H. L. D. Mahindapala Vellalarism has been a unique force in Sri Lankan history.  It has been the longest running political force in Sri Lankan history. It has run through three colonial empires – Portuguese, Dutch and British – without losing its grip on power. Even when slavery was abolished in 1844 Vellalarism managed to […]

H. L. D. Mahindapala In their heart of hearts, the Vellalars who dominated the history of Jaffna through feudal, colonial and modern times are ashamed of their  past not because they failed to produce a great culture, great heroes, great iconic monuments, great civilisation, a great language, — or anything else outstanding or memorable, for […]

H. L. D. Mahindapala In three simple sentences Prof. S. Arasaratnam, the historian, has summed up the overarching force that governed Jaffna. He stated: The Vellahlas (sic) were thus the key caste in the Tamil social system. They dominated the villages and ran its affairs. The numerous other castes served the Vellahlas.” ( p. 110 […]

H. L. D. Mahindapala Jaffnaites have a rather ambivalent attitude towards their history. Either they go over the top  to glorify their origins and raise it to an imagined past that never existed, or they withdraw into a shell like the snail unable to face their ignominious and inhuman past. Their claims to a glorious […]

H. L. D. Mahindapala Jaffna burst into  history under violent and tragic circumstances. It began when Megaha of Kalinga, South India, invaded and occupied Jaffna in 1215. He opened his reign with ruthless terror. His violence knew no limits. The historical records reveal that he destroyed non-Saivite shrines, smashed Buddhist temples, and gouged the eyes […]

H. L. D. Mahindapala On May 14, 1976 the Vellala Tamil leadership – there was no other dominant political leadership in Jaffna – declared war on the democratically elected state of Sri Lanka. The Vellala Tamil leadership consisted of the descendants of the  Malabaris who invaded Jaffna in 1215. The invasion was led by an […]

H. L. D. Mahindapala The utter failure of our intellectuals to grasp the turbulent historical and political under currents that destroyed all possibilities of peaceful co-existence has been one of the  main contributory factors that prolonged and sustained the 33-year-old war launched officially by the Tamil leadership on May 14th, 1976 at Vadukoddai. It ended […]

H. L. D. Mahindapala Right now, C. V. Wignewaran is labouring indefatigably to lead the next Tamil brigade to Nandikadal. Right now, there is no one in the Tamil political arena who represents Tamil extremism more than C. V. Wigneswaran, the unrepentant devotee of Swamy Premananda – a convict who died in a S. Indian […]

H. L. D. Mahindapala The year 1505 is a memorable date etched in the minds of those who knows anything about the history of Sri Lanka. It is the year in which the Portuguese arrived and opened up a new chapter in the history of the nation. But hardly anyone remembers 1215 – the year […]

 H. L. D. Mahindapala All Sri Lankans are descendants of migrants. We are a nation of migrants. Even the  Jaffnaites who claim to be descendants of Tamils who arrived in pre-historic times filled the northern strip of land, which they called their sacred homeland, with S. Indian migrants only in the 12th and 13th centuries. There […]

H. L. D. Mahindapala The cruelty of Sangkili (and his avatar Prabhakaran) increased with his power…..” Yalpana Vaipava Malai Jaffna has been the dark side of the Sri Lankan moon: its’ history has been consistently hidden from public scrutiny. Reason: It is politically disadvantageous to reveal the horrors of Jaffna Vellala rulers oppressing their own Tamil people […]

H. L. D. Mahindapala C.V. Wigneswaran, the former Supreme Court judge, is the odd man out in Tamil politics. The  main characteristic that separates him from his rival Tamil politicians is his chronic tendency to belittle and/or demonise the Sinhala-Buddhists consistently in a desperate bid to elevate Tamil culture and history to a superior status […]

H. L. D. Mahindapala  When the first Israeli airstrike hit Gaza on Monday nine children and 13 others were killed, according to Washington Post. (Monday 10, May, 2021). By Saturday the  death toll had risen to over hundred and 33 of them were children. Simultaneously, Taliban bombs exploding in Kabul on Tuesday killed 85 Muslim school girls, […]

H. L. D. Mahindpala  No Tamil political leader in the post-Donoughmore period had single-handedly constructed an ideology and changed the course of national politics, almost overnight, asGanapathipillai Gangaser Ponnambalam (8 November 1901 – 9 February 1977). Not only that, no one else has left such a lasting impact – albeit a divisive and devastating one […]

