Features

A Cabinet Secretary Remembers

Published

3 years ago

2023/01/1

Thilina Walpola

Extracted from Memoirs of BP Peiris

My father, family and early days at Panadura

According to my birth certificate, I, the eldest son of my parents, was born on March 29, 1908, at our ancestral home “Gorakapola Walauwa”, Panadura.My father was Edmund Peiris, then a clerk in the Colombo Kachcheri on the princely salary of Rs. 60 a month. He used to travel from Panadura to Colombo by train, and from his home to the railway station on a push bicycle. He very early caught the eye of the Government Agent, Mr J. G. Frazer (later Sir John) who noted him for promotion on the ground of ability. My mother was Somie, the eldest daughter of C. F. S. Jayawickrama, Mudaliyar of the District Court of Kegalle.

I have no recollection at all of my paternal grandfather, Mudaliyar Romanis Peiris, Customs Mudaliyar, who died while I was quite young, nor of my paternal grandmother. A drinking fountain gifted by my grandfather to the state still stands in the premises of the Colombo Port Commission.In commemoration of the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, he built a school which he called the Queen Victoria Diamond Jubilee Buddhist School, which served the needs of many of the surrounding villages. My father was manager for many years and later gifted the land and the buildings to the state.

Of my maternal grandparents I have vivid memories. My grandfather Jayawickrama, whose picture used to hang in my father’s house, was a man of honesty, integrity and strength of character. His face in the picture at home showed determination, independence and a strong will. He was not a man to bend his knee to any person, however high he might be. He had, I believe, 16 children, to all of whom he gave an excellent education.

His eldest son was Sylvester, Advocate, a very respected member of the Matara Bar, who died in 1940 at the age of 54 at a time when he was District Judge of that town. On the day of his funeral all the shops in the town were closed as a mark of respect. The second child was my mother. Another of his daughters came first in French in the Cambridge Senior in the whole of the British Empire and, after her marriage taught her brother (later Jayawickrama Q. C.) French to enable him to pass the London Inter-Arts Examination. Another son was “Sargo” of cricketing fame.

My grandfather Jayawickrama dressed, as all Mudaliyars did in those days, in trousers, cloth and coat, with a sort of a Dutch helmet on his head, used to visit periodically his married son and his daughters all the way from Panadura to Matara and Tangalle. He was a keen chess player and always carried a traveling board with him, the board having suitable holes and the pieces were pegs to fit them. The pieces were of ivory and ebony.

He was a man who worked to time; he would start a game with my mother at 7.00 p.m. and play till 8.00 p.m., having a chew of betel and a cigar during the game. At 8.00 he would close the board to dine, and continue the same game from day to day till its end. I have in vain attempted to trace that chess set. My brother and I used to watch him play with my mother and we soon, at the age of about seven, picked up the game.

On one of our return trips by train from Diyatalawa to Colombo, the old gentleman was kind enough to come to Polgahawela to meet his daughter (my mother) and his grandchildren. The next day he was dead of a heart attack. His body was brought from Kegalle to my father’s house and the cremation took place at Panadura.

He was the Jayawickrama referred to in the leading Privy Council case of Jayawickrama vs Amarasuriya (1918), which he won. He had lost the case in the District Court and the Supreme Court but had faith in justice. Before appealing to the Privy Council, he had told his children to be prepared to step on to the street and beg if he lost the final appeal.

The case was instituted by my grandmother against her brother who had benefited largely by his father’s death. There was no doubt, on the evidence, that it was his father’s wish that he should provide for his sister and her large family. The sister had threatened to institute an action against him for the assignment to her of an undivided half-share of the inheritance and he had promised to pay her Rs150,000 if she refrained from instituting the contemplated action.

The decisions of the Ceylon courts were based on the concept of “Consideration” in English law. The Privy Council applied the Roman-Dutch law concept of justa causa which was wider. They held that the brother’s promise was binding and enforceable as it was made deliberately after much negotiation, in discharge of the moral obligation found to rest upon the brother to do an act of generosity and benevolence to his sister, namely, to make provision for her and her children. The Privy Council allowed the appeal with costs in all courts.

