Sri Lankan Society in an Era of Globalization
Struggling To Create A New Social Order
Edited by:
- S. H. Hasbullah - University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka
- Barrie M. Morrison - University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
August 2004 | 272 pages | SAGE Publications Pvt. Ltd
Sri Lanka has suffered from decades of ethnic strife which has left in its wake a failure of governing arrangements, skewed distribution of economic benefits, and an exploitation of cultural traditions to divide people. Hence, argue the contributors to this volume, the time is now ripe for the people of Sri Lanka to consciously take up the task of building a new society.
At the same time, there is no readymade model that can be applied to Sri Lanka. Instead, this volume explores three elements which are crucial to the process of social reconstruction: a realistic analysis of novel problems, a search for guiding principles and a testing of procedures. In this framework, the essays in the first two parts of the volume discuss a wide variety of broad issues including the failure of Sri Lanka to create an inclusive nation-state, and the mutual exclusiveness of the two major communities exacerbated by their internal divisions.
The chapters in the subsequent sections present detailed case studies which illumine the potential for creating both a better society and a better life.
At the same time, there is no readymade model that can be applied to Sri Lanka. Instead, this volume explores three elements which are crucial to the process of social reconstruction: a realistic analysis of novel problems, a search for guiding principles and a testing of procedures. In this framework, the essays in the first two parts of the volume discuss a wide variety of broad issues including the failure of Sri Lanka to create an inclusive nation-state, and the mutual exclusiveness of the two major communities exacerbated by their internal divisions.
The chapters in the subsequent sections present detailed case studies which illumine the potential for creating both a better society and a better life.
Pitman B Potter
Foreword Pitman B Potter
Introduction
PART ONE: THE CHALLENGE OF SOCIETAL RE-ORGANIZATION
Barrie M Morrison
Overwhelming Change and Faltering Institutions, 1948-2002
PART TWO: TENSIONS OF CLASS AND CASTE, GROUP RIGHTS AND INDIVIDUAL FREEDOMS
Bruce Matthews
Religious and Ideological Intransigence among the Sinhalese
Dagmar Hellmann-Rajanayagam
Religious Ideology among the Tamils
Bruce Matthews
Tightening Social Cohesion and Excluding 'Others' among the Sinhalese
Dagmar Hellmann-Rajanayagam
From Differences to Ethnic Solidarity among the Tamils
Illustration and Poetry
Sumathy Sivamohan
The Rise of Militant Tamil Nationalism, Its Assumptions and the Cultural Production of Tamil Women
PART THREE: THE STRUGGLE TO BUILD A BETTER LIFE, A BETTER SOCIETY
Sri Ranjith
Struggling to Create Self-Help Organizations in an Urban Slum
| Mahaiyawa |
Karunatissa Atukorala
Expanding World Demand for Gems
| The Old Poor and the New Rich in Ratnapura |
M Sinnathamby
Bonded Tea Estate Workers
| Still Waiting at the Gates |
Paul Caspersz
Satyodaya, NGOs and Civil Society
| Mobilizing across Class and Community in a Globalizing Economy |
PART FOUR: BUILDING A BETTER SOCIETY? LARGE PROBLEMS WITH WEAKENED CAPACITY
S H Hasbullah
Justice for the Dispossessed
| The Case of a Forgotten Minority in Sri Lanka's Ethnic Conflict |
Nancy Waxler-Morrison
Who Will Care for Those Left at Home? The Effect of New Opportunities for Work on Families in Sri Lanka
Sisira Pinnawala
Damming the Flood of Violence and Shoring Up Civil Society in a Era of Globalization
S H Hasbullah and Barrie M Morrison
Conclusion
Index