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Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. History of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, Rail transport in Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan Tamil literature, Terukkuttu, Tamil cuisine, Cuisine of Sri Lanka, Cuisine of Northern Province, Sri Lanka, Ancient Tamil music, Music of Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan Tamil cinema, Tamil cinema, Cinema of Sri Lanka ... Read more

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The Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands, also called CocosIslands and Keeling Islands, is a territory of Australia.There are two atolls and twenty-seven coral islands in thegroup. The islands are located in the Indian Ocean, abouthalfway between Australia and Sri Lanka. ... Read more

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These volumes comprise a nucleus of a complete index to our knowledge of the people of this island nation, its life, its history and its institutions.This gazette hopes to meet the reference needs of scholars, administrators and also the general public, not excluding the visitors to this beautiful country who wish to acquaint themselves more familiarly with the country and its people. ... Read more

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This volume investigates the transformation of Ceylon during the mid-nineteenth century into one of the most important coffee growing regions of the world and the subsequent, sudden removal of coffee from the island. Using this fascinating case study by way of illustration, this book reveals the spatial unevenness and fragmentation of modernity through a focus on modern governmentality and biopower. It argues that the practices of colonial power, and the differences that race and tropical climates were thought to make, were central to the working out of modern governmental rationalities. Contributing an important rural focus to current work on studies of governmentality in geography, In "The Shadows of the Tropics" offers a welcome non-state dimension, with its emphasis on the role of the expanding plantation economy and the power of individual capitalists in the management of the lives and deaths of labourers, the destabilization of subsistence farming and the aggressive re-territorialization of populations from India to Ceylon. In this context, usefulness of Foucault's notion of biopower, discipline and governmentality are examined. ... Read more

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In this book James Duncan convincingly argues that landscapes are not only culturally produced, but that they also influence governing ideas of political and religious life. He analyzes this dialectic relationship between landscape and the pursuit of power in the royal capital of Kandy in the central highlands of Sri Lanka during the early years of the nineteenth century and demonstrates how the Kandyan landscape was consciously produced to further the perceived interests of the Kandyan kings. Using extensive archival sources, architectural analysis and mapping, the author reveals how the landscape was designed to foster a certain hegemonic reading that spoke of the power, benevolence and legitimacy of the kings in their capital. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (4)

Chosen people myth prevents rational solution to the ethnic problem
During the 19th century, alarmed by the success of the Anglican mission in converting a large number of Sinhala Buddhists to Christianity, an Englishman named Olcott went to Sri Lanka.He was the head of the London Buddhist Society.He hired a Sinhala Christian convert named Simon to publish pamphlets in Sinhala to discourage the Sinhala people from converting to Christianity.Simon himself converted back to Buddhism, changed his name to Anagarika Dharmapla and become an energetic Buddhist activist.

Anagarika Dharmapala created a myth that the Sinhala people and the island of Sri Lanka were chosen by Lord Buddha to preserve the true form of Buddhism (Theravada Buddhism).At the present time, this myth is deeply rooted among the Sinhalese who now view the minorities as a stumbling block to their holy mission of preserving Buddhism.

They overlook the historical fact that the island has been multi-ethnic for thousands of years and the Tamils had their own country in the north and east of the island until 1833, when their country was joined with the Sinhala countries to the south and west by the British for their administrative convenience.

This book describes the history and effects of Sinhala-Buddhist chauvanism in the island.Note that this book is banned in Sri Lanka.

Not a Balanced Book
All religions (or the most popular/practiced ones) preach about non-violence right? Or is the author only aware of Buddhism, and not about his own religion? A country has to fight a terrorist organization to save the countrymen.

I'm saying that this book is not a balanced and it forgets about the ruthless terrosit orgaganization LTTE. (Now named a terrorist organization in most countries of europe and in US, whether the author likes it or not). The author has attached the word buddhism so that it will get a nice catchy name to it (and will pop up in when you search for buddhism, a book in reality has nothing to do with buddhism) :-)

From the recorded history of Sri Lanka (2500+) have any one ever heard of it assaulting another country? No it has always been the south Indian kingdoms (in certain periods, which had war mongering kings) who always invaded this tiny beautiful island. But in most occasions the ancient kings of lanka were successful in defending the country.

Now let's move on to the real facts shall we? The author and some others say that it is the government back Buddhists who are killing the Tamils:-) What a joke....