I remember my grandmother as a most simple and kindly woman, dressed not in saree, but in skirt and jacket. She also used to visit her children regularly, and once, when I was about seven years old, my mother sent me with her by train and bus to Kegalle where my grandparents were then living. From the Polgahawela railway station, the journey was completed by bus.

For my parents I have nothing but praise for the education they gave us, which has enabled my brothers and sisters and me to hold responsible positions in life. My father was a Royalist, that is to say, an old boy of the Royal College, then situated at San Sebastian. His contemporaries were B. F. de Silva, O. L. De Kretser, T. F. Garvin, V. M. Fernando, R. L. Pereira, F. H. B. Koch, all of whom rose to the Bench.

My father, later when he was Mudaliyar of the Panadura and Kalutara Totamunes, used to tell us that he rarely used the school library while the others did, and he encouraged us and insisted that we use the library as much as possible, advice by which all his sons have profited.

He was at school in the days of Hayward and Hartley and was one who received the well-known caning for taking as their right a holiday on the Royal-Thomian match day. I remember an incident years later, after he had married and had five children and the family was having a holiday at Diyatalawa, when we crossed Hartley during our morning walk. My father raised his hat and said “Good morning, Sir”. Hartley returned the greeting and said, “Let me see -Royal? Yes, I remember. Left from the Remove.” It was a marvelous memory.

Even as a student father appeared to have been very methodical. He was a boarder at the house of (later Sir) James Pieris’ mother and kept a small notebook of his daily expenditure. I remember seeing this notebook, one item in which was “tiffin 11 cents”. He was as methodical up to the day of his death when we found a document telling us exactly what we should do – where his last will was, how he should be dressed, who his pallbearers should be, a list of his assets, a valuation of his property etc., with the result that I, as his executor, had no difficulty in answering any query from the Estate Duty Department.

The printed invitation cards sent by my mother’s parents on the occasion of her wedding, a copy of which is in my possession, show that the wedding took place at 11 a.m. on Thursday, June 28, 1906, at Amaragiri Walauwa, Unawatuna, Galle, the residence of Mr Thomas Amarasuriya. The wedding photograph shows the groom and his best man, Advocate B. F. de Silva, in morning suits. A newspaper account of the wedding states that “instead of the usual cake and wine the whole assembly sat down to a sumptuous lunch when the health of the newly wedded couple was pledged.”

In 1908 my father was appointed Muhandiram of the Colombo Kachcheri. In 1913 the post of Mudaliyar of the Panadura and Kalutara Totamunes having fallen vacant, he applied for the post. In the final selection, he told us that three applicants Mr A, Mr B and he were summoned for an interview. The interview was by the Colonial Secretary. Each candidate was asked what he thought of the other two.

Mr A and Mr B had apparently nothing very pleasant or creditable to say about the others. My father, when asked the same question, had said that he had nothing to say against the other candidates but had come to speak about himself. The Colonial Secretary’s concise minute to the Governor was, I learned, something on the following lines:

Your Excellency,

I have interviewed the three candidates. Mr A is an extremely able man, painfully conscious of his ability. Mr B is another clever man almost bordering on insanity. I recommend Mr Peiris.His Excellency minuted “Approved” and my father was appointed – the youngest man to be appointed Mudaliyar of the second most important revenue district of the island, second only to Colombo.

Congratulatory meetings on his appointment were held in different parts of the District sponsored by such gentlemen of quality as Gate Mudaliyar J. E. de Silva Suriyabandara (Magistrate of Kalutara), O. G. de Alwis, Clement Wijeratne, M. H. Jayatillake, H. Meritimus Fonseka, C. P. Samarasekera and M. E. Fonseka.

He held the office for over 25 years and was honoured with the titular rank of Mudaliyar and later of Mudaliyar of The Governor’s Gate. His district extended from the Moratuwa bridge in the north to the Bentota bridge in the south. He got to know the district and people so thoroughly that in his later years he was able to write a report from his office without inspecting the scene as he appeared to know every tree and culvert in the area.