H. L. D. Mahindapala Between  mid-twenties and mid-thirties, Jaffna stood as a shining beacon, showing the path to a future filled with humane and liberal values aimed at bonding a divided nation into one united brotherhood, rising above castes and divisive creeds. Jaffna held the future of the nation  in the palm  of  its hands. […]

H. L. D. Mahindapala In a  lofty speech delivered via video to the 75th General Assembly of UN (September 2020) – the first of its kind initiated in the wake of the pandemic — Prime Minister Narendra Modi took great pains to explain a range of  issues from India ’s Neighbourhood First Policy” to the new […]

H. L. D. Mahindapala The Tamil people followed Velupillai Prabhakaran blindly because he promised to deliver Eelam. The gains of the initial military adventures of the LTTE also made him look like the messiah who could  fulfil their dream. But  he took them for a ride – the biggest in the history of the Tamils […]

H. L. D. Mahindapala The increasing interventionist role of the UN and its agencies, mainly the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), in the domestic affairs of Sri Lanka, seen especially in the unwarranted excesses listed in the latest Michelle Bachelet’s report, threatening, for instance, to report Sri Lanka to ICJ, should come under unrelenting scrutiny […]

H. L. D. Mahindapala To understand contemporary national politics and its complex combinations and permutations it is imperative that any student of politics must first get a firm grasp of the two political cultures that divides the North and the South. The gap is much wider than the Palk Straits that separates us from India, […]

H. L. D. Mahindapala In continuing last week’s article on how lies manufactured and manipulated by charismatic leaders and mediocre theorists can distort the perceptions of the masses and lead societies to violence  I must make a brief diversion, before I come to the local context – my main purpose —  to focus on how […]

H. L. D. Mahindapala After giving leadership to his futile and disastrous insurrection to remain in the White House Donald Trump, the lame duck President of America, has agreed at last to move out – I wouldn’t call it a peaceful transition of power — on January 20,  leaving America in shambles. There are more […]

H. L. D. Mahindapala Democracy is fragile. It is more fragile that the window panes of the Congress that were smashed by the mob unleashed by President Donald Trump. It is the ultimate symbol of the desecration of American democracy. The world watched in horror as the misinformed, misguided, politically driven mob went berserk destroying […]

H. L. D.  Mahindapala I like reading Prof. Kumar David’s (KD) column in the Sunday Island, even though the contents lean heavily towards Marxist mantras which have passed its used-by-date long before the fall of the Berlin Wall. What grabbed my  attention was last Sunday’s (2/1/21) column which was a foray into English literature. As […]

H. L. D. Mahindapala Donald Trump continues to keep America and the world guessing as to his next move which should be to concede victory to Joe Biden. But he has not done so formally, though he is sending signals indicating that he is willing to concede without, of course, taking any meaningful action to vacate […]

H. L. D. Mahindapala Donald Trump continues to keep America and the world guessing as to his next move which should be to concede victory to Joe Biden. But he has not done so formally, though he is sending signals indicating that he is willing to concede without, of course, taking any meaningful action to vacate […]

H. L. D. Mahindapala Say what you like against Donald Trump, the man was a phenomenon. Whether the legacy he leaves behind is good or bad is a judgement that will be determined finally by those who will feel the impact of his regime in the years to come. Win or lose, (he is losing […]

H. L. D. Mahindapala Taking an overview of  the 20th  century it can be argued that the seeds of the major forces that shaped the political landscape of post-independent era were sown in the thirties. Three events in particular stand out from the thirties as defining points of departure from the semi-feudal, semi-colonial, semi-capitalist past […]

H. L. D. Mahindapala The Indian Government has repeatedly intervened in the domestic affairs of Sri Lanka based on the assumption that the policies of Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) needs correction by the Big Brother, using the cane if necessary. This interventionist policy continues to prevail  even though the overall Indian experience as a […]

H. L. D. Mahindapala Managing Indo-Sri Lanka relations is prioritised as the most important item in the agenda of the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry. In fact, the President and the Prime Minister have stretched every nerve since they came into power to go beyond the official diplomatic interactions to maintain a personal rapport of the […]

H. L. D. Mahindapala Managing Indo-Sri Lanka relations is prioritised as the most important item in the agenda of the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry. In fact, the President and the Prime Minister have stretched every nerve since they came into power to go beyond the official diplomatic interactions to maintain a personal rapport of the […]