Who killed all of the prominent Tamil leaders? (from the day the conflict began up to now, the latest addition being Hon Lakshman Kadiragamar), it's the Tamil Terrorist Organization LTTE (who claim a mythical Tamil state which covers a 2/3 of the total cost of Sri Lanka)

Who drove out the Sinhala's, Muslims and moderate Tamils from the north and east (in the east we still have Sinhala, Tamil and Muslims in equal proportions), any guesses? It's the LTTE (ahmmm which the author is not aware of)

OK now let's look at the other side. If Sinhala's and the Buddhists are cruel then how come most of the Tamil people who fled the war torn north are now living with Sinhala's in the south (specially in Colombo, Nuwaraeliya etc)? Hmmm ... Seems like they are afraid of the LTTE, who take the Tamil peoples children by force and make them child soldiers (while the children of the leaders of LTTE are having fun in Europe, or are not involved in war). The LTTE also requests ransoms from most of the tamil people to oil their war machine (if the people do not provide the requested sum then they are killed).

Who killed Sil observing Buddhists at the sacred Sri Maha Bodi, who bombed the sacred temple of tooth (which is much respected throughout the world of Buddhists?).. again it is the LTTE.

Who killed presidents and would be presidents like Ranasingha Premadasa, Lalith Athulathmudali, Gamnini Dissanayaka etc.. LTTE

Yes I agree there was a sad occasion in 1983 where some Tamil people were killed in the south and some Sinhala people were killed in the north by extremists on both sides (mostly due to the poor news distribution and people acting on hear-say news). But in the recent years most Tamil, Muslim and Sinhala people have put the past things behind are now working together in harmony. U just have to listen to the news (be it CNN, BBC, Aljazeera) and you will see many interviews with Tamils, Muslims and Sinhala's who are fed up with the LTTE (a group now seems to have connections with other terrorist groups in the world, Just take a look at Jane's Intelligence reports).

One more thing, there are two main problems in Sri Lanka. The ruthless terrorist group LTTE (who do not want a political solution except for a separate state), and poor distribution of resources for the rural parts (be it in north, east, south, west or the center of the island) of Sri Lanka (since most resources are concentrated in Colombo). The current government (2007) seems to be promising because it has started on major infrastructure projects for those rural areas and are encouraging entrepreneurs/companies to go to these regions and invest on new industries. Let's see if the promising trend continues ......

Buddhism Betrayed
All religions are perverted by some of its followers, be it the Islamic extremists in the mid-east, or the Christian and Hindu Fundamentalists in other places. This is indeed regrettable, because Religions in general provide a moral anchor for the majority of people on this earth, to live good lives.

Buddhism, one of the greatest philosophies of all times, has stayed clear of this type of fundamentalist extremism, except in Sri Lanka. This book describes in clear detail how this great religion has been perverted in Sri Lanka.

Buddhists in Sri Lanka believe that the entire island nation belongs to the Buddhists (divinely ordained, according to some) and that people of other persuasions have no place there. This has led to a `Buddhist-Action' movement, supported by a Buddhist dominated parliament to enact laws to this end.

Buddhism is enshrined in the Sri Lanka Constitution as the State Religion. Although other religions are allowed religious `freedom', this is in practice marginal at best.

According to the Sri Lankan government's own published data, more than 64,000 Hindus, Muslims and Christians have been killed by the government forces controlled by the Buddhists, for seeking religious equality. Thousands of Churches, Hindu Temples and Muslim Mosques have been burnt, bombed or otherwise destroyed by the Sri Lankan armed forces.

All this is contrary to the worldwide perception of Buddhism as a tolerant and pacifist religion. Indeed Buddhism, as practiced in other countries such as Thailand, Myanmar and in parts of China, is 'Tolerant' and 'Pacifist'. I have personally experienced this in many places and love the way Buddhism is practiced in most places.

In Sri Lanka, however, mobs instigated by Buddhist fanatics kill non-Buddhists in the name of Buddhism. This book provides an accurate description of Buddhism as practiced in Sri Lanka.

Dalai Lama, the greatest and most recognized Buddhist of our times, is a persona-non-grata in Sri Lanka, and is refused entry to the country. Buddhist leaders in other countries have refused to be associated with Buddhist associations in Sri Lanka.

This is a must read for all interested in Buddhism.

