Midweek Review

Power of colour beyond visual appeal and aesthetic beauty

Published

11 months ago

2025/04/23

Blue lights (R) at the Woodside LIRR train station in New York (Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Woodside_LIRR_Blue_Lights_on_platform_.jpg )

Use of colours in pre-historic era

Humans have been long fascinated by colour, which has played a significant role since the beginning of human civilization. Ancient people had painted caves even before they settled in houses. Cave paintings were created during the stone age from 10,000 to 40,000 years ago. Primitive artists used natural materials available to them to mark their territory, beautify their surroundings, and tell their stories. For thousands of years, paints were handmade from ground mineral-based pigments. Ochre, a natural pigment which comes in shades of red, yellow, orange and brown, was the first pigment used by humans, in the Middle Stone Age of Africa. Ochre, also called hematite, is found all over the world and has been used by nearly every prehistoric culture, whether as paint on caves and building walls, for staining of pottery or other types of artifacts, or as part of a burial ritual or body painting.

Man’s irresistible desire to create pigments was not without untoward consequences. For instance, in 1,775, Carl Wilhelm Scheele, a Swedish chemist, invented a bright green pigment, but it was laced with the deadly poisonous chemical arsenic; it was cheap to produce, but dangerous for artists and patrons alike. However, the French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte was so fascinated by and passionate about this colour, he wanted his bedroom wallpaper painted with Scheele’s Green. Historians believe that the green pigment used in the wallpaper caused his untimely death in 1821 at the age of 51 due to cancer. By the end of the 19th century, Paris Green—a mixture of copper and arsenic—replaced Scheele’s Green as a more durable alternative, enabling Claude Monet, Paul Cézanne, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir to create vivid, emerald landscapes. It is also toxic, and thus has also been used as a rodenticide and insecticide. The blindness which Monet subsequently succumbed to may have been due to the toxicity of Paris Green, which was banned in the 1960s.

The Egyptians artists added binders such as eggs, resins and beeswax to pigments so that the paint would adhere to plaster and began painting on it. Hence, Egyptian tombs made of limestone were covered with plaster that was painted using six colours: charcoal black, red ochre, yellow orpiment, brown ochre, blue azurite, and green malachite. Natural mineral pigments were dug from the earth and shaped into sticks that were used as chalks by artists including Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Rembrandt. Dyes made from plants were also used in artwork in the Mediterranean region. By the mid-nineteenth-century, watercolors became available for sale to the public. Since the 1940s, technological advances have produced synthetic pigments and chemical processes for paint making which greatly contributed to expanding the once mineral-based limited colour palette to all the colours of the rainbow. Since then, colour-based industries have grown progressively in the world and the worth of the paint and coatings industry and of colour cosmetics industries in 2023 amounted to around $ 180 billion and $ 80 billion, respectively.

Physics of colour and vision

In the 1660s, English physicist and mathematician, Isaac Newton, demonstrated that clear white light was composed of seven visible colours. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in 1810 published his treatise on the nature, function, and psychology of colours titled “Theory of Colours”. One of his most radical points was a refutation of Newton’s ideas about the colour spectrum, suggesting that darkness is an active ingredient rather than the mere passive absence of light. Though his work was dismissed by a large segment of the scientific community, it remained of intense interest to a cohort of prominent philosophers and physicists, including Arthur Schopenhauer, Kurt Gödel, and Ludwig Wittgenstein.

Colour springs from the alchemy of light and perception. Light, an ethereal wave of electromagnetic radiation, spans a spectrum visible to human eyes from approximately 380 to 750 nanometers. As light touches an object, it may be reflected, absorbed, or transmitted, with the reflected wavelengths crafting the hue perceived by the eye. This interaction is interpreted by the brain, transforming raw light into the rich palette of the world around us.

The human eye, a wondrous instrument, houses three types of photoreceptor cells known as cones, each attuned to different wavelengths of light:

S Cones: Sensitive to short wavelengths, peaking around 420 nm, endowing us with the perception of blue.

M Cones: Responsive to medium wavelengths, peaking around 534 nm, allowing us to see green.

L Cones: Tuned to long wavelengths, peaking around 564 nm, revealing the red hues.

Human beings can only see the colours that these receptors can receive. Together, these cones create a symphony of signals that the brain harmonises into the countless colours we perceive, enabling us to distinguish millions of shades.

Nature’s creatures possess a diversity of vision, often surpassing human capabilities. Birds and insects, for instance, enjoy a tetrachromatic[DC1] vision (having four types of cone cells in the eye to perceive colour), with an additional type of cone sensitive to ultraviolet (UV) light, unveiling a hidden spectrum invisible to human eyes. Many bird species use UV signals for mating, navigation, and foraging.

Colours are ‘illusions’

People are quite interested in and passionate about colours; thus, they generally make an initial judgment about a product, person, or environment within 90 seconds, and a significant proportion of this assessment, i.e. 60-90%, is based on colour. This shows how strong the influence of colour on perception and decision-making is. Despite this extraordinary experience of colour perception, all colours are ‘illusions’ in the sense that they do not belong to objects independently of how these are perceived. Neither objects nor lights are coloured ‘in themselves’, but are seen as coloured as a result of neural processes and perceptual mechanisms. In fact, the physical properties of colours are different from the way colours are perceived. For example, take a yellow sunflower; it absorbs the blue, red and other colour energy waves, and then reflects back wavelengths that appear yellow. The colour receptors in our eyes then translate the flower’s wavelength into its colour and send that to our brain.

