Features

Dr. NM Perera’s days at S. Thomas’ & Ananda Colleges and entry into films

Published

7 months ago

2024/09/15

(Excerpted from NM – in his own words; as seen by others Edited by Prof. Colvin Goonaratna)

Somewhere towards the end of the war in 1918, I left St. Joseph’s School Grandpass, and sought admission to St. Thomas’ College, where my brothers were already boarded. Rev. Stone, who was Warden at the time, suggested that I make my application a year later, after a year at Cathedral Boy’s School, Mutwal, which was a branch of St. Thomas’ at the old premises.

I spent an uneventful year at the school to which I walked from home every morning, a distance of about three miles. My mother gave me 15 cents to spend on my lunch. I generally ate a bun with a cup of plain tea thrown in. Rest of the money I devoted to gram. After school, I trudged back home for a hefty plate of rice.

This school left no impression on me at all. Of the teachers, only one, Mr. Thambimuttu, remains in my memory. He taught me boxing. Mr. Jayasekera also rings a bell in my mind as a person who came occasionally to teach me singing. I made no headway in this.

In 1919, I went to the main College, St. Thomas’, as a boarder at Mount Lavinia. My elder brother, N.S.Perera, was already the Prefect at Coppleston House. My other brother, David, was also in the same House. Quite naturally I found myself installed at this House from the first day. Normally juniors gravitate from the ‘small houses’ like Winchester to the ‘big houses’ like Chapman and Coppleston. I escaped the hierarchical flow.

Coppleston was situated outside the bounds of the college proper. Since dormitory arrangements were still in the incubation stage, a private house was rented out as a dormitory. It was quite an old, somewhat ramshackle building with no running water. All of us had to troop to the well in the morning and there was quite a rush for the early morning ablutions.

There must have been about 40 of us in that ramshackle building with its uncemented floors. We had to march to the dining hall for morning tea and it was quite a sight to see the boys running half-dressed, unkempt, half-washed or unwashed. Some were lacing their boots as they walked, some were buttoning their clothes. Most of us were in various stages of disarray, but quite presentable by the time the hall was reached.

Needed no prodding

Of my school days, the period I spent at S. Thomas’ was the happiest. I look back to this period with genuine nostalgia. I reveled in the outdoor life it offered. As I have adverted earlier, studies came easily to me. I needed no prodding. I did enough to meet the requirements of the form-master and never thought of getting to the top of the class. It was sufficient for me that I was within the first ten.

As soon as school was over, we trooped into the dining hall for a cup of tea and a slice of bread which had a pat of butter. There might have been a sour plantain thrown in but this I cannot remember for certain, but food mattered least to us. We swallowed and gobbled and made a beeline to the cricket ground.

Cricket was the all-absorbing game. We lived for it, talked of it and dreamt of it. College was divided into two clubs. The small club and the big club. The small club was confined to the small boys and fell into four divisions. The smallest began in ‘D’ division. Every now and then, most promising boys were permitted to enter the ‘C’ division. As I showed some talent in cricket, I began with a jump to the ‘C’ division straightaway. From this, the best graduated to the ‘B’ division. From there the next step was ‘A’ division, which was a prelude to big club promotion.

All the best cricketers of the college were at the big club. We, of the small club, dreamt of the day when we would get promoted to the big club and eventually find a place in the first eleven, with the right to wear the college blazer.

Unprecedented feat

I think I made history at the small club of S, Thomas’. I was allocated to the ‘C’ division. Just above us was ‘B’ division which consisted of older boys with more cricketing prowess than us. After a few months the ‘C’ division accomplished an unprecedented and unheard of feat. We challenged the ‘B’ division and beat it handsomely. I take pride in the fact that I had a major hand in it with my bowling.

We were not content to rest on these laurels. We challenged the ‘A’ division and played on a proper matting wicket. The outcome of this match has slipped my memory, but we could not have fared too badly. We did have some good cricketers who blossomed out in college cricket in later years. Not long after this, I was promoted to the big club, but I did not stay long enough to qualify for the first eleven. I left St. Thomas’ for Ananda in 1922.

The whole atmosphere at St. Thomas’ at this time was pleasant and enjoyable. There was never a dull moment. The dormitory master was C. B. Paulick- Pulle who left us severely alone with little or no supervison. On Sunday morning, Rev. Stone, the Warden of the college, walked from his bungalow which was down the road by the railway crossing near the beach. He either played chess with us or draughts. He generally beat the boys at chess, I made up for it by defeating him at draughts.

My attachment to chess was induced by Rev. Stone and I am grateful to him, for it has continued to be a source of enjoyment to date. I never had the time to deviate into competitive chess. It continues to be a delectable relaxation from other work. Warden Stone also had a hand in moulding my educational career. He was responsible for diverting me from science to the classics.

