KAMALIKA PIERIS Merrill Fernando (b.1930) said that he decided to write his biography, titled ‘The story of Ceylon tea maker, Merrill J Fernando” (2023) because he wanted to draw attention to the potential of pure Ceylon Tea. Fernando is known for his unique role in branding and marketing pure Ceylon tea through Dilmah.  Sri Lanka‘s […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS Ranasinghe Premadasa succeeded J.R. Jayewardene as the second President of Sri Lanka. Premadasa was President of Sri Lanka from 2 January 1989 to 1 May 1993. He was assassinated on May 1.  1993. Premadasa had a heroic struggle to enter the higher rungs of this party, said Sarath Amunugama. My view (Kamalika) is […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS Premadasa made political changes which were not for the   good of the country. A political party had to get a minimum number of votes to be eligible for representation in Parliament. Premadasa reduced this cut off point from for  12.5% to 5 %.This law was introduced in 1988 by then President the late […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS Premadasa was probably the most calculating politician Sri Lanka has ever had.Premadasa was politicking day and night, said Sarath Amunugama.His voice rang with authority and power, commanding compliance, said Evans Cooray. Premadasa had an unparalleled knowledge of the Colombo’s electoral mathematics, said Sarath.  He created a support base which included the poor of […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS Premadasa set up the Koggala Free Trade Zone.The National Housing Development Authority, Urban Development Authority, Central Environmental Authority and the Institute for Construction Training and Development,  (ICTAD).  He started the Housing Development Finance Corporation in 1984.(Daily News./2023/05/01).  This later became HDFC Bank . Premadasa  secured British funding for the construction of the Victoria Dam. […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS  President Premadasa‘s outrageous attitude to the Eelam war has not received the critical attention it deserves. He did not understand his duty in the matter. As Head of State, his first duty was to protect the territory and sovereignty of the country of which he is the leader.  Instead he took no interest […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS Premadasa took a special interest in housing. The United Nations recognized President Premadasa as one of the Asian pioneers of the Shelter for All programmes, said Pramod de Silva. It was President Premadasa who proposed at the United Nations, to declare an International Year of Shelter for the Homeless. The proposal was unanimously […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS  J.R .Jayewardene decided to step down after his second term and Premadasa was nominated as the party candidate for the presidential election set for December 1988. Premadasa insisted that his nomination for   President had to be unanimous. Premadasa became Executive President from 1988 -1993. But the election of 1988 was not a walk […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS Premadasa carried out two highly publicized programmes Gam Udawa and Jana Saviya. The Janasaviya Poverty Alleviation Programme was inaugurated in October 1989 and soon became a lead program of Premadasa’s government.   In 1990, a $100 million Janasaviya trust fund (JTF) was launched with World Bank assistance, to support a five-year Janasaviya programme. […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS Ranasinghe Premadasa was born on June 23, 1924 at Dias Place in Keselwatte, Central Colombo. His parents were Richard Ranasinghe of Hegalle, Kosgoda and Jayasinghe Arachchige Ensina Hamine of Batuwita, Horana. Premadasa was the eldest of five children. Premadasa had told Sarath Amunugama that his father had a hackery transport business near Colombo […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS Premadasa won his seat at the General election of 1970, without any difficulty. In 1970, Premadasa had built five pre- fabricated houses and one community hall in every district, said Evans Cooray. Mayors and chairmen of local bodies were invited to Temple Trees and their views were obtained. The UNP victory at the […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS Revised.12.5.23 Ryp Van Winkle ( Sunday Times) wrote to JR Jayewardene in February 2023.  My dear JR, I thought I must write to you, though it has been over a quarter of a century since you left us, because your name is being mentioned frequently these days. That is after your nephew began […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS The middle class, fed up of the shortages of the Sirimavo government, hailed the arrival of JR. They welcomed his appointment as head of state. They became disillusioned later, but his core group of admirers did not desert him. JR handled the transition from a controlled economy to a more open one with […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS JR’s role in creating an all powerful President,  bringing in a highly defective Constitution in 1978, his introduction of Proportional Representation, the Manape,   the National list and Bonus seats, which  allowed defeated candidate to sit in Parliament ,  the Open Economy, the Indo Lanka accord which gave the Trincomalee tank farm to India,  […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS  JR made a huge change to Sri Lanka‘s economy by ‘liberalizing’ the economy. That was in 1977, but JR’s economic policy is remembered   today as well, with deep feeling. His policy is   blamed for the current economic collapse and JR is criticized all over again. Sri Lanka had liberalized too soon, said critics. […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS There were several other rigged elections in JR’s time. The Referendum was not the only one.   