Blue colours in animals are not caused by chemical pigments, but rather by physics and the way light bounces off a surface. Blue-winged butterflies have layered nanostructures on their wing scales that manipulate light layers, cancelling out certain colours and projecting the fluorescent blue colour that we see; thus, they are called structural colours. Another classic example of structural coloration is the peacock’s feather. The microscopic structures in the feathers manipulate light to produce brilliant blues and greens that shift and change as the viewing angle alters. Thus, blue butterflies, roses, and peacocks aren’t actually blue and our eyes have duped us (Fig. 1).

Effects of colour on human behaviour and wellbeing

People have long understood the power of colour over moods and well-being. Colour was used in ancient Egypt, China, and Greece to evoke emotions, aid in spiritual practices, and treat a variety of conditions. Many ancient civilizations, such as the Egyptians and Chinese, embraced the belief that colours possessed healing properties and could be harnessed for therapeutic purposes. This practice, known as chromotherapy, involved the use of specific hues to treat various ailments and promote overall well-being.

Colour is a multidimensional concept which goes beyond visual appeal and aesthetic beauty. It encompasses physical, psychological, cultural, symbolic, artistic, aesthetic and scientific dimensions, including physiological. The aesthetic beauty of colour has added a mesmerizing and exciting tapestry to nature and it is inconceivable to imagine a world without colour. Leigh Hunt (1784–1859), prolific English poet and journalist, said “Colours are the smiles of nature”.

Colour can affect humans in manifold ways ranging from psychological, physiological, cognitive to emotional, behavioural, healing etc., thereby having a profound influence on their mood, creativity, productivity, health and happiness. In addition, it has a remarkable power not only to heal, rejuvenate and inspire, but also to instill a sense of peace and harmony in us. Colour is also a powerful means of communication and a defining aspect of human experience, influencing our perceptions and preferences, and interactions with the world. Therefore, extensive studies have been carried out on those aspects which have led to the emergence of disciplines such as Colour Psychology, Colour Chemistry, Colour Therapy and Visual Ergonomics. Colour can potentially be a powerful source of inspiration, delight, tranquility and solace when used in the right manner for the right place for the right purpose.

However, people generally apply colours purely based on the visual and aesthetic appeal, without a proper understanding of the profound impact that colour can have on people – their performance, experience and wellbeing. Therefore, the use of the right colour for a given place is crucially important in order to provide a more relaxed, congenial and harmonious living environment which goes beyond the aesthetic appeal. Here, it is important to explore the world of colour psychology without diving into technicalities

The colours you choose for your walls, furniture, and the decorations of your bedroom can influence your mood. A bedroom painted in calming tones, e.g. in light blue, might help you to unwind, and create a feeling of serenity. It is not recommended to paint the bedrooms in dark shades of blue as it could interfere with sleep. Similarly, the blue light emitted by electronic screens could produce a similar effect. Therefore, it is not advisable to work on the computer or watch film on electronic screens for long hours prior to retiring to bed. Because the blue light gives the impression to the brain that it is daytime, the body stops releasing the sleep hormone Melatonin. On the other hand, light shades of amber may promote the release of Melatonin helping us to wind down and prepare for sleep in nature’s way.

Feeling relaxed

As blue light causes people to feel relaxed, it has led countries to add blue street lights in order to decrease suicide rates. In 2000, the city of Glasgow installed blue street lighting in certain neighborhoods and subsequently reported the anecdotal finding of reduced crime in these areas. A railroad company in Japan installed blue lighting on its stations in October 2009 in an effort to reduce the number of rail suicide attempts (Fig. 2). Blue is often associated with calmness and serenity and is not naturally associated with food; hence, it can make food appear less appetizing and appealing and reduce the desire to eat. Therefore, blue is generally considered an appetite suppressant and eating off a blue plate could help to reduce overweight and obesity.

Walls of cafés are generally painted in warm, earthy tones like brown or terracotta which evoke a sense of comfort and homeliness. It helps the customers to settle in with a cup of coffee and a good book to spend some relaxing and rewarding time in a congenial ambience. On the other hand, some fast-food chains use red and yellow in their logos and external and internal walls in order to create a vibrant and exciting environment. It not only attracts attention, promotes quick decision making and creates a sense of excitement and urgency, but also stimulates appetite and encourages lively discussion. Though such colours attract both children and adults to fast-food restaurants, they may not wish to stay long in such an ambience after partaking of food, unlike in a coffee shop. Similarly, a kitchen with lively colours could energize you during meal preparation. (Figure 2)

Blue-winged butterfly (Source: https://pixabay.com/photos/butterfly-insect-animal-142506/) (left) and peacock (Source: https://www.photowall.co.uk/peacock-feathers-poster ) (right)

Even when designing websites, careful attention is paid not only to aesthetics, but to emotions that need to be evoked. When a company designs a new website, it carefully selects colours with this in mind. They might use blue for trust, green for growth, and orange for enthusiasm, creating a website that feels inviting and reliable while encouraging action. Architect William Ludlow advocated pale pastel blues and greens in hospitals for therapeutic purposes. The walls of hospitals are often painted in soft, calming colours like pale green or light blue which help to reduce stress and create a healing environment.

Colour can enhance or impair learning, morale, performance and the behaviour of students. It can affect students’ attention span, and perception of time. Visual stimulation rewires the brain, making stronger connections while fostering visual thinking, problem solving and creativity. It has been shown that the cold-coloured walls, such as blue and green, produced the highest levels of relaxation and pleasure, while the warm-colored walls such as yellow and red had the better attention and learning performance. And the white-walled classroom had the lowest subjective evaluation and the worst learning performance. Classrooms when painted with bright yellow — the colour of happiness and optimism – spark creativity and enthusiasm and makes learning more joyful. That’s why some educational spaces use yellow in order to foster a lively and energetic environment. School buses are generally painted yellow the world over for safety and visibility. Yellow colour is in the middle of the visible spectrum so that it strikes the cones (photoreceptors) of the eyes from both sides equally. That makes it almost impossible for anyone to miss a school bus even when it’s in one’s peripheral vision or under poor day light conditions or in bad weather.