His reports to the British Assistant Government Agent were always forwarded by them to the Government Agent with the endorsement “I forward herewith a report from the Mudaliyar, with which I agree.” Some Ceylonese Assistant Government Agents used to forward my father’s reports with his name deleted and the Assistant Government Agent’s name placed at the end in substitution.

Father had a rather peculiar habit of not getting permission to leave his station when he came from Panadura to Colombo. He always took leave when he had to go south beyond the Bentota Bridge. One day, a most amusing incident took place on the Galle Road at Ratmalana. Father had come to Colombo without leave and was returning home when he found the Assistant Government Agent’s car broken down on the way. He stopped his car and the two drivers between them got the car in order again.

The Assistant Government Agent thanked the driver and then asked my father, “Mudaliyar, aren’t you out of your station without leave?” Let me say here, in an age when the foreign British civil servant is being constantly vilified, that the officer concerned in this particular case was a Ceylonese. Father replied that in 20 odd years he had never asked for leave to come from Panadura to Colombo. His superior told him that in future he had better take leave before leaving his district in either direction, and father took that as an order.

Soon after that some affray had taken place within his district in the vicinity of the Moratuwa bridge and father was asked by the Assistant Government Agent to go personally to the spot, inquire and report. He went and held the inquiry but found that to complete proceedings he had to cross the bridge and, under the previous order, had no authority to do so without prior permission. He wired accordingly, and the order regarding prior permission to leave station was promptly withdrawn.

Father was a good host: he believed in entertaining well or not at all. Although a moderate drinker himself, he had ample liquor for his guests and a good table. If you invite people, he used to say, treat them well. If you cannot afford to treat them well, don’t invite them. He used to tell us that when we grew up, we should never get into debt and put ourselves in a position to allow the tailor to say “There goes my suit”.

He regularly took leave for the whole of April each year and took the entire family up-country. As we could not afford to rent a bungalow, he arranged through a friend of his in the railway that we occupy the bungalow of a bachelor station master who would be father’s guest during our stay. The arrangement worked extremely well. And so it was that we spent delightful holidays at Ohiya, Pattipola, Haputale, Diyatalawa and other upcountry stations.

Some of these stations were, at that time, also sub-post offices and it was, in one of these stations that, as a schoolboy, I picked up the Morse Code. I am still able to send a message in Morse but, unfortunately, I never was able to get my ear attuned to receiving one. For a holiday at Diyatalawa, the Brigadier placed a military hut at our disposal and we had a grand time with the soldiers, whom father entertained.

They were nervous about eating tomato sandwiches thinking it was red pepper.At home, Father was a strict disciplinarian. Dinner was a simple meal, within his means. It was punctually at 8 p.m. At 7. 30 p.m., whether there were visitors or not, he had his first drink. At 7. 45 p.m. his second, and then dinner. Should one of us brats come to table with hands unwashed or hair uncombed, he would be driven away from the table and not taken back until he had put himself in good condition.

At that time, a Chief Headman wielded great authority in his district, and I distinctly remember that every funeral procession and perahera stopped beating the drums whilst passing the Walauwa. I feel quite sure that the Headmen’s system was abolished by the State Council because the Councillors were jealous of the power and authority exercised by the Headmen in their districts. Today, this is replaced by a transferable Divisional Revenue Officers’ Service – able men no doubt, but men without any local prestige who do not know the district in the way my father knew his.

My father retired on the first of April 1940, after having served the Government for over 40 years. He had held the office of Mudaliyar of the Panadura and Kalutara Totamunes for 27 years and filled a large place in the official and social life of the district. On his retirement, the public accorded him a farewell dinner at the Panadura Town Hall, the largest gathering ever seen at a public dinner in the town.

Tributes to him as a man and as a public servant were paid by the speakers, and covers were laid for 183. Mr (later Sir) Susantha de Fonseka presided. Among the diners were Mr and Mrs D. S. Senanayake, Mr W. O. Stevens, Government Agent of the Western Province, and Mr P. J. Hudson, Assistant Government Agent. The Urban Council moved a vote of appreciation. His portrait in oils was unveiled at the Kalutara Kachcheri.

