List of Illustrations xi List of Contributors xiii Acknowledgements xviii PART I Introduction 1 If I was President 3 Sarah Kabir Slivers of Sri Lanka: Sways, Stability, and System Change? 7 Kanchana N. Ruwanpura and Amjad Mohamed Saleem PART II Nations and Nationalism 31 1 Island Imaginaries: Insularity, Repetition, and the Spatial Politics of the National 33 Tariq Jazeel 2 Authoritarian Politics and Gender in Sri Lanka: A Survey 43 Rajni Gamage 3 Nationalism, Conflict, and Power-Sharing 55 Bart Klem 4 Centring Conflict: Contemporary Sri Lanka in Perspective 68 Shamara Wettimuny PART III Politics, State, and Institutions 81 5 Defining Sri Lanka's Identity: Reflections on Key Constitutional and the Legal Moments 83 Bhavani Fonseka and Luwie Niranjan Ganeshathasan 6 Imagining the Nation: A Critical Overview of Sinhala Nationalism and Its Cultural Coordinates 94 Harshana Rambukwella 7 Eastern Muslims of Sri Lanka: Developing an Identity Consciousness 106 Aboobacker Rameez and Mohamed Anifa Mohamed Fowsar 8 Transitional Justice: State of Play in Sri Lanka 118 Farah Mihlar 9 Contemporary Gender Activism: Engaging the Law and the State 130 Kaushalya Ariyarathne and Kiran Grewal PART IV Economy and Political Economy 145 10 Sri Lanka's Foreign Debt Crisis: Deep Roots? 147 Umesh Moramudali 11 The Sri Lankan Economy: Hope, Despair, and Prospects 162 Prema-chandra Athukorala 12 Gender Equality in Sri Lanka's Economy: Persistent Challenges 176 Dileni Gunewardena 13 Unveiling the Margins: Women, Caste, Class, and Post-War Development in Sri Lanka's North and East 194 Narayani Sritharan 14 Higher Education in Contemporary Sri Lanka: Key Topics 207 Kaushalya Perera PART V Work and Life 219 15 Informality, Masculinity, and Agglomeration Imaginaries 221 Nipesh Palat Narayanan 16 The Work and Lives of Agricultural Workers 231 Cynthia M. Caron 17 The Gendered Political Economy of Work in Post-War Sri Lanka 242 Jayanthi Thiyaga Lingham 18 Work and Life of Sri Lankan Garment Factory Workers: A Gendered Perspective 253 Shyamain Wickramasingha 19 Microfinance, Debt and Indebtedness of Rural Sector Workers in Sri Lanka 264 Nedha de Silva and Amali Wedagedara PART VI Environment and Environmental Politics 275 20 Following Currents: Oceanic and Littoral Sri Lanka 277 Rapti Siriwardane-de Zoysa 21 A Political Ecology of Sri Lanka's Urban and Regional Wetlands 288 Missaka Hettiarachchi 22 Sri Lanka's Energy Transition: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back 300 Gz. MeeNilankco Theiventhran 23 Environmental Protection in Sri Lanka: A Critical Legal Approach 314 Kalana Senaratane 24 Ecological States: Nature, Militarization, and Nationalism in Sri Lanka 325 Vivian Y. Choi 25 Sri Lanka's Environmental History 335 Sujit Sivasundaram PART VII Society, Social Systems, and Culture 347 26 Public Health System of Sri Lanka: Past, Present, and Future 349 Shashika Bandara 27 Politicizing 'the Virtual': Examining the Internet on the Intersections of Gender and Sexuality in Sri Lanka 361 Senel Wanniarachchi and Zahrah Rizwan 28 Feminist Pathways and Political Possibilities in Sri Lankan Plantation Studies 372 Mythri Jegathesan 29 Caste in Contemporary Sri Lanka 383 Dominic Esler 30 Dynamics of Low-Income Settlements in Colombo, Sri Lanka 396 Mohideen M. Alikhan PART VIII Moment of Flux, Looking Ahead 407 31 COVID-19: Sri Lanka's Moral Test 409 Santhushya Fernando 32 People in the Palace 416 Dinesha Samararatne 33 After Aragalaya: Moving beyond the Status Quo? 420 Oliver Walton 34 Consolidating a Dangerous Consensus: The Failure of Sri Lanka's Public Policy Complex in 2019 423 Kusum Wijetilleke 35 The 'Dreary Pillage of Privacy', Talking Economics in Colombo's Tower Blocks 430 Michael Collyer Index 434
