"To us
all towns are one, all men our kin. |
Home | Whats New | Trans State Nation | One World | Unfolding Consciousness | Comments | Search |
Home > Tamil National Forum > Selected Writings by Sachi Sri Kantha
Selected Writings by Sachi Sri Kantha |
|
CONTENTS OF THIS SECTION 10/10/09 |
Sachi
Sri Kantha is a biochemist and a historian of
science. He holds two Ph.D degrees (University of Illinois,
1986; University of Tokyo, 1989) in food chemistry and
marine biochemistry. A bilingual author-translator with an
unusually wide range of interests, Sri Kantha has authored
several books in Tamil and English, and also translated one
neuroscience reference atlas from Japanese to English. His
published books include Tamil Isai Theepam (vol.1, 1977, in
Tamil),
Prostitutes in Medical Literature : An Annotated
Bibliography,
(Greenwood Press, 1991), MGR Movies Revisited and Other
Essays (1995),
An Einstein Dictionary (Greenwood Press,
1996), Thamil Kavi Arasu Kannadasan (1997, in Tamil),
Atlas of Neuroactive Substances and Their Receptors in the
Rat
(Oxford University Press, 1998), Tears and Cheers: Tale of a
Tamil Scientist (2004) and
Pirabhakaran
Phenomenon (Lively COMET Imprint, 2005).
He has over 100
research publications in 40 peer-reviewed biomedical
journals. His publications during the
period 1981 - 2009 are listed
below. In 1984, the Tamil Isai Theepam book was belatedly awarded the then suspended Sri Lanka government’s Sahitya Award for the “research book in Tamil language for 1977”. In Japan, Sri Kantha received the 1987 Kyoto International Cultural Association’s Essay Prize, and one of the five third place awards of Yomiuri Newspaper’s1988 International Essay Competition on Space. Since 1981, Sri Kantha also has published over 100 research papers in 40 biomedical journals. Sachi Sri Kantha has written extensively on Tamil related matters for more than three decades. He has written with passion and clarity - and a profound regard for truth. He wrote for the Tamil Nation fortnightly in the early 1990s, under the pen name C.P. Goliard which name he explained at that time in these terms:
Though Sachi Sri Kantha no longer uses his earlier pen name, his writings reflect the enjoyment that he continues to derive from intellectual duels. They also reflect his deep love for his homeland. |
2009 | |
10 October 2009 | S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike Assassination - Revisited after 50 years: Part 3: Theatrics and Economics |
3 October 2009 | S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike Assassination - Revisited after 50 years: part 2: Forensics |
26 September 2009 | S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike Assassination - Revisited after 50 years: part 1: Politics |
23 September 2009 | Anna’s Birth Centennial Anthology Part 4: Anna at Rajya Sabha on Dravidstan, Secession & Sovereignty |
15 September 2009 | Anna’s Birth Centennial Anthology: Part 3: Anna in the Dock |
3 September 2009 | The UN Unmasked; Humorist Dave Barry’s Revisionist History |
15 August 2009 | Foggy Bottom |
28 July 2009 | On-site Field Reporting during Black July 1983 by Anthony Mascarenhas |
12 July 2009 | On that Narasimhan Ram interview with Mahinda Rajapaksa |
5 July 2009 | LTTE’s Military Debacle - A Postmortem |
18 June 2009 | Mervyn de Silva on Prabhakaran - 19 Years Ago |
18 June 2009 | A Gift to King Mahinda |
26 May 2009 | Prabhakaran’s Soma and Prabhakaran’s Sense |
20 May 2009 | A Dedication to the heroes and heroines of Vanni Land |
8 May 2009 | Tamil Studies in Ceylon; a review essay of 1968 by S. Vithiananthan |
1 May 2009 | The Indo-LTTE War (1987-90) - An Anthology. Part 14: President Premadasa’s double-crossing maneuver |
17 April 2009 | Protecting Sonia by Press Notice - an Indian Rope Trick |
6 April 2009 | Kasi Ananthan at 70 - Poetry and Power |
27 March 2009 | An Allegorical Reading of Gogol’s story ‘The Nose’ (1836) - in Sri Lankan Context |
20 March 2009 | Karuna in Politics: From Brutus to Lepidus |
11 March 2009 | Lahore Shooting, Covert Operations & RAW Spinners |
5 March 2009 | Eelam Tamil Scientists: An Inventory of Their Productivity |
23 February 2009 | Anna’s Birth Centennial Anthology – Part 2: Panruti Ramachandran’s Essay |
18 February 2009 | Human Rights Barkers and Me - A Personal Note |
7 February 2009 | The Indo-LTTE War (1987-90) - An Anthology. Part 13: Ranasinghe Premadasa as the New Broom |
4 February 2009 | Anna’s Birth Centennial Anthology – Part 1: Poet Kannadasan’s Lament |
28 January 2009 | Mahinda Musings of a Mullaitivu Migrant Crane |
17 January 2009 | Remembering American humorist Art Buchwald |
2008 | |
30 December 2008 | The Indo-LTTE War (1987-90) - An Anthology. Part 12: Curtain Falls on Despot Jayewardene’s 12 Year Rule |
24 December 2008 | Professor K. Kailasapathy; Evaluated with his Peers |
16 December 2008 |
Manifesto of a
‘Goody Two Shoes’ Sinhalese General |
9 December 2008 | Wiseacres with Snobismus Syndrome |
29 November 2008 | Kalaivanar N.S. Krishnan, the Tamil Comedian and Political Activist - A Birth Centenary Tribute |
18 November 2008 | The Indo-LTTE War (1987-90) - An Anthology. Part 11: The Maldives Coup-plot by the PLOTE Mercenaries |
11 November 2008 | Sivaji Ganesan: Autobiography of An Actor - Book Review |
