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YouTube channel “Panshu” launched by the Walpola Rahula Institute; A fertile environment for critical thinking By Raj Gonsalkorale The lesson for all is the need for nurturing critical thinking and to question information and its veracity. In explaining the thinking behind naming the new YouTube channel as Panshu, Ven Galkande Dhammananda said that the philosophy of the WRI has always had a positive outlook and it has focused on what could be done to have better outcomes, even over time, rather than just being disappointed with existing outcomes. By Raj Gonsalkorale Social media today has linked millions of people with facts, fiction and outright fake news. It has influenced change of governments, election of Presidents, Royalty being found out and disgraced, scandals of every description doing the rounds faster than lightning, and instant messaging becoming integral to the life of millions. Most do not ascertain the veracity of information that ...

Oct 14, 2021 Posted by In Articles, Raj Gonsalkorale Tagged , , , ,
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Contours for a new Constitution with a difference, for the future, not for the past By Raj Gonsalkorale But whether the Constitution really be one thing, or another, this much is certain – that it has either authorized such a government as we have had, or has been powerless to prevent it. In either case, it is unfit to exist- Lysander Spooner By Raj Gonsalkorale Lysander Spooner is the well-known author of the book “No Treason” thought by some to be the most subversive thing ever written in the United States. However, as a reader had commented “the premise of “No Treason” is that the United State is not a legally constituted government because people can only be governed by consent and no one consented to the “social contract” we call the Constitution. Spooner writes, “The constitution not only binds nobody now, but never did bind anybody. It never bound ...

Sep 18, 2021 Posted by In Articles, Raj Gonsalkorale Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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A reset of economic fundamentals in Sri Lanka; Is IMF the only hope? By Raj Gonsalkorale Sri Lanka is at the precipice of an economic disaster. The country’s foreign debt is suffocating the country, it is its biggest immediate problem, and the problem for the foreseeable future unless urgent and drastic action is taken, now. The crisis arises due to several factors, the primary factor being the high component of market borrowings in the form of International Sovereign Bonds (ISBs) in the country’s foreign debt portfolio. ISBs account for 47% of the debt. The following Central Bank chart shows this ISBs are short term loans attracting high interest rates (around 6%) with no grace periods while loans from international institutions such as the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, IMF, attract low interests and long term repayment terms including grace periods. ISBs are usually not conditional while others like WB, ADB, ...

Sep 8, 2021 Posted by In Articles, Raj Gonsalkorale Tagged , , , ,
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Afghanistan gives the world an Emperor without clothes By Raj Gonsalkorale The world needs an Emperor with full clothing to counter the increasing stridency of China. Unfortunately, the US has been progressively shedding its clothes beginning perhaps with the defeat in Vietnam. The many military incursions that followed, all basically abject failures in improving the lives of the people of the countries so invaded, has shown that US objectives have been flawed, and the execution of such objectives, even worse. One wonders however whether there is a dichotomy when it comes to these objectives. Were they meant to help the countries so invaded, were they purely to serve US interests, or were they to serve the interests of a powerful lobby within the US which has profited hugely on account of these futile military adventures. The latter wants conflict, war, instability, corruption at the highest levels in the countries invaded ...

Aug 26, 2021 Posted by In Articles, Raj Gonsalkorale Tagged , , ,
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So far, COVID has had the last laugh By Raj Gonsalkorale D M Shaw, from the Institute for Biomedical Ethics, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland, writing in the journal of Bioethical Inquiry (Invisible Enemies: Coronavirus and Other Hidden Threats) says that COVID-19 is our invisible enemy, changing our lives radically without ever revealing itself directly. He says “First, I analyse the virus itself and how its stealthy nature has transformed our lives. Second, I describe how the invisible epidemic of social media sharing of fake news about the virus worsens the situation further. Third, I explore how the virus has revealed to us what really matters in our lives and has forced us to re-evaluate our priorities. Fourth, I go on to explore the underlying structural weaknesses and disparities in society that have been exposed by the virus but previously remained unconsidered for so long that they too have become ...

