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 ✍️

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 ✍️

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