Opinion
The Rajavasala Box of Disaster

Thinking Out of the Box is the catchline of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. He gave this advice to the banking sector in May this year, and to the members of parliament in his opening address last month.
The need for new ways of thinking to overcome local and global challenges and revive the economy – out of the box thinking – is the declared stuff of his reasoning. The new ministerial structure was also with such thinking.
What is advocated with such emphasis for economic growth, has been wholly ignored for the progress and growth of democracy. It looks like economic growth has nothing to do with the advance of democracy. The rulers of the past, in many countries of the world, had their economic and wealth gains, with nothing to do with democracy or the sovereignty of the people. These were known as dictatorships, the power of colonialism, and Soveit and Communist power too.
Are we rapidly making a retreat to the proper Rajavasala Buddhiya – the Thinking of the Ruler Reign, a rush back to the Box of Dictatorship?
The 20th Amendment to the Constitution now made public shows a complete retreat to a non-democratic situation, and thinking that is entirely within the Executive Presidential Box.
The 19th Amendment will be no more under this Rajapaksa Regime. It has the two-thirds power for that. Two items of the 19A will be kept – the reduced five-year term of the presidency and the two term limit for a President. Two items that don’t matter for Mahinda Rajapaksa anymore. Everything else that matters, that came from out of the box thinking by Yahpalanaya in April 2015 will be no more.
The rush to the 20A is a mockery of the voters who, thanks to a divided and crooked UNP, enabled a two-thirds power to the Rajapaksas. It has nothing to do with the need to meet the economic and social needs and demands of the people, in the post Covid 19 crisis. The 20A is the re-empowering of an Executive Presidency, even more than what JR Jayewardene forced on the people in 1978.
The ‘out of the box’ thinking of the Rajapaksas is very much ‘in the box’ of ensuring family power without even a semblance of democracy. The service of Independent Commissions in key areas such as the Judiciary, Elections. Human Rights, Police, Public Service, Bribery and Corruption, Finance, and many others are no more. The Constitutional Council is disbanded to empower a Parliamentary Council that can only advise the president, The Auditor General’s independence is forgotten. Appointments to key positions of the Judiciary are in the hands of the President (and politicians!)
In a situation where the average age of MPs is reportedly in the late 60s, the 35 year age limit brought by 19A to a candidate for the presidency, has been reduced to 30 years. It is clear that the ageing Rajapaksas – from the late 60s to near 80 – have thought of their younger generation for the continuance of the Rajavasala domain.
What the 19A did was to give more power to Parliament and the Prime Minister, as elected representatives of the people, against the Executive President that was the singularly dominant power in the country. 20A will ensure the end of such recognition of the sovereignty of the people. The Prime Minister, even being an elder brother of the President, is wholly under him, who will chair the Cabinet, can hold any number of Cabinet portfolios, and can appoint any member to the Cabinet, without the approval of the PM. Sections of the media report that the PM is in a political trap, but let’s not forget that such traps are a necessity for wider family dominance over the demands of democracy.
Then comes the dual citizenry; what is seen by many as the key need of the 20A. It was the 19A that banned dual citizens from contesting elections to parliament and holding the country’s presidency. JRJ’s dictatorship had not banned this. Gotabaya Rajapaksa, after being a US citizen for nearly three decades, gave it up, to contest for the presidency. But there is another Rajapaksa dual citizen who will not give it up. The 20A is the decorative path for Basil Rajapaksa to move to Parliament, Cabinet, even Prime Minister, and who knows even the President, come the proper time!
Let’s not bother to talk of the conflicting situation that prevails when a person who has pledged to serve the US as a citizen, fight for it, be armed against countries and forces that oppose it, or strongly disagree with it, can be a representative of the sovereignty of the Sri Lankan people, and or the independent policies of this country. We are moving to the dual Citizenship Box and not thinking out of it. It is the Box of the MCC deal which the Rajapaksas and Pohottuva were loudly against … but not so much today. This is a move to the Pathfinder Box that will see its leader as the High Commissioner to India, with a Cabinet ranking. Just think a little more of the other Pathfinders in key positions of government today. What a Box of American strategy to be caught in!