Fitness spaces

Exercise rooms and fitness spaces are generally painted in bright orange which exudes energy, motivation and vitality, encouraging movement and activity. It helps to keep the energy high and spirits lifted. Studies have shown that red causes a significantly greater response in heart rate, respiration, brain wave activity, and other nervous system functions than green or blue. In addition, red decreases the perceived size of rooms and space and prompts a sense of warmth. Lush greenery in a park or a natural habitat has a refreshing and rejuvenating effect, creating a sense of harmony and tranquility. Besides, the choice of colour of clothing reflects and affects your mood and if you are feeling upbeat and confident, you might pick a vibrant red shirt or dress. On the other hand, if you seek comfort and tranquility, you may settle for soothing shades of blue, green, etc.

Choice of colour for prisons is of prime importance as it affects the mood of inmates. When colour is used properly in prisons and jails, it can lessen overall tension and conflicts and make the places more comfortable for the inmates to live and work in. Based on the research carried out, bright colours are recommended in the prison, with green and blue colours being the best rated because people perceive them as soothing, stimulating, pleasant and safe. Yellow is also acceptable because the prisoners perceive it as a bright and cheerful colour. Painting the walls of the room with soft shades of yellow and green (kiwi color) was seen by the prisoners as “refreshing”. In all these cases, colour psychology is at play.

Therefore, colours play a significant role in shaping how we feel and behave; thus, they are not just pretty hues, but are the emotions painted onto the canvas of our lives. Hence, colour psychology is like a storyteller that sets the mood and tone of a space, a product, or even a piece of clothing. It’s the silent language that whispers to our emotions, shaping our experiences without us even realizing it. However, these associations between colours and emotions are not universal, but are influenced by cultural, historical, and personal factors. Understanding colour psychology can help individuals and businesses harness the power of colour to evoke specific emotions and convey messages effectively. Whether in branding, interior design, fashion, or art, colour plays a central role in shaping our perceptions and experiences. It’s a fascinating aspect of our world that continues to intrigue and inspire creativity in various fields.

Further information in this regard is found in the book titled “The Power of Colour: Enhancing Human Wellbeing and Unleashing Human Potential” edited by Ranjith Senaratne and Raj Somadeva. It emanated from a conference conducted by the Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science and includes contributions from a multidisciplinary team comprising artists, architects, engineers, biologists, environmentalists, psychiatrists, musicians and scientists.

Concluding remarks

Though the manifold effects of colour on humans have been recognized from time immemorial, there is very little appreciation and understanding of those effects on humankind and how these effects could be harnessed to enhance and enrich human wellbeing, including life experience, productivity, performance, satisfaction, memory and creativity. Because of the significance of colour on humans, disciplines such as Colour Psychology, Colour Chemistry, Colour Therapy and Visual Ergonomics have emerged which have assumed considerable importance in day-to-day life.

A good grasp of Colour Psychology helps to create a psychologically satisfying, aesthetically pleasing, vibrant and energetic space, or a calm and tranquil environment by selecting the appropriate shades of colours depending on the need and occasion. This is crucially important in a fiercely competitive globalized environment characterized by anxiety, tension, disquiet and chaos where people are leading a stressful, restless and agitated life in a fast-paced world. In the circumstances, creating a relaxed, congenial and harmonious environment at home as well as at the workplace by painting the living and working environment with appropriate hues is of prime importance.

This need is paramount and should be addressed as a matter of great importance. Then only could we embark upon a colorful journey and paint our world with appropriate vibrant hues in order to unearth the boundless potential and transformative power that lies within us. However, there is a dearth of competent professionals, particularly in Sri Lanka who can proffer the right advice and guidance to clients in selecting appropriate colours for specific places such as the living room, bedroom, dining room, reading room, exercise room etc. in homes and public places such as hospitals, restaurants, coffee shops, gymnasiums theatres, prisons etc. for the human wellbeing. This issue has been further exacerbated due to hardly any academic interaction and collaboration, particularly between the Faculties of Arts, Science and Medicine.

The course unit system (CUS) developed in the USA enables students to pick and choose course modules from diverse fields so as to create complementarity and synergy; this in turn, leads to producing well-rounded and well-grounded creative graduates equipped with multiple competencies to address real-world issues more effectively. Though the CUS was introduced in our universities over 20 years ago, because of the heavy compartmentalization and fragmentation, course modules for degree programmed of a given faculty have been selected mainly from among the modules offered by the faculty concerned, thereby not deriving the key expected benefits from the CUS. Consequently, Sri Lankan universities have been hardly able to develop any cross-faculty academic programmed such as Colour Psychology, Colour Therapy, Music Therapy and such like. Therefore, it is imperative to make necessary interventions so as to facilitate and promote interfaculty degree programmed in Sri Lanka universities, paving the way for the development of such academic offerings jointly by the Faculties of Arts, Science, Medicine, Architecture etc. Moreover, cooperation and collaboration between faculties are needed to effectively address complex real-world issues such as SDGs which demand a holistic trans-disciplinary systems approach. Hence, the earlier such interventions are made, the better.

by Emeritus Professor
Ranjith Senaratne
University of Ruhuna, (ransen.ru@gmail.com)

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Midweek Review

Dr. Jaishankar drags H’tota port to reverberating IRIS Dena affair

Published

5 days ago

2026/03/11

Sahan Weerasooriya

Sri Lanka reached an agreement with China to build the Hambantota port after India declined the then President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s request to take charge of the high profile project. The Indian decision may have been influenced by the war raging in the northern region at that time.