My father died, after a very short illness, on the first of February 1961, at the age of 81. His Excellency the Governor-General, Sir Oliver Goonetileke called at the house to pay his last respects. The following appreciation appeared in the press:

“The death yesterday of Gate Mudaliyar Edmund Peiris, at the ripe age of 81, has removed a landmark from Panadura Town. Since his retirement after 42 years of active service ending up as Mudaliyar of the Panadura and Kalutara Totamunes, which post he held for 27 years, he was always at the service of his fellow citizens and participated in many public activities in the town where he resided.

“Whatever service he performed, whether it was for the town, home for the aged, or personally looking after the urgent needs of the poor who called on him for help, or mediation, he performed his part with a great deal of method, never haphazardly.

“Method in fact was the guiding principle of his life. Even at death it was a matter for wonder to those whom he left to read his detailed and precise instructions as to the manner in which his funeral was to be conducted. He had even got prepared his own tombstone inscription leaving blank only the date of death. Few think of death while they are alive. Mudaliyar Peiris was one of the few, and it may be that because he was conscious that death comes to every man sometime or other that he was always ready to forgive and forget. That also is one of the rich legacies which he has left behind not only to the large band of sons and daughters and grandchildren but to those who enjoyed and valued his friendship.

“Till his last illness struck him down, age did not mar his zest for living and many of his friends both admired and envied the short dapper Mudaliyar out on the road ‘doing his constitutional’.

Many civic activities of the town of Panadura will be the poorer by Mudaliyar Peiris’ death, but the organization which would suffer most would be the King George V Silver Jubilee Home for the Aged which he dearly loved and cared for during the last few years of his life.

“Another act of the Mudaliyar is worthy of record. He was the owner of a school built by his father, Mudaliyar Romanis Peiris, who had named it the Queen Victoria Diamond Jubilee Buddhist School. Some years ago, Mudaliyar Peiris handed over the land and the school buildings to the State, so doing what a subsequent Government of the country was to decide to do as a matter of Government policy. Not many are now spared to live to the age of 81.

“The Mudaliyar has made the most of these many years he lived not for self alone (though he must have been a happy man to see his sons in good positions and his daughters well-married) but for others as well.”

All News Advertisement

Features

The US-China rivalry and challenges facing the South

Published

15 hours ago

2025/12/11

Sahan Weerasooriya

Prof. Neil DeVotta making his presentation at the RCSS.

The US-China rivalry could be said to make-up the ‘stuff and substance’ of world politics today but rarely does the international politics watcher and student of the global South in particular get the opportunity of having a balanced and comprehensive evaluation of this crucial relationship. But such a balanced assessment is vitally instrumental in making sense of current world power relations.

Thanks to the Regional Centre for Strategic Studies (RCSS), Colombo the above window of opportunity was opened on December 8th for those sections of the public zealously pursuing an understanding of current issues in global politics. The knowledge came via a forum that was conducted at the RCSS titled, ‘The US-China Rivalry and Implications for the Indo-Pacific’, where Professor Neil DeVotta of the Wake Forest University of North Carolina in the US, featured as the speaker.

A widely representative audience was present at the forum, including senior public servants, the diplomatic corps, academics, heads of civil society organizations, senior armed forces personnel and the media. The event was ably managed by the Executive Director of the RCSS, retired ambassador Ravinatha Aryasinha. Following the main presentation a lively Q&A session followed, where many a point of interest was aired and discussed.

While there is no doubt that China is fast catching up with the US with regard to particularly military, economic, scientific and technological capability, Prof. DeVotta helped to balance this standard projection of ‘China’s steady rise’ by pointing to some vital facts about China, the omission of which would amount to the observer having a somewhat uninformed perception of global political realities.

The following are some of the facts about contemporary China that were highlighted by Prof. DeVotta:

* Money is steadily moving out of China and the latter’ s economy is slowing down. In fact the country is in a ‘ Middle Income Trap’. That is, it has reached middle income status but has failed to move to upper income status since then.

* People in marked numbers are moving out of China. It is perhaps little known that some Chinese are seeking to enter the US with a view to living there. The fact is that China’s population too is on the decline.