We are in the midst of a duality of thinking. The duality of those talk loud about protection of Sri Lankan citizenship, and also hugely support the benefits and advantages of the US Citizenship. Are we moving to a situation when a 21st Amendment will give dual – US and Sri Lanka citizenship – to all Sri Lankan, whether Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim and Aadivaasi too?
Thinking out of the box shows us the huge dangers of the 20A. In a country that thinks a lot about rebirth, this looks very much like a move towards the rebirth of JRJ. The rebirth of the dictatorial dominance that all parties in the opposition from the SLFP to the JVP – and the older LSSP and CP and breakaways – called for removal, by abolishing the 1978 JRJ Constitution.
Such thinking, once strongly supported in the Mahinda Chinthana in several elections, is now no more. We are taken back to the Jayewardene Box of political strategy, creeping into the new Rajapaksa Box of politics and governance. The rise of the Jayewardene – Rajapaksa Presidency. The Box of Disaster for Democracy, out of which no thinking is done by the Rajavasala Kattayas of today!
Opinion
CANCER: Prevention better than Cure

Following the article entitled: “Tackling Insidious Killer” (The Island of 04June 2025) Dr Geewananda Gunawardana, in his article entitled, “Another Side to Cancer,” has provided us with an immense amount of detailed information on the workings of the human body. It is very rewarding to read his explanations. Myriads of different proteins, like a colony of worker ants, carry out the instructions given in our DNA. People really need to know how we work and what goes wrong: the causes of cancer and the steps needed to reverse cancer, where possible.
All responsible human beings need to get some basic ideas about this life-threatening disease for themselves. People need to digest, accept, take on board, grasp and understand befire their ship hits the rocks and capsizes! Do not wait for a crisis consultation with a doctor. A warning: there are Harpies out there luring you to your doom by singing their songs (advertisements) to entice you to fall into the abyss.
Anyone reading Dr Gunawardana’s excellent article for a second time will see there are several major points made in his writing which merit greater emphasis. He kindly gives us “The International Agency for Research on Cancer” where 133 known carcinogenic agents are listed and a further 418 likely carcinogenic agents that humans encounter under various circumstances in life. (See Monograph 100)
Dr Gunawardana gives us a whole list of carcinogenic agents: alcohol as in beverages, benzene as in petrol, formaldehyde as found in many domestic household products, aflatoxins as found in contaminated foods, diesel engine exhausts (buses!), coal plant emissions and processed meats (bacon and sausages). He mentions food laced with herbicides, insecticides, and also harmful fried foods. He warns: often foods and drinks are contaminated with carcinogenic additives used in the manufacture of food packaging.
To add to all that, we have hepatitis and the human papilloma virus which also raise the risk of cancer.
Dr Gunawardana talks of how modern use of plastics introduces increasing risks to our health. Not least, micro plastics are found everywhere, all around the globe and have been linked to a whole range of human illnesses. (See: S. Goswami and Others, 2024)
Dr Gunawardana observes that because of this disastrous plastics contamination in humans, we humans are destined to battle this contamination for the rest of eternity.
He has detailed here an immense, spine chilling list of threats to human life arising from our environment due to business activity. There is the old adage (in English) “prevention is better than cure.” This needs to be our motto concerning life in Sri Lanka. And we have the law of cause and effect: ‘everything arises through causes’ which is a fundamental of the ‘Old Wisdom’ passed down to us through the ages.
Dr Gunawardena gives us the following links:
WHO :
(https://who.int/activities/preventing cancer/)and
The American Cancer Society (https://acscancerrisk360.cancer.org/)
Fortunately, although cancer rates are climbing, luckily, the death toll is not following so closely behind because there are certain remedial actions we can take, such as early intervention.
People need to understand more about their food (carbohydrates) and style of life and our increasingly hazardous environment due to our ever-increasing reliance on plastics and also how businesses use chemicals in and on the furniture, household items, cars we buy, before more serious crises arise.
Priyantha Hettige ✍️
Opinion
When life becomes more painful than death

Birth, the journey down the birth canal, with the baby flexing, rotating, and the mother’s powerful womb musculature squeezing down, must be painful, right? Perhaps not. Then why does a newborn cry so vigorously upon arrival? Because the open world is harsher than the well-guarded mother’s womb? Not quite. The truth is more scientific: it is the physiological response to hypoxia, low oxygen levels, that triggers the first cry. That cry involves deep breathing, rapidly oxygenating the blood.