He insisted that I take to Latin and Greek instead of science as my two elder brothers were already science students. We had already been inducted into Latin in fourth form. When I was promoted to the fifth form, which was preparatory to the Junior Cambridge, I was drawn into the study of Greek. I cannot say I was very enthusiastic, nor was I disposed to protest.

My elder brother, N. S. Perera, acquiesced and I fell in line. I can still remember the Greek alphabet, and the only book that has still remained in my memory is Zeno Phon Anabayis. Fortunately for me, I was moved away from St. Thomas’ before I could get absorbed into this dead language.

Gave nicknames to masters

We had some interesting characters as teachers at St. Thomas’. It was a tradition of the College to give nicknames to masters. Mr. C. V. Perera was dubbed ‘Soapa’ because it was said he had come to class half- shaved, and with soap on his face having been driven out of the house by his wife. He was a henpecked husband and generally took revenge by venting his ire on the boys.

He had a habit of slapping the boy nearest to him for a wrong answer given by a boy in the back of the class. Sometimes, he did a round of slapping for no ostensible reason that one can think of. But he

stopped short of the heftier boys who he feared might retaliate. I took the precaution of always sitting next to Dunstan de Silva, a forbidding hefty chap whom ‘Soapa’ never touched. ‘Soapa’ did our Latin and Greek.

Hilary Jansz commanded our respect because he was a strict disciplinarian. He was called ‘Herali’. O.P. Gunaratne, known as ‘La Goone’ because of his penchant for French, was also a strict taskmaster. More amiable was ‘Rambuttan’ Amerasinghe devoted to Mathematics. ‘Holman’ Ohlums was more sedate and easygoing. But on occasion he did a vicious horse-bite on the thighs of boys. Wanigasekera ‘Coolpide’ taught elementary science but was not very impressive. Mr. Arndt was volatile and aloof; he covered English literature and Greek. He had a reputation as a Shakespearean actor. He produced “Twelfth Night”, playing the part of Malvolio. I believe it made quite a hit at the time.

A man whom all of us feared was ” Nain Cotta” Navaratnam, the dormitory master of Chapman house. A short man with a short temper with a biting tongue as vicious as his mien. He kept very much to himself because he was more concerned with his law studies than teaching. He eventually passed on to practice at the bar with some degree of success.

Important watershed in life

I left St. Thomas’ College and joined Ananda in the year 1922, This sudden switch from a missionary

institution to a national institution marked an important watershed in my life. Many reasons contributed to this significant change.

Under the dynamic leadership of Mr. P de S. Kularatne, Ananda was becoming the premier Buddhist educational establishment of the country. More than that, it was in the forefront of education. It outshone other colleges in the results it achieved in public examinations. An outstanding staff gave it a pre- eminence which attracted the best talents of the student population.

Apart from Mr. Kularatne himself, we had such teachers like G. Weeramantry, T.B. Jayah, G.P. Malalasekera, C. Suntheralingam, C. S. Strange, C.V. Ranawaka, William Perera, J.N. Jinendradasa, L.H. Mettananda, G.C. Edirisinghe, etc.

Furthermore, this was the period of Buddhist revival coupled with nationalism. Mr. Kularatne himself had led the way by donning the national dress and discarding the coat and trousers as foreign to our cultural heritage. Doubtless, the ferment in India under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, Motilal Nehru, Sapru Malaviya and C.R. Das fired the imagination of an institution like Ananda.

It is no accident that Ananda at this time sponsored distinguished guest speakers such as Mrs. Sarojini Naidu and Dr. Evans Wentz. While Mrs. Sarojini Naidu kindled our national aspirations, Dr. E. Evans Wentz stimulated the Buddhist revival. These were but two facets of the single objective of national regeneration. National independence was a sine qua non for Buddhism to regain its rightful place in the country. This trend of thought got additional stimulus from an address by Mrs. Annie Besant.

Pestering relatives

I was thus catapulted from a carefree world of sport and an alien atmosphere to a new world of intense

nationalism. In my last year at St. Thomas’, I had been smoothly inveigled into becoming a Christian as a result of some slick work on the part of Rev. G. B. Ekanayake. I was rescued just in time by the vigilance of my parents who gently whisked me away from that atmosphere.

The transfer to Ananda was facilitated also by the change of abode from St. Joseph’s Street to Maligakanda. My father decided to run away from his pestering relatives in the Grandpass area and shifted to a rented house in Maligakanda Road. There was the added reason that my elder brother, N. S. Perera, had finished his schooling. All three of us, therefore, left the boarding at Mount Lavinia.

I continued my studies at Ananda. My elder brother, David, dropped out of his studies. N. S. took to teaching for a short while before joining the Survey Department as a probationary Assistant Superintendent of Surveys, one of the first batches I believe opened to Ceylonese.