Indian Foreign Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar recognised Hambantota harbour as a Chinese military facility that underlined intimidating foreign military presence in the Indian Ocean. Jaishankar was responding to queries regarding India’s widely mentioned status as the region’s net security provider against the backdrop of a US submarine blowing up an Iranian frigate IRIS Dena, off Galle, within Sri Lanka’s Exclusive Economic Zone.

This happened at the Raisina Dialogue 2026 (March 5 to 7) in New Delhi. Raisina Dialogue was launched in 2016, three years after Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister.

The query obviously rattled the Indian Foreign Minister. Urging the moderator, Ms. Pakli Sharma Ipadhyay, to understand, what he called, the reality of the Indian Ocean, Dr. Jaishankar pointed out the joint US-British presence at Diego Garcia over the past five decades. Then he referred to the Chinese presence at Djibouti in East Africa, the first overseas Chinese military base, established in 2017, and Chinese takeover of Hambantota port, also during the same time. China secured the strategically located port on a 99-year lease for USD 1.2 bn, under controversial circumstances. China succeeded in spite of Indian efforts to halt Chinese projects here, including Colombo port city.

The submarine involved is widely believed to be Virginia-class USS Minnesota. The crew, included three Australian Navy personnel, according to international news agencies. However, others named the US Navy fast-attack submarine, involved in the incident, as USS Charlotte.

Diego Garcia is responsible for military operations in the Middle East, Africa and the Indo-Pacific. Dr. Jaishankar didn’t acknowledge that India, a key US ally and member of the Quad alliance, operated P8A maritime patrol and reconnaissance flights out of Diego Garcia last October. The US-India-Israel relationship is growing along with the US-Sri Lanka partnership.

The Indian Foreign Minister emphasised the deployment of the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, one of the countries that had been attacked by Iran, following the US-Israeli assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader, and key government functionaries, in a massive surprise attack, aiming at a regime change there. The Indian Minister briefly explained how they and Sri Lanka addressed the threat on three Indian navy vessels following the unprovoked US-Israeli attacks on Iran. Whatever the excuses, the undeniable truth is, as Sharma pointed out, that the US attack on the Iranian frigate took place in India’s backyard.

Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath who faced Sharma before Dr. Jaishankar, struggled to explain the country’s position. Dr. Jaishankar made the audience laugh at Minister Herath’s expense who repeatedly said that Sri Lanka would deal with the situation in terms of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and international laws. Herath should have pointed out that Hambantota was not a military base and couldn’t be compared, under any circumstances, with the Chinese base in Djibouti.

Typical of the arrogant Western power dynamics, the US never cared for international laws and President Donald Trump quite clearly stated their position.

Israel is on record as having declared that the decision to launch attacks on Iran had been made months ago. Therefore, the sinking of the fully domestically built vessel that was launched in 2021 should be examined in the context of overall US-Israeli strategy meant to break the back of the incumbent Islamic revolutionary government and replace it with a pro-Western regime there as had been the case after the toppling of the democratically elected government there, led by Prime Minister Mossadegh, in August, 1953.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth declared that IRIS Dena “thought it was safe in international waters’ but died a quiet death.” A US submarine torpedoed the vessel on the morning of March 4, off Galle, within Sri Lanka’s exclusive economic zone and that decision must have been made before the IRIS Dena joined International Fleet Review (IFR) and Exercise Milan 2026, at Visakhapatnam, from February 15 to 25.

The sinking of the Iranian vessel, a Moudge –class frigate attached to Iran’s southern fleet deployed in the Gulf of Oman and Strait of Hormuz, had been calculated to cause mayhem in the Indian Ocean. Obviously, and pathetically, Iran failed to comprehend the US-Israeli mindset after having already been fooled with devastating attacks, jointly launched by Washington and Tel Aviv against the country’s nuclear research facilities, while holding talks with it on the issue last June. Had they comprehended the situation they probably would have pulled out of the IFR and Milan 2026. Perhaps, Iran was lulled into a false sense of security because they felt the US wouldn’t hit ships invited by India. The US Navy did not participate though the US Air Force did.

The US action dramatically boosted Raisina Dialogue 2026, but at India’s expense. Prime Minister Modi’s two-day visit to Tel Aviv, just before the US-Israel launched the war to effect a regime change in Teheran, made the situation far worse. BJP seems to have decided on whose side India is on. But, the US action has, invariably, humiliated India. That cannot be denied. The Indian Navy posted a cheery message on X on February 17, the day before President Droupadi Murmu presided over IFR off the Visakhapatnam coast. “Welcome!” the Indian Navy wrote, greeting the Iranian warship IRIS Dena as it steamed into the port of Visakhapatnam to join an international naval gathering. Photographs showed Iranian sailors and a grey frigate gliding into the Indian harbour on a clear day. The hashtags spoke of “Bridges of Friendship” and “United Through Oceans.”

US alert

Dr. Jaishankar

Altogether, three Iranian vessels participated in IFR. In addition to the ill-fated IRIS Dena, the second frigate IRIS Lavan and auxiliary ships IRIS Bushehr comprised the group. Dr. Jaishankar disclosed at the Raisina Dialogue 2026 that Iran requested India to allow IRIS Lavan to enter Indian waters. India accommodated the vessel at Cochin Port (Kochi Port) on the Arabian Sea in Kerala.

At the time US torpedoed IRIS Dena, within Sri Lanka’s EEZ, IRIS Lavan was at Cochin port. Sri Lanka’s territorial waters extend 12 nautical miles (approximately 22 km) from the country’s coastline. The US hit the vessel 19 nautical miles off southern coastline.

