandyan kingdom rose up against the British
Remembering Keppetipola Disawe, pioneering freedom fighter By Udumbara Udugama February 4, 2024 marks the 76th anniversary of Sri Lanka’s Independence from the British. The island first came under foreign rule in 1505. The two European powers, the Portuguese and the Dutch, were able to establish themselves in the maritime provinces, the Portuguese wielding power from [...]
Reshaping Sri Lanka’s foreign policy amidst a turbulent world order
By Dr. Harinda Vidanage The mood in the global political landscape over the last few years of the conduct of international affairs between states, non-state and sub-state actors has been quite pensive. Pundits of foreign affairs, diplomacy, and policy leaders especially from the geopolitical West signal caution and alarm as they claim that the stable [...]
The monk who led Buddhism’s revival in Ceylon
Extracts of an article by D.T. Devendra (published in the Ceylon Observer on May 3, 1936) The name of Weliwita Saranankara, the great Sangharaja of the 18th century is venerated by the Buddhists of Ceylon. It was due to his efforts that the Upasamapada or Ordination of the Buddhist clergy was established in the island, [...]
Sri Lanka: What is in store for us?
By Tissa Jayatilaka To consider what the future holds for Sri Lanka, a glance at its past and present should prove useful as we could thereby contextualise and perhaps begin to understand what that likely future could be. Unless we look at our past mistakes dispassionately, attempt to learn from them and take meaningful steps [...]
Capturing the spirit of a game on and off the field
Prof. Priyan Dias looks at ‘An Island’s Eleven’ that charts how Sri Lanka embraced and excelled in a colonial legacy Nicholas Brookes has written a wonderful book about “A history of cricket in Sri Lanka”, which is his sub-title. It captures the spirit of cricket in this country, and also its vicissitudes – ‘poignant’ is [...]
State health sector still robust amidst huge challenges
By Kumudini Hettiarachchi The achievements and milestones are numerous even though it is a low-resource setting and in recent times crippled by an economic crunch, serious allegations of severe corruption and brain drain equivalent to a gushing leak. Vaunted as among the best in the South Asian region, with some indices even on par with [...]
The odyssey of George Keyt’s 21 paintings
Shwetha Srikanthan & Malaka Talwatte trace the legacy of one of the country’s greatest artists Born in Kandy, Sri Lanka, in April 1901, George Perceival Sproule Keyt (1901-1993) is one of Sri Lanka’s most renowned modernist painters, as well as a poet and writer. His work encapsulates a fluid synthesis of Eastern and Western, Buddhist [...]