Student life at Ananda was quite different to the carefree, playful atmosphere of St. Thomas’. As a day scholar, I had not the constant companionship of students that a boarding life offers. I came bang into the problems connected with domestic life. Congested Maligakanda was not an invigorating place. There were no congenial companions close by and the lighthearted happiness I enjoyed at Mount Lavinia had evaporated.

Fortunately, we did not dwell long at Maligakanda. Within the space of a year or so, we shifted to No. 41, Campbell Place, a house with a garden in front and the rear. Father had purchased it and there we felt a sense of relief. Our neighbours were kind and friendly. I was particularly pleased because the college playground was only a few minutes’ walk from home.

With my admission to Ananda, my concentration on studies increased. I cleared both Junior and Senior Cambridge examinations without much effort though I do not think I did anything outstanding. Still, my first love was cricket. The strong predilection that I had for outdoor sport, continued unabated. Football, hockey, athletics and cadeting, all absorbed most of my waking thoughts. Studies were not neglected. I took them in my stride. When I left St. Thomas’, Latin and Greek were also left behind.

Ananda had jettisoned these dead languages and I got propelled into more exciting studies like history and geography. I was pushed into botany and chemistry as well. These latter subjects never caught my fancy, may be because the teachers were not inspiring enough.

At Ananda, after the first year, I was blossoming out as a leader of the students. Apart from the fact that as a cricketer of the first eleven, I commanded some prestige as I participated in more of the extra-curricular activities. Debating societies found in me an active member. At the fair for raising funds for the College, Mr. Kularatne would pick on me for responsible jobs. He felt he could depend on me to do my work without fear or favour.

More formative was the new atmosphere I breathed. I began to grasp the true meaning of Buddhism. Hitherto, it had been just ritual, going to temples with members of the family, reciting gathas and lighting oil lamps. Now, for the first time under the guidance of great teachers like Rev. Ananda Maithriya, Buddhist philosophy broadened my humanism. The reality of the doctrines began to penetrate the innermost recesses of my thinking. It was natural, therefore, that I observed Ata Sil on most Poya days while at Ananda.

Herein lay the great divide. Missionary education was both apolitical and anti-national, not specifically, but insidiously so. An institution like Ananda had a different tone and a different atmosphere. At Ananda, one felt the impact of everything that was happening in the country, to the people of the country. At an institution like St. Thomas’, one felt aloof and immune from the hurly burly of everyday life. I believe this was typical of most missionary schools that functioned during this time.

In this new atmosphere charged with nationalist feelings, the more serious side of my character was being stirred. Ananda was slowly remoulding me. Every discussion, every controversy was stirring something latent in my consciousness. In the not too distant future, these smouldering embers would be kindled and the blazing fire would help devour much of the privileges and injustices of an alien hegemony.

Came a cropper

I came a cropper at the 1924. London Matriculation Examination, the only examination I ever failed. I had offered botany as one of the subjects, and it pulled me down. So much depends on the correct approach of the teacher in stimulating the interest of the subject, that botany never caught my imagination at that time. Looking back, I think this is a pity because it can be a fascinating subject if more field work and less classroom studies are undertaken.

Anyhow, I switched from botany to logic the following year and easily cleared the hurdle. Here, I must pay a tribute to the teacher who made a vital difference to me in my studies. I refer to Mr. G. C. Edirisinghe. He generated a new enthusiasm in the study of history in particular. A keen mind, George, as we fondly called him, had read widely. He was well steeped in Gibbon and had a good grasp of the philosophy of history. He had the capacity to impart the wide knowledge he had imbibed. With history ceasing to be a dull recitation of dates, but a living comprehension of the threads that bind humanity as it moved towards a higher synthesis, I am deeply beholden to him for the help he gave me.

I left Ananda in 1925 after the inter- collegiate cricket season. I captained the team and we did fairly well as a side. We played a number of matches with other big colleges, a privilege which we did not enjoy in previous years. So strong was the prejudice against Ananda by the top missionary colleges.

A gap of five to six months intervened between leaving Ananda and joining the University College.

There was no University then. We had a College affiliated to the London University for the examinations which the students sat. Time would have been weighing on me heavily during this gap, had not chance offered me a stranger and exciting experience.

Mr. Noorbhai of Bambalapitiya had decided to screen a film in Ceylon and engaged a Bengali producer, Mr. Gupta. An advertisement appeared in the local press calling for would be actors and actresses. Partly out of curiosity, partly as a lark, I applied. To my surprise I was interviewed and chosen to take the part of the hero. I was reconciled to be allotted some minor role, and the chief role was more than my wildest dream entertained.

The location of this new film venture was in Joseph Lane, Bambalapitiya. It was a house belonging to Mr. Noorbhai situated quite close to his own abode. At this distance of time I have only a foggy memory of the place and its layout. It was bare of all furniture, and I believe Mr. Gupta, the director, sat cross-legged on a mat and interviewed me. He was a small-made shabbily dressed unimpressive man, whose knowledge about film production could not be rated very high. He wore a dhoti that does not seem to have seen the dhoby for some time.

