Who were the Väddas? What happened to them? In #SriLanka there were no “indigenous peoples”, no “aborigines”, no “wild men” and “tribes” of Western imagination argues Gananath Obeyesekere, reviewed by RS Perinbanayagam. polity.lk/the-creation...

#anthropology is not only about studying the Other but also about transforming the Self. Sanmugeswaran Pathmanesan reflects on how personal interaction with Gananath Obeyesekere and Mark Whitaker, transformed his epistemological perspective. polity.lk/an-epistemol...

Celebrating Gananath Obeyesekere who was born today (02.02.1930), Roderick L. Stirrat remembers a generous friend who left us on 25 March 2025, opening #PolityLk's series of remembrances and reflections on #SriLanka's foremost anthropologist. polity.lk/gananath-ren...

Carmen Wickramagamage commends Darshi Thoradeniya for centring women in #SriLanka's narrative on modernisation and development. Thoradeniya argues population control was achieved through strict surveillance and control of women's reproductive sexuality. polity.lk/critical-his...

In Welewatta, people once coexisted with flooding. Now they fear it. Shashik Silva records the local history of a village on the edge of Colombo, changed by development and consumerism #CycloneDitwah #SriLanka polity.lk/from-living-...

In solidarity with the people’s uprising in #Iran, we amplify this message by an independent trade union (trans. Sepideh Jodeyri): neither leaders from above; nor reliance on foreign powers or factions of the ruling class, offer genuine freedom, equality, and justice. polity.lk/iran-solidar...

The NPP's vision of governance is neutral to social identity and political power, therefore entrenching already existing inequalities, write the Editors in their closing reflection on #SriLanka in 2025. polity.lk/governing-in...

The regulation of #microfinance in #SriLanka must ensure real protections for women borrowers, stricter oversight of unfair lending & abusive recovery practices, & enforceable safeguards during disasters and emergencies urges #Suriya polity.lk/review-and-r...

The regulation of #microfinance in #SriLanka must ensure real protections for women borrowers, stricter oversight of unfair lending & abusive recovery practices, & enforceable safeguards during disasters and emergencies urges #Suriya polity.lk/review-and-r...

Jayadeva Uyangoda's report-card on Year 1 of the National People's Power (NPP) government, in the backdrop of South Asia's #GenZ-led uprisings, plus a postscript on #CycloneDitwah and forecast of political storms ahead #SriLanka. polity.lk/jayadeva-uya...

As planetary politics roil from US invasion of #Venezuela & kidnap of Maduro & Flores with the aim of robbing its wealth, two past editorials on the unravelling global order: Jan 2023 polity.lk/palestine-an... ; and July 2025 polity.lk/there-is-gre... may be of interest #SriLanka

The Polity Team Wishes Its Readers a Happy New Year! Top 20 articles read in 2025: polity.lk/top-20-artic...

Ponni Arasu, Ameena Hussein, Nubendra Liyanage, Madhubashani Disanayaka Ratnayake, Kalana Senaratne and Praveen Tilakaratne tell us the three top books they read this year. What were your favourites in 2025, and why? polity.lk/collective-b...

The efforts of women in and around the 2022 #Aragalaya to give meaning and substance to the demand for "system change" from a left feminist perspective, are retraced by Chulani Kodikara and Amalini de Sayrah. polity.lk/chulani-kodi...

Samanmali of #DaBinduCollective stood at the intersection of political organising, feminist consciousness-building & working-class struggle. Kumudini Samuel recalls the life of a remarkable activist #SriLanka polity.lk/kumudini-sam...

From under the rubble of Gaza, in the death rattle of the old order, a new form of justice for the peoples of the world can be built, argues @kirankgrewal.bsky.social in her 2025 Rajani Thiranagama Memorial Lecture #SriLanka polity.lk/kiran-kaur-g...