Aug 20, 2021 Posted by In Articles, Raj Gonsalkorale Tagged , , ,
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Ritualism is not Buddhism – Venerable Galkande Dhammananda – by Raj Gonsalkorale The multi religious and multi ethnic approach taken by the Walpola Rahula Institute (WRI) and its head, Venerable Galkande Dhammananda to advance social healing amongst all people in Sri Lanka and elsewhere is set to take a major step forward with the increasing focus on online programs that could potentially reach vast audiences from the comfort of their homes. In the context of widespread ritualism experienced and expressed as Buddhism in Sri Lanka, the focus on Buddha’s teachings on the principles of his doctrine and the need for society to be healed of many mental wounds they carry, the WRI and Venerable Dhammananda offers a breath of fresh air to those who are confused and even disillusioned with ritualism that is being expressed as Buddhism. The uniqueness of the Walpola Rahula Institute in Sri Lanka, begun by Venerable ...

Jul 31, 2021 Posted by In Articles, Raj Gonsalkorale Tagged , , , ,
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Railways of Ceylon and the old world – Compiled by Raj Gonsalkorale Information and photographs sourced from the Wikipedia The Sri Lanka Railway, originally known as Ceylon Government Railways, was conceived in the 1850s and service began in 1864 with the construction of the main line from Colombo to Ambepussa, 54 kilometers to the east. The Railway was initially built in Ceylon with the intension of transportation of Tea and Coffee from hill country to Colombo. For many years, transporting such goods was the main purpose and the source of income on the line. With time and population growth, however, passenger traffic increased. In the 1960s, passenger traffic overtook freight as the main source of revenue. The railway is now primarily engaged in the transport of passengers, especially commuters to and from Colombo, thereby reducing road congestion. ...

Jul 13, 2021 Posted by In Articles Tagged ,
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Multiple challenges associated with online education; Too many Cooks? – By Raj Gonsalkorale “Children’s education is among the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic throughout the world. Prolonged school closure and limited access to distant learning has deprived children of their universal right to education, particularly in poorer countries” –UNICEF By Raj Gonsalkorale The COVID pandemic has accentuated a disparity that already exists between facilities that are available for poorer children in semi urban and rural areas, and those in more urban and affluent situations. While standards of educational institutions are different to what they were some years ago, there are many schools amongst the nearly 12,000 schools in Sri Lanka which lack even basic teaching needs, and worse, even essential facilities like decent toilets, water, electricity and other amenities. Often what is taken for granted in an urban central school, is a luxury in many rural schools. Opportunities for ...

Jul 9, 2021 Posted by In Articles, Raj Gonsalkorale Tagged , ,
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Port City Project – Will it generate confidence amongst investors? By Raj Gonsalkorale image Source:-portcitycolombo Foreign direct investment (FDI) is an integral part of an open and effective international economic system and a major catalyst to development. Yet, the benefits of FDI do not accrue automatically and evenly across countries, sectors and local communities. National policies and the international investment architecture matter for attracting FDI to a larger number of developing countries and for reaping the full benefits of FDI for development. The challenges primarily address host countries, which need to establish a transparent, broad and effective enabling policy environment for investment and to build the human and institutional capacities to implement them – OECD, Foreign Direct Investment for Development MAXIMISING BENEFITS, MINIMISING COSTS By Raj Gonsalkorale Sri Lankan politics has not witnessed bi-partisan agreement amongst the major political parties on key issues that impact on the people of the ...

May 26, 2021 Posted by In Articles, Raj Gonsalkorale Tagged , ,
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Has the COVID Pandemic exposed the lack of a social conscience within the Sri Lankan society?-By Raj Gonsalkorale The norms of society are the sum of our collective values and priorities – as society shapes us, we shape society. In addition to a sense of right and wrong for personal action, individuals possess a sense of right and wrong for collective action – what might be called social conscience. Individual conscience compels us to act morally in our daily lives, avoiding or helping to relieve the immediate suffering of others, whereas social conscience compels us to insist on moral action from the wider institutions of society and to seek the transformation of social structures that cause suffering. – Myshele Goldberg, University of Strathclyde and the Centre for Human Ecology By Raj Gonsalkorale The wider society’s response and collective behaviour during the COVID pandemic in Sri Lanka, especially since the New ...

May 12, 2021 Posted by In Articles Tagged ,
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