From 1983 to 2009, Sri Lanka saw a bloody civil war between the majority Buddhist Sinhalese and the minority Tamils. The conflict led to invaluable losses both economically and politically. To this day, the deep socio-religious wounds have yet to heal on the island in South Asia. Since the war...
In March 2015, the unexpected newly elected president of Sri Lanka, Maithripala Sirisena, stated that the national anthem could be sung in Tamil at official and institutional events. For anyone alien to life on the teardrop island, this announcement may have come as a surprise since, after all,...
Nearly one year has passed since the Easter Sunday attacks in Sri Lanka, and in the midst of a lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, the anniversary was marked under somber circumstances. The trauma of these terrorist attacks — which occurred when an Islamic extremist group bombed churches...
Opposition to the postwar liberal world order seems like the new back to normal, as it is based on a natural impulse to shut out the feared “other” in order to be safe, rather than recklessly open and vulnerable. Neurobiologist Robert Sapolsky notes why this back to normal is natural and...
After decades of persecution by the Sinhalese and Tamils, Sri Lanka’s Muslims are abandoning local syncretic Islam and turning to a more radical version. The Islamic State (IS) group claimed responsibility for the Easter Sunday attacks across Sri Lanka. This raises many questions about the...
At a time when their country needs healing and support, Sri Lankan Muslims have an obligation this Ramadan. Each Ramadan, I set myself a challenge: How and what can I improve this year? For me, Ramadan is about setting and overcoming challenges in an attempt to progress spiritually and become a...
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo wants everyone to understand that the bombings in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday provide a justification for the war on terror initiated by George W. Bush, which has become a permanent and dominant feature of US foreign policy. His tone sounded almost thankful for the...
Terrorism always has its reasons, but this well-coordinated campaign of bombings in Sri Lanka defies the understanding of all observers. At the time of publishing, 24 people have been arrested for the wave of murderous attacks on Easter Sunday in Sri Lanka. Not only do we not know who these...
Founder & Editor-in-Chief Atul Singh provides a roundup of the week’s events. This is a week of two tragedies. In Paris, 12 people were killed and many more wounded when Islamist terrorists attacked Charlie Hebdo, a satirical newspaper renowned for its biting wit and scathing cartoons. In...
Linguistic allegiance remains a strong marker of cultural identity in South Asia. What role do South Asian languages play in today’s world — particularly since, as in most former British colonies, English often works reasonably well, especially in places a foreigner is likely to go? India is...