2 November 2008 |
Naivete and Rascality of Narasimhan Ram together with Comments by tamilnation.org |
15 October 2008 | On Malini Parthasarathy’s Malodorous Malady |
10 October 2008 | Sexual Predations of a Morally Corrupt Sri Lankan Army |
4 October 2008 | El Presidente's Bumbling Butch Cassidy Act at the UN Podium - படிக்கிறது தெவாரம், இடிக்கிறது சிவன் கொவில் |
21 September 2008 | Bertrand Russell, the Pig, the Donkey, the Sheep & the cacophonous 'Alternative' Tamil Leadership |
9 September 2008 | On Revisiting ‘Tarzan Lives!’ and its Relevance for Tamils |
2 September 2008 | Professor Susumu Ohno (1919-2008), the Japanese Linguist – An Appreciation |
31 August 2008 | War Rhetoric and the Numbers Game |
20 August 2008 | The Indo-LTTE War (1987-90) - An Anthology. Part 10: Jayewardene’s Exit and Premadasa’s Entry |
12 August 2008 | 1982 Presidential Candidacy of G.G.(Kumar) Ponnambalam Jr. Revisited |
23 July 2008 | July 1983 Pogrom - Victims and the Rascals |
11 July 2008 | The Sloths, The Snails and the Primates of the U.S. State Department |
5 July 2008 | On Tennyson, Subash Chandra Bose, Peter Schalk and the 1997 LTTE 'Do or Die' Campaign |
1 July 2008 | ‘Black July 1983’ & Pieter Keuneman |
22 June 2008 | Prelude to the ‘Black July 1983’- As gleaned from Mervyn De Silva’s Commentaries |
11 June 2008 | A Century of Tamil Poetry in Sri Lanka: An Introductory Note by K.Kailasabathy with Front Note & Postscript |
22 May 2008 | The Indo-LTTE War (1987-90) - An Anthology: Part 9: Rajiv losing a Battle against the Defiant Press and JR Opts to ‘Retire Hurt’ |
1 May 2008 | 15th Anniversary of President Premadasa's Assassination - The Puzzles Revisited |
25 April 2008 | The Three Crows by Jose Antonio Campos |
22 April 2008 | Lalith Athulathmudali and his Murderous ‘Scorched Earth Policy’: Revisited |
15 April 2008 | Arthur C. Clarke, Mrs. B and My Fan Letter |
12 April 2008 | The Indo-LTTE War (1987-90) - An Anthology. Part 8: Stock taking after One Year of the 1987 Accord |
31 March 2008 | Remembering S.J.V.Chelvanayakam on his 110th Birth Anniversary |
25 March 2008 | Anura Bandaranaike - A Candid Contra View |
20 March 2008 | The Indo-LTTE War (1987-90) - An Anthology. Part 7: Acrobatic Leap and Fall of Athulathmudali |
12 March 2008 | Christie Jayaratnam Eliezer – A Leader with Class |
4 March 2008 | ‘Sirithiran’ Sunthar: The Ace Cartoonist of Eelam Tamils |
29 February 2008 | Dissecting Dayan Jayatilleka’s Past and Present |
28 February 2008 | The Indo-LTTE War (1987-90) - An Anthology Part 6: Persisting Headaches for Rajiv and Jayewardene |
20 February 2008 | On the Traditional Tamil Homeland: The Facts |
15 February 2008 | Reminiscing on the Two Old Letters from Raveendranath |
9 February 2008 | Sixty Years to Flop and Disintegrate |
30 January 2008 | Shell-shocked Generals |
22 January 2008 | On that FBI Report: ‘Taming the Tamil Tigers: From Here in the US’ |
8 January 2008 | The Indo-LTTE War (1987-90) - An Anthology - Part 5: Brewing Discontent on Rajiv and Sonia Gandhi |
2007 | |
25 December 2007 | The Indo-LTTE War (1987-90) - An Anthology Part 4 – MGR’s Death and Aftermath |
18 December 2007 | The Infamous 1997 ‘Foreign Terrorist Organization’ List Revisited |
13 December 2007 | The Indo-LTTE War (1987-90) - An Anthology. Part 3 |
1 December 2007 | The Indo-LTTE War (1987-90) - An Anthology Part 2 |
25 November 2007 | The Indo-LTTE War (1987-90) - An Anthology. Part 1 |
9 November 2007 | Some Thoughts on the deaths of Dudayev and Thamilselvan |
3 November 2007 | Tribute to Thamilselvan |
25 October 2007 | Tears of a Kind to the Heroic Twenty One |
20 October 2007 | Sixty Cheers for the Central Intelligence Agency |
12 October 2007 | Is That All You Got, Karuna? |
8 October 2007 | Prelude to the Indo-LTTE War (1987-90): Part 5 The Rage of Sinhala Buddhist Monks |
28 September 2007 | Prelude to the Indo-LTTE War (1987-90) - Part 4 The Deals of Indian Mandarins of Deception |
21 September 2007 | Prelude to the Indo-LTTE War (1987-90) - Part 3 The Annoyance and Anger of the Sinhalese |
15 September 2007 | On Epic Poet Kambar and the Kamba Rasam polemic of polymath Anna |
15 September 2007 | Prelude to the Indo-LTTE War (1987-90) : Part 2 Broiling and Near-toppling of Rajiv Gandhi |
31 August 2007 | Foreign Ministers of Sri Lanka: The Begging and Bombast Brigade |
24 August 2007 | Edmund Samarakkody on the Events of July – August 1977 |
17 August 2007 | A Tribute to G.G. (Kumar) Ponnambalam Jr on His 69th Birth Anniversary |
9 August 2007 | Prelude to the Indo-LTTE War (1987-90) - An Anthology |
2 August 2007 | On the Tightrope Acts of Neelan Tiruchelvam: Eight Critiques |
25 July 2007 | The Backstory of Black July 1983 and Its Aftermath: An Amirthalingam Interview to the Madras Hindu |
19 July 2007 | The Deals of Dr.Neelan - Revisiting the Views of G.G.(Kumar) Ponnambalam Jr |
11 July 2007 | Prancing of Political Horses for Pole Positions |
6 July 2007 |
Ideology of Tamil Nadu
Dravidian Parties on the Eelam Issue - the Views of Izeth Hussain
|
28 June 2007 | Anointed Federalists and Anandasangaree |
26 June 2007 | Dravidian Movement in Tamil Nadu - the Views of Marguerite Ross Barnett |
30 April 2007 | Boris Yeltsin, LTTE and the Indian Gumshoes |
