The response of civil society, the harbingers of political radicalism, was telling. It took days for the activists (and I don’t mean the Friday Forum, English-speaking, Colombo ones) to get up on stage and condemn what happened.

We commemorate Lord Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and parinirvana in this month of Vesak, amidst one of the worst calamities Sri Lanka has encountered – a carnage caused by misguided fanatics as a result of extremist beliefs.

I’m a survivor with battle wounds I’m an orphan from the bombers tools I’m a husband with no wife to love

Most of the developing countries in the third world receive almost unlimited assistance for local social development from international non-government organizations (NGO). Sri Lanka is one among those recipients scattered in the third world. Most of

“Colombo” by Mohan Raj Madawala is an ambitious book, set in the early part of the 20th century with a story line that spans three generations. This is his fifth novel, and he has four previous novels and three short story collections to his cre

There was a collective anguish over helplessness and isolation inside the garage of a police station in Negombo, Sri Lanka where dozens of asylum seekers and refugees, having fled Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and Yemen, were staying for 17 days fearin

Nearly two week have gone by, and yet we cannot overcome our shock and disbelief that such dastardly acts were committed in this country.

In a much hailed landmark judgment delivered in early April, the Supreme Court ordered the Northern Power Company to pay compensation amounting to Rs. 20 million to residents in Chunnakam who have been adversely affected by the contamination of groun

If Sri Lankan communities are going to unite NOW, it is the time. In fact they must do so and defeat the purpose of ISIS or whoever was behind the Easter bombings that rocked our beautiful island. We all have close Muslim friends. Those who are my ag

“What have they planned for us?” the boy next to me asked, bewildered, as the van we all were in drove up past the gates. He got the answer immediately: a procession of students lined up before a budhu medura, boys on one side, girls on the other

Open Letter to the President, the Prime Minister, members of the Cabinet and Members of Parliament regarding the situation in Sri Lanka Your Excellencies, We, the undersigned women and men, are members of civil society....

In celebration of its 125th Anniversary, the Wildlife & Nature Protection Society (WNPS) hosts a special for its members, interactive edition of its monthly lecture series with short presentations (15 minutes each) to be made by four experts....

It was in the mid-1980s, I joined The Island newspaper as Deputy Features and Culture Page editor. At that time prominent journalists were working for the paper. Most of them are or were Editors in Chief of various English language papers and some of

Over the past several days, I have reflected prayerfully on what happened in three Christian churches in Colombo, Negombo and Batticaloa and also in some of our city hotels on Easter Sunday. It is sad that humans have arrogated to themselves the righ

Every single footballer in Sri Lanka as well as thousands of the games’ fans and fanatics will remember the great sports promoter, benefactor and trusted poor man’s helper President R. Premadasa whose 26th death anniversary fell on May 1.

The Easter Sunday calamity on April 21 in Sri Lanka is undoubtedly one of the greatest destruction of world peace.

A series of articles penned by civil society outfits and activists try to shift the blame from the Prime Minister, who wasn’t informed and can’t resign, to the President, who was but has decided not to resign.

The Easter Sunday attacks have been extremely traumatizing to one’s eye. As photos, videos and subject matter relating to these events continue to circulate on mainstream and social media, it may be difficult for certain people to grab everything a

Sri Lanka’s security forces have engaged in many battles and armed confrontations during the long war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The military defeat of the LTTE in May 2009 brought an end to the conflict. Thereafter for te

It was almost a decade ago that countries across Europe began wrestling with the issue of the Muslim veil – in its various forms. The debate encapsulated religious freedom, female equality, secular traditions and even fears of terrorism. The conver

Born on 1 May 1891 in Kandy, A. E. Goonesinha was educated at Dharmaraja College and at St. Josephs College in Colombo. He commenced his professional career as a journalist and publisher of the Journal “Search Light” to support the National Movem

I am an individual who had the opportunity to serve under the late President Premadasa as the Chairman and Director General of the Greater Colombo Economic Commission and also as the First Chairman of the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka from 1991 t

Girls too young to understand the essence of religion adorn the Nikab. Some forced due to cultural imposition, and others too young to know why. Madrasas spread across the island ignore history, art culture, literature and theology which form the cor

In the wake of the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks, a question has emerged regarding the inadequacy of the existing laws to combat terrorism, and whether new laws should be brought in to counter international terrorism. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremes

Lacuna here, lacuna there, lacunae everywhere! “Here, There and Everywhere”

The earliest recorded engagement of a Muslim with Samantakuta, according to Senerath Paranavitana, occurs in 851 CE in a travel account by an Arab merchant called Soleyman. However, Soleyman does not refer to it as aadam malayi, the name we see in th

I didn’t know at the time that the noise that woke me up on Easter Sunday morning was the explosion at the Kingsbury. Living across from the Port City development, there were always loud noises coming from the construction. This was different thoug

The Human Rights Commission (HRC) of Sri Lanka has urged all citizens to refrain from engaging in hate speech or inciting violence, and to act responsibly against all forms of extremism, in the aftermath of the Easter Sunday terror attacks....

The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the bloody Easter Sunday attacks against churches and luxury hotels. However, one should be careful in reading too much into these claims. That is not just because the Islamic State has a history of ow

The current national security crisis should essentially be managed within the Democratic framework of governance. Inability to protect the citizenry is not a condition that arose due to our collective faith in democratic governance, but because of an