B. Skanthakumar 🇵🇸

#CycloneDitwah is Sri Lanka's worst natural disaster since the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Here is an overview of how it battered the island last week, even as we continue to absorb its impact #SriLankafloods

The Social Scientists’ Association calls for 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 on the continuing relevance of the multi-disciplinary scholarship of Kumari Jayawardena. Send your pitch (under 300 words) to <ssa.femarchive@gmail.com> 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝟐𝟐 𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔.

On April 29, 2026, Sri Lanka lost one of its steadfast and longest-serving advocates for human rights, Suriya Wickramasinghe, best known as the face of the Civil Rights Movement (CRM), of which she was a founding member and secretary. sundaytimes.lk/260503/sunday-… by Renuka Senanayake

Alan Wald on "The Black Radical Imagination" in AGAINST THE CURRENT. "The 'African American Old Left' are practically all deceased...but their cumulative work comprises a mosaic of collective memory ... againstthecurrent.org/.../the-black-…

Remembering Suriya Wickremasinghe (1934 - 2026), a principled and courageous advocate for justice, equality, and human rights. We are grateful for her contributions to Sri Lanka’s Civil Rights Movement, to Amnesty International Sri Lanka’s board in the 1970s, and to Amnesty’s human rights work around the world. In this photo, she is seen (4th from the left) as a member of Amnesty’s International Executive Committee accepting the Nobel Peace Prize in 1977. Her steadfast commitment to standing with marginalized communities remains an enduring part of her legacy, one that continues to inspire others to fight for justice and resist with integrity and conviction.

MY NEW BOOK IS OUT. A dignified recognition of Amilcar Cabral, the agronomist, co-organised with my @UCT_news colleagues Anselmo Matusse and Lesley Green. Discover that Cabral was also the father of the African agro-ecology. Free download here 👇 shorturl.at/62GqX

Marking the 7th anniversary of the 2019 Easter Sunday terrorism, the Centre for Society and Religion (CSR) analyses past official inquiries, with which it expresses dissatisfaction, calling for truth in the hope for justice. #SriLanka polity.lk/memory-pain-an…

#PeaceWalk #WalkForPeaceSriLanka My reflections: "Despite limitations so far, the walk has the potential to make a contribution towards a sustainable peace with justice through proactive, symbolic and substantial initiatives in Colombo, the seat of political and economic power"

The Social Scientists’ Association calls for 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 on the continuing relevance of the multi-disciplinary scholarship of Kumari Jayawardena. Send your pitch (under 300 words) to ssa.femarchive@gmail.com 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝟐𝟐 𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔.

#EasterAttacks 7 yrs aft - things Govt cud do 1 Clarify exact no dead 2 Support for all affected (reparations) 3 Publish all reports 4 Remove Aruna Jayasekera from Deputy Minister of Defense 5 Facilitate fair, transparent trials 6 Investigate areas not adequately investigated

#CycloneDitwah Everyday #politics at a #disaster relief management centre near Colombo; and during a restitution handover ceremony, vividly described by Shashik Silva #SriLanka polity.lk/ditwah-relief-…

Wrapping up and reflecting on @Polity_LK's memorial to Gananath Obeyesekere, Jonathan Spencer observes: 'He did not make directly for the centre of anything: instead, the centre followed him. That is why so many things he said and wrote have stuck with us.' #history #srilanka polity.lk/the-conscience…

"That is what a war does, it alters life permanently. It leaves a trail of devastation, and the aftermath haunts its survivors for long. War is no video game." - my Notebook today on the long shadow of war. thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/… via @the_hindu

Reminiscences of a brilliant #academic, intellectually fearless and honest: feminist scholar Selvy Thiruchandran ( @werc_sl ) on interactions professional and personal with Gananath Obeyesekere. #SriLanka polity.lk/laughter-debat…

A few tents were installed today in an estate in kandapola for #ditwah affected families. Govt decided to close down a temporary shelter that was being run in a temple/community building. Four months after disaster shunting around families this way is unacceptable @Dr_HariniA

Sri Lanka is threatening to deport a Pakistani #BlasphemyLaw victim, seeking asylum with @Refugees Sri Lanka. Violates principle of non-refoulment & UNHCR – SL Govt agreement of “unimpeded access at all times to UNHCR”. Victim & wife stuck at Katunayake airport for 3 nights

Richard F. Gombrich, co-author with Gananath Obeyesekere of '#Buddhism Transformed: Religious Change in #SriLanka', recalls a friendship forged six decades ago over beefsteak and wine in Cambridge, England. polity.lk/a-bridge-betwe…

In a wide-ranging interview w/ @Polity_LK, literary scholar Ranjini Obeyesekere (U of Ceylon/Peradeniya graduate of the 1950s) recalls the exciting university culture of her time & is surprised STEM students no longer attend humanities lectures these days. polity.lk/a-literary-man…

Marking 1 year since his passing, a delightful interview on Peradeniya days and more of Ranjini Obeyesekere by Crystal Baines of @ssa_lanka.

Gananath Obeyesekere, #SriLanka's celebrated anthropologist, died 25 March 2025. Ranjini Obeyesekere in conversation with Crystal Baines, recalls how literature drew them close and influenced Gananath's study of human society. polity.lk/a-literary-man…