22 April 2007 | On Leadership: Emory Bogardus Revisited – part 2 |
14 April 2007 | On Leadership: Emory Bogardus Revisited – part 1. |
12 March 2007 | Stalin’s Antipathy and a Missed Opportunity in 1950s: An Opinion |
5 March 2007 | On Tigers, China, Rajapakse & 'Development' - Deft Dancing on the ‘D’ Word |
28 February 2007 | On Waiting: Simple Lessons from Bogart, Bergman and Mandela |
21 February 2007 | Nuts and Bolts of Narayanan and Indian National Security |
13 February 2007 | On S.P.Amarasingam and My 1977 Valentine to Eelam |
3 February 2007 | |
30 January 2007 | Art Buchwald: The Pen Slinger in Washington DC |
21 January 2007 | |
5 January 2007 | Evolution of Eelam Tamil Diaspora; A Bibliography |
4 January 2007 | On Killinochchi constituency and Anandasangaree |
2006 | |
29 December 2006 | Illiterates and Indian Music: a Kannadasan Memorial Paper |
27 December 2006 | Music and Memories: A Dedication to Prof.S.Raveendranath |
26 December 2006 | V.Navaratnam - Random Notes |
15 December 2006 | Anton Balasingham: the Articulate Bandmaster |
6 December 2006 | On Collaborators and Informers: A Cross Cultural Comparison |
29 November 2006 | Triumvir Rajas |
20 November 2006 | On Milton Friedman, MGR and Annaism |
9 November 2006 | A Tale of Two Tamil Vice Chancellors |
1 November 2006 | Cartoons on J.R.Jayewardene: A Birth Centenary Chuckle |
27 October 2007 | A Challenge to President Rajapakse: Be a True Buddhist for Real Peace |
20 October 2006 | International Association of Tamil Research (IATR) Conferences: Pre- lude and Post-lude |
17 October 2006 | On 40th anniversary of the First International Conference Seminar on Tamil Studies |
9 October 2006 | Extras in Film, Politics and Diplomacy |
2 October 2006 | |
26 September 2006 | |
21 September 2006 | The Mind of Mao and Its Relevance to Eelam |
11 September 2006 | On Reading ‘The Function of Military History’ by an American Colonel Arthur Conger Jr. |
5 September 2006 | Tamil Mind and Tiger Mind: A 1994 Debate between S.Sivanayagam and Ketheesh Loganathan |
28 August 2006 | Applauding Eric Margolis |
23 August 2006 | On Special Agent-in-Charge Leslie Wiser Jr’s Undercover Sting Operation |
21 August 2006 | Kethesh Loganathan: the loose cannon |
18 August 2006 | A Pit List for the President |
12 August 2006 | |
10 August 2006 |
Random Thoughts on K.Thurairatnam, the Point Pedro Federalist |
29 July 2006 | Botched JVP Hit on Rajiv Gandhi - Revisited |
25 July 2006 |
On the First Magazine Cover Report Which Foretold the Sri Lankan Split |
11 July 2006 | What Narasimhan Ram Should Understand |
30 June 2006 | On Suicide Bombers & Educating Professor Robert Pape of University of Chicago |
27 June 2006 | Being an Eelam apologist in the Lanka Guardian magazine |
18 June 2006 | Remembering Nandhi (1928-2005) - the foremost physician-literateur of Eelam) with one of his classic short stories. |
10 June 2006 | Quo Vadis Karunanidhi? |
5 June 2006 | Perversity of Pyromaniacs Part 4: Thoughts of a Bibliophile |
30 May 2006 | Perversity of Pyromaniacs Part 3: V.Yogeswaran’s Speech on the Torching of Jaffna in May-June 1981 |
23 May 2006 | Perversity of Pyromaniacs Part 2: Amirthalingam’s Speech on the Torching of Jaffna in May-June 1981 |
17 May 2006 | Perversity of Pyromaniacs; part 1 – Revisiting the June 1981 Torching of Jaffna |
5 May 2006 | On the 30th Birth Anniversary of LTTE |
16 April 2006 | On Academic Politics and Religious Zealotry |
11 April 2006 | Concerning Three Mules and Sister Rajani - A Rejoinder |
4 April 2006 | Front Note to Images of Hindu Gods in Buddhist Temples by P.B.J.Hevawasam |
15 March 2006 | On the Performance of Police Chief Chandra Fernando & the Assassination of Lakshman Kadirgamar |
5 March 2006 | Concerning Three Mules and Sister Rajani |
2 February 2006 | Attention Anandasangaree; A Valentine For You |
28 January 2006 | More on the Muslim Question:Two Published Records from the Past |
27 January 2006 | On the Mischievous Game of Muslims |
21 January 2006 | Concerning Dayan Jayatilleke, JVP and Pol Potism |
2005 | |
27 December 2005 | A Low-Down on Narasimhan Ram |
20 December 2005 | A Lesson in Gratitude from the Movie Maestro Sivaji Ganesan |
9 December 2005 | Karuna and Kalkudah |
6 December 2005 | A Hole in the Head of Ms.Nirupama Subramanian |
30 November 2005 | A Flashback to LTTE Leader Pirabhakaran’s 1995 Interview |
25 November 2005 | A Book to Honor Pirabhakaran |
23 November 2005 | Alvapillai: A Silent Axle of the Colonial and post-colonial Ceylon Administration |
16 November 2005 | 25th Anniversary of Sansoni Report - On Anandasangaree and a 1977 Assault on Amirthalingam |
3 November 2005 | On Checking the Pockets of Presidential Contenders |
31October 2005 | Expulsion of Jaffna Muslims |
11 October 2005 | A Chronicle of Consequence - Book Review: S.Sivanayagam: Sri Lanka: Witness to History – a Journalist’s Memoirs |
3 October 2005 | Revisiting the Two Masterpieces of Mahatma |
19 September 2005 | Democracy Dance in Diapers |
14 September 2005 | On the Notoriety and Nitty Gritty of Hit Lists |
24 August 2005 | An Anniversary, a Proverb and a Hypocrite |
22 August 2005 |
The Spin and Swing of RAW Orchestra
|
15 August 2005 | Farewell to Lakshman Kadirgamar |
28 July 2005 |
Pigs are
Flying in Batticaloa!
