The earliest record of sex reassignment surgery in a Sri Lankan public hospital can be traced back to 2003. Even though there was no government procedure for sex reassignment and change of gender in birth certificates, the Registrar General’s Department (RGD) had been facilitating the change of gender on birth certificates on a case-by-case basis… Continue reading Test for Real Life? The Gender Transition Process in Sri Lanka – Kaushalya Ariyarathne
Author: ssalanka
May Day Diary 2023 – B. Skanthakumar
The sky is clear over Colombo on the morning of 1 May 2023. This is a relief for May Day organisers and participants alike, after days and nights of heavy rain. Along one of the routes for the many marches today, red pennants, and Buddhist flags heralding Vesak festivities later this week, flutter on alternate… Continue reading May Day Diary 2023 – B. Skanthakumar
Don’t Use Class as a Weapon to Dismiss Social Struggles – Devaka Gunawardena
We can blame the chaos of the contemporary global moment for many problems. From rising prices, to rearmament and the possibility of outright military conflict between hegemonic powers, there is a lot about which to be extremely concerned. But one of the most banal trends that is nevertheless frustrating in its very blockishness is the… Continue reading Don’t Use Class as a Weapon to Dismiss Social Struggles – Devaka Gunawardena
Shehan Karunatilaka’s The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida: Impunity, violence, and the politics of representation
The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida. Shehan Karunatilaka. Gurugram, Harayana: Penguin Books, 2022 – Reviewed by Harshana Rambukwella
A murdered journalist “awakens” in a ghostly world to witness his dead body being pulled out of a polluted Colombo lake to be dismembered and fed to animals. He suffers from amnesia and has “seven moons”, or seven days, to solve the mystery of his murder before he must move on to another plane of… Continue reading Shehan Karunatilaka’s The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida: Impunity, violence, and the politics of representation
The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida. Shehan Karunatilaka. Gurugram, Harayana: Penguin Books, 2022 – Reviewed by Harshana Rambukwella
The Political Economy of Neoliberal Hindu Nationalism in India by Alf Gunvald Nilsen
A discussion with Alf Gunvald Nilsen, Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Pretoria and Director, the Centre for Asian Studies in Africa, University of Pretoria on ‘The Political Economy of Neoliberal Hindu Nationalism in India’ was held at the Social Scientists’ Association on 22 May 2023. An expert researching, teaching, and writing about the political economy… Continue reading The Political Economy of Neoliberal Hindu Nationalism in India by Alf Gunvald Nilsen
Budget 2023: Heal the Wound or Worsen it? – Dhanusha Gihan Pathirana
This text is adapted from a presentation made at a virtual discussion on the 2023 Budget organised by the Professionals’ Centre for People, on 26 November 2022. The 2023 Budget proposals will further aggravate the problem of high inflation and rising unemployment and has no mechanism to address capital outflows which triggered the ongoing foreign… Continue reading Budget 2023: Heal the Wound or Worsen it? – Dhanusha Gihan Pathirana
Seminar series on Critical Agrarian Studies 2023, Seminar 03 – “The Agrarian Basis of Resistance to Dispossession” a talk by Devaka Gunawardena
The Critical Agrarian Studies seminar series of the Social Scientists’ Association held its third talk titled “The Agrarian Basis of Resistance to Dispossession” on 7 April 2023 . The seminar series focuses on the contemporary agrarian political economy of Sri Lanka, aiming to map an agenda for critical agrarian studies in the 21st century. The… Continue reading Seminar series on Critical Agrarian Studies 2023, Seminar 03 – “The Agrarian Basis of Resistance to Dispossession” a talk by Devaka Gunawardena
Left Strategy in the Time of the IMF Counter-Revolution – Devaka Gunawardena
Less than a year has passed since the 9th July uprising last year in Sri Lanka. Nevertheless, the contours of the present regime are well established. A loose network of progressive activists and trade unions have rightly kept the basic illegitimacy of the Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa government at the front and centre of the debate. Meanwhile, other… Continue reading Left Strategy in the Time of the IMF Counter-Revolution – Devaka Gunawardena
Sri Lanka 2023: Anniversaries of Struggle – Q. M. Saul
No matter what happens for the rest of this year, 2023 will go down in the history books of Sri Lanka. This year is like one of those astronomical alignments which only come around once every few centuries. Not only does the country face unprecedented crises this year; it also commemorates the combined anniversaries of major… Continue reading Sri Lanka 2023: Anniversaries of Struggle – Q. M. Saul
Agrarian Studies in Sri Lanka A workshop organised by the Social Scientists’ Association (SSA) in collaboration with the Young Researchers’ Network (YRN)- Sri Lanka
Social Scientists’ Association (SSA) has a deep legacy for creating debate and discussion on the agrarian change in Sri Lanka since the 1970s. Therefore with the overall objective of developing an interdisciplinary approach to understand and revive interest in the agrarian question and to kindle interest in study of the agrarian political economy of Sri… Continue reading Agrarian Studies in Sri Lanka A workshop organised by the Social Scientists’ Association (SSA) in collaboration with the Young Researchers’ Network (YRN)- Sri Lanka