scholarly journals An Imagined Diaspora: The making of Shi'i Muslim ethnicity in Sri Lanka

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 144-164
Author(s):  
Harun Rasiah
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Religious Community ◽  
Sri Lankan ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Sacred Landscape ◽  
Political Network ◽  
Ocean Region ◽  
Gulf States ◽  
The Indian Ocean ◽  
The Common

The contemporary formation of a community of Shi’i Muslims provides a window into the making and unmaking of ethnicity in Sri Lanka. Originating in solidarity with the Islamic revolution of Iran, Sunni activists formed a political network which has evolved into an autonomous Shi’i religious community. Members studied the traditional Islamic disciplines in the institution of learning (hawza ‘ilmiyya) in Qom alongside students who had undergone a similar transformation, fortifying an internationalist outlook. With associates in the Indian Ocean region, particularly the Gulf states, the transregional community is bound by the common thread of Shi’ism and focuses on Iran and the ‘Atabat of Iraq as spiritual homeland. Exploring the “diasporic consciousness” of the community, this article focuses on the transmission of ideas in time and space. Temporally, it emphasizes claims to local Muslim heritage in variant readings of the Sri Lankan past. Spatially, their cartography provides an alternative account of the sacred landscape based on scholarly practice, devotional activity and political contestation. By recounting the history and mapping the geography of the Shi’i Muslim community, this article investigates how Shi’ism influences the configuration of a diasporic field.

scholarly journals Anticipatory States: Tsunami, War, and Insecurity in Sri Lanka

2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 286-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vivian Y. Choi
Keyword(s):  
Risk Management ◽  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Disaster Risk ◽  
Disaster Risk Management ◽  
Sri Lankan ◽  
Ocean Region ◽  
The Indian Ocean ◽  
New Institutions ◽  
Management Institutions ◽  
Social Restructuring

In 2004, a tsunami caused unprecedented damage and destruction in the Indian Ocean region. For Sri Lanka, the second-most affected country, with over thirty-thousand deaths and five-hundred-thousand displaced, the tsunami resulted in the introduction of new disaster management institutions, logics, and technologies. The formation and implementation of these new institutions, logics, and technologies must be understood alongside a human-made disaster: the decades-long civil war between the Sri Lankan government and the militant insurgent group of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). I outline the ways that the tsunami opened the door for national and social restructuring in Sri Lanka: the devastation of the tsunami and the logics of disaster risk management that followed it offered a political opening for new techniques of state power and projects of nation-building—a process I call disaster nationalism. This governmentality of disaster risk management plays out through an anticipation of disasters, in which disasters, both natural and human-made, are ever-possible future threats that justify ongoing practices and technologies of securitization. Yet state attempts to control the future remain in constant tension with the attitudes and opinions of people who have been affected by both the tsunami and war. These collective relations, practices, and structures of feelings are what I refer to as anticipatory states. From the calculative risk management projects of the Sri Lankan state to the everyday state of being ready and aware in the spaces of disaster, anticipation weaves into and out of experiences and encounters, its different forms and possibilities shaped by complexly layered histories and landscapes of disaster and violence, and, even, forces beyond the control of the anticipatory state.

Social and Political Prerequisites for Recovery in Sri Lanka after the December 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami

2006 ◽  
Vol 22 (3_suppl) ◽  
pp. 845-861 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chandra Godavitarne ◽  
Natasha Udu-gama ◽  
Mathini Sreetharan ◽  
Jane Preuss ◽  
Frederick Krimgold
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Political Leadership ◽  
Indian Ocean Tsunami ◽  
Sri Lankan ◽  
Development Control ◽  
Aceh Province ◽  
The Indian Ocean ◽  
Political Conditions ◽  
Centralized Coordination

On 26 December 2004, a devastating tsunami struck the coasts of 12 nations on the Indian Ocean. Over 300,000 people in 12 countries died in the wake of the tsunami, millions of housing units were damaged or destroyed, economies were devastated, and ecosystems were disrupted. The lessons from this catastrophe have worldwide implications, but the tragedies were local. Sri Lanka and the Aceh province of Indonesia suffered most of the casualties. The Sri Lankan experience illustrates that the recovery can be hindered by a country's social and political conditions. Challenges to recovery include the need for centralized coordination and organization, planning and development control, gathering planning data, political leadership, equitable distribution of recovery assistance, and disaster education.

scholarly journals Maritime Security Trilateralism: India, Sri Lanka and Maldives