|
27 July 2005 |
Candid
Thoughts on ‘Black July 1983’- - Revisiting Mervyn de Silva's
Writing of January 1984
|
15 July 2005 | Caste in D.P.Sivaram’s ‘On Tamil Militarism’ Essay |
8 July 2005 | Remembering Poet Paddukoddai Kalyanasundaram on his 75th Birth Anniversary |
4 June 2005 | Birth Centennial Tribute to James Rutnam - The Leading Characters in the Political Turmoil of Sinhalese-Muslim Riots of 1915 |
27 May 2005 | Sinhalese-Muslim Riots of 1915 - A Synopsis |
14 May 2005 |
Lessons
from the Vietnam War for Tamils: An Overview and a Few Personal
Thoughts
|
9 May 2005 | Orrin Klapp and Kannadasan on Scholarship on Fools |
4 April 2005 | Scarecrow Song of Karuna |
23 March 2005 | Gossip-mining Gods of Mass Media |
4 February 2005 |
Kathiravelupillai's Eelam Statement, 1973 - Revisited on the 57th
Anniversary of Sri Lankan Independence
|
12 January 2005 |
Pirabhakaran Mystery;
a Response to the Hindu Editorial
|
2004 | |
30 December 2004 |
Desperately
Seeking Intelligence
|
17 December 2004 |
Book Review of
'Rendering Unto Caesar: Memoirs of a Sinhalese Bureaucrat by Bradman Weerakoon'
|
14 December 2004 |
Tribute to M.S.Subbulakshmi
|
10 November 2004 |
General Pirabhakaran in the
foot-steps of General Washington
On January 8 of this year, I contributed a commentary entitled ‘George
Washington and Prabhakaran’ to the
Sangam site. The first two sentences of this commentary stated,
What is presented below is a sequel to my January commentary. |
1 November 2004 | Twenty Books on Eelam Tamils - for reference and research - "This list was originally prepared by me to aid one young reader of my writings in the sangam site. Early this year, he solicited my choices for study on the history and politics of Eelam Tamils. For convenience, I have arranged my selections chronologically rather than alphabetically by the author and provide annotations highlighting the merits and probable demerits in each of my selections..." [see also Books on Eelam at Tamil Nation Library] |
14 October 2004 | Tamil Genocide, as the Hindu reported – 20 years ago ‘The 100 percent Sinhala army behaving like an occupation army in a 100 percent Tamil country creates a situation motivating ethnic genocide – an ideal setting for a slow and noiseless genocide’. |
2 October 2004 | Remembering Mahatma Gandhi on the 135th anniversary of his Birth |
17 September 2004 | Is Uncle Sam’s ‘No Fly List’ a net to supress voice? Elicited Responses "..Few years ago, actor Paul Newman was asked in a magazine interview about what he considered as his pinnacle of professional achievement. The guy who inimitably played the ‘Cool Hand Luke’ role delivered his cool and mocking answer; ‘To be number 19th in Nixon’s enemy list’ of 1971. Taking a cue from my movie idol Paul Newman – whose liberal political ideals I subscribe to now I can also brag that ‘To be in Uncle Sam’s No Fly List’ is a badge of some sort. Lately, this No Fly List has become a headliner, that it has even gained the NFL abbreviation, to share the spotlight with the national football league, the original recipient of the NFL abbreviation..." |
1 September 2004 | I got trapped in the Secret ‘No Fly List’ of Transportation Security Administration "..I neither have the charisma of a Kennedy nor the celebrity status of Massachusetts’ senior senator Edward Kennedy. But, for the past 25 years, I do subscribe to the liberal democratic ideals for which the youngest male of the Kennedy clan had stood for in the limelight. Thus, it is perhaps, nothing but my karma that I became a victim of the notorious ‘secret no-fly list’ maintained by the Transportation Security Administration of the American government... On August 19th, at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Senator Edward Kennedy brought to public attention, the existence of this notorious ‘no-fly list’. It has been reported in the news media that more than 350 Americans have suffered harassment by the execution of this ‘no-fly list’. I wonder whether I’m the only Sri Lankan Tamil (holding the Sri Lankan passport) who had to face this precarious dilemma in being named in this notorious ‘no-fly list’. I provide my harassment experience in the belief that it will be of some help to other Tamils, who may face such ordeal in the future..." |
August 2004 | First and Fibbing Biography of LTTE Leader - Book Review of the Elusive Mind |
17 August 2004 | Vignettes on Three Black Tiger Heroes in the Battlefield "...That afternoon, Borg said farewell to his family members (father, elder brothers, younger brothers and loving sister). Finally, he went to his mother and said, "Mother, please place a pottu – blessing charm – on my forehead." Mother obliged accordingly. He smiled, and bid farewell to her. He took a last look of all, from the gate and he left.A few minutes later, his elder brother shrieked: ‘Thambi – has left his lungi and T-shirt.’ For that, his mother consoled, ‘Maybe, he left these, because they had worn out.’ Borg’s mother says sobbingly: ‘I couldn’t feel, why he behaved rather differently on that last day. Only after he died as a Black Tiger, I realized why he had asked me to come and sleep next to him, why he asked me to place the blessing charm, why left his clothing. Now, I know.’" |
