Unfinished Conversations: The Life and Works of Intrepid Human Rights Lawyer Basil Fernando by Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena

In a poem titled “The Faces” in a collection aptly called Pride and Pain in Difficult Times sent to me by his daughter soon after his passing, the late Basil Fernando had written a reflection which was more personal than his published poems that I was familiar with…

Read More...

A Funeral in Rathugala by Amalini De Sayrah

May 9th is an overcast day in Rathugala. Figures dressed in white zoom past on motorbikes or walk slowly through the humidity on the Bibile-Ampara road that is otherwise empty for kilometres. Everyone is going to the same place…

Read More...

Mining Heavy Mineral Sands: Deepening Dependency, Not Enhancing Leverage by Amali Wedagedara

The decision to mine mineral sands along two-thirds of Sri Lanka’s coastline is fuelling anxiety and tension among communities living near proposed mining sites. The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) and pro-mining lobbies disregard these concerns and highlight opportunities of ‘value addition’…

Read More...

The Art of Witness: Memory and Resistance in Sri Lanka by Yolanda Foster

When I first arrived in Colombo in the 1990s, I was in my twenties and had just begun a volunteer role with Peace Brigades International (PBI). Sri Lanka was still emerging from the repression of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) insurrection and the government crackdowns that followed…

Read More...

Polity aims to advance democratic consciousness, gender equity, 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.

Read More

Current Issue

Vol. 14 No. 1 (January – June 2026). 134 pages. Gananath Obeyesekere Memorial. NPP and Neutrality. Iran Solidarity. Justice for Easter Sunday. Chemmani. Cyclone Ditwah. Flood Relief. Microfinance Bill. Peasant Politics. Lunar Calendar. Partitions. Women’s Health. Malaiyaha History. Diasporic memory. Mannar’s ecology. Aloysius Peiris SJ. Cover image Ranjini Obeyesekere. LKR1000 from the Social Scientists’ Association or Barefoot or SLBOOKS.lk.

Subscription Form

Archive

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

Visit 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.

Read More...
Share This