Tisaranee Gunasekara

Tisaranee Gunasekara is a political commentator based in Colombo.

China courts influence in Sri Lanka via the Buddhist clergy

Beijing needs new allies now that the Rajapaksas are reeling, but the enmeshing of politics and religion in Sri Lanka is always cause for concern

Jan 26, 2023

Sri Lanka: Back on the brink

Easter Sunday bombings could create new fissures.

Apr 26, 2019

Sri Lankan Muslims: the new ‘others’?

The history and politics of Muslimphobia in Sri Lanka.

Apr 23, 2018

Freeing the fourth estate

In post-Rajapaksa Sri Lanka there is less restriction on the media.

Sep 20, 2016

The spectre haunting Lankan democracy

Will economic austerity come in the way of democracy?

Jun 08, 2016

Whither Lankan spring?

What the Rajapaksa comeback spells for democracy in Sri Lanka.

Jul 21, 2015

When the worm turns

On 8 January, the dynastic ambition of the Rajapaksas faces an unprecedented challenge.

Dec 31, 2014

A garrison state?

Why is the Sri Lankan army running parks, shopping arcades, a vet clinic and a beauty salon?

Oct 13, 2014

Sri Lanka’s Orwellian mediascape

Media workshops are not news in Sri Lanka. But in 2014 three media workshops became news, for all the wrong reasons.

Jun 25, 2014

Conditioned by war

In Sri Lanka, post-war trauma and a militarised peace have created a violent society, with children the worst affected.

Feb 13, 2013

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Latest Articles

Hopes and fears on the LoC after two years of ceasefire

A stable ceasefire along the Line of Control between India and Pakistan has given residents a chance at normal life—but threats of an end to the peace persist

Queer literature for children is changing minds in India

Indian parents and community libraries are turning to queer literature for children to help them be sensitive to varied sexual and gender identities

Himal Fiction Fest

The next generation of Southasian storytellers

In Mizoram, a refugee crisis highlights Mizo tribal affinities and hostility

Shared Zo identity has Mizos extending hospitality to Chin and Kuki-Chin refugees from Myanmar and Bangladesh. More remarkable is that Chakmas, mistreated by the Mizo majority in Mizoram, have welcomed Kuki-Chin refugees too