* Although the private sector is operative in China, there has been an increase in Parastatals; that is, commercial organizations run by the state are also very much in the fore. In fact private enterprises have begun to have ruling Communist Party cells in them.

* China is at its ‘peak power’ but this fact may compel it to act ‘aggressively’ in the international sphere. For instance, it may be compelled to invade Taiwan.

* A Hard Authoritarianism could be said to characterize central power in China today, whereas the expectation in some quarters is that it would shift to a Soft Authoritarian system, as is the case in Singapore.

* China’s influence in the West is greater than it has ever been.

The speaker was equally revelatory about the US today. Just a few of these observations are:

* The US is in a ‘Unipolar Moment’. That is, it is the world’s prime power. Such positions are usually not longstanding but in the case of the US this position has been enjoyed by it for quite a while.

* China is seen by the US as a ‘Revisionist Power’ as opposed to being a ‘Status Quo Power.’ That is China is for changing the world system slowly.

* The US in its latest national security strategy is paying little attention to Soft Power as opposed to Hard Power.

* In terms of this strategy the US would not allow any single country to dominate the Asia-Pacific region.

* The overall tone of this strategy is that the US should step back and allow regional powers to play a greater role in international politics.

* The strategy also holds that the US must improve economic ties with India, but there is very little mention of China in the plan.

Given these observations on the current international situation, a matter of the foremost importance for the economically weakest countries of the South is to figure out how best they could survive materially within it. Today there is no cohesive and vibrant collective organization that could work towards the best interests of the developing world and Dr. DeVotta was more or less correct when he said that the Non-alignment Movement (NAM) has declined.

However, this columnist is of the view that rather being a spent force, NAM was allowed to die out by the South. NAM as an idea could never become extinct as long as economic and material inequalities between North and South exist. Needless to say, this situation is remaining unchanged since the eighties when NAM allowed itself to be a non-entity so to speak in world affairs.

The majority of Southern countries did not do themselves any good by uncritically embracing the ‘market economy’ as a panacea for their ills. As has been proved, this growth paradigm only aggravated the South’s development ills, except for a few states within its fold.

Considering that the US would be preferring regional powers to play a more prominent role in the international economy and given the US’ preference to be a close ally of India, the weakest of the South need to look into the possibility of tying up closely with India and giving the latter a substantive role in advocating the South’s best interests in the councils of the world.

To enable this to happen the South needs to ‘get organized’ once again. The main differences between the past and the present with regard to Southern affairs is that in the past the South had outstanding leaders, such as Jawaharlal Nehru of India, who could doughtily stand up for it. As far as this columnist could ascertain, it is the lack of exceptional leaders that in the main led to the decline of NAM and other South-centred organizations.

Accordingly, an urgent task for the South is to enable the coming into being of exceptional leaders who could work untiringly towards the realization of its just needs, such as economic equity. Meanwhile, Southern countries would do well to, indeed, follow the principles of NAM and relate cordially with all the major powers so as to realizing their best interests.

Features

Sri Lanka and Global Climate Emergency: Lessons of Cyclone Ditwah

Published

15 hours ago

2025/12/11

Sahan Weerasooriya

Floods caused by Cyclone Ditwah. (Image courtesy Vanni Hope)

Tropical Cyclone Ditwah, which made landfall in Sri Lanka on 28 November 2025, is considered the country’s worst natural disaster since the deadly 2004 tsunami. It intensified the northeast monsoon, bringing torrential rainfall, massive flooding, and 215 severe landslides across seven districts. The cyclone left a trail of destruction, killing nearly 500 people, displacing over a million, destroying homes, roads, and railway lines, and disabling critical infrastructure including 4,000 transmission towers. Total economic losses are estimated at USD 6–7 billion—exceeding the country’s foreign reserves.

The Sri Lankan Armed Forces have led the relief efforts, aided by international partners including India and Pakistan. A Sri Lanka Air Force helicopter crashed in Wennappuwa, killing the pilot and injuring four others, while five Sri Lanka Navy personnel died in Chundikkulam in the north while widening waterways to mitigate flooding. The bravery and sacrifice of the Sri Lankan Armed Forces during this disaster—as in past disasters—continue to be held in high esteem by grateful Sri Lankans.