JR had intervened in the Jaffna District Development Councils elections held on June 4, 1981.  This was the first election to take place under Proportional Representation. Officials selected by the Commissioner of Elections were replaced by nominees […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS This essay contains observations, on the rule of President JR Jayewardene, many of them first hand, made by V.P. Vittachi and Sarath Amunugama with additional information from Jayatissa Bandaragoda. All three had served in the Ceylon Civil Service and held high positions in the state administration. V.P. Vittachi joined the Ceylon Civil Service […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS The College of Surgeons of Sri Lanka celebrated its 50 anniversary, by publishing, History of surgical services in Sri Lanka from the earliest times to 2021.”  The title itself shows that the College recognizes the existence of   a surgical service in the island, before the arrival of modern surgery.  The book does not […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS The History of Surgery published by the College of Surgeon of Sri Lanka (2022) has   provided a very positive picture of the role of our general surgeons. The first surgeons in the island were General Surgeons” who were expected to   deal with all surgical cases that came their way.  All surgical operations were […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS Surgical specialties were introduced to the state health sector in the late 1950s. The General Hospital Colombo was the first to get permanent special units, such as a thoracic unit, observed History of Surgery. But some specialties were started in the provincial hospitals as well.  Doctors who had trained in specialized surgery abroad […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS The first contemporary monograph on western medicine in Sri Lanka was C.G Uragoda’s History of medicine in Sri Lanka from the earliest times to 1948, issued as the centenary publication of the Sri Lanka Medical Association in 1987. It recorded the   development of western medicine during the Portuguese, Dutch and British occupation and […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS  The History of surgery in Sri Lanka published by the College of Surgeons of Sri Lanka contains surgical information which will be greatly valued by the surgeons. But the book also contains information which will appeal to those interested in the history of medicine.  The book is a gold mine of medical biography. […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS The book Archive of memory, reflections on 70 years of independence” curated by Malathi de Alwis and Hasini Haputhanthri was published in 2019 by HistoricalDialogue.lk.(ISBN 978-642-5313-00-6) There was also a traveling exhibition which displayed the same objects and text given in this book. The book and exhibition seem to have been planned together, […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS The Sinhalese, the Buddhists and the Sri Lanka Army are presented in an unflattering, negative manner in the book ‘Archive of memory.’ The episode ‘Beef lamprais’ is on Buddhism.” The    narrator who lived in Kalutara, says we ate beef every day though we were Buddhist, so did the rest.  The majority in Kalutara […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS Lastly,  Archive of Memory looked at  the Eelam War. There is a brief reference to LTTE activity. Two narrators recall LTTE bombs, one  at No Limit, Nugegoda on November 27, 2007 and the explosion at  Katunayake airport on 24.7 2001. In ‘Chain and bangles’ we are told of LTTE attacks on Sinhala villages. […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS Pediatrician Manouri Senanayake researched into child hood and child care in ancient Lanka for her book titled Pediatrics and child care in Sri Lanka” (2007).  She found that the ancient literature yielded some information about childhood in ancient Sri Lanka.  Literary works emphasis the mother’s affection for her child. Childhood in ancient Sri […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS C.G. Uragoda continuing his account of ‘Medicine under Sri Lankan kings”, observed that the ancient records confirmed the existence of hospitals in Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa.  The only hospital for the laity which had been identified   in Anuradhapura at the time was the one found near Thuparama, probably dated to Kassapa IV. Udaya 1 […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS Western medicine as we know it today was introduced to the island by the British. The western tradition did not recognize the Asian systems of medicine and most local doctors trained in western medicine avoided non western medicine. In 1858 Dr. W.C Ondaatje   wrote on the empiricism of Singhalese doctors and the advantage […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS KS Sivakumaran in his book Sri Lankan Tamil literature and culture” (2019) wrote of the evolution of an indigenous Tamil literature of Sri Lanka.    Prior to this, in 2015, the Annasi and Kadalagotu festival”   had a session Tamil footprint in Sri Lanka literature”, focusing on Tamil writers writing in Sri Lanka. In 1990, […]

KAMALIKA PIERIS Human Rights have taken root in Sri Lanka and are peddled by Human Rights devotees with great enthusiasm and little critical inquiry. When I suggested that a mentally retarded girl, who had been successfully integrated into the community, should be sterilized, I received the reply ‘but that is a Right. ’ Human Rights […]