23 July 2004 | On the 21st Anniversary of Black July 1983 -Revisiting the White Anglo Saxon Protestant (WASP) Editorials "...The old adage says, ‘It’s better to light a candle than curse the darkness’. Thus the July 1983 anti-Tamil riots more or less forced me to write about Tamil issues, which I’m familiar with in English. Thereby, at least I could counter the errors of facts and interpretation, as well as educate a segment of readers who are interested in learning something about the exploding Tamil issue in Sri Lanka. Below I present a sample of ten editorials which appeared during July-August 1983, in the leading newspapers and magazines of the WASP [standing for, White Anglo Saxon Protestant] world; four from London, two from Toronto, two from Washington DC, one each from Boston and Montreal.." |
17 July 2004 | 'Triumph of Truth – The Rajiv Gandhi Assassination'Book Review"...because of his lead role as the Chief of SIT, Kaarthikeyan would have been privy to much (as of now) unclassified information on the 1991 Sriperumbudur tragedy; thus I had greater expectations of being educated by this book. Sadly, this book was a disappointment. Like a professional strip-tease artist, Kaarthikeyan whets the curiosity of his audience in the cover blurb, but comes up short on in-depth revelations... Deliberate omissions [especially the activities relating to the infamous Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) in Eelam soil between 1987 and May 1991, which was one crucial precipitating factor in Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination] and deceptions are replete in the book...These omissions and deceptions amply proves that Kaarthikeyan’s version of ‘truth’ is deformed by design, and strains credibility..." |
14 July 2004 | 20 Years since Minister Douglas Devananda’s Major Dance in Terrorism "Twenty years and two months ago - in May 1984 – there was a daring kidnapping episode in Jaffna involving two Americans. It was the first of its kind in Sri Lankan soil, and fortunately until now, has never recurred. A newly-wed American couple, the Allens from Ohio, were kidnapped from their residence... I haven’t heard about the two victims – the Allen couple - since then, and presume that they are still alive. But, one of the perpetrators of the kidnapping terrorism is still in political limelight. He was none other than Sri Lanka Minister Douglas Devananda..." |
5 July 2004 | Karuna Quartered |
22 June 2004 | Homage to the Black Tigers: A Review of Sooriya Puthalvargal, June 2004 ‘We can wake up a sleeping person, but not one who is pretending to sleep’. I think that in the now fashionable field of ‘terrorism studies’, quite a number – Bruce Hoffmans, Rajan Hooles, B.Ramans, Rohan Gunaratnas and Yoram Schweitzers - belong to the pretender category. On the contrary, there are also academics who belong to the sleeping category. To increase the awareness of the latter category, I present the available basic information on the 240 Tamil Tigers who are celebrated as heroes for their altruistic deeds for Tamil nationalism..." |
13 April 2004 | Collapse of Col. Karuna's Chariot |
12 April 2004 | M.K.Eelaventhan - a Tribute to a Mentor "It is gladdening to read in the TamilNet news of April 9th that Mr.M.K.Eelaventhan has been officially nominated by the Tamil National Alliance as one of the two national list parliamentarians, through the Thamil Arasu Katchchi (ITAK). What a turn of events for a bona fide Tamil activist who was an Eelam refugee in Tamil Nadu from 1983 until the end of 2000, when Indian Poo-Bahs deported him unceremoniously to Sri Lanka. I have not met Eelaventhan personally for the past 23 years, but he remains a mentor for me, since I saw him for the first time as a school boy in the early 1960s..." |
1 April 2004 |
The RAW Factor
in Col.Karuna's Revolt
“The Cabinet Secretariat Research and
Analysis Wing [RAW], India's most powerful intelligence agency, is India’s
external intelligence agency. RAW has become an effective instrument of
India's national power, and has assumed a significant role in formulating
India's domestic and foreign policies. RAW has engaged in disinformation
campaigns, espionage and sabotage against Pakistan and other neighboring
countries. RAW has enjoyed the backing of successive Indian governments in
these efforts. Working directly under the Prime Minister, the structure,
rank, pay and perks of the Research & Analysis Wing are kept secret from
Parliament.”