The Sri Lankan government, however, is facing intense criticism for its handling of Cyclone Ditwah, including failure to heed early warnings available since November 12, a slow and poorly coordinated response, and inadequate communication with the public. Systemic issues—underinvestment in disaster management, failure to activate protocols, bureaucratic neglect, and a lack of coordination among state institutions—are also blamed for avoidable deaths and destruction.

The causes of climate disasters such as Cyclone Ditwah go far beyond disaster preparedness. Faulty policymaking, mismanagement, and decades of unregulated economic development have eroded the island’s natural defenses. As climate scientist Dr. Thasun Amarasinghe notes:

“Sri Lankan wetlands—the nation’s most effective natural flood-control mechanism—have been bulldosed, filled, encroached upon, and sold. Many of these developments were approved despite warnings from environmental scientists, hydrologists, and even state institutions.”

Sri Lanka’s current vulnerabilities also stem from historical deforestation and plantation agriculture associated with colonial-era export development. Forest cover declined from 82% in 1881 to 70% in 1900, and to 54–50% by 1948, when British rule ended. It fell further to 44% in 1954 and to 16.5% by 2019.

Deforestation contributes an estimated 10–12% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Beyond removing a vital carbon sink, it damages water resources, increases runoff and erosion, and heightens flood and landslide risk. Soil-depleting monocrop agriculture further undermines traditional multi-crop systems that regenerate soil fertility, organic matter, and biodiversity.

In Sri Lanka’s Central Highlands, which were battered by Cyclone Ditwah, deforestation and unregulated construction had destabilised mountain slopes. Although high-risk zones prone to floods and landslides had long been identified, residents were not relocated, and construction and urbanisation continued unchecked.

Sri Lanka was the first country in Asia to adopt neoliberal economic policies. With the “Open Economy” reforms of 1977, a capitalist ideology equating human well-being with quantitative growth and material consumption became widespread. Development efforts were rushed, poorly supervised, and frequently approved without proper environmental assessment.

Privatisation and corporate deregulation weakened state oversight. The recent economic crisis and shrinking budgets further eroded environmental and social protections, including the maintenance of drainage networks, reservoirs, and early-warning systems. These forces have converged to make Sri Lanka a victim of a dual climate threat: gradual environmental collapse and sudden-onset disasters.

Sri Lanka: A Climate Victim

Sri Lanka’s carbon emissions remain relatively small but are rising. The impact of climate change on the island, however, is immense. Annual mean air temperature has increased significantly in recent decades (by 0.016 °C annually between 1961 and 1990). Sea-level rise has caused severe coastal erosion—0.30–0.35 meters per year—affecting nearly 55% of the shoreline. The 2004 tsunami demonstrated the extreme vulnerability of low-lying coastal plains to rising seas.

The Cyclone Ditwah catastrophe was neither wholly new nor surprising. In 2015, the Geneva-based Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) identified Sri Lanka as the South Asian country with the highest relative risk of disaster-related displacement: “For every million inhabitants, 15,000 are at risk of being displaced every year.”

IDMC also noted that in 2017 the country experienced seven disaster events—mainly floods and landslides—resulting in 135,000 new displacements and that Sri Lanka “is also at risk for slow-onset impacts such as soil degradation, saltwater intrusion, water scarcity, and crop failure”.

Sri Lanka ranked sixth among countries most affected by extreme weather events in 2018 (Germanwatch) and second in 2019 (Global Climate Risk Index). Given these warnings, Cyclone Ditwah should not have been a surprise. Scientists have repeatedly cautioned that warmer oceans fuel stronger cyclones and warmer air holds more moisture, leading to extreme rainfall. As the Ceylon Today editorial of December 1, 2025 also observed:

“…our monsoons are no longer predictable. Cyclones form faster, hit harder, and linger longer. Rainfall becomes erratic, intense, and destructive. This is not a coincidence; it is a pattern.”

Without urgent action, even more extreme weather events will threaten Sri Lanka’s habitability and physical survival.

