Sri Lanka
115 books
Ethnic Politics and LTTE in Sri Lanka makes a systematic and in the depth study of aspects of Sinhalese and Tamils which took an ugly shape in the independent Sri Lanka. Historical rivalry, divided and envious approach towards each other have pushed the country in decades of ethnic war but it ultimately saved the national integrity with a lesson to accept multiplicity for the overall health of the island nation.
During his tenure as India's High Commissioner in Sri Lanka, Ambassador Mehrotra found the country bitterly torn by the conflict between its Sinhala majority and sizeable Tamil minority. My Days in Sri Lanka, touches on the ancient beginnings of that conflict, briefly follows on its evolution during the last century until it reached its peak in the 1980s, and then takes us in detail through the author's own experiences there nearly two year after the 1987 ...
Archaeology and Photography' the Early Years 1868-1880 Offers an innovative account on the history of Photography in relation to field of archaeology in Sri Lanka during the colonial period. It focuses on the work of the photography Joseph Lawton and other first-generation photographers working in the country. Ismeth Raheem is an architect by profession who has brought to bear his discipline to study the history of archaeology. As a photo-historian with ...
Heritage Buildings of Sri Lanka is a documentation of the architectural heritage dating from the” medieval period (13th century) to the colonial period. The book takes the reader through an interesting collection of heritage buildings which are scattered by the main roads or on byways along mainly the Western, Southern, Sabaragamuwa and Central Provinces of Sri Lanka. They form a “living heritage” unlike the renowned built heritage of ...
This book is an overview of `Sri Lankan Painting in the 20th Century', Its principal purpose is to present an image of transect of painterly activity in the past century. The spectrum of Painterly activity in the 20th century reflects in its own unique way the articulation of tradition and modernisation in Sri Lankan society through that century. Sri Lankan Painting in the 20th century has really been looked at in a panoramic way, despite a number of writings on ...
Sri Lanka is one of the most bio-diverse countries in the world. Including residents, migrants, vagrants and others, it has on record over 450 species of birds, and thus described as a ‘birding jewel in Asia’. Aimed at stimulating an interest in Sri Lankan birds amongst a wide global audience, this nicely produced book is a splendid introduction to a wide cross section of bird species found on the island. The species have been chosen to illustrate a ...
Sri Lanka's snake fauna is diverse and ecologically associated with a range of habitats. It has the highest number of genera (47) and species (101) on record of all the reptiles in the country. Meticulously produced and lavishly illustrated through colour drawings, this book is an authentic, systematic and updated account of snakes of Sri Lanka. Besides an introductory chapter, the book has others which contain a detailed description of all the families (10) ...
Over a quarter of a century ago, civil war erupted in Sri Lanka, turning a tropical island in the Indian Ocean, renowned for its beauty, into a theatre for a protracted conflict of barbaric bloodletting, which cost up to ninety thousand inhabitants their lives. Initially the conflict was sparked by an uprising of armed groups of angry young men claiming to represent the mainstream Tamil minority in the northern and eastern provinces of Sri Lanka. Their struggle ...
This book vividly narrates the events of Sri Lankan ethnic feud between Sinhala majority and Tamil minority and depicts the causes of this prolonged insurgency. Ethnolinguistic differentiation is the crucial causal factor of this conflict which impelled the Tamils to take to arms and demand an independent homeland, the Tamil Eelam. Both communities share the blame equally, one for being obdurately intolerable and the other for reacting with a sense of injured ...
This book deals with socio-eco-politico aspects of India and Sri Lanka. Author has studied minutely ‘Gahapati’ and ‘Goigama phenomenon in Indian and Sri Lankan Socio-economic-political way of life. The present day caste strife in India and ethnic strife in Sri Lanka have been seen in an historical perspective. Role of Asoka and role of Dhuttagamini in respect of their respective countries have been analysed. The book covers the period from C.300 B.C. to ...
Sri Lanka has a rich and long tradition of wall paintings, starting from prehistoric times, transversing the historical period up to the present day. The wall paintings in Sri Lanka are found in monastries, temples, palaces and residences. The historic context of the Sri Lakan paintings has been studied in great detail by several authors, but little was known about the materials and techniques of execution of these important works of art. The present book is an ...
A sudden rise of a goddess, namely Durga gained, popularity in the northern part of war-torn Sri Lanka. Tellippalai, a small village in Jaffna, is the cynosure of Durga worship. Following this many satellite temples came into existence in all parts of the peninsula and all over Sri Lanka. Goddess Durga generally propitiated in the ghora, terrific form, only for three days in a year during Navaratri festival, now changed her face into the bhoga, benevolent form. ...
Tropical Pioneers documents the conversion of a tropical rainforest biome and the collision between what previously had been more discrete ecological zones within South Asia. The author demonstrates that profound ecological transformations occurred in the highlands of Sri Lanka during the nineteenth century. In 1800, the highlands of Sri Lanka had some of the most biologically diverse tropical rain forests in the world. By 1990, only a few craggy corners and ...
This important book explores the various ways in which new international and transnational forces--especially multilateral financial agencies, humanitarian relief organizations, and northern NGOs--are shaping the development state in Sri Lanka. The new circles of power that are being drawn by them are playing a substantial role not only in reorganizing the political economy of the country, but also in integrating it into a new cultural and ideological order ...