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
P K Ghosh
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Indian Ocean ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Maritime Security ◽  
Indian Ocean Region ◽  
Maritime Policy ◽  
Sea Power ◽  
Ocean Region ◽  
The Indian Ocean

India perceives the entire Indian Ocean region (IOR) as its strategic backyard and regards itself as a “security provider” in the region. This view, of course, is not shared by many, mainly by the Chinese who often state “the Indian Ocean is not India’s backyard.” To reinforce its own perceptions and stem its eroding influence in the region - India has stepped up its efforts in enhancing its relations in general and on maritime security in particular with its island neighbours, an aspect that is being extended to the entire South Asian neighbourhood incrementally. The importance of the Mahanian concept of utilising Sea Power for the achievement of national objectives has led to the realisation amongst a normally ‘sea blind’ Indian bureaucracy to become more proactive. This article explores the maritime policy of India with regard to its neighbouring littoral states in the Indian Ocean.

Dairy Fears: Moral Panic around Food Contamination Scandals in Contemporary Sri Lanka

2021 ◽  
pp. 239386172110146
Author(s):  
James Stewart
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Dairy Products ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Food Contamination ◽  
Dairy Production ◽  
Sri Lankan ◽  
Common Belief ◽  
The Social ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
The Common

A major food contamination scandal occurred in Sri Lanka in 2013 after it was alleged that Fonterra dairy products contained chemicals known to have a negative effect on human health. This crisis was influenced by unique factors that, I argue, are particular to the social and cultural context of Sri Lanka. In this article, I will be focusing on several such factors: (a) specific considerations about the Sri Lankan dairy industry; (b) the growing influence of the worship of the deity Kiri Amma, a god that is associated uniquely with dairy and dairy production; (c) the common belief that milk possesses a unique transformative and curative property; and (d) prevailing food conspiracies that maintain that external groups are seeking to harm the Sinhalese people by purposefully poisoning confectionary and dairy products. By considering these factors, we can better understand how inter-ethnic and inter-religious tensions can precipitate in Sri Lanka.

EMDR-HAP Training in Sri Lanka Following the 2004 Tsunami

2008 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 124-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy Errebo ◽  
James Knipe ◽  
Karen Forte ◽  
Victoria Karlin ◽  
Benek Altayli
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Training Program ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Humanitarian Assistance ◽  
Sri Lankan ◽  
Joint Project ◽  
Assistance Programs ◽  
The Indian Ocean ◽  
Training Team ◽  
2004 Tsunami

On December 26, 2004, an earthquake in the Indian Ocean triggered a catastrophic tsunami. In Sri Lanka, 35,000 people died, 21,000 were injured, and more than half a million were displaced. An EMDR training program was conducted as a joint project of three organizations: EMDR Humanitarian Assistance Programs (HAP), International Relief Teams (IRT), and the Sri Lankan National Counselors Association (SRILNAC). Between March and December 2005, 30 Sri Lankan counselors were trained in EMDR. These counselors demonstrated competence in EMDR on several measures, treated more than 1,000 children and more than 350 adult tsunami victims with EMDR in 2005, provided narrative reports and outcome measures for most of their clients, and formed the Sri Lanka EMDR Association (SEA). The crucial steps in establishing and implementing this training program are explained, with a summary of the subjective impressions and learning experiences most valued by the training team, including an excerpt from a trainer’s journal. This information may be useful to future cross-cultural humanitarian efforts following large-scale disasters.

Economic Empowerment through Self-employment Initiatives: A Group Work Experience based on a Sri Lankan Village

Groupwork ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 94-113
Author(s):  
Shamila Sivakumaran ◽  
Jeevasuthan Subramaniam
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Work Experience ◽  
Team Work ◽  
Sri Lankan ◽  
Mutual Support ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Rural Village ◽  
Self Confidence ◽  
Self Employment ◽  
Home Gardening

This article looks into the application of groupwork in Sri Lanka with a group of women-headed households (WHHs) to empower them and promote a sustainable economic development through self-employment initiatives. This particular groupwork was carried out in an underprivileged rural village, in Sri Lanka. Participants were divided into three groups based on their interest in the following livelihood activities; home gardening, tailoring and handloom work. They were facilitated with different activities for the period of six months. The significant changes were; improved skills in selected area, leadership and team work, documentation, mutual support, internal harmony among the community members, marketing skill and self-confidence.

