Dr. Pradeep Jeganathan

My suggestion is that radical, democratic or liberal intellectuals and activists, both in the island and outside, should urgently rethink their relationship to nationalism(s). Undoubtedly, those I speak of here, are critical, and rightly, of violent Sinhala nationalism, and of course the excesses of the State, which are manifold. But should this violence excess be met by explicit or implicit support of Tamil nationalism? Surely nationalism, which operates through inherited colonial boxes, masks diversity and social inequality?

Where in a nationalist orientation is space for the rights of domestic workers, battered women, queer people and the pauperized? To think in terms of the rights of citizens, is also of course, to think in terms of language, religion, region and custom. These are group rights of course, as are the rights of plantation workers, or single mothers or journalists. Alliances across groups of citizens become inevitable, and those that are not blinkered by nationalism will see the power of such alliances, to make Sri Lanka a better home for all of us.

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That having been said, I would add that I missed,  to my disappointment, the work of an artist like Thamodarampillai Shanaathanan, whose location, sophisticated political orientation to question like identity, and unique iconographic vocabulary would have added so much to the Biennale.

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Updated on Sat, September 5, 2009 by Pradeep Jeganathan

The sentencing of J.S. Tissanayagam is deeply distressing.

While I'm neither a attorney, nor conversant with the details of the evidence presented by the prosecution, nor the text of the judgment delivered -- and so can not comment on those areas, it seems clear that this judgment and sentence was only possible given the Prevention of Terrorism Act, of 1979. Two features stand out, given the PTA-- the narrow bounds allowed for freedom of expression, on certain themes, and the admissibility of a 'confession' as 'evidence,' which is not allowable under the penal code. Taken together they make for a curtailing of freedom which is telling. There is an appeal pending, I understand, and there may be a possibility of a pardon, if that process is exhausted to no avail.

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“Every prospect pleases, but only man is vile” goes the racist, colonial refrain, which is still the dominant ‘international’ framing of ‘news’ of the coveted pearl that seems to hang from India’s ear. In this colonial story a ‘model colony’ become a ‘troubled paradise’ after the British left it kindly and quietly. In the hands of the natives, a pearl is but a frozen tear.

An anti-colonial narrative sees the not so hidden hand of identify, classify, divide and rule, in the making and managing ‘community,’ little different from a series of British colonial violations that have left ‘ethnic’/‘communal’ partitions or simmering, half-resolved resolutions in their wake. Ireland, India/Pakistan/Bangladesh, Israel/Palestine, Cyprus, Fiji, Singapore/Malaysia. It’s a long list; differences apart, the heritage of colonial identify and divide is shared.

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Ravana asks this question about access to the camps:

"I know Sri Lankan NGOs have access, right? Is that correct? The news reports seem to portray the impression that no one is allowed in. That impression is blatantly false, isn’t it? Indi - you’ve been there. What’s the deal?..." To which Indi says: "I haven’t been to the camps. I’ve been to the hospitals..."

Let me try to clarify, since I think I do know. If I'm wrong, feel free to correct me.

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In an important statement, published in the Island today (18/05/09) "[a] collective of Tamil opinion leaders called The Group of Concerned Tamil Citizens of Sri Lanka (GCTCSL)" make several points about the what was, when the statement was written, the on going war, and its already apparent aftermath.

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In the third installment of his PACT interview Dr. Pradeep Jeganathan, discusses the need for constitutional change, including a brief assessment of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, and examines the relevance of the historical set of ‘grievances of the Tamil people’ today.

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Updated on Tue, May 19, 2009 by Pradeep Jeganathan

Dr. Jeganathan , speaking to PACT, compares and contrasts Sri Lanka’s particular colonial experience with the experiences of other colonised countries, under Britain and France.

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Dr. Pradeep Jeganathan talks to the PACT team about why it is important to pay particular attention to Sri Lanka’s colonial past when looking at roots of conflict in Sri Lanka.

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This article, published in the Hindu, deserves serious discussion

The mirage of Eelam Malini Parthasarathy

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