Category: Intervention

Lewke Disave’s Cannon, Colombo National Museum Lara Wijesuriya’s excellent recent essay is a wonderful invitation for further conversation about the politics of repatriation and the role of museums, archives, and the labour that underpins them in the national imaginaries. Wijesuriya cites in passing Nira Wickramasinghe’s essay on the return of Keppetipola’s cranium. In that essay,… Continue reading The Cannon and the Cranium: Towards a Wider Agenda for Reparatory Justice in Sri Lanka by Andi Schubert

Amid a suffocating consensus on austerity, any opportunity to expand on the current stakes of Left strategy in Sri Lanka must be seen as a small victory. The debate provoked by my original piece, including Ramindu Perera’s response in Polity, ought to continue to widen to include a diverse set of voices. But I must… Continue reading 2024 and Beyond: Electoral Politics and the Left by Devaka Gunawardena

Amidst the woes of a deepening economic crisis and the disastrous effect of International Monetary Fund-dictated austerity measures, Sri Lanka is passing through a tremendous political crisis. On the one hand, the government — an unstable coalition between the Sri Lanka Podujana Pakshaya (SLPP—People’s Party) and Ranil Wickremesinghe has become increasingly desperate due to lack… Continue reading Why 2024 Will Not Be 2015 Redux by Ramindu Perera

In 2002, Polity magazine’s predecessor, Pravada (Vol. 7, Nos. 10 & 11, pp. 12-16) published the essay below by the distinguished Southasian political and cultural theorist Aijaz Ahmad (1941-2022). Since the abominable killings of 1,200 Israelis and hostage-taking of more than 240 persons by Hamas on October 7, as of late last week 11,078 Palestinians of whom 40% are… Continue reading The Nazification of Israel by Aijaz Ahmad

Gaza and the wider world are heading into an abyss. With the announcement and preparation of Israel’s invasion of Gaza in response to a massacre by Hamas, longstanding fears appear to be on the verge of realisation. The collective West remains eager to absolve itself of its historical guilt for the Holocaust, which shades into… Continue reading Gaza: Into the Abyss by Devaka Gunawardena

Ahead of the 2015 Presidential Elections that were held on 8 January, Mahinda Rajapaksa seemed unlikely to be defeated. Although Maithripala Sirisena had split from the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, the Rajapaksas had tremendous control over the state and media. Any struggle to prevent a third term and the likely consolidation of a quasi-dictatorship appeared… Continue reading In 2024’s elections, lessons from 2015 – 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

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

Two responses to my recent piece, “Resisting the Nationalist Right’s Framing of the Economic Alternative,” have appeared. One is by Uditha Devapriya and another, here in Polity, is by Shiran Illanperuma. Devapriya takes a sympathetic approach, raising underlying questions about industrialisation. Meanwhile, Illanperuma argues that my entire critique is misplaced. Rather than engage the latter… Continue reading The Left’s Choice: Revival or Surrender – Devaka Gunawardena

Two responses to my recent piece, “Resisting the Nationalist Right’s Framing of the Economic Alternative,” have appeared. One is by Uditha Devapriya and another, here in Polity, is by Shiran Illanperuma. Devapriya takes a sympathetic approach, raising underlying questions about industrialisation. Meanwhile, Illanperuma argues that my entire critique is misplaced. Rather than engage the latter… Continue reading The Left’s Choice: Revival or Surrender – Devaka Gunawardena