A Global Crisis

Extreme weather events—droughts, wildfires, cyclones, and floods—are becoming the global norm. Up to 1.2 billion people could become “climate refugees” by 2050. Global warming is disrupting weather patterns, destabilising ecosystems, and posing severe risks to life on Earth. Indonesia and Thailand were struck by the rare and devastating Tropical Cyclone Senyar in late November 2025, occurring simultaneously with Cyclone Ditwah’s landfall in Sri Lanka.

More than 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions—and nearly 90% of carbon emissions—come from burning coal, oil, and gas, which supply about 80% of the world’s energy. Countries in the Global South, like Sri Lanka, which contribute least to greenhouse gas emissions, are among the most vulnerable to climate devastation. Yet wealthy nations and multilateral institutions, including the World Bank, continue to subsidise fossil fuel exploration and production. Global climate policymaking—including COP 30 in Belém, Brazil, in 2025—has been criticised as ineffectual and dominated by fossil fuel interests.

If the climate is not stabilised, long-term planetary forces beyond human control may be unleashed. Technology and markets are not inherently the problem; rather, the issue lies in the intentions guiding them. The techno-market worldview, which promotes the belief that well-being increases through limitless growth and consumption, has contributed to severe economic inequality and more frequent extreme weather events. The climate crisis, in turn, reflects a profound mismatch between the exponential expansion of a profit-driven global economy and the far slower evolution of human consciousness needed to uphold morality, compassion, generosity and wisdom.

Sri Lanka’s 2025–26 budget, adopted on November 14, 2025—just as Cyclone Ditwah loomed—promised subsidised land and electricity for companies establishing AI data centers in the country.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake told Parliament: “Don’t come questioning us on why we are giving land this cheap; we have to make these sacrifices.”

Yet Sri Lanka is a highly water-stressed nation, and a growing body of international research shows that AI data centers consume massive amounts of water and electricity, contributing significantly to greenhouse gas emissions.

The failure of the narrow, competitive techno-market approach underscores the need for an ecological and collective framework capable of addressing the deeper roots of this existential crisis—both for Sri Lanka and the world.

A landslide in Sri Lanka (AFP picture)

Ecological and Human Protection

Ecological consciousness demands

recognition that humanity is part of the Earth, not separate from it. Policies to address climate change must be grounded in this understanding, rather than in worldviews that prize infinite growth and technological dominance. Nature has primacy over human-created systems: the natural world does not depend on humanity, while humanity cannot survive without soil, water, air, sunlight, and the Earth’s essential life-support systems.

Although a climate victim today, Sri Lanka is also home to an ancient ecological civilization dating back to the arrival of the Buddhist monk Mahinda Thera in the 3rd century BCE. Upon meeting King Devanampiyatissa, who was out hunting in Mihintale, Mahinda Thera delivered one of the earliest recorded teachings on ecological interdependence and the duty of rulers to protect nature:

“O great King, the birds of the air and the beasts of the forest have as much right to live and move about in any part of this land as thou. The land belongs to the people and all living beings; thou art only its guardian.”

A stone inscription at Mihintale records that the king forbade the killing of animals and the destruction of trees. The Mihintale Wildlife Sanctuary is believed to be the world’s first.

Sri Lanka’s ancient dry-zone irrigation system—maintained over more than a millennium—stands as a marvel of sustainable development. Its network of interconnected reservoirs, canals, and sluices captured monsoon waters, irrigated fields, controlled floods, and even served as a defensive barrier. Floods occurred, but historical records show no disasters comparable in scale, severity, or frequency to those of today. Ancient rulers, including the legendary reservoir-builder King Parākramabāhu, and generations of rice farmers managed their environment with remarkable discipline and ecological wisdom.

The primacy of nature became especially evident when widespread power outages and the collapse of communication networks during Cyclone Ditwah forced people to rely on one another for survival. The disaster ignited spontaneous acts of compassion and solidarity across all communities—men and women, rich and poor, Buddhists, Christians, Muslims, and Hindus. Local and international efforts mobilized to rescue, shelter, feed, and emotionally support those affected. These actions demonstrated a profound human instinct for care and cooperation, often filling vacuums left by formal emergency systems.