|
21 January 2004 | Tolstoy & Pirabhakaran Parallels |
2003 | |
17 September 2003 | A Debate on the Ethnic Identity of Tamils |
22 August 2003 | A. Amirthalingam’s Historic Speech in the Sri Lankan Parliament |
12 August 2003 | On Rohan Gunaratna: the ‘Temple Drum’ of Terrorism Industry |
3 July 2003 | Chelvanayakam: The Man with a Sharp Mind and a Slow Tongue |
10 June 2003 | Song for Eelam from Kannadasan "..For millions of Tamils who are over 40, numerous movie lyrics of Tamil poet laureate Kannadasan (1927-1981) provided special delight in times of happiness and solace in times of sorrow..." |
May 2001 to March 2003 |
The Pirabaharan Phenomenon "It's time that the Pirabaharan phenomenon be studied somewhat in depth. His adversaries from India and Sri Lanka have called him names - a Hitler, a Pol Pot, a megalomaniac and a mass murderer. The problem with these self-serving outbursts is that, the 20th century Indian subcontinent had not seen a leader like him. In ideals and action, the closest one who can be identified with Pirabaharan is Subhas Chandra Bose (1897-1945), though there are noticeable differences in the lives between both..." |
2002 | |
18 July 2002 | The Bandaranaikes from the House of Nilaperumal by James T.Rutnam with Additional Notes |
4 July 2002 | Tamil Tigers and America’s Founding Fathers |
18 June 2002 | M.Sivasithamparam: Little Memories about a Big Man |
2001 | |
20 October 2001 | My Heart was in Point Pedro but my vote was in Colombo West |
16 May 2001 | R.K.Narayan - a Tribute "..That Narayan is a trend-breaker not only in his personal life, but in the literature domain of Indian subcontinent as well, is worthy of admiration. Though being born as a Tamil, he wished to become internationally known by writing in English - the language of India's imperialists... Calling Narayan as a novelist is like pigeon-holing Chaplin as a circus clown. For Tamils, Narayan was more than a novelist. He became the foremost chronicler and story teller of Hindu life in the 20th century India. His characters were created in the milieu of Tamil Nadu and Dravidian culture..." |
25 April 2001 | On Suicide - My Best Essay & Socrates' Revenge "...Suicide has remained a puzzle for the humankind since the dawn of civilization. Nearly 2,400 summers have passed since Socrates made a political statement against his accusers, using the hemlock extract..." |
18 April 2001 | Of Martyrdom and Hope: Lessons from early Christian Struggle"Last Sunday was the Easter Sunday. American President George W. Bush had noted in his Easter message: "In this season of renewal, we remember that failures in life are never final, that hope leads us closer to the truth, that in the end, even death itself will be defeated. And that is the shared belief of many faiths, and that is the promise of Easter morning." (New York Times, April 16, 2001). Simple thoughts, worth repeating umpteen times, whether emanating from the lips of American President or from an Eelam Tamil refugee.What seems unappealing to me are the condescending tracts and analyses persistently presented by the critics of LTTE on the futility of martyrdom and suicide by the Tamil Tigers...." |
10 April 2001 | A Garland to My First Love "She is my first love. Today, she reaches 65. By current demographical yard-stick, she enters the senior citizen category from today. I will be 48 next month. There is a generational gap between us. It has to be, because she is my mother (Amma). Thus I write this ethnographical sketch about her - snippets of her moments of joy and anguish in her life. Thousands of Eelam Tamil women in the diaspora are in my mother's situation now. I write about Amma since I know her story best... |
4 April 2001 | Ethnophaulisms on (and of) Tamils |
28 March 2001 | A reading of 'The Destructors' by Graham Greene |
21 March 2001 | Snobs of a Singular Kind "...the recent pronouncements of (Sri Lanka) Presidential advisors Lakshman Kadirgamar (before demolition of the Bamiyan statue) and Lakshman Jayakody (after demolition) in trying to harvest some cheap publicity for them in the international media is nothing but snobbery of tallest proportions... thousands of Buddhist monasteries (in Tibet) have been defiled and demolished by the Chinese communist regime during the past five decades. But for reasons of convenience, the mouths of Sri Lankan snobs keep silent, demonstrating that these snobs are hypocrites as well. How can lowly snobs offend their patrons who provide armaments for their war against the Tamils?.." |
March 2001 |
Professor Christie Jeyaratnam Eliezer
"Reporter: Are you an agent for the
LTTE? Prof. C.J.Eliezer: Certainly not. Reporter: How would you describe, then, your relationship with the LTTE? Prof.C.J.Eliezer: As an admirer, as an emotional admirer of the LTTE. Reporter: A sympathizer? Prof.C.J.Eliezer: Sympathiser, yes. Reporter: Somebody who gives the LTTE advice? Prof.C.J.Eliezer: I have not given them any advice. Reporter: Somebody who provides the LTTE with support when asked? Prof.C.J.Eliezer: Well, they haven't asked me for anything, but irrespective of that, they'll find my pronouncements at meetings and things, they'll find them useful. Reporter: Useful in terms of furthering their cause? Prof.C.J.Eliezer: Yes, because they're all committed to the idea of liberation, and as they are, I am, and we do it in different ways." |
7 March 2001 | Somarama Legacy "By Churchillian wit, Chandrika Kumaratunga is a good politician. Why? Churchill once quipped that the politician should have, 'the ability to foretell what is going to happen tomorrow, next week, next month, and next year. And to have the ability afterwards to explain why it didn't happen'..." |
28 February 2001 |
Memories of an Anguished 1971 and My Lessons in Journalism "Time goes, you say? Ah no! Alas, Time stays, we go; Or else, were this not so, What need to chain the hours, For youth were always ours?" |
21 February 2001 | Valor of Dr.K.Visvaranjan |
14 February 2001 | American Ambassadors in Eelam: Daniel Poor |
7 February 2001 | On Interpol and Intelligence |
31 January 2001 | Fuel from a Freedom Fighter "..January 30th marked the 53rd anniversary of the death of Mahatma Gandhi. Since his death he has been elevated to the ranks of Hindu saints of the 20th century. But one should not forget that first and foremost he was a freedom fighter..." |