His appearance was indicative of his limited mental equipment for the onerous task of producing a film. He might have been a technician of some sort from Bengal. Somehow or other, he seems to have inveigled the hardheaded businesses man, Mr. Noorbhai, into embarking on a doubtful venture.

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Features

RIDDHI-MA:

Published

12 hours ago

2025/04/8

Sahan Weerasooriya

Figure 1: Male bodies covered with heavy costumes. Riddhi-Ma, at Elphinstone Theatre, 28th March 2025, Source: Malshan Witharana.

A new Era of Dance in Sri Lanka

Kapila Palihawadana, an internationally renowned dancer and choreographer staged his new dance production, Riddhi-Ma, on 28 March 2025 at the Elphinstone theatre, which was filled with Sri Lankan theatregoers, foreign diplomats and students of dance. Kapila appeared on stage with his charismatic persona signifying the performance to be unravelled on stage. I was anxiously waiting to see nATANDA dancers. He briefly introduced the narrative and the thematic background to the production to be witnessed. According to him, Kapila has been inspired by the Sri Lankan southern traditional dance (Low Country) and the mythologies related to Riddhi Yâgaya (Riddi Ritual) and the black magic to produce a ‘contemporary ballet’.

Riddhi Yâgaya also known as Rata Yakuma is one of the elaborative exorcism rituals performed in the southern dance tradition in Sri Lanka. It is particularly performed in Matara and Bentara areas where this ritual is performed in order to curb the barrenness and the expectation of fertility for young women (Fargnoli & Seneviratne 2021). Kapila’s contemporary ballet production had intermingled both character, Riddi Bisaw (Princes Riddhi) and the story of Kalu Kumaraya (Black Prince), who possesses young women and caught in the evil gaze (yaksa disti) while cursing upon them to be ill (De Munck, 1990).

Kapila weaves a tapestry of ritual dance elements with the ballet movements to create visually stunning images on stage. Over one and a half hours of duration, Kapila’s dancers mesmerized the audience through their virtuosic bodily competencies in Western ballet, Sri Lankan dance, especially the symbolic elements of low country dance and the spontaneity of movements. It is human bodily virtuosity and the rhythmic structures, which galvanised our senses throughout the performance. From very low phases of bodily movements to high speed acceleration, Kapila managed to visualise the human body as an elevated sublimity.

Contemporary Ballet

Figure 2 – (L) Umesha Kapilarathna performs en pointe, and (R) Narmada Nekethani performs with Jeewaka Randeepa, Riddhi-Ma, at Elphinstone Theatre, Maradana, 28th March 2025. Source:
Malshan Witharana

The dance production Riddhi-Ma was choreographed in several segments accompanied by a flow of various music arrangements and sound elements within which the dance narrative was laid through. In other words, Kapila as a choreographer, overcomes the modernist deadlock in his contemporary dance work that the majority of Sri Lankan dance choreographers have very often succumbed to. These images of bodies of female dancers commensurate the narrative of women’s fate and her vulnerability in being possessed by the Black Demon and how she overcomes and emancipates from the oppression. In this sense, Kapila’s dancers have showcased their ability to use the bodies not much as an object which is trained to perform a particular tradition but to present bodily fluidity which can be transformed into any form. Kapila’s performers possess formlessness, fluid fragility through which they break and overcome their bodily regimentations.

It was such a highly sophisticated ‘contemporary ballet’ performed at a Sri Lankan theatre with utmost rigour and precision. Bodies of all male and female dancers were highly trained and refined through classical ballet and contemporary dance. In addition, they demonstrated their abilities in performing other forms of dance. Their bodies were trained to achieve skilful execution of complex ballet movements, especially key elements of traditional ballet namely, improvisation, partnering, interpretation and off-balance and the local dance repertoires. Yet, these key ballet elements are not necessarily a part of contemporary ballet training (Marttinen, 2016). However, it is important for the dance students to learn these key elements of traditional ballet and use them in the contemporary dance settings. In this sense, Kapila’s dancers have achieved such vigour and somatic precision through assiduous practice of the body to create the magic on stage.

Pas de deux

Among others, a particular dance sequence attracted my attention the most. In the traditional ballet lexicon, it is a ‘pas de deux’ which is performed by the ‘same race male and female dancers,’ which can be called ‘a duet’. As Lutts argues, ‘Many contemporary choreographers are challenging social structures and norms within ballet by messing with the structure of the pas de deux (Lutts, 2019). Pas de Deux is a dance typically done by male and female dancers. In this case, Kapila has selected a male and a female dancer whose gender hierarchies appeared to be diminished through the choreographic work. In the traditional pas de deux, the male appears as the backdrop of the female dancer or the main anchorage of the female body, where the female body is presented with the support of the male body. Kapila has consciously been able to change this hierarchical division between the traditional ballet and the contemporary dance by presenting the female dominance in the act of dance.

