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No great gain than virtue aught can cause; No great loss than life oblivious of her laws. – Tamil Kurral  It is not only a portrayal of the lack of will to address the issue of solving problems in Sri Lanka but also the loss of a great opportunity to get rid of the political stalemate […]

आप खुद ही सोच लीजिये क्या १६५ ग्राम अनाज से भुखमरी और कुपोषण दूर होगा? पर भारत की सरकार ऐसा ही मानती है. खाद्य सुरक्षा में दालें और खाने का तेल शामिल नहीं है; क़ानून बन रहा है पर भ्रष्टाचार करने वालो के लिए इसमे लगभग खुली छूट है क्योंकि इसमे अपराध गैर-जमानती गंभीर अपराध […]

In mythology we always hear about transformations; that a frog became a prince, or a beautiful princess became an ugly hag, and the like. These stories reflect the phenomenon of transformation, which happens in the lives of individuals as well as societies. When we talk about Sri Lanka, we also see many similar transformations. Some […]

Amir Murtaza In a tragic incident, the well-known social worker, educationist and development expert Parveen Rehman was brutally shot dead in Karachi on 13th March, 2013. She had been working vigorously for the emancipation of the poor and marginalized people in Pakistan, for more than two decades. Parveen Rehman was a very well respected teacher […]

नियमों के प्रभाव – 2 फरवरी 2006 को जब राष्ट्रीय ग्रामीण रोज़गार गारंटी क़ानून लागू किया गया था, तब यह अहसास तो था कि इस क़ानून को लागू करना आसान न होगा. कारण था एक बहुत बुनियादी किन्तु जवाबदेय व्यवस्था की गैर-मौजूदगी. सोच बहुत महत्वाकांक्षी थी. कुछ लोग इस क्रांतिकारी भी मानते थे, क्योंकि इस दौर […]

बाढ़ की संभावनायें सामने हैं, और नदियों के किनारे घर बने हैं। मशहूर शायर दुष्यंत कुमार का यह शेअर प्रदेश में घनघोर जल्दबाजी में की जा रही एक कसरत पर मौजूं है | देश में पहली बार महिला नीति बनाने का तमगा हासिल करने वाले और विगत एक साल से बगैर महिला नीति के सांसे […]

A group of hundreds of relatives of the disappeared from Mannar and Vavuniya were to arrive on the 5th night in Colombo by buses to share with the people in the South their pathetic stories about the disappearances of their loved ones during and after the war, and then to present a petition to the […]

हाल ही में सामने एक सर्वेक्षण ने  “महिलाओं की सुरक्षा संबंधी इन्डेक्स” में मध्यप्रदेश को सबसे अधिक खराब स्थिति में पाया | टाटा स्ट्रेटजिक मेनेजमेंट समूह द्वारा 33 राज्यों में किये गए इस सर्वे में मध्यप्रदेश का स्थान 29वें नम्बर पर है | जिन सूचकों के आधार पर यह श्रेणीकरण किया गया वे हैं 6 […]

Avinash Pandey* The decision of going naked in protest to the oppression committed on them by POSCO and its supporters must not had come easily to the women of Govindpur village of Jagatsingpur district in Odisha. It cannot come easily to women of anywhere in country, however, much distressed they are. It is a country, […]

When a business school invites persons to attend one of its functions, that too expecting the person to deliver nothing less than the keynote address, it must be taking into account many factors. Elementary is the invitee’s credentials, and in the background of the sponsors, who contribute to organise the event. It appears that the […]

केवल अपेक्षा ही नहीं थी बल्कि उम्मीद भी थी कि राष्ट्रीय ग्रामीण रोज़गार गारंटी योजना न केवल गाँव के लोगों को रोज़गार का अधिकार देगी, बल्कि हमारी चरमराती शासन व्यवस्था (गवर्नेंस) को भी एक ठोस आधार देगी. यही वह क़ानून भी है, जिसने गाँव को यह अधिकार दिया कि वे अपनी योजना और बजट बनाएंगे, […]

He had to die. Die, because a nation wanted him to, or so were we told by the Supreme Court of the nation. He had to die to satisfy the collective conscience of the nation, the court added for a good measure. So, he did die, nay, hanged till death. His body was left hanging […]

Bijo Francis* Overcoming initial reluctance, the Maharashtra state police have finally registered a case in the infamous Bhandara rape and murder incident. This is a case, not much discussed in India, other than for sparse reporting in a few Indian dailies, of the rape murder of three sisters, all minors. Missing of three miserable village […]

For the purpose of this article I would describe positive or genuine politics as the attempt of political parties and others involved in politics trying to improve the material conditions of lives of the citizens. By material conditions I mean food, which also would imply employment, shelter which would imply conditions of housing, and sanitation, […]

A comment on the report for promoting reconciliation and accountability in the country Basil Fernando The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Navanethem Pillay, on February 11, 2013 issued the Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on advice and technical assistance for the Government of Sri Lanka […]

Every associate of Fr. Tissa will undoubtedly have his/her lasting and loving memories of him. My association of him has left in me a memory of him as a spiritual guide and campaigner of social justice. One of the earliest was his talk delivered on the theme “Crisis in the Priesthood” to us as then […]

On February 4 the chief monk of Sunandonanda of Egodauyana, Moratuwa was assassinated by a group of persons during the evening. According to reports, at 5:30 pm and again at 7:30 pm, the chief monk made complaints to the Moratuwa Police stating that he was facing an imminent threat to his life and sought the […]

2 फरवरी 2013 को राष्ट्रीय ग्रामीण रोज़गार गारंटी क़ानून को भारत में लागू हुए आठ साल हो जा रहे हैं. अनुभव यह बताते हैं कि जब हम अपनी व्यवस्था को बेहतर बनाने के लिये नियम और प्रक्रियाएं बना रहे होते हैं तब समुदाय के सामने खडे होने वाले संकटों को पूरी तरह से नज़र अंदाज़ […]

In the seventies Sri Lanka’s descent into savagery took a qualitative plunge and since then things have become even worse. By way of explanation I should say that by ‘savage’ I do not mean the noble savage that Jean Jacques Rousseau spoke about, but rather a person living without a civic sense and responsibility. It […]

We are saddened by the death of our dear Fr. Tissa Balasuriya at the age of 89. We are equally happy to celebrate his successful, colourful and controversial life.  He was a brilliant intellectual from his youth. Born at remote Kahatagasdigiliya, he graduated from the University of Ceylon in Economics, winning the prestigious Khan Gold […]