#CyloneDitwah laid waste last week. Reflecting on this latest climate calamity, @bskanthakumar.bsky.social invokes @amitav.bsky.social: public education and political will, are crucial in disaster preparedness & saving life #SriLankafloods polity.lk/b-skanthakum...

#CyloneDitwah laid waste last week. Reflecting on this latest climate calamity, @bskanthakumar.bsky.social invokes @amitav.bsky.social: public education and political will, are crucial in disaster preparedness & saving life #SriLankafloods polity.lk/b-skanthakum...

As #CycloneDitwah's aftermath unfolds, humanitarian relief is vital. Amalini De Sayrah has curated a list of mutual aid appeals across #SriLanka. If you can help, please do so —and stay safe. #FloodSriLanka2025 📷: AFP tinyurl.com/LKfloods25

In #SriLanka, history is not the past but perpetual present writes Ruben Thurairajah. Dutugemunu and Prabhakaran as embodiments of Sinhalas & Tamils; each side finding in the other’s hero, the proof of its own wounds. polity.lk/ruben-thurai...

Dead. P. Pushpalatha (44), mother-of-two. Production-line worker in a #SriLanka's 'garments without guilt' flagship firm. Ishankha Singha Arachchi reports on the campaign for truth & justice by her family and unions. polity.lk/ishankha-sin...

Appraising the first 12 months of the #NPP government, Janaka Biyanwila argues that with mixed success, it has attempted to expand the "politics of the possible" in an unfavourable conjuncture for progressive movements. polity.lk/janaka-biyan...

Appraising the first 12 months of the #NPP government, Janaka Biyanwila argues that with mixed success, it has attempted to expand the "politics of the possible" in an unfavourable conjuncture for progressive movements. polity.lk/janaka-biyan...

"There is no life without nature". Declaration (16.11.2025) of people's movements in Belem opposed to the logic and dynamics of an economic system that prioritises profit and private accumulation of wealth. #COP30 polity.lk/the-peoples-...

The near doubling of women parliamentarians in #SriLanka owes to the community activism and left-feminism of 𝐺𝑒ℎ𝑒𝑛𝑢 𝐴𝑝𝑖 𝐸𝑘𝑎 𝑀𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑎 #NPP explains Kaushalya Ariyarathne MP, but challenges persist. polity.lk/kaushalya-ar...

The near doubling of women parliamentarians in #SriLanka owes to the community activism and left-feminism of 𝐺𝑒ℎ𝑒𝑛𝑢 𝐴𝑝𝑖 𝐸𝑘𝑎 𝑀𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑎 #NPP explains Kaushalya Ariyarathne MP, but challenges persist. polity.lk/kaushalya-ar...

The protection order interrupts harm but stops there. Prasanna Pitigala Liyanage asks us to re-design #SriLanka's Prevention of Domestic Violence Act (PDVA 2005)--from a wall to a safe space for victim-survivors. polity.lk/prasanna-pit...

The protection order interrupts harm but stops there. Prasanna Pitigala Liyanage asks us to re-design #SriLanka's Prevention of Domestic Violence Act (PDVA 2005)--from a wall to a safe space for victim-survivors. polity.lk/prasanna-pit...

"Rakesfall is an extraordinary achievement in science fiction, and a titanic work of art.” Congratulations Vajra Chandrasekera ( @vajra.me ) on the award of the 2025 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction! polity.lk/vajra-chandr...

Kaushalya Ariyarathne breaks new ground in scholarship on gender and sex-work in South Asia, beyond binaries of victim-hood and empowerment, in a fine ethnographic account of #SriLanka's #Nachchi, writes Zahrah Rizwan. polity.lk/f-zahrah-riz...

Kaushalya Ariyarathne breaks new ground in scholarship on gender and sex-work in South Asia, beyond binaries of victim-hood and empowerment, in a fine ethnographic account of #SriLanka's #Nachchi, writes Zahrah Rizwan. polity.lk/f-zahrah-riz...