The sequence was choreographed around a powerful depiction of the possession of the Gara Yakâ over a young woman, whose vulnerability and the powerful resurrection from the possession was performed by two young dancers. The female dancer, a ballerina, was in a leotard and a tight while wearing a pair of pointe shoes (toe shoes). Pointe shoes help the dancers to swirl on one spot (fouettés), on the pointed toes of one leg, which is the indication of the ballet dancer’s ability to perform en pointe (The Kennedy Centre 2020).

The stunning imagery was created throughout this sequence by the female and the male dancers intertwining their flexible bodies upon each other, throwing their bodies vertically and horizontally while maintaining balance and imbalance together. The ballerina’s right leg is bent and her toes are directed towards the floor while performing the en pointe with her ankle. Throughout the sequence she holds the Gara Yakâ mask while performing with the partner.

The male dancer behind the ballerina maintains a posture while depicting low country hand gestures combining and blurring the boundaries between Sri Lankan dance and the Western ballet (see figure 3). In this sequence, the male dancer maintains the balance of the body while lifting the female dancer’s body in the air signifying some classical elements of ballet.

Haptic sense

Figure 3: Narmada Nekathani performs with the Gara Yaka mask while indicating her right leg as en pointe. Male dancer, Jeewaka Randeepa’s hand gestures signify the low country pose. Riddhi-Ma, Dance Theatre at Elphinstone Theatre, 28th March 2025. Source: Malshan Witharana.

One significant element of this contemporary ballet production is the costume design. The selection of colour palette, containing black, red and while combining with other corresponding colours and also the costumes which break the traditional rules and norms are compelling. I have discussed in a recent publication how clothes connect with the performer’s body and operate as an embodied haptic perception to connect with the spectators (Liyanage, 2025). In this production, the costumes operate in two different ways: First it signifies sculpted bodies creating an embodied, empathic experience.

Secondly, designs of costumes work as a mode of three dimensional haptic sense. Kapila gives his dancers fully covered clothing, while they generate classical ballet and Sinhalese ritual dance movements. The covered bodies create another dimension to clothing over bodies. In doing so, Kapila attempts to create sculpted bodies on stage by blurring the boundaries of gender oriented clothing and its usage in Sri Lankan dance.

Sri Lankan female body on stage, particularly in dance has been presented as an object of male desire. I have elsewhere cited that the lâsya or the feminine gestures of the dance repertoire has been the marker of the quality of dance against the tândava tradition (Liyanage, 2025). The theatregoers visit the theatre to appreciate the lâsya bodies of female dancers and if the dancer meets this threshold, then she becomes the versatile dancer. Kandyan dancers such as Vajira and Chithrasena’s dance works are explored and analysed with this lâsya and tândava criteria. Vajira for instance becomes the icon of the lâsya in the Kandyan tradition. It is not my intention here to further discuss the discourse of lâsya and tândava here.

But Kapila’s contemporary ballet overcomes this duality of male-female aesthetic categorization of lâsya and tândava which has been a historical categorization of dance bodies in Sri Lanka (Sanjeewa 2021).

Figure 4: Riddhi-Ma’s costumes creates sculpted bodies combining the performer and the audience through empathic projection. Dancers, Sithija Sithimina and Senuri Nimsara appear in Riddhi-Ma, at Elphinstone Theatre, 28th March 2025, Source, Malshan Witharana.

Conclusion

Dance imagination in the Sri Lankan creative industry exploits the female body as an object. The colonial mind set of the dance body as a histrionic, gendered, exotic and aesthetic object is still embedded in the majority of dance productions produced in the current cultural industry. Moreover, dance is still understood as a ‘language’ similar to music where the narratives are shared in symbolic movements. Yet, Kapila has shown us that dance exists beyond language or lingual structures where it creates humans to experience alternative existence and expression. In this sense, dance is intrinsically a mode of ‘being’, a kinaesthetic connection where its phenomenality operates beyond the rationality of our daily life.

At this juncture, Kapila and his dance ensemble have marked a significant milestone by eradicating the archetypical and stereotypes in Sri Lankan dance. Kapila’s intervention with Riddi Ma is way ahead of our contemporary reality of Sri Lankan dance which will undoubtedly lead to a new era of dance theatre in Sri Lanka.

References

De Munck, V. C. (1990). Choosing metaphor. A case study of Sri Lankan exorcism. Anthropos, 317-328. Fargnoli, A., & Seneviratne, D. (2021). Exploring Rata Yakuma: Weaving dance/movement therapy and a

Sri Lankan healing ritual. Creative Arts in Education and Therapy (CAET), 230-244.

