Sri Lanka in the Modern Age: A History of Contested Identities

by Nira Wickramasinghe

Since the late 1970s civil war has left Sri Lanka in an almost permanent state of crisis; conventional histories of the country by liberal and Marxist scholars in the last two decades have thus tended to focus on the state’s failure to accommodate the needs and demands of the minorities. The entire history of the twentieth century has been tied to this one key issue. Sri Lanka in the Modern Age offers a fresh perspective based on new research. Above all, the author has written a history of the peoples of Sri Lanka rather than a history of the nation-state.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Mike Sanders · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goes into great depth, but some inconsistencies in the overall thesis across the book become apparent. The "contested" identity becomes less neutral the closer the book comes to the present.

[Yolani Fernando · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of those books I keep revisiting. If you're only going to read one book on modern Sri Lankan history, it has to be this.

[N]

Srilanka in the Modern age

Sri Lanka was in the news for the all the wrong reasons this year. The mismanagement of the country’s economy led to 60 percent inflation, resignation of the populist president and the eventual sovereign default –first time in the nation’s history. The island nation was also plague by thirty-year brutal civil war which ended in 2009. Yet even during the declaration of its independence, it’s former British overlords and the rest of the world thought it was a model colony which was peaceful and prosperous. Lee Kuan Yew, in his memoir – “From the third world to First”, mentioned that infrastructure of the country was better than Singapore in the 1960’s and thought of it as a development model.

So, what caused this decline of the fortunes of this once prosperous island? To understand that one needs to read its history. There are plenty of book on the modern Sri Lanka which covers the formation of the republic, civil wars and its eventual victory. But there isn’t any well rounded book which covers the history, economic, communities, law, politics of the island. Nira Wickramasinghe’s book fills this gap.

This is a subaltern history looked through the lens of post-colonial studies and covers the history of the nation from Portuguese to the current era. While reading how the people reacted to colonialism, constructed identities and formed community, helps understand how things turned the way it did.

Interestingly, the author ends the concluding chapter with an open political question. Will the Rajapaksha’s be continued to be seen as saviours of the nation despite their allegation of cronyism, nepotism, economic mismanagement and proclivity to spend in white elephant projects. She indirectly answers her question that the country is indifferent to corruption allegations and mismanagement, and mass protests will not happen unless peoples livelihood is directly affected.

The style and tone of the book is very dry and academic. But if you have the curiosity on the subject matter and a little stamina, you will be able to finish the book. Overall recommended if you are interested in Sri Lankan history.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This probably deserved 4 stars as a work of scholarship, but it’s not my area so I was reading as a general reader and for that it is 3 stars. It focuses on ethnicity and the first few chapters were very educational. But the last few chapters about the more recent past are so full of detail and not enough argument that I couldn’t get the “so what”. It was indeed thorough and I think once I learned more about Sri Lanka I could dip into these chapters to learn how the identities got formed and how the civil war resulted from the failed constitutional efforts to give good representation to the various groups. But it isn’t really a narrative and that made it challenging.

[Erik Champenois · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rather dry and academic, this book would have been a better review of Sri Lanka's history had it been better structured and provided more general background information to those unfamiliar with the country. On the other hand, it does present an account focused on Sri Lankans rather than the colonialists, thoroughly discussing matters of cultural and ethnic identity in Sri Lanka's history, and a helpful overview of Tamil separatism, the end of the war with the Tamils, and the making of the modern stable but corrupt and oppressive state.

[ANURAG RAKSHIT · Rating 5 out of 5]

Touches upon the major political events in colonial and post-colonial Sri Lanka. The chapter on various identity formations via the census process in colonial Sri Lanka is detailed and parallels can be drawn with similar exercises in other parts of the sub-continent. The insurgency has been largely covered without any bias. Great read for those who prefer an academic style of writing.

[Revanth Ukkalam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can just snort and snort authoritative "leftist" and "antinationalist" histories of nations. Better if it's a South Asian country that really matters to us.

[May Jeong]

this is an amazing amazing book. in particular, the first two chapters -- they dedicated to colonial era sri lanka, not from the perspective of the edwardian british ruling class, whose lives evolved around croquet clubs and afternoon tea, but from the oppressed. we learn about how between 1901 and 1911 preserved milk miports went up 100 per cent as a result of western influence, or how men wearing sarongs, which the british considered unmanly, therefore a threat to strict gender roles, were ridiculed then later banned. we also learn about the little known cinnamon peeler's revolt of the 1700s. and scores of other facts that are not mentioned in the current narrative about the place. sri lanka is a country with a long tradition of dissent, and the book does a marvelous job of showing us where that culture of resistance comes from.

[Tasneem · Rating 3 out of 5]

Extremely insightful. This give a clear presentation about Sri Lankan culture, politics and economics.