Will the new #Microfinance Bill be the latest knot in the noose for poor people in #SriLanka asks the Feminist Collective for Economic Justice? Why is the #NPP not consulting with women victims to eradicate the microcredit menace? polity.lk/fcej-end-the...

Two decades since the #PDVA, how does it work for victim-survivors of intimate partner violence? Thahira Cader & Raaya Gomez talked to lawyers on hurdles in obtaining protection orders under the Act. polity.lk/thahira-cade...

Out Now! Vol. 13, No. 1 (2025), LKR800 from the Social Scientists’ Association and LKR1000 from Barefoot and Vijitha Yapa bookshops.

Out Now! Vol. 13, No. 1 (2025), LKR800 from the Social Scientists’ Association and LKR1000 from Barefoot and Vijitha Yapa bookshops.

A few columns, a press conference, pronouncements by the cassock-clad and saffron-clothed; suddenly, the streets are alive with suspicion and anxiety. Ruben Thurairaj on how moral panic is manufactured in #SriLanka polity.lk/ruben-thurai...

20 years ago, the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act took force in #SriLanka. #PolityLK has a few yowls in store, but begin with this 2010 hiss from the Cat's Eye feminist collective. polity.lk/wp-content/u...

20 years ago, the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act took force in #SriLanka. #PolityLK has a few yowls in store, but begin with this 2010 hiss from the Cat's Eye feminist collective. polity.lk/wp-content/u...

FCEJ condemns the violence perpetrated by the state against the people of Mannar and demands that the right to energy be recognised alongside the right to a safe environment. www.srilankafeministcollective.org/_files/ugd/0...

Women from across #SriLanka call for a reformed family law and practice that centres equality, dignity, and safety for women and children. Read, sign, amplify, and organise, around the Women's Declaration. polity.lk/suriya-women...

Has #NPP rule overcome #SriLanka's deeply embedded ethno-religious cleavages? Shashik Silva thinks not in his dissection of state responses to Sinhala Buddhist sentiment and nationalist mobilisation. polity.lk/shashik-silv...

Two men once in power. Two men disgraced. In a striking comparison between Ranil Wickremesinghe and Boris Johnson, Ruben Thurairajah plumbs the depths of their hubris and its consequences #SriLanka #UK polity.lk/ruben-thurai...

Join the Global Action for Gaza! On September 6th, starting at 4pm outside the UN Office in Colombo.

Two men once in power. Two men disgraced. In a striking comparison between Ranil Wickremesinghe and Boris Johnson, Ruben Thurairajah plumbs the depths of their hubris and its consequences #SriLanka #UK polity.lk/ruben-thurai...

In a moving photo-essay, Sakuna M. Gamage brings poetry and pictures into conversation to ponder grief, resistance, and justice, in the wake of the ongoing #Chemmanimassgrave excavation in northern #SriLanka. polity.lk/sakuna-gamag...

Yes. #SriLanka's education system needs overhaul. No. The @NPPSLOfficial warmed-up proposals are not solutions to ongoing problems. Why squander precious political capital, asks Niyanthini Kadirgamar? polity.lk/niyanthini-k...

One week more to submit your EOI for the forum on the life, work, and legacy of Gananath Obeysekere. Send your pitch (under 300 words) to [email protected] by 25 August 2025.

Women migrant domestic workers, heroines and victims? Reviewing Magic Maids, Nadeera Rajapakse showcases how these women subtly and definitively resist these restrictive narratives through their own forms of feminist praxis. polity.lk/nadeera-raja...

Please note changed assembly point and route.

#PolityArchive Today is the anniversary of the 1953 ‘Great Hartal’, when the collective action of the masses changed the course of Sri Lanka. Skanthakumar writing in 2023 on its 70th anniversary dissects the causes and reach of the Hartal, with the 2022 #Aragalaya in mind. polity.lk/ceylons-grea...