Yet spontaneous solidarity alone is insufficient. Sri Lanka urgently needs policies on sustainable development, environmental protection, and climate resilience. These include strict, science-based regulation of construction; protection of forests and wetlands; proper maintenance of reservoirs; and climate-resilient infrastructure. Schools should teach environmental literacy that builds unity and solidarity, rather than controversial and divisive curriculum changes like the planned removal of history and introduction of contested modules on gender and sexuality.

If the IMF and international creditors—especially BlackRock, Sri Lanka’s largest sovereign bondholder, valued at USD 13 trillion—are genuinely concerned about the country’s suffering, could they not cancel at least some of Sri Lanka’s sovereign debt and support its rebuilding efforts? Addressing the climate emergency and the broader existential crisis facing Sri Lanka and the world ultimately requires an evolution in human consciousness guided by morality, compassion, generosity and wisdom. (Courtesy: IPS NEWS)

Dr Asoka Bandarage is the author of Colonialism in Sri Lanka: The Political Economy of the Kandyan Highlands, 1833-1886 (Mouton) Women, Population and Global Crisis: A Politico-Economic Analysis (Zed Books), The Separatist Conflict in Sri Lanka: Terrorism, Ethnicity, Political Economy, ( Routledge), Sustainability and Well-Being: The Middle Path to Environment, Society and the Economy (Palgrave MacMillan) Crisis in Sri Lanka and the World: Colonial and Neoliberal Origins, Ecological and Collective Alternatives (De Gruyter) and numerous other publications. She serves on the Advisory Boards of the Interfaith Moral Action on Climate and Critical Asian Studies.

Features

Cliff and Hank recreate golden era of ‘The Young Ones’

Published

15 hours ago

2025/12/11

Sahan Weerasooriya

Cliff Richard and Hank Marvin’s reunion concert at the Riverside Theatre in Perth, Australia, on 01 November, 2025, was a night to remember.

The duo, who first performed together in the 1950s as part of The Shadows, brought the house down with their classic hits and effortless chemistry.

The concert, part of Cliff’s ‘Can’t Stop Me Now’ tour, featured iconic songs like ‘Summer Holiday’, ‘The Young Ones’, ‘Bachelor Boy’, ‘Living Doll’ and a powerful rendition of ‘Mistletoe and Wine.’

Cliff, 85, and Hank, with his signature red Fender Stratocaster, proved that their music and friendship are timeless.

According to reports, the moment the lights dimmed and the first chords of ‘Move It’ rang out, the crowd knew they were in for something extraordinary.

Backed by a full band, and surrounded by dazzling visuals, Cliff strode onto the stage in immaculate form – energetic and confident – and when Hank Marvin joined him mid-set, guitar in hand, the audience erupted in applause that shook the hall.

Together they launched into ‘The Young Ones’, their timeless 1961 hit which brought the crowd to its feet, with many in attendance moved to tears.

The audience was treated to a journey through time, with vintage film clips and state-of-the-art visuals adding to the nostalgic atmosphere.

Highlights of the evening included Cliff’s powerful vocals, Hank’s distinctive guitar riffs, and their playful banter on stage.

Cliff posing for The Island photographer … February,
2007

Cliff paused between songs to reflect on their shared journey saying:

“It’s been a lifetime of songs, memories, and friendship. Hank and I started this adventure when we were just boys — and look at us now, still up here making noise!”

As the final chords of ‘Congratulations’ filled the theatre, the crowd rose for a thunderous standing ovation that lasted several minutes.

Cliff waved, Hank gave a humble bow, and, together, they left the stage, arm-in-arm, to the refrain of “We’re the young ones — and we always will be.”

Reviews of the show were glowing, with fans and critics alike praising the duo’s energy, camaraderie, and enduring talent.

Overall, the Cliff Richard and Hank Marvin reunion concert was a truly special experience, celebrating the music and friendship that has captivated audiences for decades.

When Cliff Richard visited Sri Lanka, in February, 2007, I was invited to meet him, in his suite, at a hotel, in Colombo, and I presented him with my music page, which carried his story, and he was impressed.

In return, he personally autographed a souvenir for me … that was Cliff Richard, a truly wonderful human being.