24 January 2001 | Bob Dylan Stares at Sri Lankans, 24 January 2001 |
17 January 2001 | Memories of MGR's Madurai Thamil Thiruvizah (1981) |
10 January 2001 | American Ambassadors in Ceylon - Dr. Samuel Fiske Green |
3 January 2001 | American Ambassadors in Eelam - W. Robert Holmes |
2000 | |
27 December 2000 | American Ambassadors in Eelam |
20 December 2000 | Eelam in 2000: A Nation in the Making "It is an ancient custom of the Roman Catholic Church to assign an advocatus diaboli (devil's advocate) for assessing the worth of a person in the sanctification procedure. This devil's advocate would present the negative evidence on the candidate in question. The belief is that, the extremist negative position taken by the devil's advocate will somehow aid in proper assessment and elicit the emergence of truth.The Eelam campaign also has its quota of devil's advocates. I feel that the Eelam activists can learn much about the strengths and deficiencies of their position, by reading the views of these devil's advocates..." |
13 December 2000 | M.K.Eelaventhan - A Man with a Mission |
6 December 2000 | Hans Christian Andersen's Tale 'The Swineherd' "Danish story-teller Hans Christian Andersen (1805-875) is internationally known for his delightful stories such as 'Thumbelina'(1835), 'The Emperor's New Suit' (1837) and 'The Ugly Duckling' (1844). One of his lesser-known stories was 'The Swineherd' (1842). The reappointment of Gen. Anuruddha Ratwatte as the Deputy Minister of Defence by President Chandrika Kumaratunga on November 30, prompts me to present this story to the readers..." |
29 November 2000 | Random Thoughts on Two Eelam Scientists |
22 November 2000 | Tales of Two Ambassadors |
15 November 2000 | Kadirgamar's Snake Oil "...Bridge is a word used prominently as a metaphor by politicians. In the 1996 presidential election campaign, Bill Clinton used the phrase 'bridge to the 21st century' eloquently. Even before that, former Soviet Union leader Nikita Khruschev is credited with a humorous quip, "Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build a bridge even when there is no river". Well, Sri Lankan politicians are no exception. They will promise to build a bridge even without knowing what a bridge is. Thus I wish to comment on Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar's spurious bridge-building exercise, which is nothing but snake oil..." |
8 November 2000 | Resurrection of Tolstoy's Count Rostopchin "...In the novel War and Peace, Vereshchagin met an untimely death in Moscow due to Rostopchin's machinations in the early 19th century. Tolstoy's story received a painful resurrection in Sri Lanka [Bindunuwewa-Bandarawela] on October 25, where 29 Tamil Vereshchagins were murdered. Incidentally, it is a coincidence that the title of Tolstoy's last major novel, Voskreseniye, written in 1899, is nothing but 'Resurrection'..." |
1 November 2000 | A Millennial Anniversary in Eelam "In two months time, we will be bidding good bye to the year A.D. 2000. Thus, it is apt to remember a millenial event which has not received due attention among the Eelam Tamils. This was a remarkable event in the political history of Eelam Tamils....The Time Tables of History [Simon and Schuster, New York, 1982] compiled by Bernard Grun (1901-1972) lists the following the nine events in its History and Politics column, for the year 1000... the event listed as number 5 is 'King Rajaraja of the Chola dynasty conquers Ceylon'..." |
25 October 2000 | Chandrika's Three Ring Circus "That irreverent wit George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) once wrote, "Democracy substitutes election by the incompetent many for appointment by the corrupt few." 50 years have passed since Shaw left us. If only he is amongst us now, one wonders how much he would have relished to comment on this month's exercise of 'stage-managed democracy' in Sri Lanka..." |
18 October 2000 | Punishment of a Prime Minister |
11 October 2000 | Dear Astronomer Halley ... A Futuristic Year 2050 letter "Dr. Nagalingam Ethirveerasingam's autobiographical reminiscences of his childhood entitled, 'Ode to My Village' was a heart-warming piece of writing. Not many Eelam professionals are blessed with the skill of penning what they experienced with self-deprecatory humor and humility. Stimulated by Ethir's lead, I have presented to the readers, something of my own..." |
4 October 2000 | Sin-eaters and Snollygosters "According to Brewster's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, sin-eaters were the poor persons hired at funerals in Medieval Times, to eat beside the corpse and so take upon themselves the sins of the diseased, that the soul might be delivered from Purgatory... (and) According to William Safire, the noted New York Times columnist and word maven, a snollygoster is a fellow who wants office, regardless of party, platform or principles - in brief, an unprincipled politician..." |
26 September 2000 | UTHR - the Pharisees of Eelam "...Whenever I read the scribbling of the pompously named, University Teachers for Human Rights (Jaffna) which appear regularly in the paper print and electronic print, I visualise the Pharisees mentioned in the Holy Bible. The New Testament (chapter Matthew) has some choice words on Pharisees, which I reproduce below: "Then said Jesus to the crowds and to his disciples, 'The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat; so practice and observe whatever they tell you, but not what they do; for they preach, but do not practice." |
19 September 2000 | Anna's Legacy "...If C.N.Annadurai (known to millions of Tamils by the diminutive, endearing word 'Anna') was alive, he would have celebrated his 91st birthday on Sept.15. His death in Feb.3, 1969 at a relatively young 59 years, has even entered the Guinness Book of World Records, as the funeral with the largest attendance of humans, counted at approximately 15 million. Undoubtedly, this is a record which will be difficult to break by any internationally-renowned politician in the near future..." |