Sri Lanka, too, participated in IFR and Milan 2026. SLN Sagara (formerly Varaha), a Vikram-class offshore patrol vessel of the Indian Coast Guard and SLN Nandimithra, A Fast Missile Vessel, acquired from Israel, participated and returned to Colombo on February 27, the day before IRIS Lavan sought protection in Indian waters.

Although many believed that Sri Lanka responded to the attack on IRIS Dena, following a distressed call from that ship, the truth is it was the Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) that alerted the Maritime Rescue Coordination centre (MRCC) after blowing it up with a single torpedo. The SLN’s Southern Command dispatched three Fast Attack Craft (FACs) while a tug from Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) joined later.

The INDOPACOM, while denying the Iranian claim that IRIS Dena had been unarmed at the time of the attack, emphasised: “US forces planned for and Sri Lanka provided life-saving support to survivors in accordance with the Law of Armed Conflict.” In the post shared on X (formerly Twitter) the US has, in no uncertain terms, said that they planned for the rescuing of survivors and the action was carried out by the Sri Lanka Navy.

IRIS Lavan and IRIS Bushehr are most likely to be held in Cochin and in Trincomalee ports, respectively, for some time with the crews accommodated on land. With the US-Israel combine vowing to go the whole hog there is no likelihood of either India or Sri Lanka allowing the ships to leave.

Much to the embarrassment of the Modi administration, former Indian Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal has said that IRIS Dena would not have been targeted if Iran was not invited to take part in IFR and Milan naval exercise.

“We were the hosts. As per protocol for this exercise, ships cannot carry any ammunition. It was defenseless. The Iranian naval personnel had paraded before our president,” he said in a post on X.

Sibal argued that the attack was premeditated, pointing out that the US Navy had been invited to the exercise but withdrew at the last minute, “presumably with this operation in mind.”

Sibal added that the US ignored India’s sensitivities, as the Iranian ship was present in the waters due to India’s invitation.

He stressed that India was neither politically nor militarily responsible for the US attack, but carried a moral and humanitarian responsibility.

“A word of condolence by the Indian Navy (after political clearance) at the loss of lives of those who were our invitees and saluted our president would be in order,” Sibal said.

Iran and even India appeared to have ignored the significance of USN pullout from IFR and Milan exercise at the eleventh hour. India and Sri Lanka caught up in US-Israeli strategy are facing embarrassing questions from the political opposition. Both Congress and Samagi Jana Balwegaya (SJB), as well as Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), exploited the situation to undermine respective governments over an unexpected situation created by the US. Both India and Sri Lanka ended up playing an unprecedented role in the post-Milan 2026 developments that may have a lasting impact on their relations with Iran.

The regional power India and Sri Lanka also conveniently failed to condemn the February 28 assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, while that country was holding talks with the US, with Oman serving as the mediator.

Condemning the unilateral attack on Iran, as well as the retaliatory strikes by Iran, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday (March 3, 2026) questioned India’s silence on the Middle East developments.

In a post on social media platform X, Gandhi said Prime Minister Narendra Modi must speak up. “Does he support the assassination of a Head of State as a way to define the world order? Silence now diminishes India’s standing in the world,” he said.

Under heavy Opposition fire, India condoled the Iranian leader’s assassination on March 5, almost a week after the killing. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met the Iran Ambassador in Delhi and signed the condolence book, though much belatedly.

SL-US relations

The Opposition questioned the NPP government’s handling of the IRIS Dena affair. They quite conveniently forgot that any other government wouldn’t have been able to do anything differently than bow to the will of the US. Under President Trump, Washington has been behaving recklessly, even towards its longtime friends, demanding that Canada become its 51st state and that Denmark handover Greenland pronto.

SJB and Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa cut a sorry figure demanding in Parliament whether Sri Lanka had the capacity to detect submarines or other underwater systems. Sri Lanka should be happy that the Southern Command could swiftly deploy three FACs and call in SLPA tug, thereby saving the lives of 32 Iranians and recovering 84 bodies of their unfortunate colleagues. Therefore, of the 180-member crew of IRIS Dena, 116 had been accounted for. The number of personnel categorised as missing but presumably dead is 64.

There is no doubt that Sri Lanka couldn’t have intervened if not for the US signal to go ahead with the humanitarian operation to pick up survivors. India, too, must have informed the US about the Iranian request for IRIS Lavan to re-enter Indian waters. Sri Lanka, too, couldn’t have brought the Iranian auxiliary vessel without US consent. President Trump is not interested in diplomatic niceties and the way he had dealt with European countries repeatedly proved his reckless approach. The irrefutable truth is that the US could have torpedoed the entire Iranian group even if they were in Sri Lankan or Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) that extends to 200 nautical miles from its coastline.

In spite of constantly repeating Sri Lanka’s neutrality, successive governments succumbed to US pressure. In March 2007, Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government entered into Acquisition and Cross- Servicing Agreement (ACSA) with the US, a high profile bilateral legal mechanism to ensure uninterrupted support/supplies. The Rajapaksas went ahead with ACSA, in spite of strong opposition from some of its partners. In fact, they did not even bother to ask or take up the issue at Cabinet level before the then Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, a US citizen at the time, and US Ambassador here Robert O. Blake signed it. Close on the heels of the ACSA signing, the US provided specific intelligence that allowed the Sri Lanka Navy to hunt down four floating LTTE arsenals. Whatever critics say, that US intervention ensured the total disruption of the LTTE supply line and the collapse of their conventional fighting capacity by March 2009. The US favourably responded to the then Vice Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda’s request for help and the passing of intelligence was not in any way in line with ACSA.

