by Rohana R. Wasala First of all, let me express my sincere respects to Mr. D. L. Sirimanne, the writer of the interesting article entitled ‘Celebrating 75th Anniversary of Independence’ (The Island/Opinion/January 18, 2023). He struck me as a venerable old man, who, at 103 years of age, still thinks about the welfare of his fellow Sri […]
The Long Littleness of Life: A Memoir of Government, the United Nations, Family and Friends by Leelananda De Silva (Stamford Lake Publication) 305pp Rs 1,000/- Reviewed by Jayantha Somasundaram Leelananda De Silva’s autobiography is almost a textbook narrative of the generation that inherited a post-Independent Ceylon. Many of that generation were children of the gentry […]
By Jayantha Somasundaram “British Prime Minister Winston Churchill considered the most dangerous moment of the Second World War, and the one which caused him the greatest alarm, was when news was received that the Japanese Fleet was heading for Ceylon.” –The Most Dangerous Moment by Michael Tomlinson (1976) William Kimber, London. It is 80 years […]
1962 coup – Part IV A group of senior Police and Military officers attempted to overthrow the Sirimavo Bandaranaike Government. They were driven by three critical events in the years leading up to January 1962. The coup participants belonged to the Westernised urban middle class who were alarmed at the undermining of the secular plural […]
THE SIXTY-TWO COUP – III A group of senior police and military officers attempted to overthrow the Sirimavo Bandaranaike government. They were driven by three critical events in the years leading up to January 1962. The coup participants belonged to the Westernised urban middle class who were alarmed at the undermining of the secular plural […]