Polity aims to advance democratic consciousness, gender equality, state reform, and social change in Sri Lanka, while interested in South Asia and the World.
As its predecessor Pravada (1991-2002), Polity is published by the Social Scientists’ Association in Colombo, with critical content on politics, political economy, history, women, ethnicity, sexualities, religion, labour studies, agrarian relations, nationalisms, violence, ecology, and much more.
“Peasant Politics” and the War in Sri Lanka
Benedikt Korf
Agrarian relations can tell us something fundamental about politics.[1] This is what I have learned from the work of...
Gather Up Your World in One Long Breath. S. Shakthidharan. Sydney: Powerhouse, 2025.
Suvendrini Kanagasabai Perera
Some years ago, I contributed a foreword to A Sense of Viidu, an anthology of writing on Tamil diasporic re-creations...
தாயகம் (𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘺𝘢𝘬𝘢𝘮 / motherland). Amita Arudpragasam. Harvest Moon, 2026. 76 mins.
Thiruni Kelegama
Thayakam begins with a date: 26 September 2025. The footage that follows is of a crowd, the police somewhere inside...
Aloysius Pieris, S.J.: Visionary Activist
Elizabeth J. Harris
Aloysius Pieris, S.J. died at 6 a.m. on 22 March 2026, at Tulana, the centre in Dalugama/Kelaniya that he founded in...
Shattered Lands: Five Partitions and the Making of Modern Asia. Sam Dalrymple. Harper Collins, 2025.
Roshni Kapur
Stories of displacement, separation of families and disruption of lives during the 1947 Partition are embedded in the...
Chemmani ’25
M. C. Kanula
I tried burying it, but kept it safely locked,and cast away the keysto keep its shadow from ever touchingthe flowers I...
Current Issue
Out Now! Vol. 13 No. 2 (July – December 2025). 148 pages. #SriLanka. Politics. Cyclone Ditwah. Ecology. Feminism. Education. Justice. Domestic Violence Act. History. Culture. Work. Labour. Books. Cover Picture Sakuna M. Gamage. LKR1000 from the Social Scientists’ Association or Barefoot or SLBOOKS.lk.
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Archive
Pravada (1991-2002) and Polity (2003-) back issues available here.
Social Scientists’ Association
The Social Scientists’ Association (SSA) was founded in 1977, at a turning point in Sri Lankan politics, economy, and society, marked by among other aspects: the ‘open economy’ market reforms; deepening ethnic conflict; and the growing concentration of executive power. Its initiators were academics from public universities, seeking an autonomous space to grapple with these shifts; and to promote progressive political, economic, and social change.