That agreement covered the 2007 to 2017 period. The Yahapalana government extended it. Yahapalana partners, the SLFP and UNP, never formally discussed the decision to extend the agreement though President Maithripala Sirisena made a desperate attempt to distance himself from ACSA.

It would be pertinent to mention that the US had been pushing for ACSA during Rail Wickremesinghe’s tenure as the Premier, in the 2001-2003 period. But, he lacked the strength to finalise that agreement due to strong opposition from the then Opposition. During the time the Yahapalana government extended ACSA, the US also wanted the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) signed. SOFA, unlike ACSA, is a legally binding agreement that dealt with the deployment of US forces here. However, SOFA did not materialise but the possibility of the superpower taking it up cannot be ruled out.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who won the 2019 presidential election, earned the wrath of the US for declining to finalise MCC (Millennium Challenge Corporation) Compact on the basis of Prof. Gunaruwan Committee report that warned that the agreement contained provisions detrimental to national security, sovereignty, and the legal system. In the run up to the presidential election, UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe declared that he would enter into the agreement in case Sajith Premadasa won the contest.

Post-Aragalaya setup

Since the last presidential election held in September 2024, Admiral Steve Koehler, a four-star US Navy Admiral and Commander of the US Pacific Fleet visited Colombo twice in early October 2024 and February this year. Koehler’s visits marked the highest-level U.S. military engagement with Sri Lanka since 2021.

Between Koehler’s visits, the United States and Sri Lanka signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) formalising the defence partnership between the Montana National Guard, the US Coast Guard District 13, and the Sri Lanka Armed Forces under the Department of War’s State Partnership Programme (SPP). The JVP-led NPP government seems sure of its policy as it delayed taking a decision on one-year moratorium on all foreign research vessels entering Sri Lankan waters though it was designed to block Chinese vessels. The government is yet to announce its decision though the ban lapsed on December 31, 2024.

The then President Ranil Wickremesinghe was compelled to announce the ban due to intense US-Indian pressure.

The incumbent dispensation’s relationship with US and India should be examined against allegations that they facilitated ‘Aragalaya’ that forced President Gotabaya Rajapaksa out of office. The Trump administration underscored the importance of its relationship with Sri Lanka by handing over ex-US Coast Guard Cutter ‘Decisive ‘to the Sri Lanka Navy. The vessel, commanded by Captain Gayan Wickramasooriya, left Baltimore US Coast Guard Yard East Wall Jetty on February 23 and is expected to reach Trincomalee in the second week of May.

Last year Sri Lanka signed seven MoUs, including one on defence and then sold controlling shares of the Colombo Dockyard Limited (CDL) to a company affiliated to the Defence Ministry as New Delhi tightened its grip.

Sri Lanka-US relations seemed on track and the IRIS Dena incident is unlikely to distract the two countries. The US continues to take extraordinary measures to facilitate war on Iran. In a bid to overcome the Iranian blockade on crude carriers the US temporarily eased sanctions to allow India to buy Russian oil.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent declared a 30-day waiver was a “deliberate short-term measure” to allow oil to keep flowing in the global market. The US sanctioned Russian oil following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, forcing buyers to seek alternatives.

The US doesn’t care about the Ukraine government that must be really upset about the unexpected development. India was forced to halt buying Russian oil and now finds itself in a position to turn towards Russia again. But that would be definitely at the expense of Iran facing unprecedented military onslaught.

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Midweek Review

A Living Legend of the Peradeniya Tradition:

Published

5 days ago

2026/03/11

Sahan Weerasooriya

Prof. H. L. Seneviratne

A Tribute to Professor H. L. Seneviratne – Part I

My earliest memories of the eminent anthropologist, Professor H. L. Seneviratne date back to my childhood, when I first encountered his name through the vivid accounts of campus life shared by my late brother, Sugathapala de Silva, then a lecturer in the Department of Sinhala at the University of Peradeniya. By the time I became a first-year sociology student in 1968/69, I had the privilege of being taught by the Professor, whose guidance truly paved the way for my own progression in sociology and anthropology. Even then, it was clear that he was a towering presence—not just as an academician, but as a central figure in the lively cultural and literary renaissance that defined that era of the university’s intellectual history.

H.L. Seneviratne stood alongside a galaxy of intellectuals who shaped and developed the literary consciousness of the Peradeniya University. His professorial research made regular appearances in journals such as Sanskriti and Mimamsa, published Sinhala and English articles, and served as channels for the dissemination of the literary consciousness of Peradeniya to the population at large. These texts were living texts of a dynamic intellectual ferment where the synthesis of classical aesthetic sensibilities with current critical intellectual thought in contemporary Sri Lanka was under way.

The concept of a ‘Peradeniya tradition or culture’, a term which would later become legendary in Sri Lankan literary and intellectual circles, was already being formed at this time. Peradeniya culture came to represent a distinctive synthesis: cosmopolitanism entwined with well-rooted local customs, aesthetic innovation based on classical Sinhala styles, and critical interaction with modernity. Among its pre-eminent practitioners were intellectual giants such as Ediriweera Sarachchandra, Gunadasa Amarasekara, and Siri Gunasinghe. These figures and H.L. Seneviratne himself, were central to the shaping of a space of cultural and literary critique that ranged from newspapers to book-length works, public speeches to theatrical performance.

Unlimited influence

H.L. Seneviratne’s influence was not limited to the printed page, which I discuss in this article. He operated in and responded to the performative, interactive space of drama and music, situating lived artistic practice in his cultural thought. I recall with vividness the late 1950s, a period seared into my memory as one of revelation, when I as a child was fortunate enough to witness one of the first performances of Maname, the trailblazing Sinhala drama that revolutionised Sri Lankan theatre. Drawn from the Nadagam tradition and staged in the open-air theatre in Peradeniya—now known as Sarachchandra Elimahan Ranga Pitaya—or Wala as used by the campus students. Maname was not so much a play as a culturally transformative experience.