Liyanage, S. 2025. “Arts and Culture in the Post-War Sri Lanka: Body as Protest in Post-Political Aragalaya (Porattam).” In Reflections on the Continuing Crises of Post-War Sri Lanka, edited by Gamini Keerawella and Amal Jayawardane, 245–78. Colombo: Institute for International Studies (IIS) Sri Lanka.

Lutts, A. (2019). Storytelling in Contemporary Ballet.

Samarasinghe, S. G. (1977). A Methodology for the Collection of the Sinhala Ritual. Asian Folklore Studies, 105-130.

Sanjeewa, W. (2021). Historical Perspective of Gender Typed Participation in the Performing Arts in Sri Lanka During the Pre-Colonial, The Colonial Era, and the Post-Colonial Eras. International Journal of Social Science And Human Research, 4(5), 989-997.

The Kennedy Centre. 2020. “Pointe Shoes Dancing on the Tips of the Toes.” Kennedy-Center.org. 2020 https://www.kennedy-center.org/education/resources-for-educators/classroom-resources/media- and-interactives/media/dance/pointe-shoes/..

Acknowledgements

The author wishes to thank Himansi Dehigama for proofreading this article.

About the author:

Saumya Liyanage (PhD) is a film and theatre actor and professor in drama and theatre, currently working at the Department of Theatre Ballet and Modern Dance, Faculty of Dance and Drama, University of the Visual and Performing Arts (UVPA), Colombo. He is the former Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies and is currently holding the director position of the Social Reconciliation Centre, UVPA Colombo.

Features

Sri Lanka’s Foreign Policy amid Geopolitical Transformations: 1990-2024 – Part II

Published

12 hours ago

2025/04/8

Sahan Weerasooriya

Chinese naval ship

Chinese Naval Entry and End of Post-War Unipolarity

The ascendancy of China as an emerging superpower is one of the most striking shifts in the global distribution of economic and political power in the 21st century. With its strategic rise, China has assumed a more proactive diplomatic and economic role in the Indian Ocean, signalling its emergence as a global superpower. This new leadership role is exemplified by initiatives such as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). The Economist noted that “China’s decision to fund a new multilateral bank rather than give more to existing ones reflects its exasperation with the glacial pace of global economic governance reform” (The Economist, 11 November 2014). Thus far, China’s ascent to global superpower status has been largely peaceful.

In 2025, in terms of Navy fleet strength, China became the world’s largest Navy, with a fleet of 754 ships, thanks to its ambitious naval modernisation programme. In May 2024, the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) further strengthened its capabilities by commissioning the Fujian, its latest aircraft carrier. Equipped with an advanced electromagnetic catapult system, the Fujian can launch larger and heavier aircraft, marking a significant upgrade over its predecessors.

Driven by export-led growth, China sought to reinvest its trade surplus, redefining the Indian Ocean region not just as a market but as a key hub for infrastructure investment. Notably, over 80 percent of China’s oil imports from the Persian Gulf transit to the Straits of Malacca before reaching its industrial centres. These factors underscore the Indian Ocean’s critical role in China’s economic and naval strategic trajectories.

China’s port construction projects along the Indian Ocean littoral, often associated with the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), exemplify its deepening geopolitical and economic engagement in the region. These initiatives encompass multipurpose berth development, deep-sea port construction, and supporting infrastructure projects aimed at enhancing maritime connectivity and trade. Key projects include the development of Gwadar Port in Pakistan, a strategic asset for China’s access to the Arabian Sea; Hambantota Port in Sri Lanka, which became a focal point of debt diplomacy concerns; the Payra deep-sea port in Bangladesh; as well as port and road infrastructure development in Myanmar’s Yunnan and Kyaukphyu regions and Cambodia’s Koh Kong.

While these projects were promoted as avenues for economic growth and regional connectivity, they also triggered geopolitical tensions and domestic opposition in several host countries. Concerns over excessive debt burdens, lack of transparency, and potential dual-use (civilian and military) implications of port facilities led to scrutiny from both local and external stakeholders, including India and Western powers. As a result, some projects faced significant pushback, delays, and, in certain cases, suspension or cancellation. This opposition underscores the complex interplay between economic cooperation, strategic interests, and sovereignty concerns in China’s Indian Ocean engagements.

China’s expanding economic, diplomatic, and naval footprint in the Indian Ocean has fundamentally altered the region’s strategic landscape, signalling the end of early post-Cold War unipolarity. Through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) initiatives, China has entrenched itself economically, financing. Diplomatically, Beijing has deepened its engagement with littoral states through bilateral agreements, security partnerships, and regional forums, challenging traditional Western and Indian influence.

