The common good, market economy and politics By Kumudu Kusum Kumara

( The following article was originally published in The Island on 8th and 9th of February 2005 under the name Citizen-Ordinary. The article was written in response to the proposals made by the then Leader of the Opposition, Ranil Wickremesinghe inviting public discussion on what should be the ‘podu yahapatha’ or the common good of…

Understanding Ragging as a Social Phenomenon, an Interpretation: By Kumudu Kusum Kumara

Understanding Ragging as a Social Phenomenon, an Interpretation: In Search of Sociality and Leadership: (The following article which was originally written in 1997 and submitted to the then University Grants Commission (UGC), attempts a line of analysis that has current validity as a possible interpretation of ragging as a social phenomenon. The writer wishes to…

Ragging, Student Violence, & University Academics: A Brief Note – Kumudu Kusum Kumara

“In the context of student politics, ragging would have been used as a means of “getting to know” the freshers and thereby recruiting them to political groups. It is with the entry of the JVP into student politics in the late ‘60s that ragging and student violence takes the pernicious form that the Sri Lankan…

FUTA – Government Talks:Should We Sacrifice Education For ‘Development’?

FUTA – Government Talks:Should We Sacrifice Education For ‘Development’? By Kumudu Kusum Kumara – The second round of discussions between the Federation of University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA) and the government took place on the evening of 12th July. At the conclusion the FUTA issued a terse one sentence statement which said it all: “The only consensus of the meeting was that there is merit in discussing the proposal.” This isummed up the mood of the general membership of the FUTA to emerge during the next few days. It was one of utter disappointment. Addressing a meeting of teachers of Colombo…