H.L. Seneviratne was not just an observer of this change. He joined the orchestra of Maname staged on November 3, 1956, lending his voice and presence to the collective heartbeat of the performance. He even contributed to the musical group by playing the esraj, a quiet but vital addition to the performance’s beauty and richness. Apart from these roles, he played an important part in the activities of Professor Sarathchandra’s Sinhala Drama Society, a talent nursery and centre for collaboration between artists and intellectuals. H.L. Seneviratne was a friend of Arthur Silva, a fellow resident of Arunachalam Hall then, and the President of the Drama Circle. H.L. Seneviratne had the good fortune to play a role, both as a member of the original cast, and an active member of the Drama Circle that prevailed on lecturer E.R. Sarathchandra to produce a play and gave him indispensable organizational support. It was through this society that Sarachchandra attracted some of the actors who brought into being Maname and later Sinhabhahu, plays which have become the cornerstone of Sri Lanka’s theatrical heritage.

The best chronicler of Maname

H.L. Seneviratne is the best chronicler of Maname. (Towards a National Art, From Home and the World, Essays in honour of Sarath Amunugama. Ramanika Unamboowe and Varuni Fernando (eds)). He chronicles the genesis of Ediriweera Sarachchandra’s seminal play Maname, framing it as a pivotal attempt to forge a sophisticated national identity by synthesizing indigenous folk traditions with Eastern theatrical aesthetics. Seneviratne details how Sarachchandra, disillusioned with the ‘artificiality’ of Western-influenced urban theatre and the limitations of both elite satires and rural folk plays, looked toward the Japanese Noh and Kabuki traditions to find a model for a ‘national’ art that could appeal across class divides. The author emphasises that the success of Maname was not merely a solo intellectual feat but a gruelling, collective effort involving a ‘gang of five’ academics and a dedicated cohort of rural, bilingual students from the University of Ceylon at Peradeniya. Through anecdotes regarding the discovery of lead actors like Edmund Wijesinghe and the assembly of a unique orchestra, Seneviratne highlights the logistical struggles—from finding authentic instruments to managing cumbersome stage sets—that ultimately birthed a transformative ‘oriental’ theatre rooted in the nadagama style yet refined for a modern, sophisticated audience.

Born in Sri Lanka in 1934, in a village in Horana, he was educated at the Horana Taxila College following which he was admitted to the Department of Sociology at the University of Peradeniya. H.L. Seneviratne’s academic journey subsequently led him to the University of Rochester for his doctoral studies. But, despite his long tenure in the United States, his research has remained firmly rooted in the soil of his homeland.

His early seminal work, Rituals of the Kandyan State, his PhD thesis turned into a book, offered a groundbreaking analysis of the Temple of the Tooth (Dalada Maligawa). By examining the ceremonies surrounding the sacred relic, H.L. Seneviratne demonstrated how religious performance served as the bedrock of political legitimacy in the Kandyan Kingdom. He argued that these rituals at the time of his fieldwork in the early 1970s were not static relics of the past, but active tools used to construct and maintain the authority of the state, the ideas that would resonate throughout his later career.

The Work of Kings

Perhaps, his most provocative contribution arrived with the publication of The Work of Kings published in 1999. In this sweeping study, H.L. Seneviratne traced the transformation of the Buddhist clergy, or Sangha, from the early 20th-century ‘social service’ monks, who focused on education and community upliftment, to the more politically charged nationalist figures of the modern era. He analysed the shift away from a universalist, humanistic Buddhism toward a more exclusionary identity, sparking intense debate within both academic and religious circles in Sri Lanka.

In The Work of Kings, H.L. Seneviratne has presented a sophisticated critique and argued that in the early 20th century, influenced by figures like Anagarika Dharmapala, there was a brief ‘monastic ideal’ centred on social service and education. This period saw monks acting as catalysts for community development and moral reform embodying a humanistic version of Buddhism that sought to modernize the country while maintaining its spiritual integrity.

However, H.L. Seneviratne contends that this situation was eventually derailed by the rise of post-independence nationalism. He describes a process where the clergy moved away from universalist goals to become the vanguard of a narrow ethno-religious identity. By aligning themselves so closely with the state and partisan politics, H.L. Seneviratne suggests that the Sangha inadvertently traded their moral authority for political influence. This shift, in his view, led to the ‘betrayal’ of the original social service movement, replacing a vision of broad social progress with one centred on political dominance.

The core of his critique lies in the disappearance of what he calls the ‘intellectual monk.’ He laments the decline of the scholarly, reflective tradition in favour of a more populist and often inflammatory rhetoric. By analysing the rhetoric of key monastic figures, H.L. Senevirathne illustrates how the language of Buddhism was repurposed to justify political ends, often at the expense of the pluralistic values that he believes are inherent to the faith’s core teachings.

H.L. Seneviratne’s work remains highly relevant today as it provides a framework for understanding contemporary religious tensions. His analysis serves as a warning about the consequences of merging religious institutional power with state politics. By documenting this historical shift, he challenges modern Sri Lankans—and global observers—to reconsider the role of religious institutions in a secular, democratic state, urging a return to the compassionate and socially inclusive roots of the Buddhist tradition.