This book compleatly misleads people....
I have red this book and I think this book compleatly mislead people about Buddhism and Sri Lankan comunity. For a person who wants to find out more about Sri Lanka and Buddhism (The truth I mean) there are lots of books. I think that the Tamils who started the war and whole word knows it. Buddhists are normally peaceful people and Tamil Tigers and people who support them like this one hate Buddhists.....Please get a life.... ... Read more

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Kambojas and Cambodia. Cambodia, Kambuja, Kamboja, Kambojas, Kamboja?Dvaravati Route, Kamboja colonists of Sri Lanka, Migration of Kambojas, Scholarship among Ancient Kambojas ... Read more

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This digital document is a journal article from Political Geography, published by Elsevier in 2004. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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The paper proposes a preliminary political-geographical theory of 'ethnocratic' regimes. It identifies such regimes as a distinct type, neither democratic, nor authoritarian. The paper defines and illustrates the evolution and characteristics of ethnocratic states, and examines their impact on ethnic relations and political stability. While these regimes represent themselves as democratic, their main project promotes the ethnicization of contested territory and power apparatus. Their logic, structure, features and trajectories are articulated and generalized, especially as regards key dimensions such as: democracy, minorities, 'ethno-classes', ethno-nationalism and religion. Three examples of ethnocratic regimes-in Sri Lanka, Israel and Estonia-are briefly described, analyzed and compared. On this basis, the paper constructs a tentative model, identifying six 'regime bases' as constituting a hegemonic regime core, including: immigration and citizenship, land and settlement, the role of the armed forces, the legal system, the flow of capital and public culture. These 'bases' largely determine the character of 'regime features', such as party politics, elections, gender relations and the media. But the hegemonic status of these bases is frequently challenged by groups marginalized by the expansion and control of the dominant ethnos. These groups attempt to exploit the 'cracks' emanating from the state's self-representation as democratic. The ceaseless ethnocratic-democratic tension typically results in chronic instability and prolonged ethnic conflict. ... Read more

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AUTOBIOGRAPHY TELLS ITS OWN TALE. AUTHOR DRAWS HIS OWN PORTRAIT VIGOROUSLY AND UNOSTENTASIOUSLY. ... Read more

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"Prince Vijaya Pala of Ceylon 1634-1654". ... Read more

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This digital document is a journal article from Geoforum, published by Elsevier in 2007. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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The Indian Ocean Tsunami on Boxing Day 2004 generated a wave of private donations from Western countries - a paradigmatic case of generosity. However, more than a year after, a number of evaluation studies conclude that post-tsunami aid has achieved ambivalent results and that recipients of aid felt excluded from the reconstruction process, reduced to passive observers. This paper argues that there is a link between the abundance of generosity and the practices of aid: the practices of gift giving after the tsunami have developed a humiliating force for those who were at the recipient end of the gift chain, because the marketing of Western generosity by media and aid agencies reinforced those affected by the tsunami as ''pure'' victims, as ''bare life'' - passive recipients devoid of their status as fellow citizens on this planet. In a second step, the paper discusses the meta-ethics of these practices of generosity, thinking about the ambivalences inherent in bridging distance in encountering the ''distant'' other in our aid practices. Various forms of virtue ethics reflect this emphasis on the generous person, while neglecting the perspective of the person in need, and therefore implicitly reproduce those asymmetries of gift giving. In contrast to these conceptions, I want to argue that we need to ground our duty to help distant sufferers in their moral entitlement to be aided. This requires a meta-ethical approach that seeks a combination of a theory of justice with virtue ethics. ... Read more

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In this book Rev. Baierlein a missionary of the Evangelical Lutheran Society describes the main aspects of Tamilian society. The book is divided into 2 parts: the first part describes the land and its products, and is divided into 5 chapters: the people and their literature, the domestic life, their religion and worship and the temples. The second part deals with the missionary history and activities of German, English and American missionaries. It is translated from the German by J.D.B. Gribble. ... Read more

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Comprises the observations made by the author during his stay from August 1816 up to February 1820 as part of the medical staff of the Army. This book consists of 10 chapters that consist of a description of the physical and natural history of the Island, the Political History, Religion, Literature, the Domestic Manners. ... Read more

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Deals with the regions of Asia; Ceylon / Sri Lanka; South-Asia, during the period of 1801-1900 AD, the British Period. This title covers areas of History; People and Lifestyle; Art, Architecture; Anthropology / Ethnology; Folklore; Mythology; Natural History, Flora; Social Life, Customs; Manners & Religious Ceremonies; and, Travels/Voyages. ... Read more