The Valiant, the Vain and the Villain
Centuries ago the intervention of a Persian king restored a degree of balance of power in the West Asian region. In 600 BCE, Cyrus the Great of Persia put a stop to...
5 min5m
Groundviews
Who Named Sandya?
In writing this article, there are two key aspects I intend to focus on. The first is how a power imbued with violence responds when confronted by another power, particularly when the...
6 min6m
HRW Calls on Saudi Authorities to Quash Death Penalty for Sri Lankan Migrant Worker
The statement is published here: The Saudi Court of Appeal in the Eastern Region handed down the death sentence to Anojan Sivarasa, 24, on September 17 after two court sessions. An initial...
3 min3m
A New Name for an Old Cage
Tamil Guardian In 2024, the NPP made Sri Lankans a clear promise: its manifesto pledged the abolition of all oppressive acts including the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). Voters believed it and...
7 min7m
Governing the Provinces: Preside or Lead? - Part 2
There is a quiet way for making a government to fail. It involves no scandal or dramatic collapse. Files simply move slowly, projects wait, money lapses and nobody is clearly to blame....
9 min9m
It's Time to Claim Our Digital Spaces
In August 2026, journalist Khalidha Naushad exposed Facebook groups where men were sharing intimate images of women and girls, including family members, without their consent, alongside degrading commentary. Sri Lankan police arrested...
9 min9m
The Fight for a Safer Internet for Young People
The International Day of the Girl Child is a day to recognise girls' rights, voices and potential and to call attention to the barriers that can prevent girls from growing up safe...
2 min2m
Bringing About Real Change in Mental Health with Compassion and Caring
"There is no health without mental health." These words by Dr. Brock Chisholm, the first Director-General of the World Health Organization, are simple but the world is still catching up to them....
5 min5m
Governing the Provinces: Preside or Lead? - Part 1
Every province in Sri Lanka has a governor. Most citizens know the title yet only a few know what the office entails. Fewer still ask whether it works. The question matters more...
8 min8m
Reverse Emigration: Going Back to Where We Came From
Reverse emigration is not a topic often discussed in Sri Lanka as people are currently more concerned about the loss of so many professionals in the mass emigration from the island in...
14 min14m
The Price of Fighting Corruption? The Constitutional Questions Before Parliament
A bill intended to strengthen Sri Lanka's anti-corruption efforts has instead raised a broader question about the limits of state power. As parliament considers the Bill on October 8, it will have...
9 min9m
HRW: Counterterrorism Bill Retains Abusive Powers
Published below is the full statement. The proposed Protection of the State from Terrorism Bill (PSTB), which will be sent to Parliament on October 6, 2026, includes an overbroad definition of terrorism, inadequate...
6 min6m
A Right of Reply to Land Mining Sri Lanka in Vadunnagala
Tisaranee Gunasekara, in her article in Groundviews, Land Mining Sri Lanka in Vadunnagala, says that Pallegama Hemarathana Thero, who is accused of child rape and no longer the Atamasthanadhipati, gifted a Sri...
4 min4m
A World Held in Common - Part 2
Something was lost in the 20th century and has never been replaced. The Third International was dissolved in 1943, a wartime accommodation to allies who wanted it gone. Whatever its faults, and...
6 min6m
As UN Meets Government Misses Opportunities on Human Rights
As the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) met in September, the situation in Sri Lanka was on the agenda as the state again tried to fend off concerns about its patchy record....
11 min11m
Lionel Bopage: A Long Journey Into Light
Lionel Bopage has spent his career as an independent and passionate activist, fighting to advance and defend the rights to equality and non-discrimination. At the heart of this work has been a...
12 min12m
In Memoriam: Comrade Basil Fernando
We have lost a dear friend and comrade. Basil Fernando died in Hong Kong on September 30 aged 81. He was a lawyer, jurist, poet, philosopher and Marxist and he never made...
6 min6m
A World Held in Common - Part 1
Look at the ordinary things around you. The clothes on your back, the cup beside you, the wires in the wall, the screen in your hand. Hardly any of it was made...
6 min6m
The Drug War: Too Many Prisoners, Too Little Treatment
Sri Lanka is arresting people on an extraordinary scale while hundreds of rehabilitation places remain empty. As prisons overflow, the country faces a fundamental question: can addiction be defeated by punishment alone?...
13 min13m
The Library We Cannot Afford to Lose
"When an old person dies, a library burns." This African proverb explains why elders matter so deeply. Every older person carries decades of memory, wisdom, skill and love that no book can...
4 min4m