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.
‘Just A Phase’: The forgotten lunar calendar
Sharni Jayawardena
In December 1965, Ceylon made the singular decision to switch calendars—from the Gregorian to the lunar—a perplexing...
Neutrality in the Face of Injustice
Editors
And maps can really point to placesWhere life is evil now:Iran. Lebanon. Palestine.(with apologies to W. H. Auden)...
Memory, Pain, and the Hope of Justice
Centre for Society and Religion (CSR)
Introduction[1]Seven years after the brutal terrorist attack in Sri Lanka on 21 April 2019, on Easter Sunday, the...
Ditwah Relief Management: Politics and Perceptions in ‘Kolamba Gama’
Shashik Silva
Behind the numbers of those affected by Cyclone Ditwah, the homes and businesses destroyed or damaged, and those still...
The Conscience of the Scholar
Jonathan Spencer
When news started to spread of the death of Gananath Obeyesekere, a younger colleague said to me, “Oh, you must have...
Gananath Obeyesekere: Dazzling Scholar with Integrity
Dennis B. McGilvray
Adding to the Polity conversations about Gananath Obeyesekere, I wish to mention a further dimension of his remarkable...
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.
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.
