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Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena (R) speaks with Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe during Sri Lanka's 70th Independence Day celebrations in Colombo on February 4, 2018. Sri Lanka is marking the 70th anniversary of independence from Britain on February 4. / AFP PHOTO / ISHARA S. KODIKARA

Reality check

The ruling coalition partners decide to stay together after a phase of perceptible strain in the relationship, but it is now a case of two insecure le
MEERA SRINIVASAN in Colombo
Sri Lanka’s new president Maithripala Sirisena takes the oath of office in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Friday, Jan. 9, 2015. Sirisena, a longtime political inside, and an ally of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa until just a few weeks ago, won the Thursday election by capitalizing on Rajapaksa's unpopularity among this island nation’s ethnic and religious minorities, as well as grumbling among the Sinhalese majority about his family’s growing power. (AP Photo/Sudath Silva)

Upset and after

Mahinda Rajapaksa goes, defeated by an eclectic political coalition. Can the coalition partners, with different political agendas, find ways to work t
Meera Srinivasan
(FILES) In this photograph taken on June 22, 2014 Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapakse gestures during a religious ceremony at the 76 million dollar oil tank farm at the southern deep sea port of Hambantota. Veteran Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse confirmed November 20, 2014 he will seek an unprecedented third term in office, with snap elections expected in January. AFP PHOTO/ Ishara S. KODIKARA /FILES

Tough fight ahead

As Mahinda Rajapaksa seeks a record third term in office, the opposition, for once, is united and has the support of an influential leader of the Budd
MEERA SRINIVASAN in Colombo
A Sri Lankan Muslim man inspects the charred remains of a bag tailoring unit following attacks by hard-line Buddhist group Bodu Bala Sena in Aluthgama, 50 kilometers (31 miles) south of Colombo, Sri Lanka, Monday, June 16, 2014. Hard-line Buddhists hurled petrol bombs and looted homes and businesses in several Muslim towns in Sri Lanka, killing three Muslims and seriously wounding more than 50 people in the overnight attacks, authorities said Monday. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Attack in Aluthgama

The violence against Muslims in the coastal town by a Buddhist group leads to fears of a resurgence of the Sinhala nationalism that targeted Tamils in
MEERA SRINIVASAN
Tribal children from Periamotur at a government school in the Yelagiri hills near Jolarpet in Tamil Nadu.-S. THANTHONI

Built-in barriers

There are signs of resistance from private schools to the clause in the RTE Act stipulating implementation of 25 per cent reservation.
MEERA SRINIVASAN
A.R. Rahman with his two Oscars at the 81st Academy Awards ceremony in Hollywood on February 22.-MIKE BLAKE/REUTERS

Music of the soul

I FEEL like a slate waiting to be written on. These were the words of Allah Rakha Rahman, after he was honoured by the Rotary Club in Chennai last Jun
MEERA SRINIVASAN
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