From that moment, humans are subjected to suffering in various forms. Lord Buddha aptly summarised this in his teachings:
“Birth is dukkha, aging is dukkha, illness is dukkha, death is dukkha; union with what is displeasing is dukkha; separation from what is pleasing is dukkha; not getting what is wanted is dukkha.”
For those fortunate enough to experience moments of comfort, these struggles can be temporarily submerged, much like King Suddodhana’s futile attempt to shield Prince Siddhartha from witnessing hardship. Yet life remains uncertain, while death is an inevitability.
It is well known that those suffering from terminal illnesses like cancer endure a great deal of pain. In the Western world, advanced palliative care offers substantial relief, ensuring dignity in the final days augmented by end of life care. Despite these efforts, some individuals seek assisted suicide, travelling to clinics like Dignitas in Switzerland, where euthanasia is legal. Approximately 50 UK nationals per year seek solace in this. Even dying comes at a cost, roughly £15,000, turning it into a final act of financial privilege. For these individuals, life has become more agonising than death.
For the healthy and well-off, imagining such despair is difficult. Yet, a sizeable portion of the global population lives in conditions where death may seem more blissful than living. In many developing nations, ruthless politicians exploit this agony, securing power by promising salvation, only to abandon the very people who propelled them into leadership. The cycle continues, election after election.
For these struggling souls, a comfortable life remains as elusive as a carrot dangling before a donkey pulling a cart. The pursuit never ends. We witness desperate attempts to cross treacherous seas in overloaded boats, seeking a land that values their labour. Some endure horrifying smuggling conditions, hidden in suffocating compartments beneath the floor of 18-wheeler trucks, while others of the same ‘human cargo’ perish from temperature extremes or the bullets of border guards.
Sri Lankans, too, have braved the seas attempting to reach Australia, often with tragic consequences. In North Africa, many people risk their lives crossing the Mediterranean in fragile vessels. On British television, I have personally seen disturbing footage of capsized boats, drowning men, women, and children. There have even been allegations that coast guards near Lampedusa deliberately fired at boats, causing them to lose balance and capsize, only to later assist in rescue efforts. Arsonists returning to put out the fire!
The world is unfair. Human cravings know no bounds, fuelling social injustice across both developing and developed nations. Some express frustration through peaceful protests, while others resort to armed struggle, the final recourse of the oppressed. History has witnessed revolutions that initially failed but later regrouped and succeeded:
=French Revolution (1789–1799) Monarchy repression, later overturned.
=Greek War of Independence (1821–1829) From Ottoman rule. Despite early setbacks, independence was secured.
=Russian Revolution (1917) The Bolsheviks initially killed, regrouped and overthrew the Tsar.
=Chinese Communist Revolution (1927–1949) Repeated crackdowns by the Nationalist government, but regrouped and eventually led to victory.
=Vietnamese Revolution (1945–1975) Viet Minh secured reunification.
=Cuban Revolution (1953–1959) Batista annihilated Castro’s liberation fighters inside parliament. Regrouped and fought to emerge triumphant. Che Guevara fought alongside
Sri Lanka’s first armed uprising in April 1971, under Rohana Wijeweera, ended in disaster. Reports indicate 15,000 young people perished, either in battle or in custody. Yet, their sacrifice was not in vain, policy changes soon followed. The government introduced standardisation of A/L marks at first and subsequently brought in district quota system, allowing students from disadvantaged areas greater access to higher education. Land reforms were also enacted, restricting individual landholdings to just 50 acres.
Nevertheless, the Sirimavo Bandaranaike government fell in 1977, and J.R. Jayewardene formed a government with a five-sixth majority. Wijeweera was freed and contested the 1982 presidential election, gathering nearly 300,000 votes. Then came the July 1983 pogrom, after which the UNP scapegoated the JVP, banning the party to facilitate its extrajudicial elimination. In response, the JVP launched tit-for-tat attacks, but state paramilitary forces, Black Cats, Yellow Cats, Green Tigers, Ukussa, and PRAA, brutally crushed them. It is said that more than 60,000 youth were killed by the paramilitary and in torture chambers across the country.
By 1994, the JVP was de-proscribed, re-entering mainstream politics. But how did they eventually capture power?