Within the broader context of Sri Lankan anthropology, H.L. Seneviratne is frequently grouped with other towering figures of his generation, most notably Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah and Gananath Obeyesekere. Together, this remarkable cohort revolutionized the study of Sri Lanka by applying structural and psychological analyses to religious and ethnic identity. While Tambiah famously interrogated the betrayal of non-violent Buddhist principles in the face of political violence, H.L. Seneviratne’s work is often seen as the essential sociological counterpart, providing the detailed historical and institutional narrative of how the monastic order itself was reshaped by these very forces.

Reation to Seneviratne’s critque

The reaction to H.L. Seneviratne’s critique has been as multifaceted as the work itself. In academic circles, particularly those influenced by post-colonial theory, he is celebrated for speaking truth in a public place. Scholars have noted that because he writes as an insider—both a Sinhalese and a Buddhist, that makes them both credible and, to some, highly objectionable. His work has paved the way for a younger generation of Sri Lankan sociologists and anthropologists to move beyond traditional functionalism towards more radical articulations of competing interests and political power.

However, his analysis has also made him a target for nationalist critics. Those aligned with ethno-religious movements often view his deconstruction of the Sangha’s political role as an attack on Sinhalese-Buddhist identity itself. These detractors argue that H.L. Seneviratne’s intellectualist or universalist view of Buddhism fails to account for the necessity of the clergy’s role in protecting the nation against neo colonial and modern pressures. This tension highlights the very descent into ideology that H.L. Seneviratne has spent his career documenting.

H.L. Seneviratne’s legacy is defined by this ongoing dialogue between scholarship and social reality. His transition from the detached scholar seen in his early work on Kandyan rituals to the socially concerned intellectual of The Work of Kings mirrors the very transformation of the Sangha and Buddha Sasana he studied. By refusing to look away from the complexities of the present, he has ensured that his work remains a cornerstone for any serious discussion on the future of religion and governance in Sri Lanka.

Focus on good governance

In his later years, H.L. Seneviratne has pivoted his focus toward the practical application of his theories, specifically examining how the concept of ‘Good Governance’ interacts with traditional religious structures. He argues that for Sri Lanka to achieve true stability, there must be a fundamental reimagining of the Sangha’s role in the public sphere—one that moves away from the ‘work of Kings’ and returns to a more ethical, advisory capacity. This shift in his recent lectures reflects a deep concern about the erosion of democratic institutions and the way religious sentiment can be harnessed to bypass the rule of law.

Building on this, contemporary scholars like Benjamin Schonthal have expanded H.L. Seneviratne’s inquiry into the legal and constitutional dimensions of Buddhism in Sri Lanka. While H.L. Seneviratne provided the anthropological groundwork for how monks gained political power, this newer generation of academics examines how that power has been codified into the very laws of the state. They explore the ‘path dependency’ created by the historical shifts H.L. Seneviratne documented, looking at how the legal privileging of Buddhism creates unique challenges for a pluralistic society.

New Sangha

Furthermore, his influence is visible in the work of local scholars who focus on ‘engaged Buddhism.’ These researchers look back at H.L. Seneviratne’s description of the early 20th-century social service monks as a blueprint for modern reform. By identifying the moment where the clergy’s mission shifted from social welfare to political nationalism, these scholars use H.L. Seneviratne’s historical milestones to advocate a ‘New Sangha’ that prioritizes reconciliation and inter-ethnic harmony over state-aligned power.

The enduring power of H.L. Seneviratne’s work lies in its refusal to offer easy answers. By mapping the transition within Buddhist practice from ritual to politics, and from social service to nationalism, he has provided an analytical framework in which the nation can see its own transformation. His legacy is not just a collection of books, but a persistent, rigorous habit of questioning that continues to inspire those who seek to understand the delicate balance between faith and the modern state.

H.L. Seneviratne continues to challenge his audience to think beyond the immediate political moment. By documenting the arc of Sri Lankan history from the sacred rituals of the Kandyan kings to the modern halls of parliament, he provides a vital sense of perspective. Whether he is being celebrated by the academic community or critiqued by nationalist voices, his work ensures that the conversation regarding the soul of the nation remains rigorous, historically grounded, and unafraid of its own complexities.

Anthropology and cinema

H.L. Seneviratne identifies the mid-1950s as the critical turning point for this cinematic shift, specifically anchoring the move to 1956 with the release of Lester James Peries’s “Rekava.” This period was a watershed moment in Sri Lankan history, coinciding with a broader nationalist resurgence that sought to reclaim a localized identity from the influence of colonial and foreign powers. H.L. Seneviratne suggests that before this era, the ‘South Indian formula’ dominated the screen, characterized by studio-bound sets, theatrical acting, and musical interludes that felt alien to the island’s actual social fabric. The pioneers of this movement, led by Lester James Peries and later followed by figures like Siri Gunasinghe in the early 1960s, deliberately moved the camera into the open air of the rural village to capture what H.L. Seneviratne describes as the ‘authentic rhythms’ of life. This transition was not merely aesthetic but deeply ideological; it replaced the mythical, exaggerated heroism of commercial cinema with a nuanced exploration of the post-colonial middle class and the crumbling feudal hierarchies. By the 1960s, through landmark works like ‘Gamperaliya,’ these filmmakers were successfully crafting a modern mythology that reflected the internal psychological tensions and the social evolution of a nation navigating its way between traditional Buddhist values and a rapidly modernizing world.

His critique of the relationship between art and the state is particularly evident in his analysis of historical epics, where he has argued that certain cinematic portrayals of ancient kings and battles serve as a form of ‘visual nationalism,’ translating the ideological shifts he documented in The Work of Kings onto the silver screen. By analysing these films, he shows how popular culture can become a powerful tool for constructing a simplified, heroic past that often ignores the multi-ethnic and pluralistic realities of the island’s history.

(To be concluded)

by Professor M. W. Amarasiri de Silva