12 September 2000 | Jaffna Invictus "...'Invictus' is one of the most popular English poems. 125 years have passed since it was penned by the British poet, critic and editor William Ernest Henley (1849-1903) in 1875. The Oxford English Dictionary defines the word 'invict' as 'unconquered; never vanquished or subdued'.In the aftermath of recent aggression of the Sri Lankan army in the Jaffna soil, I say thanks to the more than hundred foot soldiers of Eelam who gave their lives to keep Jaffna, an Invictus land..." |
5 September 2000 | An Embarassing Woman of Paris |
29 August 2000 | Tamil Tigers and America's Founding Fathers |
22 August 2000 | Exit of an emaciated turkey "...As a Tamil student who was at the receiving end of Sirimavo's discriminatory standardization scheme for entry into university (introduced in 1970), I cannot excuse her hypocrisy in sending her own children to universities beyond the borders of Sri Lanka (They all were probably academically-challenged to enter the universities in Colombo and Peradeniya competitively), while strangling the necks of ordinary students like me to enter a university in Sri Lanka through the hurdles. Thus, she contributed significantly to the origin of Thamil Maanavar Peravai [Tamil Student Assembly], the fore-runner to the Eelam nationalism of the 1980s..." |
17 August 2000 | A Page from Aesop's Fables |
7 August 2000 | Chandrika's Credit Card War "...Chandrika Kumaratunga's treasury coffers are empty. And now, she is pursuing a credit card war on Tamils, while parading the international scene as a peace-seeker..." |
2 August 2000 | Quacks in Yellow Garb |
21 July 2000 | Six Blind Men of Indostan,"...The manner in which the Eelam Tamil nationalism is now portrayed by the international mass media (especially that of the Madras Hindu group) is akin to John Saxe's description of six blind men..." |
18 July 2000 | Devotion of Black Tigers, "...For the past decade, the LTTE's campaign has provided many academics enough source material to pollute the academic and popular literature with half-baked commentaries, research papers, reviews, book chapters and media interviews. Even those who cannot read and write Tamil have dug ancient Sangam Tamil literature (in English translation of course!) to seek the roots of LTTE's Black Tigers..." |
12 July 2000 | Peace Queen & Pigmy Professors |
4 July 2000 | The American Revolution & Eelam Tamils |
29 June 2000 | Open Letter to President Kumaratunga on her Birthday |
12 June 2000 | Pirabaharan's Shadow & Democracy, Sri Lanka Style |
12 June 2000 | The Letters that Time & Asia Week were Reluctant to Publish |
1999 | |
August 1999 | CIA agents in Sri Lanka and UN |
By Way of Deception - Book Review | |
Maha Bharatha & Tamil Eelam "...When you are aiming for one thing, concentrate only on your aim and do not be concerned by the surrounding objects and distractions. Then, and then only, you will succeed in your aim..." | |
1992 | |
15 December 1992 | Premadasa's Predicament |
15 November 1992 | Eelam in the year 2000 |
Role Models for Heroism among Tamils ""Your son has died'', the messenger spilled the sad news. "Is that so? How did he die? Where did he receive the fatal wound?", the mother asked..." | |
Tamil Writers of Eelam | |
15 November 1992 | Tamil Language & Cerebral Power |
15 November 1992 | Mahatma Gandhi's "Crime" in 1922 |
15 September 1992 | Desk Top Dreamers! |
15 August 1992 | Tamil Names "What's in a name? - That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet" wrote Shakespeare, in his play Romeo and Juliet. But that play was written almost 400 years ago by the Bard. Now, even the Bard will agree that "there's a lot in a name", especially if it happens to be a Tamil name in Britain (or anywhere else other than perhaps Tamilnadu or Eelam)..." |
15 May 1992 | Pattukottai Kalyanasundaram & Poetic Advice from an old MGR movie |
15 April 1992 | Gandhi, Madras Hindu and the Brahmin Establishment |
15 March 1992 | The Assassinations of John F Kennedy and Rajiv Gandhi |
15 February 1992 | 40 Years after Kaa Kaa Ka |
15 February 1992 | MGR: The Man and the Myth - Book Review |
15 January 1992 | The Man from Marathur and Malai Nadu "...Eighty two years ago, a baby boy was born to a migrant couple, Gopala Menon and Sathyabama, in a ‘line-room’ of a tea estate in Kandy. Later, this baby boy would grow into a leader with the name Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran (popularly adored by Tamils all over the world with the acronym MGR)...." |
1991 | |
15 October 1991 | Remembering Kavi Arasu Kannadasan"...His given name at birth was Muthiah. But when he made his exit from this world, ten years ago at the age of 54, on October 16, 1981, millions of Tamils remembered him only by the name Kannadasan. For Tamils all over the world, he epitomised Tamil poetry. Even the illiterates, who couldn't read and memorise the poetry of Kamban or the maxims of Valluvan, could hum the compositions of poet Kannadasan..." |
15 November 1991 | Jesus Christ - The Rebel of Rebels |
15 November 1991 | Elephant Pass - Revolution - Nehru |
15 August 1991 | Bernard Shaw & Tamils |
21 July 1991 | A Center for Dravidian Archives in Eelam |
21 July 1991 | Plan for Establishment of a Center for Dravidian Archives in Eelam |
15 June 1991 | Mahatma Gandhi and Tamils |
1 April 1991 | Categorising Sinhala Politicians |
15 April 1989 | Mudaliyar Rasanayagam’s Ancient Jaffna: A Critical Reading |
Sachi Sri Kantha Publications List (1981 – 2009)
Academic Reference
Books 03 |
Academic Reference Books |
01. Sri Kantha S. Atlas
of Neuroactive Substances and Their Receptors in the Rat, edited by
Masaya Tohyama and Koichi Takatsuji, translated from Japanese to
English. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1998, 337pp, ISBN: 0 19
852372 6. |
Research Papers, Reviews and Book Chapters |
01. Sri Kantha S and Suzuki J. Primate species in Darwin’s major books on evolution. Current Science (Bangalore), 2009; 97(5): 715-718.
02. Sri Kantha S, Koda
H, and Suzuki J. Vocalization behavior of captive owl monkeys bred
at the Primate Research Institute, Inuyama, Japan. Neotropical
Primates, 2008; 15(3): (in press). |
Letters, Comments and Debate |
01. Sri Kantha S. Tribute to John Maddox. Current Science (Bangalore), July 25, 2009; 97(2): 131.
02. Sri Kantha S.
Centenarian scientists. Lancet, June 26, 1999; 353: 2250. |