China’s expanding naval deployments in the Indian Ocean, including its military base in Djibouti, and growing security cooperation with regional states, mark the end of unchallenged US dominance in the region. The Indian Ocean is now a contested space, where China’s presence compels strategic recalibrations by India, the United States, and other regional actors. The evolving security landscape in the Indian Ocean—marked by intensifying competition, shifting alliances, and the rise of a multipolar order—has significant implications for Sri Lanka’s geopolitical future.

India views China’s growing economic, political, and strategic presence in the Indian Ocean region as a key strategic challenge. In response, India has pursued a range of strategic, political, and economic measures to counterbalance Chinese influence, particularly in countries like Sri Lanka through infrastructure investment, defense partnerships, and diplomatic engagements.

Other Extra-Regional powers

Japan and Australia have emerged as significant players in the post-Cold War strategic landscape of the Indian Ocean. During the early phases of the Cold War, Australia played a crucial role in Western ‘Collective Security Alliances’ (ANZUS and (SEATO). However, its direct engagement in Indian Ocean security remained limited, primarily supporting the British Royal Navy under Commonwealth obligations. Japan, meanwhile, refrained from deploying naval forces in the region after World War II, adhering to its pacifist constitution and post-war security policies. In recent decades, shifting strategic conditions have prompted both Japan and Australia to reassess their roles in the Indian Ocean, leading to greater defence cooperation and a more proactive regional presence.

In the post-Cold War era, Australia has progressively expanded its naval engagements in the Indian Ocean, driven by concerns over maritime security, protection of trade routes, and China’s growing influence. Through initiatives, such as the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) and deeper defence partnerships with India and the United States, Australia has bolstered its strategic presence in the Indian Ocean region.

Recalibration of Japan’s approach

Japan, too, has recalibrated its approach to Indian Ocean security in response to geopolitical shifts. Recognising the Indian Ocean’s critical importance for its energy security and trade, Japan has strengthened its naval presence through port visits, joint exercises, and maritime security cooperation. The Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force (JMSDF) has taken on a more active role in anti-piracy operations, freedom of navigation operations (FONOPS), and strategic partnerships with Indian Ocean littoral states. This shift aligns with Japan’s broader strategy of contributing to regional stability while balancing its constitutional constraints on military force projection.

Japan’s proactive role in the Indian Ocean region is evident in its diplomatic and defence engagements. In January 2019, Japan sent its Foreign Minister, Taro Kono, and Chief of Staff, Joint Staff, Katsutoshi Kawano, to the Raisina Dialogue, a high-profile geopolitical conference in India. Japan’s National Security Strategy, released in December 2022, identifies China’s growing assertiveness as its greatest strategic challenge and underscores the need to deepen bilateral ties and multilateral defence cooperation in the Indian Ocean. It also emphasises the importance of securing stable access to sea-lanes, through which more than 80 percent of Japan’s oil imports pass. In recent years, Japan has expanded its port investment portfolio across the Indian Ocean, with major projects in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Myanmar. In 2021, Japan participated for the first time in CARAT-Sri Lanka (Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training), a bilateral naval exercise. Japan’s Maritime Self-Defence Force returned for the exercise in January 2023, held at Trincomalee Port and Mullikulam Base.

Japan’s strategic interests in the Indian Ocean have been most evident in its involvement in port infrastructure development projects. Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Myanmar are key countries where early Chinese-led port construction faced setbacks. Unlike India, which carries historical and political complexities in its relations with these countries, Japan is better positioned to compete with China. In December 2021, a Japanese company established a ship repair and rebuilding facility in Trincomalee, complementing the already well-established Tokyo Cement factory. When the Sri Lanka Ports Authority announced plans in mid-2022 to develop Trincomalee as an industrial port—inviting expressions of interest from investors to utilise port facilities and up to 2,400 hectares of surrounding land—Trincomalee regained strategic attention.

The Colombo Dockyard, in collaboration with Japan’s Onomichi Dockyard, has established a rapid response afloat service in Trincomalee, marking a significant development in Japan’s engagement with Sri Lanka’s maritime infrastructure. This initiative aligns with Japan’s broader strategic interests in the Bay of Bengal, a region of critical economic and security importance. A key Japanese concern appears to be limiting China’s ability to establish a permanent presence in Trincomalee. This initiative underscores the broader strategic competition in the Indian Ocean. Trincomalee, with its deep-water harbour, has long been regarded as a critical maritime asset. Japan’s involvement reflects its efforts to deepen economic and strategic engagement with Sri Lanka amid growing regional competition. The challenge before Sri Lanka is how to navigate this strategic contest while maximising its national interests.

Other Regional Powers

In analyzing the evolving naval security architecture of the post-Cold War Indian Ocean, particular attention should be given to the naval developments of regional powers such as Pakistan, Indonesia, and Malaysia. In 2012, Pakistan established the Naval Strategic Force Command (NSFC) to strengthen Pakistan’s policy of Credible Minimum Deterrence (CMD). The creation of the NSFC suggests a shift toward sea-based deterrence, complementing Pakistan’s broader military strategy. In December 2012, Pakistan conducted a series of cruise missile tests from naval platforms in the Arabian Sea. Given India’s expanding maritime capabilities, which Pakistan views as a significant threat, the Pakistan Navy may consider deploying tactical nuclear weapons on surface ships as part of its evolving deterrence strategy. Sri Lanka’s foreign policy cannot overlook this development.

