By Mahinda Weerasinghe By the time you read this piece you will be discharging your duties as the new leader of India. My advice would be superfluous to you, however, I am offering some indicators, which I feel would be invaluable at this initial stage of your watch! Mr. Prime Minster, obviously the security and the […]

By Asada M Erpini The local media reports on 29 and 30 March mention the R. Sampanthan, the leader of the Tamil National Alliance, asking for a meeting with the Chief Minister (CM) of Tamil Nadu (TN) to “discuss the Tamil issue in Sri Lanka”. The headline of one of the stories includes, “to resolve the […]

By Shelton A. Gunaratne Paul Opperman (“An argument based on silliness,” The Forum, May 11, 2014) questions the purpose of my essay titled “Natural law says it’s all in flux” published a week earlier on May 4, 2014). My purpose was to point out the Buddhist approach to conflict resolution that is hardly known and […]

Shenali D Waduge Majority Hindus in India are happy. They have elected an Indian to lead India. An Indian that Indians feel will protect instead of balkanize India. Modi himself is a man of dreams. He aspires to script a glorious future. There is an issue. Modi may have a dream but there are ground […]

Shenali D Waduge Kofi Annan has been showered with credentials so much so that he became the ‘outstanding choice’ to broker peace in Syria. When that choice is made by the US there is little for us to imagine in whose interest the agenda has been set. Annan’s accolades include post of UN Secretary General, […]

Top Spin By Sunny May 29th 2014   There will be many excuses over this present performance by Sri Lanka in the Third ODI at Old Trafford. England have bowled out Sri Lanka for 67 on a decent batting strip so what are the excuses  pray tell ? Too much extra curricular activities ? ( who […]

Shenali D Waduge An Apology to Sri Lanka for crimes against humanity committed by the Portuguese Conquistadors who were exclusively Roman Catholics, during their presence in this country from 1505 – 1658, should be the overriding reason for any future visit by a Pope. It is an apology long overdue to Sri Lanka as well […]

By Nalin de Silva We have identified Sinhala Buddhism as a culture and the main question that has drawn our attention is the survival of this culture in Sri Lanka while many forms of Theravada cultures had disappeared from the face of the earth. We have also said that prior to the arrival of Arhant […]

By Senaka Weeraratna In 2006, the Law Commission of Sri Lanka prepared an Animal Welfare Bill, based on an exhaustive study of modern legislation governing animal welfare in foreign jurisdictions and the views of the public. It took the Law Commission under the Chairmanship of former Supreme Court Justice the late Dr. A.R.B. Amerasinghe and in the final […]

By Afshain Afzal India is on the world focus. This time the elections results of the world biggest democracy has surprised the western players and proved to be a setback to Washington’s long term strategy in Asia, which aimed at to steal eastern culture, traditions and values through local westernized puppets. The May 2014 elections […]

ALI SUKHANVER This highly civilized, educated and marvelously scientific world of today says that child labour is simply a severe violation of basic human rights; but in spite of this realization, throughout the world more than 215 million children aging from five to seventeen are compelled to work under conditions that are considered illegal, perilous […]

Susantha Goonatilake The USA had refused to give Modi a visa. And after Modi’svictory,Obama changed his colours and invited Modi to visit the US.It was like “kissing the hand that cannot be cut.” The visa ban was on allegations of religious intolerance and specifically the Gujarat riots on which courts found Modi not guilty. US, […]

Shenali D Waduge Suddenly not only are LTTE emerging alive from the dead at least that was what internationally accepted reports initially revealed to embarrass Sri Lanka, but now supposed ‘refugees’ holding UNHCR passes are being arrested as well. Quite a lot of unlawful activities are taking place all revolving around the world’s favorite terrorist […]

M. Gunasekera The Sunday Leader newspaper of Sri Lanka has yet another article in their May 25th edition wherein they have exposed the organized efforts by former pro-Tamil Tiger activists who were the spokespersons for the internationally designated terrorist group known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). They constantly white washed the terror […]

by  Senaka Weeraratna A little over a year ago on Vesak day May 24, 2013  to be exact Ven. Bowatte Indraratana Thero made the supreme sacrifice by giving up his precious life in front of the Dalada Maligawa to draw public attention to a noble cause i.e. slaughter of cattle and other living beings in […]

Opinion-By Dr.Tilak S. Fernando  An incident that took place at the Bandaranaike International Airport’s Exit Lounge during the early hours of 15 May 2014, when passengers were about to be embarked into a Paris bound SriLankan aircraft, certainly makes King Kekille ( Kekille Rajjurwo) have hysterics! It happened on the 15th night (early hours of […]