A Chinese acquaintance once told my brother-in-law who was studying in China at the time, “Sri Lanka will never be able to launch an armed struggle and overthrow a government. The land is too fertile for extreme deprivation.”
Perhaps, Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD) understood this truth.
The formation of the National People’s Power (NPP) was, undeniably, strategic. Whether masterminded by Tilvin Silva, AKD, or both, the move was unprecedented in momentum, the result of years of meticulous regrouping.
Today, Anura’s government has inherited a broken nation, its economy in ruins, justice compromised, and crime rampant. Yet, slowly and cautiously, it is steering the country toward stability. The rule of law is gradually being restored, with corrupt figures falling into the net one by one. Meanwhile, those fearing capture desperately attempt to dismantle the government.
As citizens who have long fought injustice, we bear a responsibility to defend the change we helped bring.
Dr. M. M. Janapriya ✍️
Opinion
Prof. Dissanayake honoured for oustanding contribution to Sinhala literature

Professor J. B. Dissanayake, the well-known scholar and author, will be honoured with the launch of a festschrift that celebrates his immense contributions to Sinhala language, culture, and literature, at the University of Colombo’s New Arts Theatre, on June 13. The event, organised by the Department of Sinhala, marks a momentous occasion in Sri Lanka’s academic and literary calendar.
Professor Dissanayake, a former Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Thailand and an Emeritus Professor of Sinhala, has for decades stood as a towering figure in the fields of linguistics and cultural studies. With more than 50 books to his name, including works on Sinhala grammar, etymology, idiomatic expressions, and the sociocultural fabric of Sri Lanka, he has played a pivotal role in shaping the study and public understanding of Sinhala as a living, evolving language.
Born in 1937 and educated at the University of Ceylon, Peradeniya, and later at the University of California, Berkeley, Prof. Dissanayake began his academic career as a lecturer at the University of Colombo. From early on, his mission was clear: to make the Sinhala language more accessible, elegant, and modern while preserving its classical richness.
Among his most celebrated works are Say it in Sinhala, a practical guide for Sinhala learners, and Understanding Sinhala, which presents a lucid and engaging introduction to the nuances of Sinhala grammar and syntax. These books have not only aided generations of students but have also helped bridge the gap between Sinhala and global linguistic scholarship.
But it is not only through academic texts that Prof. Dissanayake has left his mark. His books often delve into folklore, proverbs, rituals, and the symbolic meanings embedded in Sri Lankan customs—areas often overlooked by mainstream literary scholars. In doing so, he has drawn attention to how language reflects the values, fears, and aspirations of a people.
This honour comes at a time when Sri Lanka is grappling with questions about language policy, cultural identity, and educational reform. In that context, Prof. Dissanayake’s lifelong commitment to democratizing Sinhala takes on renewed relevance. His approach—an unflinching dedication to clarity, beauty, and tradition within modern contexts—offers a way forward that bridges generational and ideological divides.
Despite his official retirement, Prof. Dissanayake remains active in public discourse. His television interviews, newspaper columns, and public lectures continue to attract wide audiences. Fluent in both scholarly analysis and conversational Sinhala, he has become a household name not just among academics, but also among everyday Sri Lankans eager to understand their own linguistic heritage.
In an age where languages around the world are under pressure from globalisation and homogenization, J. B. Dissanayake’s work serves as a reminder that language is more than a tool—it is a vessel of memory, a mirror of identity, and a map to the future.
As Colombo’s academic community gathers to celebrate his legacy, one thing is clear: Prof. J. B. Dissanayake has not merely studied Sinhala—he has lived it, loved it, and helped an entire nation see its value anew.
By Ifham Nizam
-
Business6 days ago
Regional Ambassador for Wildlife Photography
-
Business6 days ago
Dialog Enterprise reaffirms commitment to Sri Lankan SMEs as the Title Sponsor of Industry Expo 2025
-
Features4 days ago
LTTE and Canadian complicity
-
Business6 days ago
The Evolving Story of Pure Ceylon Tea
-
News4 days ago
Iranganie celebrates her birthday today
-
Business6 days ago
SLIM partners with ministry to produce Sri Lanka’s top Business Advisors
-
Sports5 days ago
Mathews’ 10,000- run regret
-
News2 days ago
UK confirms ongoing war crimes investigation into British mercenaries in Sri Lanka