Indonesia also emerged as a significant player in the evolving naval security landscape of the Indian Ocean. In 2010, it launched a military modernisation programme aimed at achieving a ‘Minimum Essential Force’ (MEF) by 2024. As part of this initiative, Indonesia sought to build a modern Navy with 247 surface vessels and 12 submarines. One of the primary challenges faced by the Indonesian Navy (TNI-AL) is piracy. To enhance maritime security, Indonesia and Singapore signed the SURPIC Cooperation Arrangement in Bantam in May 2005, enabling real-time sea surveillance in the Singapore Strait for more effective naval patrols. In 2017, Indonesia introduced the Indonesian Ocean Policy (IOP) and subsequently incorporated blue economy strategies into its national development agenda, reinforcing its maritime vision. According to projections from the Global Firepower Index, published in 2025, the Indonesian Navy is ranked fourth in global ranking and second in Asia in terms of Navy fleet strength (Global Firepower, 2025).

In October 2012, the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) announced plans to build a second Scorpène simulator training facility at its base in Kota Kinabalu, in addition to submarine base in Sepanggar, Sabah, constructed in 2002. To enhance its naval capabilities, the RMN planned to procure 18 Littoral Mission Ships (LMS) for maritime surveillance and six Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) between 2019 and 2023. Malaysia and China finalised their first major defence deal during Prime Minister Najib Razak’s visit to Beijing in November 2016. During this visit, Malaysia’s Defence Ministry signed a contract to procure LMS from China, as reported by The Guardian. Despite this agreement, Malaysia continues to maintain amicable relations with both China and India, as does Indonesia.

The increasing presence of major naval powers, the rise of regional stakeholders, and the growing significance of trade routes and maritime security have transformed the Indian Ocean into a central pivot of both regional and global politics, with Sri Lanka positioned at its heart. (To be Continued)

by Gamini Keerawella

Features

More excitement for Andrea Marr…

Published

12 hours ago

2025/04/8

Sahan Weerasooriya

Andrea Marr with IntoGroove. They are world class, she says

Sri Lankan Andrea Marr, now based in Australia, is in the spotlight again. She says she has teamed up with a fantastic bunch of Sri Lankan musicians, in Melbourne, and the band is called IntoGroove.

“The band has been going strong for many years and I have been a fan of this outfit for quite a few years; just love these guys, authentic R&B and funk.”

Although Andrea has her original blues band, The McNaMarr Project, and they do have a busy schedule, she went on to say that “when the opportunity came up to join these guys, I simply couldn’t refuse … they are too good.”

IntoGroove is Jude Nicholas (lead vocals), Peter Menezes (bass), Keith Pereira (drums), Blaise De Silva (keyboards) and and Steve Wright (guitar).

Andrea Marr: Powerhouse of the blues

“These guys are a fantastic band and I really want everyone to hear them.”

Andrea is a very talented artiste with many achievements to her credit, and a vocal coach, as well.

In fact, she did her second vocal coaching session at Australian Songwriters Conference early this year.

Her first student showcase for this year took place last Sunday, in Melbourne, and it brought into the spotlight the wonderful acts she has moulded, as teacher and mentor.

What makes Andrea extra special is that she has years of teaching experience and is able to do group vocal coaching for all styles, levels and genres.

In January, this year, she performed at the exclusive ‘Women In Blues’ showcase at Alfred’s On Beale Street (rock venue with live entertainment), in Memphis, in the USA, during the International Blues Challenge when bands from all over the world converge on Memphis for the ‘Olympics of the Blues.’

The McNaMarr Project with Andrea and Lindsay Marr in the
vocal spotlight

This was her fourth performance in the home of the blues; she has represented Australian Blues three times and, on this occasion, she went as ambassador for Blues Music Victoria, and The Melbourne Blues Appreciation Society’s ‘Women In Blues’ Coordinator.

Andrea was inducted into the Blues Music Victoria Hall of Fame in 2022 and released her 10th album which hit #1 on the Australian Blues Charts.

Known as ‘the pint-sized powerhouse of the blues’ for her high energy, soulful, original music, Andrea is also a huge fan of the late Elvis Presley and has checked out Graceland, in Memphis, Tennessee, USA, many times.

In Melbourne, the singer also plays a major role in helping Animal Rescue organisations find homes for abandoned cats.

Andrea Marr’s wish, at the moment, is that the Lankan audience, in Melbourne, would get behind this band, IntoGroove. They are world class, she added.