Memory, Pain, and the Hope of Justice by Centre for Society and Religion (CSR)

Seven years after the brutal terrorist attack in Sri Lanka on 21 April 2019, on Easter Sunday, the primary objective of publishing a special report by the Centre for Society and Religion (CSR) is to commemorate the memory, share the pain, and go beyond that to reach the hope of justice…

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Ditwah Relief Management: Politics and Perceptions in ‘Kolamba Gama’ by Shashik Silva

Behind the numbers of those affected by Cyclone Ditwah, the homes and businesses destroyed or damaged, and those still in temporary shelters, there are other stories about what disaster relief means to people, their response to government relief, and how their political identity shapes their responses.

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The Conscience of the Scholar by Jonathan Spencer

When news started to spread of the death of Gananath Obeyesekere, a younger colleague said to me, “Oh, you must have known him. What was he like?”. I paused before replying, “I think he may have been the most charismatic man I ever met…

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Gananath Obeyesekere: Dazzling Scholar with Integrity by Dennis B. McGilvray

Adding to the Polity conversations about Gananath Obeyesekere, I wish to mention a further dimension of his remarkable career that deserves praise: the clarity of his exposition and his integrity as a scholar…

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Laughter, Debate, and Dissent: Personal Glimpses of Gananath Obeyesekere by Selvy Thiruchandran

I first met Gananath at the International Centre for Ethnic Studies (ICES) in Colombo, when its Director, Radhika Coomaraswamy, invited me to present a paper. My topic was the rights of Jaffna Tamil women as reflected in the customary law of Thesavalamai…

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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.

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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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Pravada (1991-2002) and Polity (2003-) back issues available here.

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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.

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