Buddhist Connections in the Indian Ocean: Changes in Monastic Mobility, 1000-1500

2015 ◽  
Vol 58 (3) ◽  
pp. 237-266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne M. Blackburn
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Fifteenth Century ◽  
Bay Of Bengal ◽  
Third Century ◽  
Sri Lankan ◽  
The Third ◽  
South And Southeast Asia ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Indian Ocean

Since the nineteenth century, Buddhists residing in the present-day nations of Myanmar, Thailand, and Sri Lanka have thought of themselves as participants in a shared southern Asian Buddhist world characterized by a long and continuous history of integration across the Bay of Bengal region, dating at least to the third centurybcereign of the Indic King Asoka. Recently, scholars of Buddhism and historians of the region have begun to develop a more historically variegated account of Buddhism in South and Southeast Asia, using epigraphic, art historical, and archaeological evidence, as well as new interpretations of Buddhist chronicle texts.1 This paper examines three historical episodes in the eleventh- to fifteenth-century history of Sri Lankan-Southeast Asian Buddhist connections attested by epigraphic and Buddhist chronicle accounts. These indicate changes in regional Buddhist monastic connectivity during the period 1000-1500, which were due to new patterns of mobility related to changing conditions of trade and to an altered political ecosystem in maritime southern Asia.

The past in our art: confronting the contemporary in an ancient society

2021 ◽  
Vol 9s3 ◽  
pp. 173-195
Author(s):  
Hasini Haputhanthri
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Historical Narratives ◽  
Sri Lankan ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
The Past ◽  
Ancient Society ◽  
Semiotic Representations ◽  
Social Discourses ◽  
The Common ◽  
Contemporary Artists

Sri Lanka is an ancient culture that has evolved into a complex post-colonial society with a multitude of identities, hybridities, synchronicities, and paradoxes. The �idea of the past� is explored by analyzing its iconographic and semiotic representations in contemporary art in work by three Sri Lankan artists. Contemporary artists respond to and re-mold their artistic traditions in depicting their day-to-day lived realities. Is the past a burden or a basis, is it inescapable or unwarranted, in projecting their contemporary truths? Does art become a practice of constant negotiation between the past and the present? How do these artists support or challenge the mainstream historic narratives intrinsic to social conflicts in the island? Ideas and representations of the past play a central role in social discourses. There are competing versions of the past: the �historic past� and the �practical past�, which is also the past of the �common man�. While some contemporary artists draw from mainstream historical narratives, one finds a critical and reflective art practice in contemporary visual culture in Sri Lanka. The work of Jagath Weerasinghe and Hanusha Somasundaram illustrates how artists respond to and investigate the past, and their approaches from History, Archaeology, and Art History, the professions most associated with �the past�, are delineated. These artists make valuable contributions to modern historiography through their art that can be read as intricate palimpsests of iconography, narrative, and memory; through visually challenging dichotomies, making their practices signifiers of the ways in which societies understand and express their past in relation to their present and themselves.

The Role of Music and Allied Arts in Public Writings on Cultural Diversity: “People of Sri Lanka”

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 93-100
Author(s):  
Gisa Jähnichen
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Cultural Diversity ◽  
South Asia ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Sri Lankan ◽  
Culturally Different ◽  
The World ◽  
Official Languages ◽  
The Way

The Sri Lankan Ministry of National Coexistence, Dialogue, and Official Languages published the work “People of Sri Lanka” in 2017. In this comprehensive publication, 21 invited Sri Lankan scholars introduced 19 different people’s groups to public readers in English, mainly targeted at a growing number of foreign visitors in need of understanding the cultural diversity Sri Lanka has to offer. This paper will observe the presentation of these different groups of people, the role music and allied arts play in this context. Considering the non-scholarly design of the publication, a discussion of the role of music and allied arts has to be supplemented through additional analyses based on sources mentioned by the 21 participating scholars and their fragmented application of available knowledge. In result, this paper might help improve the way facts about groups of people, the way of grouping people, and the way of presenting these groupings are displayed to the world beyond South Asia. This fieldwork and literature guided investigation should also lead to suggestions for ethical principles in teaching and presenting of culturally different music practices within Sri Lanka, thus adding an example for other case studies.

Blood Pressure values of Sri Lankan Tamils in Jaffna District, Sri Lanka

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 66-71
Author(s):  
Balasubramaniam M ◽  
◽  
Sivapalan K ◽  
Tharsha J ◽  
Sivatharushan V ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Sri Lankan ◽  
Sri Lankan Tamils
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