The attached is most true. if one was to read newspapers such as the Sri Lanka Daily News, the Australian and the Adelaide Advertiser – an independent, balanced and fair press, I certainly do not think so!!!! John Swinton, the former Chief of Staff at the NEW YORK TIMES was asked to give a toast […]

UN DAY OF WESAK was celebrated in Melbourne on 24 th May. Including the Australian Buddhists, hundreds of  Buddhists from  countries such as Sri Lanka,Vietnam, Cambodia, China, Laos, Burma, Thailand, Malaysia ,Singapore, Hong Kong, Tibet.Japan and Bnagla Desh took part in offering of Dana to nearly70 members of Maha Sangha representing all traditions . In […]

By Bandu de Silva Commentaries which have appeared in the Sri Lankan media so far on the future policies that India under Modi government might follow have to be considered more speculative than analytical. There is a good reason for this. One does not have analytical material placed under a prism to judge analytically which […]

Shenali D Waduge The Indian newspapers, the very same that went overboard in partnership with its Western parties, to portray that the devil-incarnate was likely to lead India is using a lot of print space to vocalize the pressures being exerted by Tamil Nadu upon BJP not to include Sri Lanka’s President as State invitee […]

By Garvin Karunaratne, Ph.D. Michigan State University I was stunned  to read  a news item stating that  youths from schools in. Anuradhapura are very likely to be the cannon fodder for renal disease. “Students in grades 10 to 12 in the North Central Province are prone to contact renal diseases…earlier it was people in the 30s and 40s.”(Daily […]

by Kalyan S. Kalyanaraman Date: 19/02/2014 An appraisal of Narendra Modi as Prime Minister of India coming from a Sri Lankan is truly amazing . Such insight we will never see or hear from Indian media and its talking heads. Not only that Senaka Weeraratna, the author of the article below went through whole article […]

Asada M Erpini  According to reports in Hindu on 24th and 22nd May and in many other media, there is a cacophony of protests and howls by the leaders of Tamil political parties in India against the invitation extended to His Excellency the President of Sri Lanka by the next Prime Minister of India to […]

A Response To The Many Inaccurate Claims-Dr. Chula NA Rajapakse MNZM United Sri Lanka Association Wellington , New Zealand The above article in the NYT has many inaccurate claims that compels a response. The most glaring of these is the claim that , ” The United nations has estimated that 40,000 people, many of them […]

Senaka Weeraratna In a congratulatory message addressed to Shri Narendra Modi, Ven. Banagala Upatissa Nayaka Thero, President, Mahabodhi Society of Sri Lanka, has while noting with supreme joy that Shri Modi has been the first leader of modern India to represent the timeless and ancient city of Varanasi in the Lok Sabha, called on Shri […]

Senaka Weeraratna On 11th May 2014, a Vesak celebration and alms giving took place at the Buddhist Temple ( Das Buddhistsiche Haus) in Berlin – Frohnau organized on behalf of the German Dharmaduta Society, Colombo, by Mr. Tissa Weeraratna, Vice-President of the Society, with the co-operation of the Sri Lanka Embassy in Berlin. Ven. Santharakkhita […]

by Professor Chandre Dharmawardana, Canada Permit me to comment on the feature by Darshana Ashoka Kumara, entitled “Lies, Cover-Ups and Complicity Kill – Governments and Corporations; Glyphosate ban lifted in Sri Lanka” dated 16th May 2014, that appeared in the Sri Lanka Guardian. Similar articles have appeared elsewhere, essentially promoting the idea that Glyphosate, a […]

Shenali D Waduge Cabinet Ministers of Sri Lanka have no business to go off on a tangent expressing their rejected and defunct ideologies through Ministries they enjoy at the expense of the taxpaying public and based purely on compassionate grounds of the head of State, a sentiment that is not shared by any member of […]

by Senaka Weeraratna Newly elected Prime Minister will promote India’s rich Buddhist heritage to attract tourists and scholars and enhance India’s standing in the world New Delhi, India — The world’s first Global Buddhist missionary Anagarika Dharmapala and the most talked about man in India today and perhaps in the entire policy and decision making […]

Nalin de Silva Courtesy: Island I was not surprised when the High Commissioner for Canada in Sri Lanka said that Canada would boycott the victory celebrations in Matara. According to the President it was a victory for peace that was celebrated, and in any case it was not a victory over the Tamils in the […]